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  2. Labour holds on in the North East

    Richard Moss

    Political editor, North East & Cumbria

    There was never much to gain for Labour in an area where they remain a dominant electoral force, but they will at least be encouraged that losses were more limited than in previous years.

    Their challenge though now is to begin to claw back previous losses, particularly in Sunderland.

    The party started the night perilously perched in that authority - having lost 19 seats in the last two elections, they were just six more defeats from losing overall control.

    In the end, even if they didn't begin to claw seats back, they at least stopped the rot. One seat fell to the Lib Dems, but the Conservatives failed to make any gains.

    And crucially council leader Graeme Miller (pictured below) held on despite a Tory campaign which even featured a visit by Boris Johnson to his Washington ward.

    The Conservatives did win a Labour seat in North Tyneside, but also lost one - their group leader Sean Brockbank the casualty.

    As he had called for the Prime Minister to resign over Partygate, he may well feel pretty sore.

    Labour did suffer in South Tyneside as they lost four seats for the second year in a row.

    They remain firmly in control but the Green Party continue to build a bridgehead, doubling their representation to six councillors.

    Graeme Miller celebrates
    Copyright: Getty Images
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