England local council elections: an incredible set of results

Over 1000 councillors elected, major gains and 20% of the national vote - our highest vote share in a decade.

GAINED control of 12 Councils Including: Chichester, Dacorum, Guildford, Horsham, Mid Devon, South Hams, South Oxfordshire, Stratford on Avon, Surrey Heath, Teignbridge, West Berkshire & Windsor and Maidenhead HELD control of 15 Councils Including: Bath & North East Somerset, Chelmsford, Cotswold, Eastbourne, Eastleigh, Hinckley & Bosworth, Kingston upon Hull, Mole Valley, North Devon, North Norfolk, Oadby & Wigston, St Albans, Three Rivers, Vale of White Horse, Watford, Winchester & Woking GAINED over 400 Councillors We’ve increased our councillor numbers in countless areas, including: East Riding of Yorkshire (+14), Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole (+13), East Devon (+10), Wealden (+9), East Suffolk (+8), Rutland (+8), Tewkesbury (+8), Central Bedfordshire (+7), Lewes (+7), Bracknell Forest (+6), Elmbridge (+6), Herefordshire (+6), Hertsmere (+6), Liverpool (+6), Maldon (+6), Welwyn Hatfield (+6), West Lindsey (+6), Test Valley (+5), Wealdon (+5), East Hertfordshire (+4), Newcastle upon Tyne (+4), Torridge (+4), Blaby (+3), Brentwood (+3), Rochford (+3), South Gloucestershire (+3), North Hertfordshire (+3), Luton (+3), Slough (+3), South Gloucestershire (+3), Torbay (+3) & Wokingham (+3) Among our gained councils is Surrey Heath, where we have taken control from the Conservatives in Michael Gove’s back garden. Senior Conservative cabinet ministers will now be looking nervously over their shoulders. Another key target where we have done well is Elmbridge, which contains Dominic Raab’s Esher and Walton seat. We have gained 6 councillors here, taking 4 from the Conservatives, and are now the largest party. It’s clear that sleaze and scandal surrounding Conservative Ministers over recent months has had a profound impact. Nadhim Zahawi is experiencing a Shakespearean Tragedy in Stratford on Avon as his seat is now controlled by the Lib Dems after we gained 15 seats and took control. Just a few weeks ago we launched the English Local Election campaign in Dacorum in Hertfordshire, where Ed Davey foreshadowed today’s results by toppling a Blue Wall of hay bales in a tractor. This May we took control of the council here - the first time Liberal Democrats have run the council since its creation. Following our stunning victory in Tiverton & Honiton last year, we’ve had a great result in Devon in these elections. We gained Mid Devon and Teignbridge, held North Devon, and made a total of 52 gains across the county. After we made gains in Hull overnight to keep control of the council, we’ve also won seats from Labour in Liverpool - gaining 6 seats from Labour as they lost 9.