County Hall has been turned a shade of blue as the Conservatives swept back into power.

Four years after striking a power-sharing deal and governing without a majority it was an unsuccessful Friday for Labour.

Advertisements

Jennifer Mein’s party lost nine seats on the day as the Conservatives won 46 seats in total to take themselves into a position of control at Lancashire County Council.

Preston’s results remained the same as 2013 – with only Preston South West, a newly created seat – being a close flash point but Labour won by 120 votes.

Former council leader and Conservative group leader Geoff Driver now looks likely to be back in power at the bottom end of Fishergate if he is confirmed as Tory leader.

UKIP won a surprise seat in East Lancashire, unseating one of Labour’s former cabinet members Marcus Johnstone in Padiham.

Preston City Council remains Labour controlled as two by-election results retained the status quo, while Lancashire County Council is now Conservative controlled.

You can see the full election results for each division of the county on the county council website.

The Conservative group were forced from County Hall in the local elections of 2013 and Driver faced questions about the One Connect partnership which had been entered into between the county council and BT.

He was initially a suspect during a two-year criminal investigation into the joint venture with BT – but all charges against him were dropped and Mr Driver considered taking legal action.

One Connect was a company set up in 2011 when Driver was leader of the county council to run various council function with the aim of saving £400million. The two-year investigation into One Connect centred mainly on the actions of former county council chief executive Phil Halsall and the awarding of a multi-million pound fleet maintenance contract.

How do you feel about the election results? What would you like to see change at the county council? Let us know your views in the comments below