Weeks of campaigning is over, polls are shut and the results of the Leicestershire local elections have started coming in.
Results from Hinckley, North West Leicestershire and Melton came in overnight and you can find the results below.
Today we'll find out the winners in the Leicester, Harborough, Blaby, Oadby, Charnwood council elections, as well as the Leicester mayoral election.
Chances are you’ve more than likely had a leaflet or two shoved through your letter box or had a person behind a rosette knocking on your door in the last few weeks.
The appearance of politicians on your street can only mean one thing – there’s an election round the corner and they want your cross in their box.
Yesterday Leicestershire had the chance to cast their vote to decide who will run authorities in the city and county.
Voters get to elect new sets of councillors for the next four years.
It’s the chance to return politicians who you feel have been doing a good job and get rid of any who haven’t.
Elections are taking place for the following roles.
Click the links below to see the results as they come in.
- Leicester City Mayor
- Leicester City Council
- Harborough District Council
- Oadby and Wigston Borough Council
- Blaby District Council
- Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council
- North West Leicestershire District Council
- Charnwood Borough Council
- Rutland County Council
- Melton Borough Council
If you have an election story contact LeicestershireLive politics reporter Dan Martin at daniel.martin@reachplc.com or local democracy reporter Amy Orton at amy.orton@reachplc.com
Key Events
Thanks for following - and more for you to read!
We are going to bring the blog to a close now. Thanks to everyone who has been following it. There’s been a lot of you!
Below are some of the wrap-up articles which have gone online from each of the counts.
There will also be much coverage of the elections in tomorrow’s Mercury.
- Sir Peter Soulsby: ‘Labour is delivering for Labout - but there is much still to do’
- Harborough gets first Labour councillor for 12 years as Tories retain control
- Lib Dems increase majority in Oadby and Wigston
- Tories hold Blaby - but with fewer seats
- Hinckley and Bosworth changes hands as Lib Dems take control
- Tories hold North West Leicestershire - just
Labour take more Tory scalps
The final result for Charnwood is in, and it’s more bad news for the Tories.
Rachel Baker - GREEN 329
Gill Bolton - LAB 771 - ELECTED
Alice Brennan - LAB 669 - ELECTED
Alex Guererro - LIB DEM 217
Martin Moreland - UKIP 304
Kevan Stafford - British Democrat 121
Chris Stewart - CON 520
Ian Williams - CON 419
Labour have taken both seats. Gill Bolto and Alice Brennan were elected.
The ward was previously held by the Conservatives.
Labour take seat from Tories
Paul Boldrin - LAB 616 ELECTED
Roy Campsall - IND 1,016 ELECTED
Chris McGurk - UKIP 289
Christopher Price - LAB 571
Graham Waller - CON 576
Labour have taken a seat from the Conservatives, with Paul Boldrin being elected.
City council ward results in full
All the council results are now in for the city. There’s a ward-by-ward breakdown here.
Sir Peter delighted to be reelect as mayor of the great city of Leicester
“Obviously I am delighted to be elected for a third time as the mayor of this great city.
“It is a city with a wonderful past and a great future ahead.
“This result shows people see that Labour is delivering for Leicester.
“We have been the only party with a clear and consistent vision for the future.
“Now it is our responsibility to deliver what we have promised.
“We also need to work to get a Labour Government which will help repair all the damage the Tories have caused in this city.”
That's a wrap
The final ward to be declared in Oadby and Wigston is Wigston St Wolstan’s. No surprises here, two more seats for the Lib Dems.
Frank Broadley - LIB DEM - 1,266
Linda Broadley - LIB DEM - 1,265
Mukesh Dave - CON - 359
Clare Koslowski - LIB DEM - 1,199
Cue the standard celebration pic...
Final result
Tories - 2
Lib Dems - 24
Cheers as Sir Peter Soulsby is confirmed for third term
Massive cheers as Labour’s Peter Soulsby is confirmed as mayor for a third term.
He secured 51,444 votes and got 61.1 per cent of first choice ballots. It’s a huge win.
Tory Baroness Verma second but way behind with 14,519. Green Mags Lewis came third.
Fourth was Lib Dem Nigel Porter, followed by UKIP’s Stuart Young, socialist Steve Score, and independent Sanjay Prem Gogia.
You can read all of the results in full here.
Sir Peter Soulsby re-elected as Leicester Mayor
Sir Peter Soulsby has been re-elected as the Mayor of Leicester with 61% of the vote.
The Labour candidate received a total of 51,444 votes. Second-placed was Baroness Sandip Vermna (CON) with 14,519.
City results in full here.
'I did have some trepidation . . . but I can’t help but be quite pleased'
The Liberal Democrats now have 10 seats on Harborough District Council - one more than at the last election.
Meanwhile, Neil Bannister, the leader of the council, has won Dunton with 577 votes to Elaine Carter’s (LAB) 168. He said:
I’m certainly feeling relief but also quite pleased about how the day has actually gone.
This morning I did have some trepidation.
But, bearing in mind what’s happening nationally, I can’t help but be quite pleased.
I think the good, positive record that we have to tell our residents did resonate and they have returned that confidence in us.
