ELECTIONS: Results for the Melton seats on Leicestershire County Council

The Tories retained all of the seats, with Pam Posnett and Joe Orson re-elected to their posts and Mark Frisby and Bryan Lovegrove being elected for the first time.

Local results reflected the trend county-wide as the Conservative Party kept a stranglehold on the council - with 44 of the 53 results known so far, the Tories have won 34, Liberal Democrats six and Labour four.

Mr Frisby is the new member for Melton West. holding the seat for the Conservatives after Alan Pearson’s decision not to stand again due to health reasons.

Mr Frisby has lived in Melton all his life and is active in supporting the local community through charities, community and education projects.

He is passionate about working with young people and nurturing talent and pledges to increase education opportunities, protect the most vulnerable and bring investment into the town.

Long-serving councillor Pam Posnett retained her Melton East seat on the council for the Tories, polling more than 1,000 votes more than nearest challenger, Labour’s Tim Litt.

Mrs Posnett, who was chair of the county councillor before the elections and remains a borough councillor, is a retired nurse who has represented Melton for the past 12 years.

She says she has been working hard on behalf of local residents to make their voices heard.

Mrs Posnett pledges to focus on protecting the environment, prioritising highways maintenance, the delivery of the MMDR distributor road and investing in cycleways plus improving broadband internet.

The Tories made it three wins out of three when Bryan Lovegrove was elected as county councillor for Belvoir division.

He succeeds fellow Conservative, Byron Rhodes, who retired from local government before the election after a long career.

Mr Lovegrove lives in Long Clawson. He is proud to have led a successful parent lobby group which challenged the county council about the structure of higher education across the area.

He pledges to reduce speeding through villages, improve connectivity for all residents and businesses and reduce the risk of flooding.

Joe Orson completed the Conservative clean sweep in the four Melton area divisions by winning emphatically in Melton Wolds division.

Mr Orson, who is also leader of Melton Borough Council, was born and bred locally.

He has served the area for over 15 years and is passionate about the rural way of life.

Mr Orson’s focus will be on enforcing the 7.5-tonne weight limit on country lanes, improving opportunities for younger people and supporting older residents to improve their quality of life.

The turnouts in the Melton divisions were disappointing with only a quarter of residents turning out in Melton West (25.84 per cent).

Fewer than 40 per cent voted in the other three divisions - Melton Wolds (38.8 per cent); Belvoir (38.07 per cent); Melton East (31.35 per cent).

MELTON WEST DIVISION

Mark Frisby (Conservative) 1,425;

Pip Allnatt (Labour) 620;

Alastair McQuillan (Green Party) 397;

Marilyn Gordon (Independent) 229.

MELTON EAST DIVISION

Pam Posnett (Conservative) 1,826;

Tim Litt (Labour) 800;

Simon Lumley (Independent) 332;

Martyn Gower (Green Party) 246;

Carol Weaver (Liberal Democrat) 103;

Marcus Wilson (Reform UK) 72.

BELVOIR DIVISION

Bryan Lovegrove (Conservative) 2,530;

Helen Cliff (Labour) 535;

Colette Stein (Green Party) 412;

Sue Taylor (Liberal Democrats) 259.

MELTON WOLDS DIVISION

Joe Orson (Conservative) 2,416;

Carol Hopkinson (Labour) 460;

Hamish McAuley (Liberal Democrat) 447;

Steven Carter (Independent) 430.

Voters went to the polls yesterday (Thursday) and the count began at 11.30am today.

The result of the ballot to elect the new Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner will not be announced until tomorrow.

Candidates to replace Lord Willy Bach are Rupert Matthews (Conservative); James Moore (Liberal Democrats); and Ross Willmott (Labour & Co-operative Party).