Battle lines are being drawn as the Tories and Labour face each other across the chamber at Great Yarmouth Borough Council.
UKIP have been discarded by the electorate and were wiped out this morning.
The make-up after the election results were announced this morning is 23 Conservatives, 15 Labour and 1 UKIP.
And it sets the scene for a battle of epic proportions when the full council of 39 seats goes to the polls next year.
Today, the Tories gained two seats, Labour four, and UKIP lost six – these included councillors who had set up their own political party, Tribune.
Former Labour MP Tony Wright is back on the council he once chaired and led before being elected to Westminster, subsequently losing his parliamentary seat to the Conservative Brandon Lewis in 2010.
After being declared the winner in the Nelson ward with 705 votes, Mr Wright said: “We will work in the community for the people. We shall certainly take the fight to the opposition. We will move forward now for the next 12 months and people will see who are their true friends in the ward.”
The seat had previously been held by the Conservatives, but their share of the vote dropped to 392 and Tribune brought up the rear with 121 votes.
This is the last election by thirds in four years – from now on voters will head to the poll to elect borough councillors once every four years.
The councillors elected today will face fighting for their seats again in a year’s time.
Former UKIP leader Kay Grey, who defected to the Tories last year, retained her seat in Gorleston with 894 votes.
Likewise Carl Annison held on to his seat in Bradwell South and Hopton with a huge majority despite switching from UKIP to the Tories last year.
Labour candidate Kate Guyton gave a good showing with 405 votes.
In the Central and Northgate ward, there were two seats available and Labour swept the board holding one seat and taking the other from the Tories.
Labour’s Mike Smith-Clare, who stood against Brandon Lewis for the parliamentary seat last year, finished in front with 651 votes while his Labour colleague Jade Martin received 599.
Mr Smith-Clare said: “It has been a brilliant campaign. Now it’s the start. Next year we will see change and we are ready and up for it.”
Labour also triumphed in Claydon ward with Cara Walker taking the former UKIP seat with 677 votes and a 189 majority.
Two former UKIP colleagues went up against each other in Caister South – the sitting councillor Tom Andrews and the Yarmouth’s first UKIP mayor, Malcolm Bird, who defected to the Conservatives. Mr Bird won the seat with 645 votes with the UKIP backing collapsing and Mr Andrews only polling 146. Andrew Booth for Labour stormed into second place with 401 votes.
Council leader Graham Plant convincingly held his seat for the Tories in Bradwell North with 1,076 votes. He said: “We are running a good council and we have a plan for the future to turn this town around and make it successful.”
While fellow Tory Katy Stenhouse, who previously sat for the Nelson ward, won a narrow victory for the Yarmouth North seat.
She earned a majority of 77 votes, the smallest of the day, as she took the former UKIP seat.
Full results below:
BRADWELL NORTH: Graham Plant (C) 1,076 votes. Jo Thurtle (L) 656 votes. Total votes: 1732. Turnout: 33.7pc. Majority: 420.
BRADWELL SOUTH AND HOPTON: Carl Annison (C) 1,238 votes. James Borg (L) 559 votes. Total votes:1,797. Turnout: 32.2pc. Majority: 679
CAISTER NORTH: Graham Carpenter (C) 716 votes. John Cutting (UKIP) 169 votes. Sandra Griffiths (L) 316 votes. Total votes 1,201. Turnout 32.9pc. Majority:400.
CAISTER SOUTH: Tom Andrews (UKIP) 146 votes. Malcolm Bird (C) 645 votes. Andrew Booth (L) 401 votes. Lynne Connell (T) 61 votes. Total votes: 1,253. Turnout: 34pc. Majority: 244.
CENTRAL AND NORTHGATE: Lewis Allen (C) 363 votes. Paul Buttifant (T) 61 votes. Richard Jeffs (C) 392 votes. Jade Martin (L) 599 votes. Derek Poole (UKIP) 246 votes. Michael Smith-Clare (L) 651 votes. Phillip Trindall(UKIP) 175 votes. Total votes: 2,487. Turnout 25.6pc.
CLAYDON: Michael Monk (T) 171 votes. Rachael Moore (C) 488 votes. Cara Walker (L) 677 votes. Total votes:1,336. Turnout: 24.6pc. Majority: 189.
EAST FLEGG: Edd Bush (L) 359 votes . Noel Galer (C) 864 votes. Total votes 1,223. Turnout: 31.1pc. Majority: 505.
GORLESTON: Kay Grey (C) 894 votes. Katy Guyton (L) 405 votes. Victoria Webb (T) 78 votes. Total votes: 1,377. Turnout: 33.9pc. Majority 489
LOTHINGLAND: David Drewitt (C) 706 votes. Adrian Myers (T) 266 votes. Christina Stewart (L) 240 votes. Total votes 1,222. Turnout 28.1pc. Majority 440.
MAGDALEN: Angela Buttifant (T) 153 votes. George Rogers (C) 433 votes. Trevor Wainwright 749 votes. Total votes: 1,335. Turnout:26.3pc. Majority 316.
NELSON: Aurelio Goncalves Spinola (C) 392 votes. Matthew Swann (T) 121 votes. Tony Wright (L) 705 votes. Total votes 1,218. Turnout 23.4pc. Majority: 313.
SOUTHTOWN AND COBHOLM: Cathy Cordiner-Achenbach (L) 414. Margaret Farrow (C) 173 votes. Graham Knight (UKIP) 102 votes. Hayden Turner (T) 45 votes. Total votes: 734. Turnout 20.7pc. Majority: 241.
YARMOUTH NORTH: Philip Grimmer (UKIP) 153 votes. John Simmons (L) 457 votes. Kathy Stenhouse (C) 534 votes. Total votes: 1,144. Turnout: 33.2. Majority: 77.
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