I’m very pleased.
*OPPOSITION KLAXON*
The hotly-anticipated Grange ward result is now in. And there will be some opposition here in Oadby and Wigston.
Naveed Alam - LIB DEM - 640 ELECTED
Santokh Athwal - LIB DEM - 638
Salim Boodhoo - CON - 614
Kamal Ghattoraya - CON - 685 ELECTED
Priti Josh - CON - 715 ELECTED
Haf Katib - LIB DEM - 564
Thurmaston - results
Matthew Brookes - CON - 815 - ELECTED
Lyndsey Derbyshire - LAB - 728
Shane Durrant - UKIP - 443
Pete Goffin - LAB - 778
Mark Lowe - CON - 977 - ELECTED
Paul Newman - FREEDOM PARTY - 299
Brenda Seaton - CON - 1,081 - ELECTED
Cassandra Soulsby - LAB - 769
Standing Conservative councillors Matthew Brookes, Mark Lowe and Brenda Seaton in Charnwood Borough Council’s ward of Thurmaston all retained their seats.
'You're not a councillor until you sign here...'
Councillor Amandeep Kaur who ousted opposition leader Bhupen Dave signs on the dotted line.
WIgston Fields result now in and you won’t believe it but the Lib Dems have held onto another three seats.
Bill Boulter - LIB DEM - 1,152 ELECTED
Helen Loydall - LIB DEM - 1,165 ELECTED
Kevin Loydall - LIB DEM - 1,097 ELECTED
Jack Newcombe - CON - 325
I’m reliably informed that there will be two Tory councillors when the Grange ward result comes in.
'Brexit has reared its ugly head'
Michael Rickman (CON) has spoken to our reporter Chris Jones about winning in Nevill ward. He took 668 votes against the 377 of Lib Dem Grahame Hudson:
I’ve enjoyed the last four years and I look forward to enjoying the next four
Asked about the main topic of conversation during the campaign, he simply replied:
Well, I don’t think I have to say really. Obviously Brexit has reared its ugly head.
The big problem was getting over to the electorate that they were talking about local politics, not national, and not to cane the council for things that are handed down by government.
We are more about local facilities and keeping our council tax as low as we can and obviously that got mixed up with all of the dissatisfaction with all of politics at the moment.
But Harborough District Council is a very effective and efficient council and we look forward to the next four years in increasing that and looking after our residents.
Opposition leader loses his seat
Bhupen Dave (CON) has lost his Oadby Woodlands ward seat.
Bhupen Dave - CON - 456
Dean Gamble - LIB DEM - 657 ELECTED
Niku Ghattoraya - CON - 342
Amadeep Kaur - LIB DEM - 580 ELECTED
Adam Krupa - LAB - 183
Pauline Pratt - GREEN - 138
Brocks Hill result is in too and guess what, Lib Dems hold two more seats...
Mohammed Darr - LIB DEM - 867 ELECTED
Richard Harrison - CON - 306
Jeffrey Kauffman - LIB DEM - 922 ELECTED
Aman Marwaha - CON - 208
So, still no opposition. Attention seems to have turned to the Grange ward table where the two current councillors are both not standing. I’m hearing the word recount being bandied about...
Lone Tory loses his seat
Big moment.
Leicester only had one Tory councillor going into this election
It was Ross Grant - the serving Lord Mayor.
But he has just lost his Knighton seat.
Labour has won all three seats in the ward.
This is turning into a rotten day for Leicester’s Tories.
Sileby - results
George Addinall - UKIP - 334
Scott Armitage - LIB DEM - 163
Kaisra Khan - LAB - 296
Valerie Marriott - LAB - 325
Paul Murphy - CON - 632
Andy Paling - CON - 602
Billy Richards - GREEN - 412
The two standing Conservative councillors, Paul Murphy and Andy Paling retained their seats, with the Green Party in third place.
Could this be any more Coldplay?
A senior Lib Dem source has just told he thinks the party are within 50 votes of winning every seat on the council.
Strong rumours that Bhupen Dave, the Tory leader here has lost his seat meaning there’s the potential for a yellow-wash (if that’s a thing).
So far there is no opposition in Oadby and Wigston and while that might look like a huge success, some councillors are telling me they are concerned that the lack of external scrutiny will result in internal scrutiny instead.
Five wards still to declare, 13 seats still up for grabs. Stay tuned...
Labour has control of the city council
It’s not much of a surprise, but Labour has regained control of the council.
Twenty-eight was the magic number of seats they needed to secure a majority.
They have just surpassed that figure.
Fifteen of the 21 wards in the city have been declared, and Labour has won 34 seats so far.
Only one opposition councillor has earned a seat - a Lib Dem.
All the seats so far have been held by sitting councillors, with Labour candidates achieving some massive majorities.
Labour mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, who is poised to be returned for a third term in office, said:
I am delighted. People in Leicester have given a clear indication in their faith in Labour.
“In some areas Labour has struggled because of the Brexit issue, but there was no sign of that here.”
Lib Dem gain
The Lib Dems take a seat from Tory Ted Barr in Wigston Meadowcourt. Looking very yellow here in Oadby and Wigston, isn’t there a Coldplay song that might be appropriate?
