Thousands of voters went to the polls across Cumbria for a Brexit-tainted round of local council elections – and threw up a few surprises.

Copeland Mayor Mike Starkie reselected, receiving just over 10,000 votes and putting him well ahead of Labour candidate Linda Jones-Bulman and Conservatives candidate Ged McGrath.

All three said they believed the on-going Brexit debacle had an effect on turnover, which stood at 33.54 per cent – a sentiment echoed by local MP Trudy Harrison.

There was no change at Barrow Borough Council with Labour retaining control, albeit with a reduced majority. While Labour kept its majority with 24 seats, the Conservatives gained three seats, bringing their total to 12.

Leader of the council, Dave Pidduck, said the main topic of conversation on the election trail had been Brexit.

“There appears to be a lot of frustration with the Brexit situation,” he said.

“For us, the difficulty is that the electorate is punishing the wrong people. We at the council have no more control over Brexit than the man in the street.”

South Lakeland District Council remains under the control of the Liberal Democrats, as expected.

The turnout of 45.06 per cent was lower than last year, although still higher than many other elections not just in Cumbria but across the whole of the UK.

The big winner was the Green Party, with Judy Filmore edging out Conservative Amanda Rigg in the Ulverston West ward by just 8 votes.

The party has been fighting for a place on the council for several years, but Ms Filmore’s election was its first success.

“We have made history tonight,” she said.

“We can now make sure that the council is accountable to their climate change challenge.”

The big losers were the Conservative 

While the Greens and the Lib Dems were toasting their victories, the Conservatives were left to lick their wounds. Ben Berry, leader of the South Lakes Conservatives and councillor for Windermere, referred to Brexit when explaining his party’s losses on the night:

“I think what’s become clear during this campaign is that people are angry with our rotten parliament who refused to deliver on the will of the people,” he said, 

The longer-term picture, however, was positive, he added: “We still have a fantastic base of support. Some of the results were incredibly close. And when the national picture improves - given our local actions - we’re sure to bounce back.”

There was also bad news for former cabinet member for the economy, councillor Graham Vincent, who lost his place on the council as an independent candidate following his recent deselection by the Liberal Democrats. The result ends a 20-year tenure as a district councillor.

Meanwhile, the picture was less clear at Allerdale Borough Council, which is under no overall control.

Independents won 19 seats, the Conservatives 15, Labour 14 seats and Putting Cumbria First one, in a night which saw the political make-up of the authority change completely.

The was previously made up of 27 Labour councillors, 15 Conservatives, 14 independents and one UKIP (the number of councillors shrunk from 56 to 49 due to the boundary review).

Brexit was, again blamed for the low turnout, and also for the result itself.

Tony Annison, leader of the Conservative group and ward councillor for Warnell, said that while talks would have to be held with the different independents and independent groups, he saw himself as the next leader.

"Indications are that the Conservatives will be in power – I see myself as potentially the new leader."

Former Labour leader Alan Smith, who was re-elected to represent the All Saints ward, said Brexit had caused apathy on the doorstep and that the upsurge in independents was a sign of voter frustration with the mainstream parties.

“It'll be interesting to see what happens with the new council,” he said.

Councillor Smith added he was not disappointed not to continue as leader. 

"I've been leader for eight years, I lived the dream and I've got a legacy which is this leisure centre,” he added.

The results for seat at Eden District Council were still to be announced at the time of writing.