Local Conservatives achieved a solid result at Fenland District Council, where the party won 35 of the 43 seats.  

While the Conservatives’ may be feeling bruised this morning as they reflect on the overall results across the country, locally, in the Fens at least, they were celebrating. 

Six Independent and two Lib Dem councillors were also elected. No seats were won by Labour or Green Party candidates at the district council.  

Turnout across the district was a key issue raised in many of the candidates’ speeches at the election count which was held at the Hudson Leisure Centre, in Wisbech. 

The Wisbech North ward, for example, had a 17.01 pc turnout and Conservative Lucie Foice-Beard was elected on just 198 votes. 

Among the Local Conservatives re-elected for Fenland included Jan French, Peter Murphy, Steve Tierney, Steve Count and Chris Boden.  

Meanwhile the Lib Dems Gavin Booth and Diane Cutler took both seats in Parson Drive and Wisbech St Mary.  

Independent candidates Dal Roy and Matthew Summers were both elected in the Elm and Christchurch ward.  

In the same ward, Conservative Kneksis Petya was just six votes short of being elected.  

There were other close calls. 

Among them, Independent candidate Mike Corwell narrowly missed out on a seat in March North by just one vote.  

Fellow Independent Paul Hicks one the seat with 553 votes and will be representing the ward’s residents alongside Kim French and Steve Count.