Winchester City Council emerges from one of the most keenly contested elections in many years finely balanced but Conservative leader George Beckett is expected to form a new adminsitration with support from Independent councillors and newly returned Labour councillor Chris Pines.
The authority had been run by the Liberal Democrats for just one year since May 2010 but had recently slipped into no overall control after a number of damaging defections from the party locally.
The political make-up of the council following the May 5 2011 District elections is as follows:
Conservatives = 27
Liberal Democrat = 27
Independent = 2
Labour = 1
Steve Brine said; "We fielded one of our strongest teams of candidates for many years, including some fresh new people who are really reviving the Conservatives at local Government level here. They fought some good and positive campaigns in individual wards, and while some were not successful this time, a number were elected and that proved decisive in the end. Things look very bright for the future - many of those who didn't make it are aready asking when the next local elections are taking place!
"I stand ready to work with the new administration at the Guildhall and hope all councillors, including those from the outgoing Lib Dem team, will pull together. The financial crisis means there are some really tough times ahead and we need everyone to work together in the Winchester interest."
There were no elections this year in the Chandler's Ford and Hiltingbury wards of Eastleigh Borough Council which make up part of the Winchester constituency.
Voters across Winchester & Chandler's Ford were also voting this week in the AV referendum. The results of the poll in the Winchester District (which includes part of the Meon Valley constituency) were - Yes 15,005, No 32,857. The result in the Eastleigh Borough (which includes part of the Eastleigh constituency) were Yes 12,797, No 28,644.
Steve adds; "I am really delighted local voters have done their bit to reject the Alternative Vote. If they are honest, even the yes camp didn't want AV. I back first-past-the-post and always have; one person, one vote is a central part of our democracy and I am glad we have protected that. AV would have been a disaster for our country and our democracy. I hope we can all now move on and focus on the issues that matter most of all including reform of our public services, tackling the threat posed by climate change and of course, battling the UKs huge budget deficit."
More information ...
See WCC results in full here.