Woking Conservatives bucked the national trend and picked up an extra seat in a key marginal to increase their majority on Woking Borough Council during the local elections on May 3.
During a night where the party lost seats elsewhere in the country, the strong positive messages and record of achievement in Woking meant the overall percentage of the Conservative vote fell only 4% from a very high 2011 figure.
The party easily held onto its own seats, with very convincing wins in previously marginal wards in Brookwood, Horsell West and Mount Hermon East. In Knaphill, the village once again voted strongly for the party, with Cllr Saj Hussain taking the Lib Dem-held seat for the Conservatives, joining Cllr Melanie Whitehand in representing Woking's largest village.
Elsewhere, Conservatives held seats in Pyrford and Horsell East and were only 100 votes shy of winning once again in Goldsworth East, which they won for the first time in 2011. Lib Dems held four other seats to make the Conservative margin of control on the council 21-15. Labour is still without a councillor in Woking.
Conservative group leader Cllr John Kingsbury said: "I'm very pleased with these results, particularly in Knaphill. When taken in the national context they show that Woking voters are responding to our positive messages about the town and our record of freezing Woking's share of council tax while maintaining services and investing in our economy and communities.
"We know that there is work to do and we continue to look at ways we can do even more to make this borough the best it can be for residents, workers and visitors."