JUST one seat changed hands in Swale on Thursday night as the Conservative Party held on to its majority on the borough council.

Young Labour candidate Fiona Gowdy seized control of Milton Regis in Sittingbourne from the previous youngest member of the council, Liberal Democrat Mark Baldock.

Miss Gowdy, 27, whose father and grandfather were both Labour councillors,

received 489 votes, 151 more than Mr Baldock.

The result was hailed as a victory for the Labour Group, which now holds 11

seats on Swale Borough Council.

The Conservative Party retained the power it seized in last year's full council elections, but failed to seize any additional seats. It still has 25

members, while the Liberal Democrat group has been reduced to 11 councillors

- the same number as Labour.

Cllr Andrew Bowles (Con), leader of the council, said: "I think this is an

endorsement of our policies. We have had to take a lot of unpopular decisions.

"But we have started along what is a long road to turning this council around."

Turnout for individual wards ranged from just 20.94 per cent in Sheerness East to 47.78 per cent in West Downs.

Among those councillors who retained their seats were the executive member for finance and administration, Christopher Boden (Con, Leysdown and Warden), and two of the three area committee chairmen, Adrian Crowther (Con, Minster Cliffs) and Richard Barnicott (Con).

The council's longest-serving member Steve Worrall (Lab) also retained his Sheerness West seat convincingly. He expressed his anger that the Conservatives had secured another year with a clear majority.

He said: "I fear for the next year. hatever they are doing, serving the public is not an issue, it is serving themselves.

"I will do my utmost to protect Sheerness West from Tory wrath and vindictiveness."

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr John Stanford expressed his disappointment that his party had lost a seat, particularly one held by a young councillor.

He said: "We put a great deal into it and ran a very good campaign.

"We have had one year under the Conservatives with an over-all majority. We

feel very strongly that over the next year or two, we will demonstrate that a balanced council which takes proper account of the priorities, as we did under the Liberal Democrat leadership, is the best situation for local democracy."

Minority parties failed to win any seats, although the leader of the Rock

'n' Roll Loony Party, Chris, or Screwy, Driver, secured a respectable 257

votes in Queenborough and Halfway, Sheppey.