Labour takes control of Tamworth after 21 years

Tamworth Labour councillors celebrated the result

Labour has taken control of Tamworth Borough Council for the first time in 21 years.

The party gained nine seats on Friday, leaving the Tories with just one out of the 10 seats up for election.

It means Labour have 18 seats in all, with new council leader Carol Dean saying she was "stunned" by the result.

Meanwhile in Cannock, Labour has taken full control of the council after previously ruling in partnerships with the Greens.

The coalition followed the results last year which left the council under no overall control.

Historically, Cannock was a Labour stronghold until 2021 when the Conservatives took control for the first time.

Turnout there was about 25% on Thursday.

Carol Dean is the new leader of Tamworth Borough Council

Labour now has a majority of six, with the party having 21 seats. The Conservatives have 10, and the Greens have five.

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Tony Johnson, Labour council leader and former miner, said: “I’m absolutely delighted, there’s been a tremendous amount of work gone in by a rejuvenated and re-organised team and we’ve taken back control of this council."

He added that he believed an anti-Conservative vote had been "quite marked", with the government "dramatically unpopular", stating the situation boded well "for Labour come the forthcoming General Election".

There were counts for 36 seats on Cannock Chase District Council

All of the council's seats were up for election this year due to Boundary Commission changes, meaning 36 seats were up for grabs.

Before the boundary changes there were 41 seats.

Conservative group leader Olivia Lyons said: "I think the results are really difficult because locally we’re not used to all-out elections so that in itself, in addition to the new boundaries, has thrown some challenges."

In Stoke-on-Trent, Labour retained the Meir North seat following a by-election, with Lauren Davison the newest elected member on the city council.

The Independent candidate was second, and Conservatives third, and the turnout was 17.61%.

Labour now has 29 seats on the city council, the Conservatives have 14, and there is one City Independent councillor.