Conservatives lose control of Darlington Council in major blow

Labour now has the most seats, reversing a historic defeat in 2019, but does not have enough for a majority.

The Tories fell from holding 22 seats to just 14.

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The Labour Party, led locally by Cllr Stephen Harker won 23 of the 50 seats up for grabs.

The Greens took seven seats and the Lib Dems took three and one independent.

It is a major blow for the Tories whose 2019 result in Darlington paved the way for sweeping success in that year's General Election.

The result is a big success for the Labour Party who have made huge gains across the country, including in key red wall seats.

It paves the way for an agreement between Labour and other parties such as the Greens.

See the results using our interactive chart

Every seat on Darlington Council was up for election for the first time since 2019 when the Conservatives became the largest party on Darlington Borough Council after Labour suffered significant losses, including several seats to their arch rivals.

Four years ago Labour lost nine seats and control, while the Tories gained five to become the largest party with 22 seats. The result became a precursor to the result in that year’s General Election when the Tories went on take the town’s seat from Labour.

When Ben Houchen, the Conservative mayor for the Tees Valley, was first elected in 2017, all five council leaders in the area were Labour. But by the 2019 General Election no council was under overall Labour control.

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Voters headed to the polls across the Tees Valley on Thursday with every seat being contested on four councils – Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar and Cleveland – and a third of the seats being contested in Hartlepool.

Results will be announced throughout the day on Friday (May 5).

More to follow.