The outgoing Conservative leader of South Gloucestershire Council has called the local elections result 'clearly disappointing' but says they show the district’s party is “outperforming” their counterparts in Government.
The Tories’ eight-year hold on power in the authority was swept aside on a night of losses to both Labour and the Lib Dems.
Speaking to Bristol Live as the result became apparent in the early hours of today at the election count at Thornbury leisure centre, Toby Savage said: “It’s clearly a disappointing evening for the Conservatives in South Gloucestershire and it’s clearly the case that national issues are impacting on these local polls.
READ MORE: LIVE: Local Elections 2023 for South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and BANES
“I feel desperately sad for colleagues who have lost seats because of those national factors. I thank them for the work they’ve done over many years to serve their communities.
“I’m encouraged that a number of colleagues have been returned in wards that might well have fallen to the opposition parties were they to be tracking the national position, which suggests that South Gloucestershire Conservatives are outperforming the Conservatives nationally.”
Mr Savage, who is retiring from local politics following the recent birth of his second child, said: “I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to serve my home area, the place where I was born and brought up.
“There is no greater honour than that.
“I’m pleased with what we have been able to achieve together in making South Gloucestershire an even better place to live, work and visit, and that performance has been recognised in the local election results.”
Asked what he thought would happen next at the council with no single group having an overall majority, he said: “Labour has a policy of not going into coalition with the Conservatives.
“So the only two permutations are either a minority Conservative administration or a Lib Dem-Labour coalition.”
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