LABOUR have suffered a catastrophe in the local elections after losing control of all five Tees Valley councils and dozens of seats in the process.

The results mean Labour has lost control of Middlesbrough Council for the first time since 1974, Stockton Borough Council for the first time since 1979, Darlington Borough Council for the first time since 1991 and Hartlepool Borough Council for the first time since 2010.

In Darlington, the party lost control of the council and the Conservatives are now the biggest party.

The Tories have 22 seats, Labour 20, Liberal Democrats three, Independent three, and Greens two.

Conservative leader Heather Scott said she was "absolutely delighted" with the result.

In Middlesbrough, Labour have lost their majority for the first time since the council was created.

Independents are currently on 22 seats, with Labour on 18. One result is still to declare.

In Hartlepool, Labour were left without a majority, and suffered several losses including two senior councillor, whilst in Stockton, it has been confirmed the party cannot retain control.

Labour have also suffered significant losses in Redcar, falling from 29 seats to 15. Independents are now the biggest group with 18,Lib Dems on 13, Conservatives 11 and UKIP two.

There was also a crushing defeat for Labour in the Middlesbrough Mayor election, with Independent Andy Preston storming to victory to win with 58 per cent of the vote.

His nearest rival, Labour’s Mick Thompson, came in at 22.93 per cent.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the results were "stunning", adding: "The people of the Tees Valley have voted for real, positive change."

In Hartlepool, Labour councillors Rob Cook, chair of the planning committee, and deputy council leader Kevin Cranney, chair of the regeneration committee, lost their seats in the De Bruce and Foggy Furze ward respectively.

In De Bruce The For Britain Movement gained their first seat with Karen King, while in Foggy Furze, Lee Cartwright, from the Veterans’ and People’s Party, gained the seat.


The party lost overall control of Stockton Council, throwing the future of decisions at the authority into uncertainty, as they lost six seats in all – taking 24 of the 56 seats available, while the Thornaby independents made hay.


Labour remains the biggest group in the borough, but it fell short of the 29 it needed to form a majority administration.


Group leader Cllr Bob Cook kept his Norton South seat – but said the overall picture was “disappointing”.


Cllr Cook said: “We’ve got to go back and look at what we’re going to do.


“It’s disappointing for us to lose six seats but we’ll see later on what we are going to do.


“From last night, we thought we were safe in the seats we held but obviously it wasn’t to be.


“The country is exactly the same as what’s happened elsewhere in the country where independents have won in place and Lib Dems have won in places.


“It’s definitely disappointing because we lost some good councillors and that’s always a concern as they gave a lot to the wards they represented.


“It’s a disappointing day all around.”


Elsewhere, it was Independents’ Day in Middlesbrough as local elections saw Labour trounced at the ballot box.


The party had held majority control in Middlesbrough ever since the creation of the borough council in 1973, and before Friday, Labour held twice as many seats as all the opposition put together – 31 Labour to five Conservatives and 10 independents.


But all that would change in a matter of hours as the votes began to roll in from polling stations across the town.


Of particular note was the decimation of much of Dave Budd’s executive team, with Lewis Young the first of the senior councillors to fall, and perhaps the biggest upset came when former deputy mayor, Charlie Rooney failed to keep his Longlands and Beechwood seat.


In Redcar, the party fell from a near majority position of 29 seats to just 15, leaving independents as the biggest group with 18.


The Liberal Democrats had 13 seats, the Conservatives 11 and UKIP two.


Labour’s Sue Jeffrey said the result was a “huge disappointment” but wouldn’t be drawn on whether Labour would discuss a potential coalition with any other group.


Lib Dem Glyn Nightingale said they were delighted to gain two more councillors which mirrored a national surge.


He said any decision on whether they’d go into coalition with another group would be a decision every councillor would need to make after a discussion.