Cornwall Council elections 2021 results round up: winners and losers

For the past four years there has been a Liberal Democrat-Independent leadership at the council, but all that has changed following yesterday's local elections.

The Conservatives took 47 seats, polling 37% of the votes.

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrat Group took only 14 seats this time, polling 20% of the votes.

Independent candidates did one better, taking 15 of the seats, with 17% of the votes.

Mebyon Kernow now has five councillors, and polled 5% of the votes.

Labour has four seats on the council, with 10% of the vote taken.

The Green Party now has its first candidate on the council, after Tamsyn Widdon was elected to Penryn, with the party polling 10% of the votes.

Tamsyn Widdon is the Green Party's first member on Cornwall Council, for Penryn

It means long-standing councillor Mary May has lost her seat on the council, after polling 503 votes to Ms Widdon's 658. It was Labour's Jennifer Forbes that came second, however, with 521 votes.

The Labour & Cooperative Party has also taken one seat, after Jayne Kirkham was re-elected to Falmouth Penwerris, although the party as a whole took only 1% of the votes.

Mrs Kirkham won by a huge majority, polling 1,232 votes to her next closest rival Jo Philpott's 377 for the Conservative party.

Jayne Kirkham has been re-elected to Falmouth Penwerris

In day of high drama at times, all the results have now been announced for the 87 members that now make up the council.

It is a drop on the 123 councillors that have been sitting since the formation of the unitary authority in 2009, following a government boundary review.

As a result some councillors have lost their seats, in some cases going head-to-head with fellow councillors for the same division.

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They include long-standing Mullion councillor Carolyn Rule, who has lost her seat to newcomer Anthony Soady. He takes the new Mullion & St Keverne seat for the Conservatives.

Mrs Rule had been a Cornwall councillor since the unitary authority was formed in 2009, and was on Kerrier District Council for ten years before that.

On his election Facebook page Conservative Mr Soady says he spent 40 years working at Goonhilly, as well as a number of years as a Special Constable. He is now fully retired.

He polled 1,010 votes to Independent Mrs Rule's 911.

Another shock result came when Geoffrey Evans lost his seat in Falmouth Arwenack, which he has held for the last eight years. It was taken by Laurie Magowan for the Labour Party, who polled 814 votes to Mr Evans's 695.

Geoffrey Evans, a former mayor of Falmouth on a number of occasions, has lost his seat in Falmouth Arwenack

Former St Ives MP Andrew George won his seat as a Cornwall councillor, taking the Ludgvan, Madron, Gulval & Heamoor division for the Liberal Democrats.

He won it strongly with 1,483 votes - 610 more than his closest rival, Conservative Simon Elliott, who took 873 votes.

However, in Launceston South Conservative John Charles Conway took away former MP Dan Rogerson's hopes of now becoming a Cornwall Councillor for the Liberal Democrats, by just three votes. Mr Conway polled 706 votes to Mr Rogerson's 703.

In Penzance East Tim Dwelly has retained his seat, standing as an Independent. It was a head-to-head battle with fellow Cornwall councillor Cornelius Olivier, who now loses his seat as a result of the government boundary review reducing councillor numbers from 123 to 87.

Former MP Andrew George is now a Cornwall councillor

In another case of two Cornwall councillors going against each other, Conservative John Keeling has come out victorious in the Porthleven, Breage & Germoe division with 833 votes.

It means John Martin loses his seat on the council, after polling 428 votes.

It is after the government boundary review saw Porthleven merge with Breage and Germoe to become the new Porthleven, Breage & Germoe division, with the Helston South and Porthleven and Helston West seats no longer existing.

Mr Martin had previously in office for Helston South as a Liberal Democrat, meaning he was standing in a whole new division, while Mr Keeling was Breage, Germoe and Sithney division councillor.

It was Porthleven mayor Michael Toy though who polled second place in yesterday's vote with 726 votes.

And in a similar situation again, Dulcie Tudor has been re-elected to the council, in the Threemilestone & Chacewater division. She stood as an Independent after quitting the Lib Dems last July.

It was a close run poll, which was largely split between the top three candidates, but Ms Tudor took it with a 121 vote majority, polling 650 in total.

As a result Conservative John Dyer is another casualty of the boundary review seat reduction, after he took 529 votes. Karen La Borde for the Green Party came third with 492 votes.

Cornwall Council deputy leader of the last four years, Adam Paynter, who was suspended from the Lib Dems back in March, has been re-elected to the council as an Indepedent councillor for Launceston North & North Petherwin with 52% per cent of the votes.

The Liberal Democrats did not field a candidate in this division.

Mr Paynter polled 1,200 votes, compared to second placed candidate John Hiscock, who took 879 votes for the Conservatives.

You can read the full list of results for every council division here.