Labour take Exeter City Council

Labour have gained Exeter City Council from no overall control in the local elections.

The party followed a clear national trend, gaining five seats; two from the Conservatives and three from the Liberal Democrats.

Labour had previously administered Exeter as a minority, but now hold 24 of the 40 seats.

A particular surprise was the result in St. David's, where Labour's Sarah Laws beat Liberal Democrat Phillip Brock by 32 votes. It was an area Labour admitted not to have canvassed in.

Turnout was low - 33.6% of the electorate voted, with the lowest turnout in St. James' at 23.3% and the highest in Pinhoe at 43.3%. In the last comparative election in 2010, turnout overall was nearly 38%.

The Conseratives still have 11 seats on the Council, losing two to Labour but gaining one from the Liberal Democrats and the St. Loye's seat left vacant by the Liberal Party's Joan Morrish. Mrs. Morrish's retirement meant the end of a Liberal presence.

The underwhelming outcome for the Tories was put down by many to a stronger vote for the United Kingdom Independence Party splitting the vote. UKIP came third in several wards; an improvement for the party on previous elections.

Liberal Democrats had the worst results of the evening. They lost five of their ten seats, matching a disastrous pattern of around 50% losses for the Lib Dems across the country.

A full listing of results is available in PDF format here (Exeter City Council).

All our live coverage of the evening is available here.