County elections: UKIP vow to return despite losing both their seats at County Hall

The count at Kettering Conference Centre today.

UKIP has lost both its elected members on Northamptonshire County Council to the Conservatives

Spokesman for the county UKIP group Jonathan Bullock, who is standing in Northampton North in the parliamentary elections, said the party has been a "victim of its own success".

Nationally the party, which fought hard to see Britain leave the EU, has collapsed in the council election counts today, winning just one seat across the whole of the UK.

But asked whether the party had a purpose now at local level, he said: "We've established ourselves, we've beaten the Greens and the Lib Dems in a lot of places.

"No one is asking either of those whether they are despairing.

"If anything we have been victims of our own success."

Though the party lost both its seats, in Kingsthorpe North and in Daventry West, both UKIP councillors there had stood down for this election.

Mr Bullock, added: "We have performed above the national average here in Northamptonshire, we live to fight again."

As for the new blood taking their place, Tom Appleyard, who lost in Kingsthorpe North, said: "This is not good for democracy, we don't have a balanced council.

"The people who win don't live there, they have done nothing in my ward."

Toni Walker, who stood in Billing and Rectory Farm, added: "We have done better than anticipated considering the resources the other parties have. The Conservatives have Brexit and Theresa May. When I stood last time I got 800 votes."

And Terry Spencer, for Croyland and Swanspool, said: "I think about what we expected and we expected the Tories to do well because of national issues rather than local issues and a vote of confidence for Theresa May."