Tory triumph as Labour suffers wipeout
Author: Local Government Chronicle |
Humiliating defeats have been confirmed for Labour in the party’s last four county council strongholds, on a day of triumph for the Conservatives.
The Tories won landslide victories in Lancashire and Staffordshire, a closer win in Derbyshire and took Nottinghamshire into no overall control.
Labour, led by Hazel Harding, were destroyed in Lancashire, winning just 16 seats, compared to the Tories’ 51.
In one ward a Labour majority of 1,300 was transformed into a Conservative majority of 165.
Earlier, in Staffordshire which had been Labour since 1981, the party’s majority of one was wiped out in the most comprehensive manner.
The Conservatives gained an astonishing 49 seats and Labour just three.
In Derbyshire, the Conservatives, lef by Alan Lewer, had a narrower victory, winning 33 of the 64 seats. Labour won just 21.
The Tories also had a good day in Nottinghamshire, winning 32 seats compared to Labour’s eight.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives won Warwickshire, which had previously seen no overall control.