Editing Lewes (section)

===Local government===
There are three tiers of local government covering Lewes, at [[civil parish|parish]] (town), [[non-metropolitan district|district]] and [[non-metropolitan county|county]] level: Lewes Town Council, [[Lewes District Council]] and [[East Sussex County Council]]. The town council is based at [[Lewes Town Hall]] on the High Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lewes-town.co.uk/ |title=Lewes Town Council |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515225740/http://www.lewes-town.co.uk/ |archive-date=15 May 2008}}</ref> The county council has its headquarters at [[East Sussex County Hall|County Hall]] on St Anne's Crescent in the town, which is also used by Lewes District Council as its meeting place.<ref>{{cite web |title=Council minutes, 8 May 2013 |url=https://democracy.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/Data/Lewes%20District%20Council%20Full%20Council/201305081430/Agenda/gfY2fWN7qT4Qi2bjUNGnGb6fjje.pdf |website=Lewes District Council |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref>

Lewes was an [[ancient borough]], although the structure of its early government is obscure. For much of the Middle Ages the town was run by a closed aristocratic organisation known as the "Fellowship of the Twelve", which was gradually eclipsed by a body known as the jury in the seventeenth century, presided over by a constable. The limitations of the town's administration were recognised in 1806 when separate [[improvement commissioners]] were established to pave, light and repair the streets and provide a [[Watchman (law enforcement)|watch]]. When local government in towns was reformed across the country in the 1830s, Lewes was one of the boroughs [[Unreformed boroughs in England and Wales 1835–1886|left unreformed]], and so it continued to be run by its jury and improvement commissioners. The situation was finally regularised in 1881 when the town was made a [[municipal borough]]. The town was then run by a corporate body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Lewes", informally known as the corporation or town council. The last constable became the first mayor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lewes Municipal Borough |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10001274 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Salzman |editor1-first=L. F. |title=A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7, the Rape of Lewes |date=1940 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |pages=19–31 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/sussex/vol7/pp19-31#h2-0002 |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref>

In 1890, the town council acquired the former Star Inn at 189 High Street, parts of which date back to the fourteenth century, and the adjoining corn exchange. The buildings were converted and extended to become the town hall, including a new frontage to High Street, which was completed in 1893.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Town Hall|num=1353072 |access-date=30 June 2021}}</ref> The municipal borough of Lewes was abolished in 1974 when the larger Lewes District was established.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lewes.gov.uk/council/3726.asp |title=Armorial Bearings (Coat of Arms) |first=Lewes District |last=Council |website=www.lewes.gov.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710054652/http://www.lewes.gov.uk/council/3726.asp |archive-date=10 July 2015}}</ref> A [[successor parish]] was created covering the area of the former borough, with the parish council taking the name Lewes Town Council.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1974|year=1974|number=569|access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref>

Following the 2023 election the composition of the town council was:<ref>{{cite web |title=Election results |url=https://lewes-tc.gov.uk/news/election-results-2023/ |website=Lewes Town Council |date=6 May 2023 |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan=2| Party
! Councillors
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Green Party of England and Wales}}
| align=center|12
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}
| align=center|5
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}
| align=center|1
|-
! colspan=2|Total
! align=center|18
|}
The next election is due in 2027.

Since 2010, the town has been included within the [[South Downs National Park]]. The National Park Authority has therefore taken over some functions from the local councils, notably relating to [[town planning]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Members |url=https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/national-park-authority/our-people/members/ |website=South Downs National Park Authority |access-date=17 August 2023}}</ref>

There are also a number of local political groups without council representation. The [[far-left]] group [[Lewes Maoist Action]] has operated in the town since 2013, frequently handing out leaflets at the train station and running a cake stall at weekends outside [[Lewes Castle]]. In 2020, the group claims to have infiltrated the council and Harvey's brewery, although they have never contested a local or parliamentary election.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/18632037.interview-lewes-maoists-wanting-uk-revolution/ | title=Group 'plotting to start UK-wide revolution in the name of Chairman Mao' | date=6 August 2020 }}</ref>