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Somerset election results 2022: Lib Dems win control

BBC Ed Davey in front of crowd and cameraBBC
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey travelled to Taunton to mark his party's win

The Liberal Democrats have won the Somerset County Council election.

With the final results now declared, they have a majority of 61 seats, out of a total of 110.

The Conservatives have won 36 seats, while Labour and the Green Party have five seats each.

The Conservative Party had been in charge of Somerset County Council since 2009 with the Liberal Democrats in second place.

The Lib Dems will now run the county council for the next year and then the new unitary authority, which will replace the current county and district councils, for a further four years after that.

Bill Revans Liberal Democrats Somerset leader
Liberal Democrats Somerset leader Bill Revans was able to celebrate his party taking control

Bill Revans the new Liberal Democrat leader of Somerset Council said: "We've got some brilliant local councillors who've held their seats.

"After 13 years of the Conservatives being in charge of Somerset County Council I think there was [a feeling of] 'it's time for a change' and people wanted to put the heart back into Somerset."

Taunton's Wellspring Leisure Centre
Counts have been taking place across the county, including Taunton's Wellspring Leisure Centre

Earlier, the party gained the Blackmore Vale ward, where long-term Conservative incumbent William Wallace received the fewest votes of all four candidates.

Lib Dem councillors Peter Seib and Jeny Snell were voted into the Brympton ward and Nicola Clark and Sarah Dyke were elected in Blackmoor Vale.

Coker ward elected Liberal Democrats Mike Hewitson and Oliver Patrick to the two seats available.

Labour took both seats in the Bridgwater North and Central ward.

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After losing his seat, Mr Wallace said "long-term Conservative voters" did not turn out to vote.

"The issues of central Government came up, the partygate problem," he said.

He added that while the election was about local issues, so-called "partygate" had not helped the "local cause".

Leigh Redman
Labour's local leader Leigh Redman was elected in the Bridgwater North and Central ward

A total of 337 candidates fought for 110 seats in the council's soon-to-be abolished district and county electoral system.

The elected councillors will oversee the change from a two-tier system to a unitary authority in 2023.

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