Greens win majority control of council for first time in UK

The Greens have won majority control of a council for the first time in the UK amid a triumphant set of local election results, with the party gaining more than 100 seats by mid-afternoon on Friday, above even internal expectations.

With results still coming in, the Greens had won 20 of the 34 seats on Mid Suffolk council, deposing the ruling Conservatives and in the process unseating the former local Tory leader Suzie Morley.

Morley, who predicted early in the count that her party would be ousted, called the outlook for the Conservatives “challenging” and said the “national government hasn’t done us any favours”.

The result is the first majority council rule for the Greens. The party has previously run Brighton and Hove, but as a minority administration.

It also became the largest party on East Hertfordshire council, the first time the Conservatives have lost control of it since 1995 and only the second time in its 49-year history.

After 18 hours of counting and four recounts, the Greens ended up on 19 seats with the Conservatives on 16, the Liberal Democrats on 10 and Labour on five. In 2015 the Tories had won all 50 council seats, and they took 39 in 2019.

The capture of Mid Suffolk, a predominantly rural and traditionally Conservative area based around the town of Stowmarket, and the huge gains in East Hertfordshire highlight how the Greens have moved their scope beyond the capture of Labour areas in cities.

The Greens fought an ultra-local campaign in Mid Suffolk, based on a network of energetic councillors and campaigners who argued the Conservatives had taken the area for granted.

The party looks set to end up as the largest in Forest of Dean, and took the highest vote share in Worcester, falling short of Labour’s seat total but preventing it taking control of the council.

The party said that of 126 net gains by mid-afternoon on Friday, 96 had come from Conservatives. Other gains came in places including Sevenoaks, Worthing and South Kesteven, where the Tory council leader was also removed.

The Greens’ co-leader Carla Denyer said her party had capitalised on “a deep dislike of the Tories and Starmer’s uninspiring Labour”, adding: “But it is also clear that voters have responded positively to our practical solutions to meet concerns on issues such as the cost of living crisis, housing, underfunded and rundown public services and the state of our rivers.”

Her co-leader Adrian Ramsay said it was a “fantastic night” that had surpassed expectations and had given the party momentum ahead of the next general election. He said the party was well placed in areas such as Bristol, Waveney Valley in Suffolk and Herefordshire “because people can see we’re the main challengers on the ground”.

He hailed the “incredible” result in East Hertfordshire, noting the party had won its first seats there only four years ago.