Editing Bexhill-on-Sea (section)

== Governance ==
[[File:Town Hall Square, Bexhill (aerial).jpg|thumb|Town Hall Square]]
Due to local governance reform in 1974, Bexhill became part of [[Rother District Council]], thereby losing its Town Council. In its place, Bexhill became a [[Charter Trustee]]s town, represented by the Bexhill councillors of Rother District Council.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.rother.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2573&articleaction=print 
 |title=Ask the leader 2006, Question 331 
 |publisher=Rother District Council 
 |access-date=22 November 2007 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614043113/http://www.rother.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2573&articleaction=print 
 |archive-date=14 June 2011 
}}</ref> A quarterly forum is held to provide a voice to the community at a local level.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.rother.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=792
| title = Bexhill Town Forum
| publisher = Rother District Council
| access-date = 22 November 2007
| url-status = dead
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070517030827/http://www.rother.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=792
| archive-date = 17 May 2007
| df = dmy-all
}}</ref>

[[Bexhill Town Hall]] is the seat of Rother District Council, for which elections are held every four years. In total, thirty-eight Councillors are elected for Rother, eighteen coming from Bexhill's nine wards.<ref name=BO>{{cite web|url=https://www.bexhillobserver.net/news/politics/rother-district-council-election-results-live-updates-1-8914019|title=Rother District Council election results: live updates|publisher=Bexhill Observer|access-date=3 May 2019|archive-date=3 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503122136/https://www.bexhillobserver.net/news/politics/rother-district-council-election-results-live-updates-1-8914019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2017, local campaigners initiated a public consultation on the issue of regaining a town council for Bexhill. 9,227 people participated in the consultation, of whom  93.5% expressed a preference for a town council. The consultation was non-binding and, at a meeting in December 2017, Rother District Councillors voted against the formation of such a council by 18 to 13. The meeting was fully attended.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.democracy4bexhill.com/|title=Democracy4Bexhill – Campaigning to bring greater democracy to Bexhill on Sea|access-date=2019-05-26|archive-date=26 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526203257/https://www.democracy4bexhill.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> Those who voted against the consultation's outcome mostly expressed concerns about the added burden to local taxpayers that a town council would bring.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bexhillobserver.net/news/bexhill-campaigners-blast-town-council-decision-by-rother-a-farce-1-8298048|title=Bexhill campaigners blast town council decision by Rother a 'farce'|website=www.bexhillobserver.net|access-date=2019-05-26|archive-date=26 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526203256/https://www.bexhillobserver.net/news/bexhill-campaigners-blast-town-council-decision-by-rother-a-farce-1-8298048|url-status=live}}</ref> On 1 April 2021 a civil parish was formed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/Resources/Local%20Government%20Orders/South%20East/East%20Sussex/The%20Rother%20District%20Council%20(Reorganisation%20of%20Community%20Governance)%20(Bexhill-on-Sea)%20Order%202021.pdf|title=The Rother District Council (Reorganisation of Community Governance) (Bexhill-on-Sea) Order 2021|publisher=[[Local Government Boundary Commission for England]]|accessdate=3 July 2021|archive-date=16 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216071049/https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/Resources/Local%20Government%20Orders/South%20East/East%20Sussex/The%20Rother%20District%20Council%20(Reorganisation%20of%20Community%20Governance)%20(Bexhill-on-Sea)%20Order%202021.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the local elections in May 2013, the Conservatives had a nett loss of fifteen seats, leaving the Rother district council composed of fourteen Conservatives, thirteen Independents, seven Liberal Democrats, one Green, and three Labour councillors.<ref name=BO/> The changes have meant that the issue of a town council for Bexhill has been reopened. The Independents, supported by Labour and others, assented to a motion that would have a Bexhill Town Council up and running by 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bexhillobserver.net/news/politics/bid-to-establish-town-council-for-bexhill-backed-1-8938263|title=Bid to establish town council for Bexhill backed|website=www.bexhillobserver.net|access-date=2019-05-26|archive-date=23 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523131507/https://www.bexhillobserver.net/news/politics/bid-to-establish-town-council-for-bexhill-backed-1-8938263|url-status=live}}</ref>

