The first full council elections in Milton Keynes for 12 years have certainly led to changes.
The Liberal Democrats are the largest party for the first time since 2010, and the Conservatives have bucked the national trend by making gains.
Reform UK, meanwhile, went from no councillors to nine, with the highest share of the vote at 24%.
Labour leader Pete Marland did not stand for re-election and is one of a group of councillors who have either stood down voluntarily or been stood down by the electorate, with a new leader set to be named in the coming days.
But for the council's 22 new faces, Friday was the start of a new chapter in their lives as they began their political journeys.
New Reform councillor Millie Rook in Bletchley West will have a familiar face alongside her as Melvyn, her husband of 36 years, has also been elected for the ward.
They moved to the city three years ago. Millie said it would be good to have her husband with her so they could support each other.
Melvyn said: We've replaced a married Labour couple in our ward [Mick and Mandy Legg].
Millie sort of got me into it and I thought either we would lose together or win together, so I’m really glad we both won.
During a varied career, Millie has worked for the NHS as a nurse and in education and charitable organisations.
She said: I saw a Reform UK flyer which said 'Britain is broken' so I'm going to give myself to help the services and just be there for people.
She said she would endeavour to be a listening ear to people who "have not got the voice."
Melvyn worked in the oil and gas industry for 35 years in Aberdeen and also lived in Grimsby.
He was "pretty elated that all the hard work over the last four months has paid off," he said.
"Politically, I switched, I guess, between Labour and Conservative, but I've always liked Nigel Farage; I was pro-Brexit and stuff like that," he said.
"We're new to it - we're not career politicians - so it's going to be quite exciting."
Joining them in Bletchley West for Reform is 21-year-old Finlay Hughes, who is a civil servant in the Prison Service.
"Politically I became interested during Brexit because that was a big thing and I was very young at the time," he said.
"I realised how much people can make change if they just put themselves towards an ideology and that's kind of what got me into politics, and it hasn't got any less exciting over the last 10 years."
Labour's Jordan Coventry, elected in Central Milton Keynes, will join his mother Donna Fuller and sister Amber as city councillors.
"It does seem to be in the gene pool and in the blood but I'm privileged to serve alongside them as they are very experienced councillors," he said.
Raised in the city's Coffee Hall district before heading to university, he has taught at a school in Milton Keynes for 11 years and said: I think it's important that children have an education; that doors are open for them as opportunity can sometimes miss this community, and I think that's wrong.
On why he stood, he said: I see lots of things going on in the world and think that it's wrong of me to sit by and be a bystander.
It's correct to set an example for the children I teach and speak against things I don't think are correct.
In terms of what lay ahead, he said: I don't think shy is the right word, but I think that some nerves are expected.
I think it is OK to be anxious but now we've got a job to do and let's crack on with that.
For Conservative Johnny Luk, the winning feeling is sweeter as he previously stood and lost in two elections, including the General Election in the Milton Keynes Central constituency in 2024.
"I came second to Labour and realised it was a very tough experience for me, but success is not measured by the downsides, it's measured by perseverance, and I'm really grateful residents recognised that and saw the hard work I've put in," he said.
Luk grew up in Milton Keynes and said the city was "absolutely amazing."
"I get very frustrated when all people think about is the 150-plus roundabouts or the concrete cows," he said.
"We have art, we have new and amazing architecture, but more importantly we have a really wide range of diverse people."
He said being in a council chamber for the first time would be "an amazing and surreal feeling" and added: "We are a large city and there's only 60 councillors so it's a huge responsibility."