West Lancashire Borough Council turned a deeper shade of blue on May 5th as Conservatives gained two seats bucking the regional trend.
David Griffiths took the Bickerstaffe ward by 70 votes in a gain from Labour. The seat had formerly been held by the leader of the Labour group.
The second gain was in the north of the council area covered by South Ribble Association where Paul Blane took back North Meols from an independent.
The position on the council is now Conservative 33 and Labour 21.
The elections brought a number of fresh faces to the council. Graham Jones replaced Geoff Roberts, a former council leader and West Lancashire’s first Mayor who stood down after 27 years serving residents in Aughton Park. In Wrightington, Pam Baybutt replaced Michael Tattersall whose business commitments as a Director at the Football League led to him standing down at the election.
David Sudworth and Jane Houlgrave replaced the late David Swiffen and Joan Colling in Derby ward and Rufford respectively.