May 5, 2023 7.26 am This story is over 18 months old

Tories lose control of ELDC as Independents take chunk of seats

Conservatives lose overall control
ELDC's hub in Horncastle. | Image: Daniel Jaines

The Conservative party has lost overall control of East Lindsey District Council after several councillors were severed from its final tally and an influx of Independent wins.

The party has taken 26 of the seats available in the district, down from the 31 it held prior to the poll and a total of 47.27%. Meanwhile Independent councillors increased from eight before the election to 16 (including one unaligned councillor).

Elsewhere, Labour managed to gain a seat, while the Skegness Urban District Society and the Liberal Democrats lost one each.

The Greens were also successful in taking one ward with Robert Watson taking 1,048 votes for the party.

Eight of the district’s wards were uncontested this year, for a total of 13 seats split between 10 conservatives, two independents, and a Liberal Democrat. The pre-election result secured the Tories just under a third of the seats before voters went to the polls.

Councillor Craig Leyland managed to keep his seat, unlike three of his counterparts across the county. He received 803 votes in his Woodhall Spa, with fellow Tory Thomas Kemp getting 658.

The final tally for East Lindsey. | Image: ELDC

Meanwhile Labour group leader Ros Jackson also kept her seat along with other regular faces such as Jill Makinson-Sanders, George Horton and Terry Aldridge.

In Withern and Theddlethorpe, which includes the Geological Disposal Facility referred to as a nuclear storage dump, Independent Travis Hesketh received 461 votes. Taking the seats from the Conservative party.

Overall the district did not appear to have taken as much of a swing as some of its neighbours, however, with Boston being taken over by the Independents and South Holland losing its long-time leader, there are some uncertainties in the authority’s future, including the South East Lincolnshire Council’s partnership and how united the councils are against devolution.

Take a look back at the full election coverage overnight on My Local Lincolnshire here.