AS the results were announced for Stroud district in the county council elections there were shock losses for both Labour and the Tories but it was party time for the Greens.

Cllr Steve Lydon lost his Dursley division seat to become one of the two shock losses of the night alongside the defeat of Cllr Dorcas Binns in Minchinhampton.

However, the Greens were in a celebratory mood with a hold in Stroud Central through Eva Ward and a dramatic win in Minchinhampton with Rachel Smith by just 27 votes.

The end result in Stroud district leaves the Tories with four seats, Labour with three, the Greens with two and the Lib Dems with one.

Turnout throughout the day was being forecast as lower than in 2013 but the end results saw rises across the district.

All 10 divisions saw improvements, with the largest rises coming from Stonehouse (4.1 per cent) and Wotton-under-Edge (10 per cent).

Bisley & Painswick, Minchinhampton and Nailsworth all scored the joint-top turnout of 46 per cent with Stroud district at a whole scoring 41 per cent – a 6.41 per cent rise from 2013.

The night saw the Conservatives claim a majority hold over Gloucestershire County Council with 31 seats, followed by the Lib Dems with 14, Labour reduced to five, the Greens doubling to two and People Against Bureaucracy maintaining one seat.

The political scene in Cheltenham remained unchanged with continued Lib Dem dominance.

Labour took a heavy defeat into third place in Gloucester, losing three of their four seats.

UKIP lost their representation on the county council in a move which looks to be a national trend.

Results from Cam Valley were the first to roll in with a predictable hold for the Conservatives from Brian Tipper, maintaining his seat with a dominant victory of more than 700 votes.

Next up was Hardwicke & Severn, another Tory stronghold.

Conservative Stephen Davies claimed the seat with a unanimous victory, winning a colossal 58.3 per cent of the vote.

After this was the shock defeat of Stroud District Council leader Steve Lydon, he won the seat by a mere 51 votes in 2013 so this was always going to be a marginal division.

Conservative Loraine Patrick won the seat by 235 votes, an impressive 286 swing.

Next up was Stroud Central where the Green’s managed to hold the seat through Eva Ward.

Labour and the Conservatives but on commendable displays with the three parties all gathering four-figure votes – the total for the division was 506 votes higher as a result, a proud display from the area’s electorate.

Following this was Wotton-under-Edge where Liberal Democrat Cllr John Cordwell maintained his long-standing seat on the county council – and remaining the division’s only elected Lib Dem – earning more than 500 extra votes than in 2013.

Cllr Cordwell will have held a seat on Gloucestershire County Council for 40 years when the elections sweep back around in 2021.

The hotly-contested Nailsworth division was up next which saw Labour’s Steve Robinson win the seat from the Conservatives in a dominant display from both parties – this win balanced Labour’s position in Stroud district.

After this was Minchinhampton where the most votes were cast out of any of the divisions in Stroud district – a startling 4,613 – almost 900 votes more than in 2013.

The Green Party’s Rachel Smith claimed this seat from the Conservatives in a straight shoot-out which saw the Tory’s cabinet member for older people, Dorcas Binns, knocked out of the county council.

Labour’s Brian Oosthuysen won by more than 400 votes to claim the Rodborough division with a dominant display over his nearest rivals the Conservatives.

What was previously thought to have been a potential Green win in Bisley & Painswick turned out to be a sweeping victory for the Conservatives.

The Tory’s Keith Rippington commanded a 933 vote gap over the Green’s Alan Mossman to maintain the seat for his party.

Labour’s leader on the county council Lesley Williams won another victory in Stonehouse to finish the night.

She said: “There are people that still need us, there is a lot of work to be done – particularly relating to our ageing population.

“We’re doing what we can for the people who still need Labour to fight their corner – as we always have.

“Steve was a huge loss for us and we will miss him greatly.”

Her victory will see her term on the county council stretch to more than 20 years.

She beat her nearest rival, the Conservative’s Ginny Smart, by over 400 votes.

Ginny stepped in at the last minute in the place of Ryan Davis, who sadly passed away in March aged just 22.

Stroud District Council chief executive David Hagg said of the Chalford parish councillor: “Ryan, you are in our thoughts – this is for you.”

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