THE Conservatives reaffirmed their control of Ryedale District Council, gaining a further three seats.

Members of the party represented on the council has now increased to 20 – two thirds of the authority.

Two additional independent councillors have also been elected, including physiotherapist Ed Jowitt and former Liberal Democrat Lindsay Burr, both for Malton.

The Liberal Party lost three seats, including Tommy Woodward, who stood for Pickering East ward, despite calls for his resignation last year following controversial remarks he made regarding the suicide of a former soldier.

Two Liberal Democrats remain on the council, Elizabeth Shields for Norton East and Di Keal, for Norton West.

No members of the Labour Party, Greens or UKIP secured a seat.

New faces on the council include Dr Tim Thornton, for the Liberal Party in Pickering West, and Keane Duncan, for the Conservative Party, who takes over from Independent Peter Walker in Norton East.

The former mayor of Pickering, William Oxley, who stood for the Conservative Party, was also elected for the town’s East ward.

Paul Andrews, who was re-elected for Malton ward, said: “Malton bucked the trend. We proved that it is possible for independents to succeed locally against a national surge of support for a major political party. The election was held against the background of the district council’s proposals for allocating another thousand houses in Malton, and shows residents’ anger against this.”

Leader of Ryedale District Council, Linda Cowling, who retained her Pickering West seat with 817 votes, said: “I am very pleased with the outcome of the elections both nationally and locally. I think it is a real endorsement of the work the Conservatives have been doing.

“We have increased our majority on Ryedale District Council and will be pushing ahead with work on the local economy, jobs and apprenticeships.

“We shall be planning a programme of work to reflect the manifesto we fought the election on and setting ourselves targets to achieve those promises.

“I am sure there will be difficult decisions ahead to enable us to cope with the planned cuts within local government, but we will be doing our best to maintain services to the residents of Ryedale. I hope other parties will work with us to achieve the best we can for Ryedale.”