IT was a night of high drama as the votes were counted in yesterday's local elections.

In Winchester the Tories under leader George Beckett (pictured above, left) seized power with seven seat gains which saw both the ruling Lib Dem leader Sheila Campbell and Labour leader Patrick Davies (above right) lose their places.

In Southampton the count ended with all three major parties holding the SAME number of seats. Horse trading starts today to decide how an administration can be formed.

In Eastleigh the Lib Dems maintained their hold on the town, taking their number of seats to 34.

And in Fareham the Tories remain in control.

Nationally Labour had a poor night, losing some 250 seats and control of a dozen councils.

This morning the Prime Minister was to announce a Cabinet reshuffle.

How did you vote? Reports and results on pages four, five, six, seven, eight and nine of tonight's Daily Echo