Electorate's message to Tony (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Electorate's message to Tony

GREEN candidate Philip Booth was ecstatic after snatching a seat from Labour in Thursday's dramatic local election.

Laurence Carmichael and the other Cainscross candidates on the platform. Picture: Alli Pyrah

The Greens also just missed out on taking control of the Conservative ward of Nailsworth, where Stroud District Council chair Sybil Bruce hung on to her seat by just 70 votes.

But the Conservatives retained overall control of the council, increasing their majority by two.

The party won the Cainscross and Wotton-under-Edge seats from Labour and the Lib Dems respectively, reflecting the national picture.

Laurence Carmichael seized the long-standing Labour seat of Cainscoss, while Chris Routledge took the Wotton-under-Edge seat from Liberal Democrat June Cordwell.

But it was a disastrous night for Tony Blair, as Labour lost 251 seats and control of 18 councils across the UK.

"The Green Party worked very hard in the Over Stroud ward and they probably deserved to win"

Council leader Cllr Chas Fellows (Cons, Chalford)

Meanwhile, the Conservatives gained 247 councillors and control of 12 councils.

The overall turnout in the district was 42 per cent, slightly above the national average.

After safely defending his Chalford seat with a majority of more than 650 votes, council leader Chas Fellows described the results as 'brilliant'.

"It's been a good night for the Conservatives," he said.

But he admitted the results of the Over Stroud seat had come as a surprise.

"The Green Party worked very hard in Stroud and they probably deserved to win," he said.

Meanwhile, jubilant Cllr Booth was looking to the future.

"There's a number of issues I picked up while I was going round campaigning," he said.

"There's a lot of concern about traffic calming in Whiteshill and I am very interested in pushing forward renewable energy and conservation measures.

"We have worked very hard and we think it's time for a change."