THE INDEPENDENTS have ruled at the Forest of Dean District Council elections after a dramatic day in Cinderford.

The election was on Thursday but the vote count took place after a night where, nationally, the two main parties took a thumping.

Independent candidates won 14 of the 38 council seats on offer in the 21 wards, with the Conservatives rallying late on in the day to climb from a paltry three seats at one stage to finish on ten.

Yet that is still nine down on the Conservatives council membership in the last administration.

The other big winners were the Green Party who rose from two members to six, while UKIP, who once had five councillors on the authority, were wiped out as former cabinet member Alan Grant and colleague Roy Bardo lost out.

The Labour Party vote was also reduced from nine to five although veterans of the council chamber Cllrs Bernie O’Neill, Di Martin, Max Coburn and Lynn Sterry clung onto their seats.

There is one more vote to come when the seat of Newent and Taynton is contested in June. This was postponed following the death during the campaign of Green Party candidate Mr David Humphrey.

All the new councillors get to work again on Tuesday with the first full council meeting schedule to be held on May 23.