The 2023 Sevenoaks District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Sevenoaks District Council in Kent, England. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.
Summary The Conservatives lost 13 seats compared to the previous election in 2019, but nevertheless retained a majority of the seats on the council. One of those Conservatives who lost their seat was the leader of the council, Peter Fleming, who had been leader since 2005. Julia Thornton was chosen as new leader of the Conservative group and was formally appointed as leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 23 May 2023.
The Green Party gained their first seats on the council in, winning all three seats in Ash/New Ash Green plus one in Eynsford.
Election result The overall results were:
Ward results
The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Sevenoaks District Council following the close of nominations on 4 April 2023. The results in each ward were as follows:
Ash and New Ash Green
Brasted, Chevening and Sundridge
Cowden and Hever
Crockenhill and Well Hill
Dunton Green and Riverhead
Edenbridge North and East
Edenbridge South and West
Eynsford
Farningham, Horton Kirby and South Darenth
Fawkham and West Kingsdown
Halstead, Knockholt and Badgers Mount
Hartley and Hodsoll Street
Hextable
Kemsing
Leigh and Chiddingstone Causeway
Otford and Shoreham
Penshurst, Fordcombe and Chiddingstone
Seal and Weald
Sevenoaks Eastern
Sevenoaks Kippington
Sevenoaks Northern
Sevenoaks Town and St. John's
Swanley Christchurch and Swanley Village
Swanley St. Mary's
Swanley White Oak
Westerham and Crockham Hill
Changes 2023–2027
On 15 May 2025, seven Conservative councillors resigned the party whip after a dispute over cabinet selections by council leader Roddy Hogarth; two more followed within days. The nine — Julia Thornton, Margot McArthur, Diana Esler, Alan Layland, Angela Baker, Chris Haslam, Simon Reay, John Grint and Kim Bayley — formed a new group, the West Kent Independents, led by Thornton, costing the Conservatives their majority and leaving the council under no overall control.
Roddy Hogarth resigned as leader of the council on 18 November 2025 after months of pressure culminating in a no-confidence vote brought by the West Kent Independents; Conservative councillor Kevin Maskell was elected as his successor the same day.
In December 2025, James Barnett, the Conservative councillor for Cowden and Hever, defected to Reform UK, becoming the party's first councillor on Sevenoaks District Council and the tenth Conservative defection of the year; he cited instability within the Conservative group following the removal of Roddy Hogarth as leader.
In January 2026, Laurence Ball, the Conservative councillor for Farningham, Horton Kirby and South Darenth, joined Reform UK, becoming the party's second councillor on the council.
By March 2026, independent councillors Christine Hudson (Hextable) and Rachel Waterton (Crockenhill and Well Hill) had formed the North Sevenoaks District Independent Group.
In June 2026, Kim Bayley, John Grint and Simon Reay returned to the Conservatives. A council report presented on 14 July recorded six members of the West Kent Independent Group.
By-elections
Hextable
The by-election was triggered by the death of independent councillor Darren Kitchener, chairman of Hextable Parish Council, from a congenital heart condition.
Halstead, Knockholt and Badgers Mount
The by-election was triggered by the death of Conservative councillor Gary Williamson, who had served on the council for more than 25 years.
References