Labour still hold the balance of power in Three Rivers after the Liberal Democrats produced a strong performance to hold off a Conservative challenge.

No party has a majority in Three Rivers District Council, with 19 Lib Dems, 17 Conservatives and three Labour councillors making up the 39-seat council.

This means the Liberal Democrats will still set policies, but they could be defeated if the other parties unite.

And three Labour councillors in South Oxhey will continue to effectively make the casting vote.

The Tories targeted Oxhey Hall and Hayling, Gade Valley and Penn and Mill End.

But Cllr Roger Seabourne held his seat by more than 200 votes in Penn and Mill End, and Cllr Andrew Scarth won by 430 votes in Oxhey Hall and Hayling. In Gade Valley, Cllr Joy Mann won by 572 votes.

Cllr Ann Shaw, leader of Three Rivers District Council described the results as fantastic and said the Liberal Democrats enjoy good local support, despite the lack of success nationally.

She said: “We held all our seats with a comfortable majority and that shows the faith local people have in us.

“Because we are in control of the council, we are able to demonstrate what we can do when we are in control.”

The Conservatives hoped to take control of the council today. But unpopular central government policies hurt the group’s chances, according to several senior councillors.

Conservative leader Ralph Sangster said: “It is disappointing. We thought we could put in a better performance.

“Issues like Brexit and other things at a national level that have been dogging us at a national level aren’t helping.

“We were finding on the doorstep that people were not thinking about local issues. But people were focusing on issues like Europe and this meant we could not reach our full potential.”

Cllr Sangster added: “Labour have three councillors. The Lib Dems have 19. So they are the largest party, and in my experience, the Labour Party have sided with the largest party. If we had been the largest party, I would have hoped they would have supported us because the most people would have supported us.”

But Labour leader Stephen Cox has already ruled out forming a coalition with the Tories.

When asked if he would have supported the Conservatives had they become the largest party, he said: “That is not Cllr Sangster’s problem.”

Speaking about the Labour party’s results, Cllr Cox said: “It was a fantastic performance, with a 10 per cent swing to the Labour Party in South Oxhey.”

There are three new faces in the council. County councillor Joan King and her husband Stephen King were both elected in South Oxhey, replacing Cllr Len Tippen, who died earlier this year, and Cllr Marie-Lousie Nolan, who stepped down to become a full-time carer for her mother.