All councils are led by democratically elected councillors who set the vision and direction and represent their local community.
However, West Sussex is part of a programme of devolution and local government reorganisation which will change the current structure of local government across the county. Read more on the future of local government in West Sussex.
Because of this, the council’s elections due to take place on 1 May 2025 were postponed.
On 26 September 2025, the leader of the council wrote to the government with the council’s preference for a single unitary authority for the whole of the county as its preferred option for local government reorganisation. In this letter, the case was made for deferring the next county council elections due to take place in May 2026.
By-elections can be held at any time between scheduled elections, usually if a member resigns or dies.
You can find out which county councillor represents your area and see how the county council is arranged in divisions.
To find out more about what councils do, the role county councillors play and the process for standing for election, look at the short guide to being a county councillor and the member role profile below.
For many councillors a considerable amount of time is spent attending meetings, many of which have a public gallery for local residents to observe the meeting. There is more information in the calendar of meetings.
To find out more about the role and standing for election, visit our Be a councillor web pages:
Find out more about becoming a county councillor (external link)