Massive Tory swing in Bournemouth

Tory Cllr Stephen Macloughlin said they would not use chips in bins

The Conservatives have taken control in Bournemouth from the Liberal Democrats after making massive gains.

The Lib Dems had been control in Bournemouth Borough Council but a dramatic swing to the Tories saw 23 seats change hands.

The Tories now have 41 councillors on the council, the Lib Dems seven and Labour three.

Delighted Tory leader Stephen Macloughlin promised a "brighter, cleaner and safer" Bournemouth.

He said the massive swing was, in part, down to the Lib Dem council installing monitoring microchips in household bins.

The Tories also pledged to cancel plans for a new Winter Gardens and call off plans for a new casino.

"The chips in bins fiasco was something that the people of Bournemouth blamed the Lib Dems for," he said.

"It was not explained - people did not trust the Lib Dems on that issue.

"As far as the Conservatives coming in, we've no plans to use the chips for anything at all."

LOCAL COUNCIL RESULTS

	Councillors		Councils
Party	+/-	Total	+/-	Total
After 312 of 312 councils.
CON	911	5315	39	165
LAB	-505	1877	-8	34
LD	-246	2171	-4	23
OTH	-162	1112	0	5
NOC	-	-	-27	85

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Results in more detail

Lib Dem Richard Smith, the former Leader of Bournemouth Borough Council, managed to hold on to his seat and called it a "mixed night" for his party.

"We will come back and we will hold the new administration to account," he vowed.

"We will particularly focus on the vulnerable people in our town and ensure they do not suffer as they did under previous Tory administrations."

All 54 council seats were contested in the unitary authority.

The turnout was 34.35%, up from 32.12% at the last council election.