For those of you who may have missed it residents in the three areas surrounding Bristol went to the polls on Thursday.

It was the first chance in four years people living in South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset got to have a say on who would be running their council for the next four years.

And while South Gloucestershire Council had a fairly quiet night with hardly any seats changing hands - it is going to be a brave new world for both B&NES and North Somerset.

South Gloucestershire

Here it will pretty much be business as usual moving forward - Conservative councillor Toby Savage is still the leader but he now has a majority of just two.

Of the now 61 seats up for grabs following sweeping boundary changes the Tories won 33, the Liberal Democrats 17 and Labour 11.

It may seem like a small majority for the Conservatives but in 2015 they only had a majority of five - taking 40 of the then 70 seats up for grabs.

South Gloucestershire Conservative leader Toby Savage in Kingswood Leisure Centre before the count.

What is clear is that the new local authority will be smaller, younger, more diverse and marginally less tightly controlled by the Tories than it was before.

But don’t expect too many radical changes moving forward as there has been no real shift of power.

Bath and North East Somerset

B&NES seemed to follow the national trend on the night and became one of a number of council’s which saw Lib Dems take control.

Across the country the Conservatives lost 1,334 councillors,  while the Lib Dems gained 703 seats. Labour also lost 82 seats nationally on the night.

It was a similar picture in B&NES with the Lib Dems claiming overall control from the Tories.

Lib Dems celebrate at the B&NES count

No one seemed safe from the Conservative backlash with outgoing leader Tim Warren ousted from his Mendip seat, along with cabinet members and many long-serving councillors. And the Tories were left without a single seat in Bath.

It will now be up to Lib Dem leader Dine Romero to form an administration and decide what the local authority’s priorities will be for the next four years.

One thing she has already promised to do is create a new cabinet position to ensure the council delivers on its climate change promises.

The Lib Dems also have quite a big majority on the council with 37 of the 50 seats, compared to the 11 Tories, six independents and five Labour members.

Other promises made by the Lib Dems include plans to invest in walking and cycling infrastructure, social media sessions for residents to quix cabinet members as well as the introduction of a  “citizens’ jury”.

The also want to clamp down on rogue landlords and work with the NHS to make sure children’s mental health provision is no longer “so grossly underfunded”.

North Somerset Council

Now this is where things get really interesting. Currently no one party has overall control of North Somerset Council after the Conservatives lost power for the first time since 2007.

The Tories lost almost two-thirds of their members as ward after ward tumbled to opposition parties and independents, including new group Portishead Independents: Your Team Your Town which claimed all four of the seats they were standing in.

Before Friday’s dramatic results, the ruling Conservatives enjoyed a huge majority in the chamber, holding 36 of the 50 seats.

But in a shocking development, they now have just 13 and there is no overall control, with independents comprising the largest group with 17, including the Portishead group.

The Lib Dems went from four members to 11, Labour doubled from three to six and the Greens increased from one councillor to three.

The result also saw the council's deputy leader Elfan Ap Rees lose his seat, but the outgoing leader Nigel Ashton managed to cling onto his although his majority slashed from more than 1,000 to under 150.

So what now - well no one is really sure.

Nigel Ashton at the count today (May 3).

As there is no overall majority it will be up to the different parties and groups to decide how they want the council to be run.

The various Independent groups could band together and form a minority administration - but with nine seats short of the 26 needed for a majority it could prove hard for them to get things done.

Other options include a formal coalition - any of the parties and groups can band together to do this in order to reach the 26 threshold.

The most obvious coalition being the Independents teaming up with the 11 Lib Dems.

Nigel Ashton has already ruled his party out of any coalition telling the Local Democracy Reporting Service that they would operate from the opposition benches because the public had sent a “clear message”.

There is also the option of informal agreements on an issue basis or other arrangements.

At this point it’s still unclear and with it being the Bank Holiday we may not know who is going to be running North Somerset Council until well into next week.

But what about Weca I hear you ask?

Established in 2017, the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) is made up of Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) and South Gloucestershire council areas.

Weca is led by Metro Mayor, Tim Bowles, who works with Bristol City Mayor, Marvin Rees; leader of B&NES Council, which was Tim Warren and leader of South Gloucestershire Council, Toby Savage.

The authority is responsible for planning, transport, skills and business portfolios.

Clearly Tim Warren will no longer be representing B&NES on the committee - this mantel will instead be handed to the new leader who is likely to be Dine Romero. She would be the first woman and Liberal Democrat on the committee.

First ever meeting of west of England combined authority which will be led by a Metro Mayor after they have been elected in May.
First ever meeting of west of England combined authority

Unfortunately things get a bit more complicated when it comes to North Somerset as it voted against joining the authority - but still gets a say in decisions.

An additional meeting - known as the Joint Committee - is held after every WECA committee meeting of the council leaders which allows North Somerset to have a say on all the decisions which affect North Somerset.

But with no party gaining overall control of the authority after Thursday’s election there is currently no leader of North Somerset council.

Depending on what option the parties and groups eventually decide depends on how Weca conducts its joint committee meetings moving forward.

The best option for them would be if a coalition is formed which holds an overall majority.

That way it can be business as usual with the new leader of the council representing North Somerset on the committee.

But if there are lots of different groups or even individuals all with a stake in how the local authority is run - then Weca could end up needing to have decisions signed off by a lot of different people.

At the moment it’s still unclear what will happen next - and whether now under different leadership North Somerset would consider joining Weca officially - and whether that is even a realistic option.

It’s all very exciting really!