The first Bucks unitary council elections are over and the results are in.

Buckinghamshire residents went to the polls on Thursday for the first time since the new Buckinghamshire Council came into existence back in April 2020 – one year later than planned because of the Covid pandemic.

With Friday a mostly administrative day, results were revealed throughout today (Saturday) with some surprises in store.

As expected, the Conservatives won a majority, taking 113 seats, while the Lib Dems came in second with 15 seats, followed by the Independents (six seats), Labour (four seats), Independent Network (two seats) and the Green Party getting a seat.

The counts were not without their share of drama, first with angry crowds being asked to leave Wycombe Leisure Centre and the police being called, and accusations of ballot tampering flying about in Wycombe, and then a recount taking place in Bernwood (Aylesbury area), with the third and fourth places just eight votes apart.

The big winners in Wycombe were surely the local Independents, who saw a stunning victory in Totteridge and Bowerdean.

Julia Wassell got the highest number of votes at 1,255 followed by Imran Hussain with 1,129 and Steve Guy getting 1,009 votes.

ALSO READ: Buckinghamshire Council election results 2021

Officers were said to have summoned candidates back in to discuss a “possible dispute” suggesting the results could be close.

This was an emerging theme as The Wooburns, Bourne End and Hedsor also saw Independents taking the lion’s share of votes – Penny Drayton with 1,880, Stuart Wilson getting 1,723 and Sophie Kayani bagging 1,682 votes.

And Independent Ed Gemmell was victorious in Hazlemere with 1,380 votes. He previously ran in the 2019 General Election for Wycombe and, at the time, had just one policy – fighting climate change.

Bucks Free Press: PICTURED: The Aylesbury countPICTURED: The Aylesbury count

The Independents also took Ryemead and Micklefield, with Matt Knight (1,051 votes), Andrea Baughan (976 votes) and Nabeela Rana (870 votes) taking the top spots.

Over in Beaconsfield, and independent Alison Wheelhouse caused a shock with her election alongside two Tories (Anita Cranmer and Jackson Ng) - knocking Conservative Alastair Pike out of the running. 

But five former mayors missed out on getting elected – Brian Pearce, Khalil Ahmed and Trevor Snaith all missed out on the top spots, while ex-mayors Zia Ahmed and Ian McEnnis lost their seats.

It was also a poor showing for Reform UK and the Freedom Alliance, with Bettina Harries, who was standing in Marlow but lives in Cornwall, getting just 81 votes. 

It was an even worse outcome for her in Wadebridge East and St Minver in Cornwall, gaining just 42 votes there. 

ALSO READ: Conservatives sweep the board in Chilterns area - with a surprise Lib Dem victory

Rafiq Raja, Labour group leader, also lost his seat and is no longer a councillor.

The Conservatives also swept the board in the Chiltern and South Bucks areas – but with a surprise Lib Dem victory in Chiltern Ridges.

In a surprising turn of events, Mohammed Fayyaz, who was not present at the count, was one of three councillors elected in the Chiltern Ridges alongside Patricia Birchley and Jane MacBean, both Conservative.

The Lib Dems also did well in Amersham and Chesham Bois – with Jason Keeler, Dominic Pinkney and Mark Roberts all getting over 1,000 votes each – but the Conservatives still took the win.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Chaos at Wycombe election count as angry crowd 'thrown out'

And former Bucks Council leader Martin Tett, who was elected in the Little Chalfont and Amersham Common with 1,845 votes, said he was planning to run for leader again.

But he might have competition as our sources tell us challengers are expected to vie for his position as the group will decide who it could be – but there is no confirmation yet on rumoured names.

All in all, it has been an interesting first unitary election – it remains to be seen how the next four years pan out.