Local elections 2018: Conservatives take control of Pendle
- Published
Labour have so far gained three wards in Lancashire
The Conservatives have taken control of Pendle Council, which was previously under no overall control but led by Labour.
The Tories won six wards in the district to Labour's seven and the Liberal Democrats' three.
Labour gained a handful of seats in Lancashire, retaining control of Preston, West Lancashire and Chorley.
In West Lancashire, the Conservatives lost three seats - two taken by Labour and one by the Liberal Democrats.
The new Conservative leader of Pendle Council, Paul White, said the party had been "waiting a very long time to get to this stage".
He added: "It is 39 years since Pendle Council was last in Conservative control. We've done it. We are absolutely over the moon and we can now deliver on our positive plan."
Meanwhile, Labour gained two seats from the Tories in Preston and one from the same opposition in Chorley.
Saima Afzal, who came second in three previous elections, with and Maryam Batan
Labour retained Blackburn Council, where Saima Afzal and Maryam Batan became the authority's first Asian women councillors, with the party and the Conservatives taking a seat each off the Lib Dems.
Ms Afzal, a former Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire, previously came second in three different Blackburn wards, in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Chorley's Labour MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle said it was a "very good night" for the party in the town.
Labour also kept control of Hyndburn, winning all seven seats they were defending with the Conservatives taking two seats off UKIP to wipe out their presence on the council.
The party also retained neighbouring Rossendale although they lost one seat to the Tories.
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The seat gained by Labour in Chorley, Euxton South, was subject to a recount since there were only 10 votes between candidates.
Gillian Sharples was eventually declared the winner with 715 votes, ahead of Conservative Phil Loynes on 704.
Analysis
By BBC Radio Lancashire political reporter Mike Stevens
All of our council elections this time round - except for Blackburn with Darwen - were for just one third of councillors, which means any major surprises were unlikely.
The exception to that was Pendle Council, which was on a knife edge.
The campaign in Pendle has been fierce - with each side trying to get one over on each other.
There's no doubt it's been a significant result.