County Council elections matter because public safety matters

Lives & property at increased risk

There are those who try to defend the deterioration in our fire & rescue service by suggesting we no longer need the same resources. I think the people who suffered in these very recent incidents might disagree. 

Only this week, one Reform County Councillor, Stuart Barclay, who defected from the Conservatives, claimed that we don't need the same resources because "incidents are at a record low". Not only a false claim, but fundamentally flawed thinking. The number of incidents has never been a factor in determining fire service resources.    

The relevant factors are to ensure that at any time, there can be a quick and effective response to any emergency, anywhere in West Sussex, that when additional or specialist resources are needed they arrive quickly, and that when several incidents occur at the same time they can all be dealt with effectively.

There are more incidents, not less:

1975 - 28 fire stations and 46 frontline fire engines

 for an average of under 100 emergencies a week.

2025 - 24 fire stations and 35 frontline fire engines 

for an average of over 170 emergencies a week.

To make matters worse, up to two thirds of those 35 remaining frontline fire engines can be without enough firefighters to crew them. This all results in longer response times, which results in greater risk to lives and property.

The Conservatives have seriously neglected our fire & rescue service

Why voting on Thursday matters for the fire & rescue service

These County Council elections will determine who manages our fire & rescue service for the next two years, and who prepares it for the expected amalgamation with East Sussex. If we want an effective fire & rescue service for the future we have to elect the right County Councillors.

There are those who are misleading voters by suggesting a vote for them will help remove the current Government. It won't, the Government has a substantial majority so, like it or not, Labour will be in Government until the next general election in 2029. 

Vote in the right people now and there is hope for a better fire & rescue service. 

Vote in the wrong people and there will be more cuts, more deterioration, and more risk for us all.

Who are the right people? 

It certainly isn't the Conservatives, as the deterioration of our fire & rescue service rests squarely with them. It isn't Reform, they have a lot of Conservative defectors standing, plus many more unknown candidates with no record of public service. The only local comments from Reform suggest that they are content with a less effective fire & rescue service, so they may well make further cuts.

That leaves Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrat, and Independent candidates. I am satisfied that those political parties understand the problems of an under-resourced fire & rescue service, and it was Labour and Liberal Democrat County Councillors who fought the cuts and have supported the service and firefighters. The Independent candidates vary, with some supportive and others more in tune with Conservative cuts.

Choosing a candidate to oust the Conservatives becomes a little more difficult, as core support for different parties varies in different parts of the County. An indication of who that might be could be if that party has an MP in the area, or if they already run borough or district councils in your local area. Another is if they keep in regular touch with residents via leaflets, social media, and canvassing, or do you only hear from them at election time?

From my research of policies, and discussions with different political parties, I do not believe our fire & rescue service will be safe in the hands of the Conservatives or Reform.

Your vote matters on May 7th

If you value an effective fire and rescue service and support our firefighters, then please choose Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrat, or Independent candidates who do want to provide an effective fire & rescue service.

The County Council election matters for West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service

These elections are about local services

They are not about national issues

There are those who will try to persuade you that voting for their Political Party's candidates will change what is happening in Westminster and Downing Street. It won't, but it will determine not only who is running our fire & rescue service for the next two years, but how it will be set up to cover the whole of Sussex in the years to follow.  

On May 7th we will have the chance to vote for those candidates we trust to support our fire & rescue service, and will work to keep us all safe. It is very clear that the Conservatives have, since 2010, let our fire & rescue service deteriorate to the sorry state it is in today. 

We need County Councillors who will run 

West Sussex County Council properly 

So, who should we vote for?

Well, I see no possibility of Conservative candidates undoing the damage their party has done to our fire & rescue service. Damage that has resulted in substantially longer response times, seriously reduced service resilience, and inadequate protection for residents. 