Ted Barr - CON - 531
Liz Darling - CON - 587
Shingara Dhillon - CON - 460
Robert Eaton - LIB DEM - 857 ELECTED
David Loydall - LIB DEM - 891 ELECTED
Sharon Morris - LIB DEM - 847 ELECTED
Maureen Waugh - LAB - 246
35.91 per cent turn out
Loughborough Storer - results
Sandie Forrest - LAB 464 ELECTED
Judy Shields - CON 218
Jenni Tillotson - LAB 410 ELECTED
Wesley Walton - GREEN 274
Labour’s Sandie Forrest and Jenni Tillotson both retained the Charnwood Borough Council Loughborough Storer Ward seats.
Syston East - results
Simon Bradshaw - CON 656 ELECTED
Sharon Brown - LAB 418
Andrew Haynes - GREEN 365
Mike McLoughlin - LAB 290
Ken Pacey - CON 614 ELECTED
Conservatives retained the seat of Syston East. Ken Pacey was re-elected along with new councillor Simon Bradshaw, who stood after long serving member Stephen Hampson decided not stand.
'Strange turns' in East Goscote
The political landscape of East Goscote has taken some strange turns in the past few years, to say the least. In 2011, the Charnwood Borough Council seat was held by the BNP’s Cathy Duffy. Then, in 2015, the Conservatives gained control, with Coun Sue Gerrard, who did not stand this time round. But now, with a resounding 575 votes, compared to the Tory total of 273, East Goscote has turned a shock Green, with Laurie Needham winning the seat.
Speaking after the win she said she thought the hard work they had put in locally, along with voters feeling tired of the two party system, were the main factors.
She said:
I’m a little bit overwhelmed, but really pleased. A lot of green issues are on the political agenda at the moment and we spoke about that, such as the mass building in the country side.”
Wycliffe - results
Hanif Aqbany - LAB - 4,539
Abdulrahim Bhagat - CON - 345
Aasiya Bora - GREEN - 190
Mohammed Dawood - LAB - 4,142
Abdul Master - CON - 372
William Tench - LIB DEM - 157
Final results for Blaby
Conservative - 25 seats
Labour - 6 seats
Liberal Democrats - 6 seats
Green - 1 seat
Independent - 1 seat
Final ward result
Same as always for Winstanley. Those are the final results now.
Sharon Betts - LAB, 141
Elliot Conway - CON, 420
Alex Dewinter - LAB, 471 ELECTED
David Di Palma - INDEPENDENT, 220
Richard Forrest - CON, 405
Tracey Shepherd - LAB, 428 ELECTED
Christiane Startin-Lorent - GREEN, 300
Ben Taylor - CON, 435 ELECTED
Expelled Tory candidate news
On the day before polling day Conservative Abbey ward candidate David Haslett was expelled from the party over posts shared from his Facebook account about race, sexuality and Far Right politics.
He remained on the ballot paper as the deadline for withdrawing had passed.
He got 599 votes and came third behind the two Labour candidates.
He beat the other Tory candidate who got 521 votes.
Wigston All Saints - results
There seems to be a pattern emerging. Lib Dems hold another three. This time in Wigston All Saints
Lee Bentley - LIB DEM - 1,182 ELECTED
Michael Charlesworth - LIB DEM - 1,140 ELECTED
Callum Darling - CON - 324
Lynda Eaton - LIB DEM - 1,157 ELECTED
Ten seats so far, just four more needed for the majority. Pretty safe to assume they’ll get them according to candidates totting up ballot papers in the baskets.
Leader getting restless
John Boyce has said I can definitely quote him as saying “God, this is taking sooooo long.”
No comment from me on that one.
But John’s wait is now over. He’s retained his South Wigston seat and the other two that were up for grabs stayed yellow as well.
Rosemarie Adams - LIB DEM - 848 ELECTED
Helen Beynon - LAB - 312
John Boyce - LIB DEM - 792 ELECTED
Oliver Bryan - CON - 347
Stephen Maggs - LAB - 290
Richard Morris - LIB DEM - 745 ELECTED
Mason Shipley-Jones - CON - 377
Jack Taylor - CON - 364
Scott Towers - LAB - 289
25.82 per cent turn out - the lowest in the borough
Syston West - results
James Adcock - LAB 236
Tom Barkley - CON 632 ELECTED
Michael Smith - LAB 316
Eric Vardy - CON 610 ELECTED
Matthew Wise - GREEN 290
Two Tory Charnwood Borough Council stalwarts, Tom Barkley and Eric Vardy, have been re-elected to the Syston West Ward.
Saxondale ward - results
The Liberal Democrats have retained their seats in this ward.
Mason Cashmore - CON, 344
Suresh Chauhan LAB, 227
Sue Findlay - CON, 332
Christine Merrill - LIB DEM, 880 ELECTED
Alan Methven - LAB, 214
Eanna Pemberton-Mee - LAB, 395
Bev Welsh - LIB DEM, 883 ELECTED
Geoff Welsh - LIB DEM, 910 ELECTED
Just one more ward to go.