THE Labour Party has moved quickly to appoint a new leader following the shock defeat of Brian Stephens in last week's Sedgefield Borough Council elections.

Long serving council leader Mr Stephens was the biggest casualty on a bad night for Labour, which saw significant gains for the Liberal Democrats and Independent candidates.

Although still firmly in control of the council, Labour saw its majority cut from 35 to 20 and lost almost half of the seats which were contested on the night.

Mr Stephens and Labour colleague Frank Timmiss lost their Thickley seats to independent candidates David Hancock and John Smith.

After the election, Mr Stephens, leader of the council since 1984, put a brave face on his defeat.

He said: "The postal vote success has proved that democracy is alive and kicking. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all the successful candidates and wish Sedgefield Borough Council every success for the future."

In a meeting of the Labour group the morning after the election, Coun Bob Fleming from Newton Aycliffe was appointed as its new leader.

Coun Fleming, leader of Great Aycliffe Town Council, had been widely tipped to take-over, but it is understood he had to beat off an unexpected challenge for the leadership.

His appointment as leader of the council is expected to be rubber-stamped at the annual general meeting on May 16.

His deputy will be Fishburn's Kester Noble, but the make-up of the new cabinet has not yet been decided.

There will also be some jockeying for position to find a new mayor, as current deputy Linda Byrne was one of last week's casualties.

Opposition members on Sedgefield Borough Council have warned that they now expect a greater say in decision making. There are now 15 opposition members, including seven Independents, seven Liberal Democrats and a Conservative in Sedgefield village.

Coun Ben Ord, whose Liberal Democrats now have a majority in the Spennymoor ward, said he wanted to see the opposition represented on any new cabinet.

He said: "The bottom line is there should be two places in the cabinet for the opposition, one Liberal Democrat and one Independent."