Many county councillors are not seeking re-election, but these are the Conservatives who are. They are also ones who previously voted for cuts to the fire & rescue service, and  don't deserve to be re-elected:

Richard Burrett (Pound Hill)

Michael Cloake (Durrington & Salvington)

Janet Duncton (Petworth)

Jeremy Hunt (Chichester North)

Amanda Jupp (Billingshurst)

Bob Lanzer (Maidenbower & Worth)

Simon Oakley (Chichester East)

Ashvin Patel (Bognor Regis West & Aldwick)

Bryan Turner (Broadwater)

The Conservatives have not supported firefighters or the safety of our communities

Who voted to stop damaging fire & rescue service cuts?

The Labour and Liberal Democrat county councillors voted against the cuts and have shown strong support for our fire & rescue service, so I believe their candidates will continue to fight for improvements to public safety. It is interesting to note that we now have two former county councillors, one Labour and one Liberal Democrat, who supported the fire & rescue service, and are now Members of Parliament.  

These are the county councillors from those parties who are standing and who voted against fire & rescue service cuts. They deserve to be re-elected:

Chris Oxlade (Bewbush & Ifield West)

Robin Rogers (Worthing West)

James Walsh (Littlehampton East)

Labour and Liberal Democrat county councillors support our fire & rescue service

Candidates from other political parties

Past conversations with Green Party members indicate that they understand the dangers posed by an inadequately resourced fire & rescue service, so I believe that their candidates will support the service. If they are the candidate in your area that is most likely to keep a Conservative from being elected, it may well be worth lending the Green Party your vote.

Now what about Reform candidates? Well, the only Reform county councillors on West Sussex County Council, who were elected as Conservatives and then defected, have done nothing to support our fire & rescue service. Like the party's leadership, who are almost all ex-Conservatives, I only see hard line Conservative policies under a new label. That will inevitably result in more cuts to the fire & rescue service, and even worse attacks on firefighter pay and conditions.

Since the election was announced, I have only heard from the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, and Reform. I know there are a Green Party and a Labour candidate standing locally, but I suspect their efforts are focussed on other areas. However, the contact I have received so far is quite revealing.

Reform being unwilling to name their candidate in their leaflets, or tell me anything about them, and their failure to mention anything about West Sussex County Council is quite disturbing. It indicates that they don't understand the problems at the council, which means they won't have any solutions. It also shows they have no real interest in what happens to our fire & rescue service. 

Not telling voters who their candidate is suggests that they would rather we didn't know about their candidate's past, their views, their ability, or perhaps the lack of it. 

Who you choose to vote for is entirely a matter for you, but if you want an effective fire & rescue service, I would urge you to choose someone who has the best chance of defeating the Conservative and Reform candidates. 

That may mean not voting for your usual choice or may mean voting differently to how you would vote in a General Election, but getting the right candidates elected has never been more important for our fire & rescue service.

Support the future of our fire & rescue service by choosing your County Councillor wisely on May 7

Conservative County Councillors put West Sussex residents in greater danger

Longer waits for less effective response

When your life or property is in danger, you may wonder why help is taking longer to arrive. The simple answer is that firefighters are coming as quickly as possible but are now increasingly likely to be coming from further away.

When they arrive, you may also wonder why they take longer to carry out rescues and firefighting. The answer is that, instead of five or six firefighters on a fire engine, there will now usually be just four. When a minimum of five firefighters are required to safely and effectively deal with most incidents, and building fires need at least nine firefighters, more time is lost waiting for back up crews from fire stations even further away.  

None of this is the fault of firefighters, so who is to blame?

The answer is simple, Conservative County Councillors.

Population and incidents up, resources down

Since 1975, the County’s population has increased by nearly 40%, and the fire & rescue service is attending over 50% more incidents each year. Yet the Conservatives have made significant cuts to our fire & rescue service, leaving it slower and less effective. They went ahead with cuts even though their modelling said there would be increased loss of life and increased property damage as a result.

Since 2010, the Conservatives have:

Closed 4 fire stations

Cut a quarter of frontline fire engines &

now provide 231 fewer firefighters (a third less)

 Inadequate crewing can see up to three quarters of frontline fire engines unavailable

You may feel reassured when you see a fire engine in your nearest fire station, but it is useless without firefighters. Too often, when you need help, it will sit idle in the fire station because Conservative County Councillors don’t ensure there are enough firefighters available to crew it.