Above Rother, the next level of government is the [[East Sussex County Council]], with responsibility for education, libraries, social services, highways, civil registration, trading standards, and transport. Elections to the County Council are also held every four years. For these elections, Bexhill is divided into four divisions: North, East, South and West.<ref name="ELECTION">{{cite web
  | title = Declaration of Result of Poll
  | publisher = East Sussex County Council
  | url = https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/media/8426/election-2017-result-rother.pdf
  | access-date = 5 May 2017
  | archive-date = 26 May 2019
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190526203251/https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/media/8426/election-2017-result-rother.pdf
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref>

The latest County Council election was held on 4 May 2017. Following the result of a by-election in 2019, Bexhill has two Independent and two Conservative county councillors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/media/12615/result-of-poll.pdf|title=Declaration of Result of Poll|website=East Sussex County Council|access-date=26 May 2019|archive-date=26 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526203253/https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/media/12615/result-of-poll.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Bexhill and Battle (UK Parliament constituency)|Parliamentary Constituency of Bexhill and Battle]], created in 1983, includes the nearby town of [[Battle, East Sussex|Battle]]. Its Member of Parliament was [[Charles Wardle]] until the 2001 election, when he left the Conservatives and was replaced by [[Gregory Barker]]. He was the Member until the 2015 General Election, when he was replaced by [[Huw Merriman]], re-elected in 2019. However, Huw Merriman stood down for the [[2024 United Kingdom general election]], where he was replaced by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Kieran Mullan]].

At the European level, Bexhill was part of the [[South East England (European Parliament constituency)|South-East England constituency]], which had ten seats in the [[European Parliament]]. The 2019 election returned four [[Brexit Party]] MEPs, three [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]], one  [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]], one [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] and one [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48417228|title=Brexit Party dominates in EU elections|date=2019-05-27|access-date=2019-05-27|archive-date=27 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527184010/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48417228|url-status=live}}</ref> They ceased to hold office when [[Brexit|the country left the EU]].

As with most other areas along the South Coast, in the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|2016 referendum]] the Rother district voted heavily to leave the EU. Leave won in Rother by a margin of 58.5% to 41.5%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/politics/eu_referendum/results|title=EU Referendum Results|website=BBC News|access-date=2019-05-27|archive-date=24 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624000307/http://www.bbc.com/news/politics/eu_referendum/results|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Wards===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Ward
! Location
! Population<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/southeastengland/wards/|title=UNITED KINGDOM: South East England Local Authority Districts and Wards|website=City Population}}</ref>
! Ward
! Location
! Population
|-
|Central
|[[File:Bexhill-on-Sea OpenStreetMap Ward Central.png|175px]]
|5,607
|Sackville
|[[File:Bexhill-on-Sea OpenStreetMap Ward Sackville.png|175px]]
|4,898
|-
|Collington
|[[File:Bexhill-on-Sea OpenStreetMap Ward Collington.png|175px]]
|4,180
|Kewhurst
|[[File:Bexhill-on-Sea OpenStreetMap Ward Kewhurst.png|175px]]
|4,735
|-
|St Stephens
|[[File:Bexhill-on-Sea OpenStreetMap Ward StStephens.png|175px]]
|4,776
|OldTown & Worsham
|[[File:Bexhill-on-Sea OpenStreetMap Ward OldTown&Worsham.png|175px]]
|4,178
|-
|Pebsham & St Michaels
|[[File:Bexhill-on-Sea OpenStreetMap Ward Pebsham&StMichaels.png|175px]]
|5,113
|Sidley
|[[File:Bexhill-on-Sea OpenStreetMap Ward Sidley.png|175px]]
|6,118
|-
|St Marks
|[[File:Bexhill-on-Sea OpenStreetMap Ward StMarks.png|175px]]
|4,967
|}