Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

While all county council seats were up for grabs in the local elections, there were just three borough council elections in the Ribble Valley, held after two councillors passed away, and another stood down.

Furthermore, Clive Grunshaw was defending his position as the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, hoping to achieve a third term in post.

Having been in post since November 2012, he lost out to Conservative Andrew Snowden, who has been elected as the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire. And one of Mr Snowden's first pledges made was to improve rural policing and make Clitheroe police station accessible to the public.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans has expressed his delight at his party's success in the recent elections and the appointment of Conservative Andrew Snowden as the county's new Police and Crime Commissioner

In the county council elections, the Conservatives secured a total of 48 seats, a gain of two, which ensured they were comfortably above the 43 seats needed for a majority in county hall. There are a total of eight county council seats which cover the constituency of the Ribble Valley, all of which were won by the Conservatives.

In the Ribble Valley, all three seats up for election were successfully defended by the Conservatives, with victories in Mellor, Billington and Langho and West Bradford and Grindleton.

Welcoming these results, Nigel said: “I’m incredibly pleased for all the returning and new Conservative councillors who have been elected across the Ribble Valley and Lancashire, and especially for Andrew Snowden in his victory in the PCC election.

"Andrew has vowed to improve rural policing, and to reopen Clitheroe police station to the public, enabling local people to make full use of the services they pay for is vital, and I look forward to working with Andrew to see if this can be replicated in other areas too.

“Whether it’s issues relating to borough or county services, local councillors work hard to ensure that issues in their patches get resolved.

"Having been an MP for 28 years, I have seen the difference that local councillors can make, and I would encourage residents to get in touch with their councillors should they be having problems in their areas."

Contact details for your local councillors can be found on RVBC, SRBC or LCC’s websites.

MP welcomes blue victory for Conservatives in Ribble Valley elections and new police and crime commissioner's pledge to re-open Clitheroe police station to the public