How neighbouring local elections went

The Conservatives’ poor performance nationally in last week’s local elections was reflected in the authorities neighbouring Herefordshire which went to the polls.

In Monmouthshire the Tories lost their majority in the only Welsh county they previously controlled outright.

However, former Herefordshire Council chief executive Alistair Neill took the Gobion Fawr ward east of Abergavenny for the “Welsh Conservatives”.

While Labour emerged as the largest single party, either they or the Conservatives will now need to work with the five Independents and one Green.

While the Liberal Democrats drew a blank in Monmouthshire, they came out on top in neighbouring Powys, gaining 10 seats, but still nine short of a majority. Again Independents are likely to figure in the resulting power settlement.

In nearby English local elections, the Conservatives forfeited their narrow control of Worcester City Council, having lost three seats, one each to Labour, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats.

The results leave the Tories as still the city’s largest party but without a majority, giving the Greens, now with six councillors, the choice of who to work with.

The BBC reported council leader Marc Bayliss saying voters had “given their verdict on the government” in light of the ongoing Partygate scandal.

The Conservatives did however hold onto Redditch, while the LibDems held Cheltenham, where the Greens took their first seat at the expense of the Conservatives.