IN the immediate aftermath of elections there are always mixed feelings.

You lose councillors with great experience after years of dedicated public service; you see the arrival of young and enthusiastic new faces; some of your brightest hopes do not win the support of the electorate.

Greens in Stroud have seen our number of councillors increase from six to eight, bucking the national trend.

But in Stroud we have also seen something very unusual in British politics, something I think we should celebrate more.

This election saw an increased support for three parties working together for the good of their community.

It is not a formal coalition but the alliance has achieved much: making 600 council houses more energy efficient, warmer and cheaper to run and building 150 new affordable council houses – the first in Stroud for 30 years – with 86 more in the pipeline.

The council has also managed to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, saving taxpayers £170,000 per year.

It seems likely that the Council will continue to be run by a cooperative administration and it seems to be something local people like: a recent survey indicates that resident satisfaction has increased to 78%.

Electoral reform might open up similar possibilities in national government and move us on from the sterility of recent years when so many people's political wishes have not been represented at Westminster and we have seemed stuck in the past as our European neighbours have rushed ahead in areas like renewable energy and lean manufacturing.

It will come as no surprise that I am strongly in favour of electoral reform but I believe the success of the constructive cooperation we have seen in Stroud strengthens the case for this.

Our local community has the best that the three collaborating parties have to offer - combining people from a variety of political backgrounds, with different skills, working together for common benefit.

It’s a better type of politics. Judging from the recent election results, the combination is something people in Stroud like.