Council by-election · Wednesday, 23 September 2026

Tunbridge Wells Borough: Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden ward

4 candidates. Same page for each, in ballot-paper order.

4candidates for one seat

3sourced positions

1with something published

1named sources

1. Max Lawson Chesters
Green Party

2. Nicholas Lees
Conservative and Unionist Party

3. David Somers
Reform UK

4. Harry James Wormington
Liberal Democrats

At the election of Thursday, 7 May 2026, this seat was won by 553 votes (20.8% of votes cast); turnout was 45.8%. Past results describe the past; each election is a new contest.

See the 4 candidates In a hurry? Two-minute guide →

In this ward 4 candidates from 4 parties or independent slots are standing. Parties do not stand everywhere; here is how to find out whether yours stands nearby.

This is a council seat. A councillor's win changes what the council decides: council tax, housing repairs and allocations, planning, social care, schools admissions, parking, bins, libraries. It does not change national tax, benefits or NHS policy, so this page shows only positions published for this council election, and no national party pledges are implied.

Sourced positions found for 1 of 4 candidates

Compare candidates side by side

You're voting for

Your local councillor

Councillors sit on the council that runs services where you live. They set the council's budget and council tax, and decide local planning applications. Here, for Tunbridge Wells Borough: Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden ward.

What this office decides

Planning. Whether new homes, extensions and developments get permission.
Waste and streets. Bins, recycling, street cleaning, fly-tipping.
Council tax. The level you pay, within limits set nationally.
Social care. In county and unitary councils, care for older and disabled people.
Parks and libraries. Opening, funding, closing.
Council housing. Repairs, allocations and, in many areas, homelessness.

What it does not

NHS policy and waiting times. Parliament and the NHS.
Income tax and benefits. Parliament.
Immigration. Parliament.
Policing policy. The Home Office and your Police and Crime Commissioner or mayor.
Schools' curriculum. Government and, for academies, their trusts.

Candidates often campaign on things their office cannot change. That is not dishonest in itself — an MP can press a council, a councillor can lobby government — but it is worth knowing which is which. Summarised from the Local Government Association and UK Parliament descriptions of each role.

How this vote is counted: first past the post. One cross; the candidate with the most votes wins.Worked example

Every ballot with one cross is counted for that candidate. The one with the most votes wins, even without a majority. Example: A 4,000, B 3,900, C 2,100. A wins with 40% of the vote; the 60% cast for others elect nobody. There are no second preferences; a vote for a candidate who does not win has no further effect.

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TopicSearch every position on this ballot

Showing 4 of 4 candidates. Everyone on the ballot, in ballot-paper order.

Numbered as on the ballot paper. Open a candidate to see their positions on the nine topics, with sources. Until a household is described, only positions that apply to everyone are counted.

1Max Lawson Chesters

Green Party

ShowHide

Money —Housing —Health —Education —Environment —Immigration —Crime —Defence & EU —Equality —0 in total

Democracy Club profile Party site

In their own words

No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.

Open Max's page →

Where this information comes from

Positions are quoted from the candidate's or party's own published material and official records, each with its source. Candidates and their agents can also submit sourced statements, published as written once we confirm they appear at the cited address. Not yet invited to submit a statement: we have no contact address. If you are this candidate, use the link below. Submit a statement.

Published positions on the nine topics

Nothing published that we could source, yet. A councillor sits on the council that sets council tax and decides planning, housing repairs and allocations, social care, bins, parking, libraries and, in most areas, school admissions. It cannot change national tax, benefits or NHS policy.

Are you this candidate, or their agent? Send us a sourced statement; it is published as written.
Look yourself: the council's election notices · the party's site · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).

1Max Lawson Chesters

Green Party

2Nicholas Lees

The Conservative Party Candidate

ShowHide

Money —Housing —Health —Education —Environment —Immigration —Crime —Defence & EU —Equality —0 in total

Democracy Club profile Party site

In their own words

No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.

Open Nicholas's page →

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

Are you this candidate, or their agent? Send us a sourced statement; it is published as written.
Look yourself: the council's election notices · the party's site · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).

2Nicholas Lees

Conservative and Unionist Party

3David Somers

Reform UK

ShowHide

Money 1Housing 1Health —Education 1Environment —Immigration —Crime —Defence & EU —Equality —3 in total

Democracy Club profile Party site

In their own words

If I am elected again as your Councillor, I pledge to:

Continue to challenge when our council tax money is being spent unwisely;

Support a much needed Cranbrook secondary school;

Challenge plans to build over 3000 more houses in the next 5 years, when our Victorian water and sewerage cannot cope;

Support you and our Parish in challenges with Tunbridge Wells Borough Council as they arise.

Statement to voters supplied by the candidate to Democracy Club, retrieved 2026-09-19. Reproduced unedited.

Stood before

Tunbridge Wells council, Cranbrook Sissinghurst Frittenden ward, May 2024 (Conservative and Unionist Party) — elected

Previous candidacies from Democracy Club. A record of standing, not a judgement.

Open David's page →

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

Candidate statements and leaflets are published as written; we check they are real, not that they are true. Switch between summaries and exact quotations with the control above the list.

Money and cost of living

What this candidate says

Candidate's own words · David Somers (candidate), via Democracy Club · Statement to voters: David Somers

Their position

Continue to challenge when our council tax money is being spent unwisely;

What that means

Pledges to continue to challenge unwise spending of council tax money.

Retrieved 2026-09-19.