There are now only 35 frontline fire engines in West Sussex, there were 46, and during the day up to two thirds may not be available. At night, three quarters of the County’s fire engines depend on retained (on call) firefighters who are not always available.

Assets worth up to £10 million can sit idle during emergencies for lack of firefighters

Specialist rescue only available during the day

The Conservatives have also stopped providing 24 hour availability of the Technical Rescue Unit. This specialist team have additional training to carry out rescues from the most extreme situations, but they are now only available from 7 am to 7 pm. Conservative County Councillors will tell you that neighbouring fire & rescue services will come to your aid at night, but they don’t specify how far they will need to travel and how much longer your life will be in danger.

Conservatives are neglecting those in extreme danger at night

Who to vote for on May 7th

It is important not to be distracted by national government performance and national issues, as the only election that matters for anyone concerned about having an effective fire & rescue service is the County Council election. In my experience, how politicians have performed is usually a good indication of how they will perform in future. 

So, it will be no surprise that I think the Conservatives have failed the residents of West Sussex, so who has not?

Both Labour and Liberal Democrat County Councillors have campaigned to stop the Conservative fire & rescue service cuts and have worked hard to highlight the disastrous consequences of those cuts. Sadly, the response from the Conservatives has simply been to withhold information, including unlawful refusals of freedom of information requests, to cut performance standards to hide the consequences of their cuts and mismanagement, and to make false claims. Cuts are not 'improvements'.

Only Labour & Liberal Democrat County Councillors have campaigned to save our fire & rescue service and to support our firefighters

Latest figures show continuing County Council failure to protect West Sussex residents

More fire engines with no firefighters to crew them 

Someone recently asked for information on the availability of all retained (on-call) crewed fire engines. The data provided, in response to their freedom of information request, confirms that West Sussex County Council is seriously failing to crew fire engines properly.

In 2025, nearly 70% were unavailable more often than they were available. 

One was only available for the equivalent of 48 days!

The image illustrates shocking and inadequate availability

The exact availability figures released are shown on the left

In their continuing obsession with secrecy, they don't say which fire stations are affected. They also failed to provide data for the four fire engines that are crewed by on-call firefighters at night (Wholetime firefighters crew one fire engine at Burgess Hill, East Grinstead, Haywards Heath, and Shoreham, but only from 7 am to 7 pm).

Conservative spin

So what has the County Council done to improve this dire situation? In his report to this Friday's County Council meeting, Cabinet Member Duncan Crow says nothing about fixing the problems. He just claims that the new Community Risk Management Plan 2026 - 2030 will build on the "success" of the previous CRMP 2022 - 2026. 

That "success" is availability that is 10% worse now than in 2022! 

The "success" is also longer response times and extended target times, which are intended to hide the deteriorating situation from the public. This is not a plan to fix any problems, just a wish list that lacks sufficient funding to achieve any improvements. 

Conservative Failure

It is important to remember that the fundamental failure does not rest with those in the fire & rescue service, but with those in charge at West Sussex County Council - Conservative County Councillors. I acknowledge that before 2010, the service they provided could be considered adequate, but since then it has been a sad story of continuing decline, failure, and cover up.

Not only have they closed fire stations, and cut a quarter of frontline fire engines since 2010, there are now 228 fewer firefighters (full time equivalent) to protect West Sussex residents. Add in the County Council's increasing failure to crew the remaining fire engines, and it is inevitable that response times are getting worse, especially in rural areas. 

The only County Councillors who have consistently stood up for residents and the fire & rescue service have been Labour and Liberal Democrat County Councillors. 

With strong public support, the Labour and Liberal Democrat Councillors have made strenuous efforts to oppose cuts and to expose the council's failing management of the service. Yet the Conservatives just ignore genuine concerns about the increased risk to lives and property, and arrogantly continue failing to provide an effective fire & rescue service.

With May elections restored, the public will now have an opportunity to choose who they want to run their fire and rescue service for at least the next two years. 

Choose wisely on May 7th