Lincolnshire County Council: Conservatives win 54 out of 70 seats

Martin Hill, the council's leader, said the result was "a resounding success" for the Conservatives

The Conservatives have held Lincolnshire County Council despite some losses, including one seat by just two votes.

The party took 54 out of 70 seats- a fall of four against 2017.

Former Lincoln MP Karen Lee took the Ermine and Cathedral ward for Labour, winning by the narrowest of margins after two recounts.

Labour held the city council but lost two seats. Leader Ric Metcalfe retained the Glebe ward by just 28 votes.

'Work hard'

County council leader Martin Hill said the result was "a resounding thumbs-up" for the Conservatives.

He said the result would provide stability and allow the group to deliver on its manifesto promises.

Mr Hill told voters the Tories would "work hard for you and take the lessons learned so far," according to the the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Hill, who easily retained his Folkingham Rural seat, pledged to tackle problems with pot holes and fly-tipping as well as campaigning to secure more funding for the authority.

Labour secured four seats on the council - a drop of two from 2017.

Labour councillor Karen Lee thanked voters for helping her to secure her tight victory

Commenting after her narrow victory, Ms Lee, who lost to Karl McCartney in the 2019 general election, said she was "absolutely thrilled".

"I want to thank everyone who went out and voted for me," she said.

The former Labour MP picked up 1,291 votes, beating the Conservative Party candidate Christopher Reid, who won 1,289 votes.

In another close call, the Conservative candidate for St Giles, Nicola Clarke, took the seat from Labour's Robin Renshaw, winning by 19 votes.

The Liberal Democrats and the South Holland Independents also saw gains.

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Labour saw a modest loss of two seats on the City of Lincoln Council, with Liberal Democrat Clare Smalley taking the Abbey ward with a majority of 425.

Similarly, Conservative Matthew Fido gained the Moorland seat from Labour's Geoff Ellis by a majority of 95 votes.

Out of the 11 wards contested, Labour and Conservatives both won five, with the Liberal Democrats winning one.

Labour now has 22 councillors overall, with the Conservatives on 10.

Council leader Ric Metcalfe said: "Given the difficult national background to this I think we've held up pretty well."

"We think we've done a pretty good job for the city in recent years [and] we're still very ambitious," he added.

Votes for the election of Lincolnshire's Police and Crime Commissioner are due to be counted on Saturday.

County council seats

Conservatives 54

Independent 5

Labour 4

Liberal Democrats 3

South Holland Independents 3

Lincolnshire Independents 1

City Council seats

Labour 22

Conservatives 10

Liberal Democrats 1