Conservatives extend majority control of Devon County Council

The Conservatives have won control of Devon County Council for the third time in a row.

The Conservatives won 42 of the 60 seats on the new authority with Labour and the Liberal Democrats winning seven seats apiece and three Independents and a Green being elected.

There was an overall turnout of 40.2 per cent of the 601,797 eligible voters.

Council leader John Hart said: “I am very humbled that the people of Devon have placed their trust in us and given us a sweeping mandate to continue our work.

“We’ve had to make some tough decisions over the past eight years and I believe we will have more tough decisions to make in the future.

“But I am confident we have made Devon County Council a more efficient, effective and business-like organisation  and we can now move from austerity to opportunity.

“We need to establish the right climate so that more good, better-paying jobs can be created for our residents.

“We need to ensure that our young people, especially, have better skills.

“We must work more closely together with our partners – particularly in health – to provide better social care for our elderly and vulnerable.

“And we will continue to tell the Government when they’ve got it wrong and when we believe that Devon is not getting its fair share of the national cake in key areas like schools and infrastructure.

“In my eight years as leader, I have always tried to be straight with people about why we have to take the decisions we do.

“But equally I will continue to fight for a fair deal for the people of this county and repay the trust they have shown in this administration.”

Click here for the Devon County Council election results.