What the district councillors thought

Councillor Gill Brown summed up the outcome of her first election as the Conservative leader of Arun District Council in just two words. 'Absolutely fantastic' was the verdict of the member for Aldwick East.

She has been the council's leader for a year and the verdict of the voters in last Thursday's election enabled her to mark the anniversary in style. The party increased its strength on the council from 36 to 42 out of 56 seats. Cllr Mrs Brown said: 'We have taken six seats overall but, more importantly, we have taken the two Pevensey seats. We really fought for those in the face of a fairly nasty campaign from the BNP.

'I am really pleased the Conservative vote has come through. We will move on from strength to strength and we will have a united group. We will now be able to focus on getting real results from the regeneration of Bognor and Littleham-pton with some exciting news for both towns.

'I think the voters backed us because they recognise we have got good policies and sound financial policies.

Simon McDougall, the Liberal Democrats' group leader on Arun, said: 'We have maintained our status quo with nine seats. The result is very much a mixed bag for us.

'We have gained in Littlehampton and suffered some unfortunate losses in Bognor. Very clearly the Conservatives have emerged with some good results and, with the strong Independent candidates around Bognor who have also got good records, it has complicated the picture for voters. But the people have made their choice and it is up to us to serve the community in the best way we can for the next four years.'

Michael Jones, one of Labour's candidates around Bognor, said: 'The results have been disappointing for us. We can't put a gloss on that. But we feel we have worked hard for the best interests of Bognor's residents and we will continue to do so as individuals.

'I think that the national political picture has had an effect on these local elections which is sad because we have seen some good and talented councillors lose their seats today. This is all part of the electoral cycle when a government has been in power for such a long time.'

Mike Witchell, the leader of the British National Party in Bognor, said he was happy with the outcome of its electoral debut in the Bognor area.

'We have probably exceeded our expectations when we started,' he stated.

'I think we put our case to the electorate fairly and squarely and pulled no punches. We said things as we saw them and the people of Pevensey and Orchard ward recognised that. We firmly believe this is just the start for us and these results give us a solid foundation to build upon.'

Unite d Kingdom Independence Party deputy nominating officer for the Arun district Mary Lees said: 'We are very pleased with our results. We have come second in some seats. We are giving people a choice. Some of them think there is not much to choose between the other main parties."