The Conservatives in Swindon not only bucked the trend which saw the party lose more than 400 councillors elsewhere by increasing the administration’s majority in the council chamber - they did so by taking the previously unassailable Labour ward of Penhill and Upper Stratton.

The Tories’ candidate David Ibitoye was undoubtedly helped by a splitting of the Labour vote - the sitting councillor Teresa Page, elected in 2015 on a Labour ticket, had left the party last year and was standing again as an independent.

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The Labour candidate, Kate Linnegar is also slated to contest the North Swindon parliamentary election at the next general election.

Between them they gained 1,253 votes, but neither individually had more than Mr Ibitoye’s 1086 votes giving him, and his party, the victory and the decisive seat in the night’s proceedings.

Before the ward was announced, Council leader David Renard was cautious - like everyone he was expecting the national political picture not to be helpful to his party

Coun Renard is not a demonstrative man, but the air of satisfaction as results went his way on Thursday night was palpable, even as nationally the party had a poor night of it

He said: “I think we were all expecting a bad time, but we have increased our majority.

“There is a very strong anti-politics mood on the doorstep, people aren’t happy, with any politicians, and this was a local elections, but nobody wanted to talk about that. All they wanted to talk about was the national picture and what’s going on in Parliament.”

Earlier Coun Renard had told the BBC he felt that the failure of Theresa May to take Britain out of the UK on March 29 had been damaging to the Conservatives chances and to the state of politics in general.

As Conservative hold after Conservative hold was announced, and the party’s victory in Penhill looked set to increase his grip on power, Coun Renard was asked if it was a vindication of his administration: “I’ll take ‘vindication’ as the word, yes.

“We spent a lot of time speaking to people to find out what they want and need form this council, and people have given us their support to carry on with the improvements we are making to Swindon.

“There won’t be radical changes to our plans - we’ll carry on fulfilling the vision, priorities and pledges we set out four years four years ago.”

Even Labour grip leader's hold of his Rodbourne Cheney seat was cause for happiness in the Conservatives, with his majority just 204 votes.

Conservative councillor Gary Sumner said: “That’s a solid Labour stronghold. If we’re getting within 200 there, that opens up new avenues for us in many areas of Swindon.”