Winchester City Council election result: Conservatives lose four seats

With 14 seats up for grabs, the Lib Dems gained three from the Conservatives in what were previously safe seats.

The Conservatives lost Bishop's Waltham, Denmead and Alresford & Itchen Valley to the Lib Dems. They also lost Central Meon Valley to the Green Party, giving them all three seats in that ward.

The count was held overnight with the first result announced at around 5am. The result was Lib Dems 11, Conservatives two and Greens one. The Lib Dems had been defending eight and the Tories six.

That means the full makeup of the council is now Lib Dems 33, Conservatives eight, Greens three and one independent. It is the Conservatives lowest-ever total in Winchester.

Veteran Conservative councillor Mike Read lost his seat to the Lib Dem candidate Michael Bennett in Denmead. In Alresford & Itchen Valley Fiona Isaacs lost her seat for the Conservatives to Lib Dem Clare Pinniger. 

After veteran Conservative Frank Pearson stood down, former councillor Linda Gemmell was unable to hold it with another win in the Central Meon Valley ward for the Greens. Suzanne White joins fellow Green councillors Malcolm Wallace and Danny Lee. 

READ MORE: Winchester City Council election results live updates

Michael Kurn's Conservative seat in Bishop's Waltham was gained by Lib Dem candidate Ritchie Latham.

There were fears that former council leader Stephen Godfrey would lose his seat in the Wonston and Micheldever ward, but he was able to hold off stiff competition from Lib Dem candidate Richard Murphy with a majority of 201.

A measure of the Lib Dem dominance is that they polled more than 50 per cent of the votes, that is more than the other candidates combined, in eight contests: St Barnabas, St Michael, St Luke and St Bartholomew in Winchester, and Alresford and Itchen Valley, Southwick and Wickham, Bishop's Waltham and Whiteley and Shedfield.

After the result, council leader Martin Tod said: "We're absolutely delighted. I don't think ever in our history we have won 11 out of 14 seats in a single night. We're delighted people have given us so much support across the whole Winchester district and that we have so many great new councillors joining the team.

"I think a lot of it is down to the record of our councillors on the ground. There is also a factor that people are sick of the Conservative government and there is a real desire for change. People are at the end of the line as far as the Conservatives are concerned."

The Tories had hoped the issue of parking charges in Winchester city centre may have gained traction with the voters but it didn't.

 Conservative leader Caroline Horrill reflected on a poor night. She said: "We're in a difficult political situation nationally. A lot of people are very disgruntled by Westminster and disenfranchised from politics. I felt on the doorsteps that local issues had to prevail rather than national. 

"Stephen Godfrey and Jan Warwick are great councillors who deliver for their communities. But obviously we are in a difficult time. We hope by the time of the general election there will be a better outcome than what we're had today." 

The full results are below:

Wonston and Micheldever

Stephen Godfrey (Con) - 1,423

Richard Murphy (Lib Dem) - 1,222

Dee Wright (Green) - 157

Antony De Peyer (Lab) - 66

Con hold

Majority 201

Turnout - 49.1 per cent

The Worthys

Steve Cramoysan (Lib Dem) - 1,275

Signe Biddle (Con) - 785

Andrew Pogson (Green) - 127

Cameron Hodgkinson (Lab) - 120

Lib Dem hold

Majority 490

Turnout - 43.2 per cent

St Paul

Chris Westwood (Lib Dem) - 1,315

Giles Gooding (Green) - 699

Steve Russell (Con) - 453

Stephen Turner (Lab) - 191

Lib Dem hold

Majority 616

Turnout - 40.2 per cent

St Luke

Jamie Scott (Lib Dem) - 618

Ian Tait (Con) - 212

Alison Cochrane (Lab) - 142

Michael Perrott (Green) - 97

Lib Dem hold

Majority 406

Turnout - 28.5 per cent

St Bartholomew

John Tippett-Cooper (Lib Dem) - 1,237

Lorraine Estelle (Green) - 589

Philip Hutchinson (Con) - 426

Patrick Davies (Lab) - 204

Lib Dem hold

Majority 648

Turnout - 38.9 per cent

Whiteley and Shedfield

Vivian Achwal (Lib Dem) - 1,112

Marcus Garth (Con) - 480

Sean Whelan (Ind) - 350

Kate Needham (Green) - 269

Rosalind O'Shaughnessy (Lab) - 94

Lib Dem hold

Majority 632

Turnout - 34.1 per cent

St Michael

Rachel Aron (Lib Dem) - 1,416

Leo Keay (Con) - 697

Richard Needham (Green) - 347

Peter Marsh (Lab) - 179

Lib Dem hold

Majority 719

Turnout - 41.8 per cent

Central Meon Valley

Suzanne White (Green) - 1,717

Linda Gemmell (Con) - 960

Eric Bodger (Lib Dem) - 579

Oliver Hirsch (Lab) - 80

Green gain from Conservative

Majority 757

Turnout - 44.4 per cent

St Barnabas

Kelsie Learney (Lib Dem) - 1,632

Antonia Cox (Con) - 891

Charlotte Harley (Green) - 365

Lucy Sims (Lab) - 164

Lib Dem hold

Majority 741

Turnout - 45.6 per cent

Badger Farm and Oliver's Battery

Jan Warwick (Con) - 1,618

Anne Forder (Lib Dem) - 1,408

Max Priesemann (Green) - 250

Adrian Field (Lab) - 125

Conservative hold

Majority 210

Turnout 53.9 per cent

Alresford and Itchen Valley

Clare Pinniger (Lib Dem) - 1,768

Fiona Isaacs (Con) - 1,283

Dave Westley (Green) - 148

Tessa Valentine (Lab) - 79

Lib Dem gain from Conservative

Majority 485

Turnout - 47.4 per cent

Denmead

Michael Bennett (Lib Dem) - 1,006

Mike Read (Con) - 986

Andrew Kirby (Lab) - 147

Elizabeth Riley (Green) - 136

Lib Dem gain from Conservative

Majority 20

Turnout - 33.2 per cent

Southwick and Wickham

Angela Clear (Lib Dem) - 1,053

Denise Searle (Con) - 387

Paul Sony (Lab) - 137

Beata Parry (Green) - 125

Lib Dem hold

Majority 666

Turnout - 30.8 per cent

Bishop's Waltham

Ritchie Latham (Lib Dem) - 1,617

Henry Laferla (Con) - 700

Alex Coles (Ind) - 202

Richard Cannon (Green) - 172

Steve Haines (Lab) - 125

Lib Dem gain from Conservative

Majority 917

Turn out - 41.9 per cent