AFTER a day at the polls the Conservatives came away victorious by securing their control over county council and making gains in South Somerset.

Brympton, Chard North, Chard South, Martock, South Petherton and Islemoor, Yeovil Central and Yeovil South all saw seats change hands following the count at Westlands in Yeovil on Thursday night.

Overall, the number of Conservatives representing South Somerset divisions rose by three, from eight to 11, while Liberal Democrat representatives fell from seven to six.

Both successful UKIP candidates at the last election, Nigel Pearson in Chard North and Alan Dimmick in Yeovil Central, lost their seats.

The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives finished with the top two highest votes in every division across the region.

While the Conservative candidate for Crewkerne, Marcus Barrett, made gains of 16.9 per cent, Cllr Mike Best held the seat for the Liberal Democrats, taking over from John Dyke.

In Ilminster, Cllr Linda Vijeh received 53.4 per cent of the vote, making most of her gains from the UKIP party’s Don Kinder, whose vote share fell by 23.6 per cent.

In Chard South, there were losses for UKIP and the Liberal Democrats. Newly standing Independent candidate Dave Bulmer took a large number of their votes, and so Conservative Gemma Verdon was voted in with gains of 8.8 per cent and a win margin of just 97 votes.

Chard North again saw a big reduction in votes for UKIP with gains for Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. Lib Dem candidate Amanda Broom secured victory with 46.4 per cent.

Marcus Fysh, who stood down from his position as Conservative county councillor for Coker, and will be standing for re-election as MP next month, said: “I want to thank everyone who voted, stood, and made the process happen.

“These are encouraging results for Conservatives locally, and we held the county council, however we must not take anything for granted.

“I am so pleased for our great new young councillors. They will bring passion, energy, perseverance and a fresh approach to our local politics, and I really want to work hard with them to get the best possible outcomes for our communities.”

Across the whole of Somerset, the Conservative Party returned 35 councillors, the Liberal Democrats returned 12, there were three successful Labour candidates, three Independent councillors have been elected and two members of the Green Party voted in.

The Liberal Party and UK Independence Party both returned no councillors.

Speaking on Friday, Paddy Ashdown, chairman of Yeovil Liberal Democrats, said: “I would like to thank our many brave and determined candidates, and their teams.

“Yesterday shows that our support in South Somerset is strong, and that the Liberal Democrats are the only option other than the Tories.

“Our local campaigners were particularly struck by the number of people who told us on the door-step that South Somerset deserved better when it comes to our representation in Parliament and only the Lib Dems can provide this.

“Our candidates will work tirelessly at Somerset County Council to represent their constituents and their interests.”

The results mean that the Conservative Group has an overall majority of 15 seats.

Following the election, the successful candidates officially took up office on May 8, which is the same day that the existing councillors officially stood down from their role.

The leader of the council, Conservative candidate John Osman, was not re-elected, so Cllr David Hall will take on the role until a full council meeting on May 24.

A total of 164,405 votes were cast and the overall turnout was 39 per cent.