Michelham Priory · Photo: Michael Haslam · Public domainNo party holds a majority on Wealden District Council
Upper Dicker is run by Wealden District Council and East Sussex County Council, with Arlington parish council for local matters. No party holds a majority on either Wealden District Council or East Sussex County Council. Its MP is James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat), member for Lewes.
£2,662
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Upper Dicker’s politics has changed since 2021
No majority on Wealden District Council
No party holds a majority on Wealden District Council. The Liberal Democrats, the largest group, hold 13 of its 44 seats as elected, 10 short of the 23 needed. The Greens hold 11, independents 10, the Conservatives 8 and Labour 2. Who’s in charge ↓
East Sussex changed hands in 2026
East Sussex County Council, which runs schools, social care and roads, went from no overall control to no overall control at the May 2026 election: Reform UK won 22 of 50 seats. East Sussex ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Upper Dicker is £2,662 for 2026–27; Wealden District Council keeps 8% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 55% in ten years, against England’s 56%. Council money ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and MHCLG council tax.
No party has a majority on either council
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 23 of Wealden’s 44 or 26 of East Sussex’s 50 seats to run the council alone.
- Liberal Democrat13
- Green11
- Independent10
- Conservative8
- Labour2
Latest election: May 2023.
- Reform UK22+21
- Liberal Democrat13+1
- Green11+6
- Conservative3−21
- Independent1−2
- Labour0−5
Change against the council before the 7 May 2026 election.
Seats are counted from election results: each ward’s most recent winners until its seats are filled. Councillors who have since changed party or resigned aren’t reflected, and which parties lead the council, and who is leader, comes from the council itself.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), elections since May 2021; seats per ward from its EveryElection.
Two tiers of council, and a parish tier
Upper Dicker has two tiers of council: the county runs the big services, the district the local ones.
Local matters: allotments, play areas, halls, footpaths and benches; it is consulted on planning and adds a precept to the council tax bill. A town council is a parish council by another name.
100% of Upper Dicker’s residents · Band D precept £81
Bins and recycling, planning, housing, environmental health, leisure, and collecting council tax.
Website ↗Schools, social care, roads and transport, libraries and waste disposal.
Website ↗Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: in two-tier areas the district or borough runs local services and the county the big ones.
Councils from ONS lookups (wards and councils May 2026, parishes 2025), names and websites from GOV.UK’s local council finder; parish councils from MHCLG’s 2026–27 list of precepting parishes.
From the parish to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Upper Dicker, from the most recent elections.
- 1Town or parishParish tierArlington parish council
- 2Wealden District Council1 ward · 1 councillorAlison Jane Wilson
- 3East Sussex County Council1 division · 1 councillorWilliam Boone
- 4Police and crime commissionerSussex Police · elected May 2024Katy Bourne
- 5House of CommonsLewes
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. Tap an MP’s name for their contact page on parliament.uk.
1 councillor for 1 ward
Wards with at least 2% of the town’s residents, or half their own inside it. Each shows who won its most recent elections, newest first, until its seats are filled.
- Alison Jane WilsonGreen · May 2023
Show as a table, with East Sussex County Council’s 1 division (1 councillor)
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington20% in Upper Dicker · 599 residents1 seat · May 2023 | 1 | Alison Jane Wilson | May 2023 |
East Sussex County Council: county divisions
| Division | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington, East Hoathly & Hellingly ED5% in Upper Dicker · 599 residents1 seat · May 2026 | 1 | William Boone | May 2026 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Wealden District Council’s website lists who sits now.
Results from Democracy Club’s candidates database (CC BY 4.0; elections since May 2021) and ward seats from its EveryElection, matched to ONS wards (May 2026) and county divisions (May 2025).
Wealden council election, May 2023
Results in the wards that make up Upper Dicker, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
1 ward voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Upper Dicker’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗1,223 votes for candidates
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Upper Dicker is in Lewes constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Upper Dicker).
53,173 votes for candidates · majority 12,624
Liberal Democrat, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 53,173 votes from 76,166 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 12,624 of 53,173 votes (23.7%): wider than in 75% of England’s 543 constituencies.
MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate.
Upper Dicker’s Band D council tax is £2,662 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Wealden District Council keeps £221.14 of a Band D bill (8%); the rest goes to the Arlington parish council, East Sussex County Council, the Sussex police and crime commissioner and the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Wealden’s Band D bill has risen 55% in ten years, from £1,758.19 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £549.00 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in Arlington, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
East Sussex’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,400.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with East Sussex
| Wealden + East Sussex | Upper Dicker’s councils | East Sussex | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £659 | £625 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £309 | £297 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £77 | £41 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £25 | £82 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £134 | £143 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £24 | £50 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £39 | £19 | £26 |
| Public health | £67 | £80 | £78 |
| Running the council | £90 | £65 | £59 |
| Other | £0 | £4 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,423 | £1,406 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Both tiers added: Wealden per its residents plus East Sussex per the county’s. Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. East Sussex and England: all their councils together. Police, fire and transport authorities aren’t included.
Band D: MHCLG Band D council tax 2026–27 (each authority’s own figure, excluding parish precepts) and Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils 2026–27; since 1993–94, MHCLG’s area averages including parishes.
Having a say in how Upper Dicker is run
It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.
gov.uk ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
wealden.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
wealden.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Upper Dicker is run
Which council runs Upper Dicker?
Upper Dicker is run by Wealden District Council and East Sussex County Council. The county council runs schools, social care and roads; the district runs bins, planning and housing.
Does Upper Dicker have a town council?
Yes: Upper Dicker has its own parish-tier council (Arlington parish council; town councils are parish councils by another name), which adds £81 to a Band D bill in 2026–27.
Who is the MP for Upper Dicker?
James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Lewes, which covers Upper Dicker.
How many councillors does Upper Dicker have?
1 ward councillors represent Upper Dicker’s 1 ward, and 1 county councillors its county divisions.
When are the next elections in Upper Dicker?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Upper Dicker’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Upper Dicker?
Band D council tax in Upper Dicker is £2,662 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Wealden District Council?
No party has a majority. As elected, Liberal Democrat 13 · Green 11 · Independent 10 · Conservative 8 · Labour 2 of 44 seats; a majority needs 23. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who controls East Sussex County Council?
As elected, Reform UK 22 · Liberal Democrat 13 · Green 11 · Conservative 3 · Independent 1 of 50 seats; a majority needs 26.
Who won the 2023 council election in Upper Dicker?
In Upper Dicker’s wards on 4 May 2023, Green 1 of the 1 seats up. The Greens had the largest share of votes, 54.6%.
Sources: ONS ward, county division, parish, constituency lookups (Census 2021 output areas; Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates (CC BY 4.0) and EveryElection · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · MHCLG Band D council tax, parish precepts and Revenue Account budgets 2026–27 (OGL v3.0) · ONS mid-2025 population estimates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.