A LABOUR councillor that was voted out of her seat at this month's elections has said she is "very proud" of the work she has done.

Kim Taylor served the ward of Brighton Hill South for three years, and worked on a range of issues from the future of the ice rink to GP services in the town.

She had stood for re-election for the combined ward of Brighton Hill, but lost out by just 78 votes.

The seat swung to the Liberal Democrats, with Andrea Bowes joining incumbent Andy Koneiczko on the council.

But it wasn't all bad news after she was elected to represent Basingstoke Central on Hampshire County Council, defeating a strong challenge from the Conservatives to retain the division for Labour.

Now, in a letter to The Gazette, Cllr Taylor has said she is "sorry" that results in the borough council election did not go in her favour, but that her time serving was "a privilege and a pleasure".

She wrote: "It has been a privilege and a pleasure to be a local borough councillor serving Brighton Hill South.

"I am sorry that the local election results following boundary changes means that I was not successfully re-elected to serve in this role for the new combined ward of Brighton Hill.

"I am very proud of the work I have been able to do during my time as local councillor.

"It was wonderful to have been a member of a very proactive and hardworking group of Labour councillors. People who really care about their communities and don’t just whine from the side-lines but roll their sleeves up and get stuck in."

Cllr Taylor specifically mentioned her work with on the ice rink and with the users' forum, writing: "It has been a real pleasure to work with Sally Cashman and Stewart Tempest and the Basingstoke Ice Rink Users’ Group.

"My fellow Basingstoke Labour councillors will carry this torch going forward at Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council, although I hope that I will still be able to offer support as I am now a Hampshire County Councillor."

She signed off the letter "#keepiceinbasingstoke".

Cllr Taylor's group leader, Andy McCormick, labelled the results as "very difficult" as he saw his party's size shrink from 13 out of 60 councillors to 10 out of 54.

They had hoped to win 18 seats - a third of the councillors.

The Conservatives won a commanding majority, with 33 out of the 54 seats going blue, including in Brookvale and Kings Furlong, which had not seen a Conservative representative since 1983.