Sir Ed Davey celebrates Liberal Democrat gains in Wiltshire

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has congratulated party campaigners and activists in Wiltshire after their success in the local elections.

He joined local councillors earlier for a match of cricket at Harnham Recreation Ground in Salisbury, after becoming Wiltshire Council’s largest party.

The local elections, which took place on 1 May, saw the Conservatives lose control of Wiltshire after 25 years of power, although no one party achieved half of the total 98 seats in order to have overall control.

Sir Ed said: “We’ve had historic results… here in Wiltshire we have never been the largest party, so across middle England it is the Liberal Democrats gaining from the Conservatives.”

Only 36.19% of people voted on Thursday to decide who should run the local authority, which is responsible for roads, bins and adult social care.

The makeup of Wiltshire Council is now 43 Liberal Democrats, 37 Conservatives, 7 Independents, 1 Labour, and 10 Reform UK.

Sir Ed told the BBC: “We’re absolutely delighted and grateful for all the people who voted for us.

“The fact we’ve overtaken the Conservatives in local government means we’re on track now to overtake them at the next General Election.”

Ian Thorn, the council’s Lib Dem leader, joined Sir Ed at the cricket match and is due to announce his new cabinet this weekend.

Sir Ed said: “I am just so delighted for the people who have all worked so hard and I know they are going to work hard for their communities.

“We get to work now.”

Sir Ed claimed the party was now “nipping at the heels” of the Conservatives in Parliament, and expressed his confidence in “overtaking” the opposition.

“There’s a momentum behind the Democrats and I think we can build on that,” he added.

“I think it’s the beginning of a Liberal Democrat advance across the country.”

The former Wiltshire Council leader, Conservative Richard Clewer, who has been re-elected, described the election result on Friday as “really frustrating”, adding that “it creates some very significant questions Wiltshire needs to answer over the next few days”.