The outgoing leader of Warwick District Council insisted there would be no pity party among the Conservatives after losing power. 

Cllr Andrew Day, who survived in his own seat by just five votes after a recount, felt the loss of 10 seats Tories had been the result of national trends.

None of the three held by independents, who were voted in as Conservatives in 2019, were reclaimed either. 

"It is democracy and this is what makes this country so great and so strong. We have to be prepared to allow the people to express their views," said Cllr Day. 

"We have heard that today, I hung on – thank God – in a community that has changed a lot over the past four years and I am ready to serve.

"I don't think I would be alone in saying it has been a national response. 

"For many people who have moved into our communities for the first time since the last election, they are voting on a national response. 

"Many others – and we see it particularly in my seat – who have been there longer are more interested in some of the local issues so it will be interesting to see how it evolves.

"I am not pinning blame on the current prime minister. We have had a very tumultuous couple of years, coming out of Covid, et cetera. Our whole society needs a bit of reassurance and leadership and we just have to buckle down and get things done." 

The Greens were the big winners, gaining six seats to become the biggest party with 14, while Labour also gained six overall to move up to 11 and the Liberal Democrats got one more to move up to 10.

Whitnash Residents' Association successfully defended the only three that they contested. 

As expected, no party emerged with a majority – the magic number would have been 23 – so the Greens are likely to lead the way with negotiations over how any coalition or mixed cabinet may work but Cllr Day says the remaining Conservatives are ready to play their part. 

"In Bishop's Tachbrook there are council plans for delivering the country park," he added. 

"We published our action plan and I will be making sure that it is at the forefront of the debate I have with every group.

"Regardless of the fact we now have six seats, we will all be working doubly hard to get that plan delivered." 

That's how close Andrew Day was to losing his seat (image via WDC website)

A widely-respected factor of Cllr Day's tenure was the way in which all party group leaders were invited to give views on decisions taken by the cabinet and he hopes those relationships will continue to benefit the authority. 

"We established strong, cross-party working in the last council where there was no overall control," he said. 

"That was based on mutual trust and respect between the political groups. We have a different cast of characters now but the leaders are broadly the same and if the leaders wish to continue in that way, I would embrace it.

"I think we do a lot more by working together than we do by playing petty party politics. Our residents demand results, they want to see things done."