Housing and property

What this candidate says

Candidate's own words · David Somers (candidate), via Democracy Club · Statement to voters: David Somers

Their position

Challenge plans to build over 3000 more houses in the next 5 years, when our Victorian water and sewerage cannot cope;

What that means

Pledges to challenge plans for over 3,000 more houses in five years, saying Victorian water and sewerage cannot cope.

Retrieved 2026-09-19.

Healthcare and social care

Nothing published on this yet.

Education and universities

What this candidate says

Candidate's own words · David Somers (candidate), via Democracy Club · Statement to voters: David Somers

Their position

Support a much needed Cranbrook secondary school;

3David Somers

Reform UK

4Harry James Wormington

Liberal Democrats

ShowHide

Money —Housing —Health —Education —Environment —Immigration —Crime —Defence & EU —Equality —0 in total

Democracy Club profile Party site

In their own words

No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.

Open Harry's page →

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

Are you this candidate, or their agent? Send us a sourced statement; it is published as written.
Look yourself: the council's election notices · the party's site · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).

4Harry James Wormington

Liberal Democrats

Photos: shown where one exists on Democracy Club (4 of 4 here); initials otherwise. A missing photo says nothing about the candidate. · How much sourced material we found per party · Why isn't my party standing here?

Last time in this seat: election of Thursday, 7 May 2026

Candidate	Party	Votes	Share
Alexander Ellison (elected)	Conservative and Unionist Party	1,227	46.2%
Matthew Beattie	Reform UK	674	25.4%
Vivian Widgery	Liberal Democrats	384	14.5%
Paul Jeremy Keith Froome	Green Party	370	13.9%

2,655 valid votes, turnout 45.8%. Result data from Democracy Club (source). Past results describe the past; each election is a new contest.

Tunbridge Wells Borough: Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden ward in numbers

Official open data about the area. It describes the place, not you, and it favours no candidate.

House prices in Tunbridge Wells

Average price £456,227, up 0.6% on a year earlier (July 2026).

Flats and maisonettes: £258,513
Detached houses: £869,817

Source: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index for the local authority (Open Government Licence). A local-authority average; prices within it vary widely.

Recorded crime nearby, July 2026

8 street-level crimes recorded within about a mile of the area's centre.

violent crime: 4
public order: 2
criminal damage arson: 1
other theft: 1

Source: data.police.uk (Open Government Licence). Centroid of the ONS 2024 boundary. Statistics near this point describe the area, not any household. Recorded crime reflects reporting and policing as well as offending; see the ONS guidance in further reading.

Tunbridge Wells Borough: Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden ward in numbers

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Go deeper: independent sources

None of these is affiliated with a party. Where a source campaigns for a position, the label says so. Links open the original site.

Cross-cutting: polling, fact-checking, parliamentary research

Commons Library: constituency data dashboards — House of Commons Library. Parliamentary research service, impartial by statute.
electionleaflets.org: archive of election leaflets, searchable by area — Democracy Club. Civic-technology archive; leaflets are the parties' own material.
Electoral Commission: political finance register (donations, loans, spending) — Electoral Commission. Official register.
Full Fact — Full Fact. Independent fact-checking charity.
House of Commons Library research briefings — House of Commons Library. Parliamentary research service, impartial by statute.
Institute for Government — Institute for Government. Independent think tank on how government works.
Ipsos Issues Index: what the public says matters most — Ipsos. Polling company (monthly, unprompted survey).
LG Inform: council performance and finance data — Local Government Association. Sector body for councils.
Local Elections Archive Project: every council result since 2002 — Andrew Teale. Independent archive from Returning Officers' data, CC BY-SA.
mySociety Local Intelligence Hub: data by constituency — mySociety. Civic-technology charity; non-partisan.
UK Parliament: Commons votes (every division, how each MP voted) — UK Parliament. Official record, Open Parliament Licence.
UK Parliament: petitions, with signatures by constituency — UK Parliament. Official record.

Sources used on this page

Statement to voters: David Somers — David Somers (candidate), via Democracy Club, undated. Retrieved 2026-09-19. 3 quotations.

Candidate lists and nominations: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Tax and benefit figures: PolicyEngine UK, open source.

Tunbridge Wells Borough: Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden ward

Your local councillor

What this office decides

What it does not

The ballot paper

1Max Lawson Chesters

In their own words

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

1Max Lawson Chesters

2Nicholas Lees

In their own words

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

2Nicholas Lees

3David Somers

In their own words

Stood before

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

Money and cost of living

Housing and property

Healthcare and social care

Education and universities

3David Somers

4Harry James Wormington

In their own words

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

4Harry James Wormington

Tunbridge Wells Borough: Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden ward in numbers

House prices in Tunbridge Wells

Recorded crime nearby, July 2026

Tunbridge Wells Borough: Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden ward in numbers

Go deeper: independent sources

Sources used on this page

1Max Lawson Chesters

In their own words

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

2Nicholas Lees

In their own words

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

4Harry James Wormington

In their own words

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

3David Somers

In their own words

Stood before

Where this information comes from

Published positions on the nine topics

Money and cost of living

Housing and property

Healthcare and social care

Education and universities

Environment, climate and energy

Immigration and borders

Crime, policing and justice

Defence, foreign affairs and the EU

Equality and rights

Tunbridge Wells Borough: Cranbrook, Sissinghurst & Frittenden ward in numbers

House prices in Tunbridge Wells

Recorded crime nearby, July 2026