THE Conservatives gained control of Richmondshire District Council from the independents, securing 62 per cent of the seats.

Around 64 per cent of residents in the district turned out to vote and a high turnout of younger voters was said to have been noticeable at Thursday’s polling booths in both Richmondshire and Hambleton.

In Richmondshire, Conservatives gained control of the council, which had previously had a majority made up of independent councillors. The Tories now have 21 elected councillors. Four seats went to Richmondshire Independents, two to the Lib Dems and seven seats were won by independent councillors.

Ukip failed to take any seats on the local authority, despite coming second in the General Election for the Richmondshire ward, after Conservative parliamentary candidate Rishi Sunak secured an overwhelming majority of more than 19,000 votes. The Greens also failed to take any seats on the council.

The majority of the seats on the council remain largely unchanged, but newcomers include Karen Kirby, a Conservative councillor who took the Richmond East seat.

One of the largest majority wins in the Richmondshire council elections was sealed by John Blackie, who was also standing in the parliamentary elections.

He won 88 per cent of the vote against his opponent in the Hawes and High Abbotside ward.

Richmondshire District Council’s Jane Parlour, who stood for the Croft ward on Richmondshire District Council as an independent, lost her seat.

The controversial councillor hit the headlines earlier this year when she was found guilty of assaulting her neighbour in Dalton-on-Tees near Darlington.

The district council seat was won by Conservative candidate Sam Gibbs with 368 votes or 49 per cent. Jane Parlous came second with 37 per cent of the vote.

Hambleton District Council was one of the last in the country to announce its election results.

A full list of the Hambleton results will appear in Monday’s edition of The Northern Echo.