West Northamptonshire Council Election 2021: Live from the count
The Chron news team - reporting live from The Wing complex at Silverstone Circuit - will bring you all the latest news, results and reaction throughout the day and into the evening as counting gets under way on this historical day (May 7).
Polling stations across the county closed at 10pm last night and the election will see candidates across the 31 wards in Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire come together to form the new West Northamptonshire Council unitary authority.
Follow all the action here live with the Chron. Keep refreshing for all the latest updates.
West Northamptonshire Council Election 2021: Live updates, results and reaction
Key Events
- The first elections for the new unitary authority
- Chronicle & Echo reporters are at the count throughout the day
With the recount finally complete and the last of the 31 ward results declared, the count is finished.
No shock with the overall result in the West Northamptonshire Council elections results.
The Conservatives take control of the county’s first unitary authorities, with a very strong grip and large majority in the west. The party has 66 seats, with 51 percent of the overall votes.
Labour has 17, Liberal Democrats has five, Labour and Co-operative has three and there are two independents with seats.
The local elections this time around had a particularly low turnout at 29.98 percent, but many councillors have suggested the slightly lower than normal number is due to Covid.
More updates in the coming days to follow from the newly formed Northampton Town Council election count and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner count.
But for now, it is over and out from Team Chron. Goodnight and thanks for sticking with us throughout count day.
Duston East:
Michael Beardsworth - Lib Dem: 280
Vincent Peter Clive - Heritage Party: 185
Paul Stuart Dyball - Con: 1,284 ELECTED
Dave Green - Northampton Save Our Services: 647
Nigel Leslie Hinch - Con: 1,218 ELECTED
Alan Roger Kingston - Lab: 1,065
Greg Lunn - Con: 1,172
Sandie Maitland - Lab: 1,142
Robert Pettitt - Lab: 969
Barbara Walder - Independent: 745
Turnout: 35.52%
Now it looks like the BBC have gone home too. Still one ward to declare. Chron team staying to the end to finish the coverage!
Eerily quiet in the counting room - just waiting for the last result to come through. Just us and BBC Northampton have stuck it out to the end, all other media gone home.
The deputy leader of West Northamptonshire’s five newly-elected Liberal Democrat councillors say the party has a “solid base”.
“We could have had a better day,” said Jonathan Harris, who secured one of three seats in Brixworth while Conservatives took the others. “But five seats has been a reasonable day. We were always the party that gets squeezed.
“It’s a very good, solid base with lots of councillors who have had experience in county and borough councils.
“I do think the opposition parties need to think more about how they can work together.
“I think the results today have been led by the national picture. The Liberal Democrats need to work harder to get their message across.”