The Labour Party made gains as it retained firm control of Ipswich Borough Council in the local elections – the party now holds three quarters of the seats on the council.
The Conservatives lost three seats in the election, with Labour winning two and the Liberal Democrats one.
Labour now holds 36 of the 48 seats with the Conservatives on nine and the Lib Dems with three.
The results were declared overnight in a longer count than many had expected – there were no recounts anywhere in the borough.
Officials said there were a number of spoilt ballot papers, however, which led to delays.
Voters had written “Brexit” across some ballot papers – Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party did not field candidates in the local elections – or had simply made other marks on papers.
Each had to be individually adjudicated and there were more than usual – but when the numbers of spoilt papers were announced at the end of the count they were not significantly higher than in previous years.
Labour won Rushmere and Whitton from the Tories. That was no surprise – they were both surprise Conservative gains in 2015, and most people seemed to be expecting those results.
The Conservatives did, however, successfully defend the Stoke Park and Holywells seats which also have “split” councillors – and those results did given them a lift during the county.
However they were crushed in St Margaret’s which they took off the Liberal Democrats in 2015. Sitting councillor Lee Reynolds was defeated by more than 900 votes by Liberal Democrat Tim Lockington, the husband of group leader Inga Lockington.
But the Liberal Democrats are now very much a one-ward party in Ipswich – outside St Margaret’s they performed very badly, finishing below both The Green Party and UKIP in many wards.
While UKIP is not the force it once was, this election proved that it can still attract some pro-Brexit voters. Whether they stay or migrate to Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party in the European Elections remains to be seen.
The Greens are making inroads into the Ipswich vote year-on-year, but unlike the Liberal Democrats their support appears to be spread more evenly through the town – they are nowhere near making an electoral breakthrough in any individual ward.
Full results below
Alexandra Ward
Jane Riley (Lab) 1,034, Katherine West (C) 379, Tom Wilmot (G) 341, Henry Williams (LD) 172. Turnout: 28.18%.
Bixley Ward
Richard Pope (C) 1,026, Paul Anderson (Lab) 522, Lesley Packwood (G) 326, Robert Chambers (LD) 173. Turnout 36.25%
Bridge Ward
Phil Smart (Lab) 738, Murray Brunning (C), 351, Catherine Kersey (UKIP) 250, Charlotte Armstrong (G) 221, Immo Weichert (LD) 87. Turnout 25.54%.
Castle Hill Ward
Erion Xhaferaj (C) 876, John Harris (Lab) 511, Sophie Williams (LD) 311. Turnout 30.36%.
Gainsborough Ward
Martin Cook (Lab) 736, Shayne Pooley (UKIP) 384, Josh Owens (C) 359, Brienna Patmore (G) 92, Robin Whitmore (LD) 52. Turnout 26.33%.
Gipping Ward
Peter Gardiner (Lab) 738, Paul Cawthorn (C) 344, Karl Pickering (UKIP) 212 Nigel Storey (G) 127, Gerald Pryke (LD) 112. Turnout: 22.40%.
Holywells Ward
Liz Harsant (C) 918, Shofik Ali (Lab) 733, Jenny Rivett (G)272, Paul Daley (LD), 120. Turnout: 35.87%.
Priory Heath Ward
Luke Richardson (Lab) 925, Sam Murray (C) 538, Chris Newbury (Ind) 252,Andy Patmore (G) 153, Lucy Drake (LD) 108. Turnout: 30.05%.
Rushmere Ward
Kelvin Cracknell (Lab) 935, Stephen Ion (C) 812, Lee Morris (G) 256, Nicholas Jacobs (LD) 169. Turnout: 35.37%.
Sprites Ward
Jennifer Smith (Lab) 717, Mike Scanes (C), 414, Julie Hassell (UKIP) 210, Adria Pittock (G), Conrad Packwood (LD) 60. Turnout: 28.68%.
St John’s Ward
Shelley Darwin (Lab) 1,030, Mark Phillips (C) 474, Jo Grant (UKIP) 251, Jude Rook (G), Edward Packard (LD) 127. Turnout: 32.24%.
St Margaret’s Ward
Tim Lockington (LD) 1,533, Lee Reynolds (C) 627, Maggie Barradell (Lab) 439, Kirsty Wilmot (G) 270. Turnout: 44.95%.
Stoke Park Ward
Bob Hall (C) 684, Tony Blacker (Lab) 615, Alan Cotterell (UKIP) 240, Barry Broom (G), 110, Maureen Haaker (LD) 72. Turnout: 35.67%. Westgate Ward
Julian Gibbs (Lab) 807, Chris Chambers (C) 301, Mark Schumer (UKIP) 196, John Mann (G) 170, Martin Hore (LD) 136. Turnout: 24.97%.
Whitehouse Ward
Lucy Trenchard (Lab) 578, Stephen Lark (C) 288, Tony Gould (UKIP) 283, Michelle Brown (LD) 117, Ned Harrison (G) 101. Turnout: 21.96%.
Whitton Ward
Darren Heaps (Lab) 776, John Downie (C) 552, David Hurlbut (UKIP) 259, Daniel Davey (LD) 152. Turnout: 29.37%.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here