THE boundary divisions may have been redrawn but that was where the shake-up ended as far as the county council elections in North Yorkshire were concerned.

With all the votes in, the colour of the biggest county in England remained resolutely blue, with 42 seats keeping it firmly in Tory hands.

The figure, no change on the pre-election total, meant the Tories easily retained overall control despite boundary changes which they had earlier believed could have hurt them.

The authority used to have 74 seats but following a series of changes by the Boundary Commission it was reduced to 72. A number of wards almost disappeared or were amalgamated, making before-and-after comparisons difficult.

But the Liberal-Democrats still remain the second biggest party in County Hall, up from 17 councillors before the election to 18 now.

And, following the General Election trend, it was Labour that suffered the most, seeing their representation in the chamber cut by 25 per cent, down to nine from 12. The independents stayed steady on three.

Tory leader John Weighell insisted their focus would remain on high-quality education and keeping the council tax down.

In the Richmond area, the continuing controversy about the planned sell-off of district council buildings saw Liberal-Democrat candidate Stuart Parsons, a former town mayor, take a seat on the county council, at the expense of the Tories.

"I think people in Richmond are sick and tired of not getting anything out of the county council - and a change is needed," he said.

"But the sell-off row has made a difference. Although it is something the district council is trying to do, voters have taken the only option they have to make their feelings known."

In the huge Upper Dales ward, the beleaguered district council leader, Tory John Blackie, held on to his county council seat, beating Liberal-Democrat candidate Richard Good by a comfortable majority of 737.

But that was still about 1,000 less than his majority last time, achieved against an independent candidate when foot-and-mouth disease was ravaging the area.

And he angrily attacked the "politically motivated campaign of vilification" he claims to have suffered over the sell-off row - which centres on the district council's plans to finance moving its headquarters by selling off its old buildings.

Meetings to discuss the issue have had to be called off after the venues were invaded by protestors, which has infuriated Coun Blackie, who believes he has suffered s a result.

"There has been a series of false accusations and sly innuendoes about a politician who has yet to be able to speak on the issues," he said.