REELECTED city councillor Tom Corbin is "optimistic" for the future of the council, hoping decisions will no longer be "stifled by the majority".

This comes after the Conservative party lost its majority in Salisbury City Council yesterday, as the Labour party gained an extra seat.

Councillor Corbin, a Labour councillor alongside wife Caroline in the Bemerton Heath ward, said the newly elected authority will be successful if it can work closely together, making sure the council is based on "genuine discussion" and where there is disagreement, compromise.

He added that "nothing should be behind closed doors", describing previous actions of the city council as "a secret society".

Talking about the voting process and the local election results however, Cllr Corbin said "voting confusion" could have caused "random and sporadic" results.

The city council is now made up of 11 Conservative, six Labour and six Liberal Democrat councillors and one Independent.

Read more: 'Clear want for change' - Response to Conservatives losing council majority

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In his ward in particular, the Bemerton Heath councillor said it was noted that some residents were only voting for one candidate at the polls last week, when they had the option to vote for three.

Looking forward, Cllr Corbin hopes the politically mixed council will mean no decisions or actions are "stifled by the majority".

He said: "We want to make sure all councillors play an active part in decision making, no one is ostracised.

"We all want to focus on the climate emergency and making positive genuine change for everyone - how we get to that will be interesting but we need to work together to achieve that goal."

"I'm very optimistic for a brighter future," Cllr Corbin added.

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