The Liberal Democrats are celebrating a significant increase in councillors at county hall. The group went from 8 councillors to 12, taking seats from both the Conservatives and Labour and becoming the official opposition to the ruling Conservatives on Essex County Council.

Labour have been left with a single county councillor, from Colchester. In Harlow, all three Labour county councillors were defeated, making this the second year in a row in which Labour has come away from local elections winning not a single seat in Harlow.

Essex County Council Lib Dem group leader Tom Smith-Hughes said:

"We are delighted with our performance in these elections which has come off the back of well run local campaigning. We have some very able councillors who have been doing outstanding work in their local areas and this was reflected in the results. Our group is now the official opposition at Essex County Council and we take our role of holding the Conservative administration to account very seriously. We will press for them to get the basics right.

It has been an astonishing result for the Labour group who have been virtually extinguished - left with a single councillor. Clearly Labour is finished here in Essex. The shambles that is the Labour government was no doubt a factor in the way people voted this time, although the Labour presence has been in steady decline at county hall for over a decade."

On Sunday 7 June Andrew Duff was re-elected as the Liberal Democrat Euro MP for the East of England. In a statement at the count in St Ives, Huntingdon, he said:

"This was my sixth election campaign for the European Parliament - and undoubtedly the most gruelling. As the Westminster expenses scandal took over, the important issues about the future of the European Union, and of Britain's place within it, were driven underground. It is a shame that the serious problems facing the country - including jobs and climate change - were barely addressed by our opposing parties or the media.

Despite the rise of the nationalist right, Liberal Democrats across the region have proved very resilient - Stronger Together indeed. It is encouraging for us to be elected ahead of Labour in the European polls.

In Thursday's county council elections, we finished 9 seats up. In the new unitary authorities of Bedfordshire we have also made a good showing, becoming the largest party in Bedford.

The party has made steady progress in these difficult times. Many thanks to all council and European candidates, especially my colleague Linda Jack, and to all Lib Dem activists.

Now it's back to work."