Three Labour politicians could hold the balance of power in Three Rivers after the Liberal Democrats lost overall control of the council.

The Conservative Group has taken four seats from the Liberal Democrats in a dramatic day across the district.

The losses mean the Lib Dems have 19 seats out of a possible 39 and both opposition parties are suggesting the administration could be forced to rely on support from other parties to get their policies through.

The administration started the day on 23 seats, with the Tories, 10 seats behind and despite having just three representatives on the council, Labour’s votes could be crucial.

Councillor Len Tippen, Labour representative for South Oxhey, said: "If you look at the number of seats, there are 19 Lib Dems, 17 Conservatives and three Labour councillors.

"That means Labour holds the balance of power in Three Rivers.

"If we go one way or the other, it means that party will secure the vote.

"We have to take every decision as it comes.

"We are not going into Coalition. It is on a vote by vote basis."

The Tories gained seats in Chorleywood South and Maple Cross, Gade Valley, Penn and Mill End and Dickinsons ward. The party also came very close to winning in two other wards, which could have seen them become the largest group in the council.

Councillor Ann Shaw, leader of Three Rivers District Council, believes the group were “caught up in the national trends” which saw support for the Lib Dems plummet.

She said: "I think we did well to survive as the largest party”.

When asked whether the administration could see its policies voted down in the future, Councillor Shaw said: "They might be, but they [The Conservatives and the Labour Group] will have to answer to the electorate if it is something that would be for the benefit of the local people.

"We want to do our best to maintain decent services for local people".

Councillor Ralph Sangster said the group would “have the opportunity of really challenging the Liberal Democrats on individual policies” and said they would be targeting the council’s spending plans on long term investment projects.

He said: “Because of the constitution of the committees, there is going to need to be a much more focused view from the administration.

“It strikes me that if they are short of people on the committee, they will need to accommodate other views closer than they have in the past and there may be a need for them to consult with us, which would be interesting.

“A perfectly good example would be the South Oxhey Initiative.

“They tried to get it floated twice to get it off the ground and its only down to the changes we initiated in terms of the administration and the financial package they have got as far as they with the current proposal.

“We will be watching them like a hawk in terms of them not undermining the capacity of the developers to bring this project to fruition”.

The recently-elected representative for Rickmansworth Town said the party would be prepared to vote the proposals down for the South Oxhey Initiative if it “did not provide a viable commercial and financial solution”.

However, the Liberal Democrats did hold on to a number of key seats in the district, with Councillor David Major hanging on to his Abbots Langely and Bedmond seat by just 27 votes.

See below for a list of winners in Three Rivers:

Diana Barber (Conservative): Penn and Mill End

Stephen Cox (Labour): South Oxhey

Ty Harris (Conservative): Oxhey Hall and Hayling

David Major (Liberal Democrats): Abbots Langley and Bedmond

Rupert Barnes (Conservative): Dickinsons

Angela Roberts (Conservative): Carpenders Park

Ralph Sangster (Conservative): Rickmansworth Town

Heather Kenison (Conservative): Chorleywood North and Sarratt

Reena Ranger (Conservative): Moor Park and Eastbury

Kate Turner (Liberal Democrats): Leavesden

Leslie Proctor (Conservative): Gade Valley

Alison Wall (Liberal Democrats): Durrants

Angela Killick (Conservative): Chorleywood South and Maple Cross