The incoming Liberal Democrat administration has said fixing Gloucestershire’s “crumbling roads and broken services” are among its top priorities after the party's victory in the county council elections on May 1.

The Lib Dems are the largest group now at Gloucestershire County Council and have already formally elected Lisa Spivey as their leader.

All 27 of the Lib Dem councillors met at Shire Hall on Saturday to “begin the vital work of restoring Gloucestershire”.

At their first group meeting, Councillor Spivey (South Cerney) was elected as Lib Dem group leader with Councillor Colin Hay (All Saints and Oakley) appointed as her deputy.

They say their immediate priority will be forming a new cabinet to lead the authority into a “new era of responsible leadership, community focus, and real action”.

“For too long, Gloucestershire has been held back by crumbling roads, broken services, and financial mismanagement,” Cllr Lisa Spivey said.

“We are determined to put that right from day one. Residents voted for change — and that’s exactly what we intend to deliver.”

The new leadership has pledged to prioritise investment in local infrastructure, improve transparency in council finances, and listen to the voices of residents across the county.

Cllr Hay said: “This is a fresh start for Gloucestershire. We’re getting to work immediately to repair the damage of the last twenty years and rebuild trust with the public.”

The Liberal Democrats’ say their swift move to convene less than 24 hours after the results were declared and begin their work signals a clear commitment to action and accountability.

They are on seat short of overall control at the council.

The opposition on the council will be led by Reform UK who won 11 seats ahead of the Conservatives who could only hold six of the 28 they previously won in 2021.

They believe the county results are another example of the disintegration of the two-party system in the UK.

And that the public are “fed up with years of betrayal and mismanagement from Labour and the Tories”.

The Green Party also secured their best results in Gloucestershire last week by winning nine seats and are the third largest party.

Interim group leader Beki Hoyland (Blakeney and Bream) said their “fabulous” results were a sign of “increasing disillusionment with the two main parties”.

She said they offer “real hope and change” and there is growing interest in their ethos of social and environmental justice and hard-working local activism.

“With this larger Green group we will have greater influence on decision making in our own right,” she said.

Tory leader Stephen Davies (Hardwicke and Severn) said on Friday that results were “obviously disappointing” but the county is “in an interesting place with some very inexperienced councillors who will now have to make some tough decisions”.

Speaking this week, he said: “I would remind the Liberal Democrats that they inherit a county that is solvent and investing, with a sound financial forecast. If they go bankrupt, we will know who to blame.”

The Labour Party was all but wiped out in the elections with just Steve Robinson the only councillor managing to hold on.

A party spokesperson said the results are disappointing but they are going to continue to work on building trust with people across Gloucestershire while the government “goes further and faster in delivering the change they want to see”.

The political makeup of the county council is now 27 Liberal Democrats, 11 Reform UK, nine Greens, six Conservatives, one Labour councillor and one Independent.

The new leader of the council will be elected at the council meeting on May 21, 2025.