The leader of Nottinghamshire's Labour group, Alan Rhodes, has issued a heartfelt 'thank you' message after he lost his seat to the Conservatives.
Mr Rhodes has served on Nottinghamshire County Council since 2005 and has also represented Worksop North West for Bassetlaw District Council since 1986.
Before the Local Election of 2017, he had served for four years as the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, after which he then became the Labour group leader upon the success of the Conservative Party and Mansfield Independents.
However, despite serving the Worksop North ward and the community within it for almost two decades, Mr Rhodes became another casualty of the current political climate.
Conservative candidate Callum Bailey claimed the seat form Mr Rhodes by just 154 votes during the elections on May 6/7.
Speaking of the result Mr Rhodes said: "Friends, just a short word to say that unfortunately I lost my Worksop North seat on Nottinghamshire County Council today.
"Thank you to friends, colleagues and officers of the Council for a very enjoyable 17 years."
He spoke to Nottinghamshire Live to say it had come as a shock, but put it down to the impact of national politics and ever-growing pressure on his seat by the Conservatives.
The Conservative Party has won an overall majority, leaving the four-year long coalition with the Mansfield Independents behind.
