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Three takeaways from county council elections

James Pearson
BBC Political Reporter, Hereford & Worcester
BBC A man with grey hair and glasses, wearing a pale shirt under a blue fleece, gives the camera a thumbs-up.BBC
Reform UK made significant wins in Worcestershire's election

Worcestershire County Council slipped into no overall control after Thursday's election with no party having a majority of councillors.

Reform UK were the significant winners after the votes were counted as they now have 27 seats, two short of the number needed for overall control.

The big losers were the Conservatives, who went from 45 councillors to 12.

Here are three takeaways from the election:

Reform's rout of the Tories

A group of men look into the camera. One on the right is wearing a blue pin-striped suit over a light shirt and blue tie. Some of the others wear blazers and jackets. Two at the back have glasses. Four have light blue and white rosettes with "Reform UK" written in the centre.
This was the first Worcestershire election in which Reform UK won seats, 27 in total

Almost every seat in the county was affected in some way by the swing towards Reform.

Before this set of elections the relatively new party had never won a seat in the county; now it is the largest party with 27 councillors.

Twenty-six of those gains – based off the 2021 results – were from the Conservatives.

Before polling day, Reform candidates were optimistic but this result has far exceeded their expectations.

Two seats short of an overall majority, they now face a decision - form a minority administration and try to go it alone or find a partner to run the county council with.

Dead Heat

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One result ended up in a dead heat in the election

The most dramatic moment of these elections came in the rural Littletons division, where the Green and Reform candidates had a dead heat - both on 889 votes.

This meant a ballot was drawn with both their names being placed into a box and one drawn at random.

Green candidate Hannah Robson's name came out, meaning she took seat from the Tories.

She acknowledged it was not the ideal way to decide a vote but "that's what we have to work with".

Good day for the Greens

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The Greens now have eight seats on the council

If these elections were evidence voters were disenchanted with the two main Westminster parties, Worcestershire's Greens were the other clear winners.

The party now has eight seats on the county council, five more than in 2021.

They managed to cement their strong position in Worcester itself, with music teacher and parliamentary candidate Tor Pingree defeating the Conservative council leader Simon Geraghty.

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