THE Tories were celebrating this week after holding on to the reins at Basingstoke and Dean Borough Council following last Thursday’s elections.
And Labour was toasting its success in taking a Liberal Democrat and a Conservative scalp.
But the Lib Dems ended the night two seats down after failing to swing any votes their way.
Residents in the borough went to the polls with 21 seats up for grabs, including Popley East at a by-election.
Basingstoke comprises 60 seats covering 29 wards, with between two and three councillors representing each ward.
Unlike at national elections, a third of the council comes up for election each year, with each councillor elected for four years.
The turnout last week was 46 per cent, with the Conservatives returned with 34 councillors. The Liberal Democrats have 13 against Labour’s 11, plus there are two independent councillors.
Conservative leader of the council Andrew Finney said he was delighted with his party’s success.
He said: “I am very pleased with the results. Everybody in the party has worked hard and it’s good to see the confidence placed in us to deliver value for money and good services for Basingstoke and Deane.
“There are lots of challenges ahead and some difficult decisions to take, but we are confident that we are up to the challenge.”
The new faces will prompt a reshuffle of council positions today (Thursday).
Cllr David Leeks is now hoping to become mayor after Cllr Martin Biermann, the borough’s longest serving councillor, said he wants to serve a year as deputy mayor.
In Hart, a similar pattern of results was seen, with Conservative councillors retaining their hold on the district council.
In Hartley Wintney, Tory Sara Kinnell decisively beat the competition and Conservative Brian Burchfield in Hook received 2,035 votes to Labour’s 457 and the Liberal Democrats’ 401.
And in Odiham, leader of Hart District Council Ken Crooks kept his seat, scooping 1,417 votes to the Liberal Democrats’ 456.
In Basingstoke, Labour gained crucial seats at Brighton Hill North and South Ham.
In Brighton Hill, newcomer Carolyn Wooldridge narrowly beat Liberal Democrat Thomas Mitchell for Labour.
After receiving the news of her success at 5am on Friday, Ms Wooldridge said: “It was a challenging campaign – we have made a lot of gains and this is reflected in the votes.
“ I am proud to be able to represent the community.”
Labour spokesman Paul Harvey claimed that voters had lost confidence in the Lib Dems since last year’s general election and the forming of the coalition government.
He said: “Looking at the results tonight, it seems the Liberal Democrat vote has collapsed, and this shows that Labour are the only significant opposition in the council.”
Despite the claims, the Liberal Democrats have more seats on the council, and both Stuart Parker in Eastrop and Ron Hussey in Grove easily retained their seats. For the Conservatives, the main gripe of the night was John Downes failing to take Chineham from independent councillor Martin Biermann.
The party pushed hard for Chineham, prompting Cllr Biermann to accuse them of “dirty politics” over their leafleting campaign in the run-up to the election.
After taking his seat by 83 votes, Cllr Biermann said: “There were times when I was quite worried that I would not get it. I seemed to be their main target.”
The borough council has seen an injection of youth among the new faces.
At the Popley East by-election, 24-year-old Labour candidate, Shelly Phelps, took over from Cllr Mary Brian. And in Hatch Warren and Beggarwood, 22-year-old Conservative Rebecca Bean became the youngest serving councillor. She replaces retiring deputy mayor Phil Heath.
She said: “I am really pleased, I am excited. There is a lot to learn, but there is a great support network. I hope to continue with the fantastic job done before me and am looking forward to joining the team.”
