A Bexley councillor has said he is glad the voters did not fall “completely for the seduction of UKIP”.

Last week’s election result showed the controversial party gaining momentum in the borough.

They won three seats, the Conservatives got 45, Labour won 15 and the Lib Dems were in the doldrums with none at all.

Councillor Gareth Bacon, who was re-elected to the Longlands ward with 21 per cent of the vote, told News Shopper: “It’s good our constituents did not fall completely for the seduction of UKIP.

“It is also great they trusted us to look after them for the next four years. It will be a challenge but we are up for that.

“It was obviously good to get re-elected - we have worked very hard for a long time.

“After the last few months, I’m looking forward to finally getting some sleep and catching up on some domestic tasks.”

Labour Councillor Seán Newman, who was re-elected in Belvedere, with 15 per cent of the vote, said he wanted to modernise the council.

This Is Local London: Supporter - Councillor Seán Newman

He said: "It's a privilege to have been re-elected.

“I look forward to serving the people of Belvedere and Bexley, standing up with them against this out-of-touch Conservative council and working with all our residents to find ways to make Bexley better."

UKIP was the biggest winner in Bexley while the Lib Dems were the biggest losers.

The enthusiasm for the Tories reduced slightly for Bexley residents as they lost seven seats from the 2010 election and overall votes were down three per cent.

However they retained a significant overall majority with 45 seats to Labour’s 15 – meaning the Conservatives still have a majority of more than 70 per cent of seats in the council.

Support for the Lib Dems plummeted by around 11 per cent of votes in 2010 to just two per cent.

They trailed in fifth behind the BNP.