May 9, 2013 1.26 pm This story is over 129 months old

Conservatives strike coalition deal to run Lincolnshire County Council

Coalition: The Conservative County Council Leader Martin Hill agreed on a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and several Independent members to continue running the council.

The Conservative Lincolnshire County Council Leader Martin Hill agreed on a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and several Independent members to continue running the council.

The Liberal Democrats in the coalition are: Reg Shore (Skellingthorpe and Hykeham South), John Marriot (Hykeham Forum) and Pat O’Connor (Gainsborough Trent).

Independent Chris Brewis (Sutton Elloe) will also be entering the coalition, along with several other Independent members including Bill Aron (Horncastle and Tetford) and Angela Newton (Spalding West). The breakaway group will rename soon.

Martin Hill said: “This will give us a firm foundation for the next four years, so the council can continue to focus on the issues that matter most to local people. I look forward to working alongside my new colleagues. I’m sure that together we can achieve things that benefit all our local communities.”

Conservatives won just 36 seats this year, down from 61 at the last election, losing overall control of the council after the May 2 local elections.

Conservative County Council deputy leader Eddy Poll lost his seat to UKIP’s Richard Fairman in Spalding.

Conservative head of finance Kelly Smith and head of adult social care Graham Marsh lost their seats in Lincoln Moorland and Alford and Sutton as well.

UKIP gained 16 seats, with the first in Lincoln by Jane Smith in the Hartsholme ward.

In Boston, three UKIP candidates from the same family won seats, with a fourth narrowly missing out.

UKIP will now form the opposition at the County Council.

Labour won 12 seats, Lincolnshire Independents had 8 seats, Liberal Democrats 3 seats and Independents won 2 seats.

Since the elections, Lincoln West councillor Rob Parker, leader of the Labour Group on Lincolnshire County Council, has stood down from his role after 22 years.

Councillor for Louth South John Hough, the Deputy Leader for the past eight years, is the new Labour Group Leader.

John Marriott also stepped down as leader of the Liberal Democrats in Lincolnshire. Former MP candidate Reg Shore took over, who also won the Skellingthorpe and Hykeham South ward seat.

The turnout was just 29% county-wide. In Lincoln the turnout was at 26%.

You can review the full results from the Lincolnshire local elections with our interactive map and the elections live blog.