Day Centre Activity Club

council's annual meeting on May 24, when the new leadership was being confirmed in a vote.

While the political groups held discussions the day-to-day running of and decision-making for the authority was managed by senior officers and managers.

Council chief executive Dave Perry said: “The role of officers during this period has been to ensure that the council continues to operate as it should, while supporting members in their conversations, providing, where required, legal and constitutional advice."

The council's new Conservative group leader Sam Bromiley, who represents Parkwall & Warmley ward, criticised the other parties for not involving his group in discussions on the future leadership of the authority.

Cllr Young said voters had clearly "had enough of the Conservatives", while Cllr Boulton said voters were "holding the Conservative party to account for the disastrous policies they have imposed on us — both locally and nationally".

Outgoing Tory leader Toby Savage said his party did better locally than on a national level, where it lost more than 1,000 seats, despite losing its majority in the district on a "disappointing evening".

He said: “I’m encouraged that a number of colleagues have been returned in wards that might well have fallen to the opposition parties were they to be tracking the national position, which suggests that South Gloucestershire Conservatives are outperforming the Conservatives nationally.”

Election round-up: Pages 4&5

WINTERBOURNE Parish council has an independent majority after May's elections.

All six candidates running for seats in the 12-member Winterbourne ward under the banner 'Winterbourne Independent Voices - Working For You' were elected.

The council has two wardsWinterbourne, with 12 seats, and Frenchay, with four.

The battle for the Winterbourne ward involved the Conservatives, who fielded candidates for all 12 seats, the six Winterbourne Independent Voices candidates and Labour candidate John Lloyd.

After the votes were counted the six independents topped the poll.

Peter Bruce - who stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate in the South Gloucestershire Council elections - came first with 1,019 votes, followed by Fergus Arkley with 987, Laura Fogg-Rogers (915), Penny Sykes (875), Sharon Hancock (859) and David Eldridge (835), who