By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
The Conservative Party lost overall control of Newark and Sherwood District Council.
The shock results for the authority involved the leader and deputy leader both losing their seats.
The Tories took just 14 of the 39 available seats, compared to the 29 they held after the 2019 elections.
The Labour Party and Independents won 11 seats each while the Liberal Democrats won three seats.
The Conservatives lost three seats to independents in Beacon, including the now-former Conservative Council Leader, David Lloyd.
Mr Lloyd came fifth out of a possible six candidates in the Beacon ward, with 694 votes.
Conservative Councillor and Deputy Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Bruce Laughton, also lost his seat to a Labour councillor, Maurice Shakeshaft in Farnsfield.
There was a surge in popularity for a new group, Independents for Newark, which stood 16 candidates over the district and town councils.
The Conservative loss follows a high-profile campaign by ‘Protect Newark’s Green Spaces’ which followed Newark and Sherwood District Council’s plan to remove four trees from the town to make way for a car park extension.
An environmental campaign followed and the council eventually reversed the decision to cut down the trees in November 2021.
After the 2019 election, a total of 29 seats were held by the Conservatives, seven by Labour, two were won by Liberal Democrats and one was Independent.
The turnout for the Newark and Sherwood Town and Parish Council elections was 31.46 per cent with 13,158 casting their votes this year.
