DESPITE a night in which key figures on both sides of the chamber lost their seats, it was normal service resumed in terms of the make-up of Southampton City Council.

Labour remain on 25 seats; Conservatives 19; Putting People First 3; Southampton Independents 1.

Labour gained one seat in Freemantle, where former Southampton Conservative leader Jeremy Moulton was replaced by Steve Leggett.

In Portswood, Labour’s Lisa Mitchell took over from Conservative spokesperson for children’s safeguarding Paul O’Neill, while Swaythling, Lorna Fielker unseated Bob Painton.

But the Conservatives matched this.

Steven Galton, a prominent voice in the campaign to derail Lidl’s plans to build a new complex in Shirley, regained his Millbrook seat, which he vacated in 2016, by gaining just 63 votes more than Labour’s outgoing Mike Denness.

The other two seats the party won were in Bitterne – Terry Streets narrowly beating Southampton City Council leader Simon Letts to the post – and in Peartree seat, left behind by retiring Labour councillor Paul Lewzey. which was claimed by Catherine Rendle.

Seats held by Labour were Bargate, Bevois, Redbridge, Shirley, Sholing and Woolston.

Conservatives held Bassett, Bitterne Park and Harefield.

Putting People First’s Keith Murrell also kept his seat with a convincing victory in the Coxford seat.