THE battle for power continues at North Wiltshire District Council as Liberal Democrats and Conservatives struggle to wrest overall control of the authority.

Last week's local elections left a power vacuum at the district council, when Liberal Democrat leader David Packham suffered a surprise defeat and lost his seat.

No single party has gained overall control, with seats balanced perilously at 26 for the Liberal Democrats and 25 for the Conservatives.

The outcome of the battle depends entirely on the one Labour member, Christine Reid, and one Independent candidate, Philip Allnatt.

If the Conservatives can persuade both to join their group, they will take control of the district council.

If the Liberal Democrats can win over just one of the two, they will have 27 seats and the majority they need to set up the new administration.

The first full council meeting on May 21 will be critical and the Liberal Democrats will seek to take control.

New group leader Coun Ruth Coleman said negotiations were ongoing with the two members and she was confident the Liberal Democrats would have the majority they needed.

Conservative group leader Coun Toby Sturgis said all sorts of rumours were flying around, but he had not spoken to either Coun Allnatt or Coun Reid because he did not believe coalitions worked successfully, and he was resigned to the Liberal Democrats taking control.

"It's a sad day for north Wiltshire because no party can do anything constructive when they have that majority. Only one member needs to be away for the system to fail," he said.

He was also concerned that Coun Coleman's work in Europe might take her away from the district council. Coun Coleman, formerly deputy group leader, said her new role had come as a surprise.

She has plenty of experience in the leading role, however, serving as leader of the district council from 1994 to 1999, succeeding Coun Christine Napier before the elections of 1995.

She stepped down in 1995 to give more time to other interests and because she felt it was time for a change, and Mr Packham stepped in.

Coun Coleman also works for the Improvement and Development Agency, a body responsible for the training and support of local authority councillors.

She said she was looking forward to leading the group into a new era.

"I am really very impressed with the quality of our 16 new members, who have a wealth of experience from all walks of life," she said.