The Liberal Democrats easily retained their control of Kingston upon Thames Council in a victory that saw them take 41 of a possible 48 seats available.

Despite the Conservatives remaining the official opposition, they saw their number of seats from the 2018 election drop from nine to three, with the Kingston Independent Resident Group gaining one.

Among the high-profile Tory losers was Kevin Davis, leader of the opposition, who lost his seat in Old Malden alongside Jason Hughes.

Following a full recount of Green Lane and St James, the Kingston Independent Resident Group remarkably secured a seat on the ward, beating Lib Dem hopeful Simon Edwards by eight seats. He will sit on the ward alongside the Lib Dem's Tim Cobbett.

Leader of the Council, Andreas Kirsch, retained Chessington South and Malden Rushett alongside his wife, Griseldis Kirsch and Sharukh Mirza.

Commenting on the future of Kingston he said: "Making sure Kingston is a borough where the most vulnerable are well looked after and feel safe, where everyone from all our diverse communities are valued, where our green spaces are protected, and young people can access excellent education and have a great start to adult life will be our focus."

A total of 45 of the council's 48 seats were declared today with three seats remaining vacant. This was due to the postponement of the election in New Malden Village, in accordance of electoral law, following the sad news of the death of independent candidate Mary Jean Clark.

The election for the ward's three councillors will take place within 35 days.

Voter turnout for the 2022 local election came to 45.6%, marginally down from 2018's 46%.

For a full run down on how Kingston's council for the next four years took shape, check out Nub News' live blog from yesterday's count here.