Despite some patchy results, and notable successes such as gaining seats in Bath &NE Somerset, the Liberal Democrats have had a bad night across the South West, as predicted by their continually poor showing in the South West Poll in the past three months.
The party has lost control of places such as Bristol, and lost ground in districts such as Teignbridge and West Dorset.
In the east of the region, Labour has often been the beneficiary, taking seats off the Liberal Democrats in councils like Bristol, the Forest of Dean and South Gloucestershire. Labour also fared well in other urban areas such as Exeter and Plymouth, again largely at the expense of the Lib Dems.
As the South West Poll also predicted, the Conservative vote has largely held up across the region, and the party has benefited at the expense of their Coalition partner’s expense in more rural areas where Labour were less able to mount a challenge.
The South West Poll is the only regular regional opinion poll in England, and has shown again its accuracy at gaining a snapshot of the trends particular to the area.