Local elections 2023: Labour narrowly fails to take control of Burnley

The Greens, the Tories and the Lib Dems all won seven seats in Burnley while Labour won 21 and there were three others

Labour has narrowly failed to wrestle control of Burnley falling short by two seats, although the party is still its largest block.

It won two more seats bringing its tally to 21 of the 45 seats.

Elsewhere, the party cruised to convincing but widely expected victories in Chorley, Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.

The Tories lost control of Pendle with Labour taking one seat off them, and the Lib Dems gaining two seats.

In South Ribble, Labour gained an outright majority on the council for the first time in more than 20 years, taking seven seats from the Conservatives.

The party also regained control of West Lancashire Council, which it lost two years ago, taking two seats from the Tories and two from independents.

In Blackburn with Darwen, Labour gained a seat from both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and now has a 39-12 lead over the Tories.

Labour gained five seats in Chorley from the Conservatives and now has 37 of the 42 councillors.

In Pendle, the Conservatives have 14 seats, Labour has 11, the Lib Dems seven and one other. The party also lost overall control of Ribble Valley, losing 10 seats, which left it one short of an overall majority.

Chorley was the first council in Lancashire to declare its results

Labour took control of Blackpool, where it had been the largest single party, winning five seats, including one from the Tories, and defeating four independent councillors.

However, the party failed in its hopes of breaking the deadlock in Hyndburn as no seats changed hands, with Labour and the Tories remaining on 16 seats apiece.

Altham ward was retained by Labour, which had suffered a number of defections in recent years, beating former leader Miles Parkinson, who quit the party in 2022 and had remained as an independent councillor.

The Greens in Burnley, where Labour ceded control in 2019, are now seven-strong after winning in Trinity ward while Tory victories in Cliviger with Worsthorne brought the party's total to seven.

The party also made good gains in Lancaster, with 10 seats, though it remains in no overall control.

Elsewhere in East Lancashire, Labour held Rossendale,taking three more seats, with the Greens also gaining their first seat on the council.

Preston remained in Labour hands with the party increasing its majority by one after gaining a seat from the Tories.

The Conservatives retained control in both Fylde and Wyre,though not without suffering some losses, as the party lost seven seats in Wyre and one in Fylde.

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Landslide result

Labour's leader in Chorley Alistair Bradley told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the landslide result was "a fantastic night" for his party.

"To win almost every seat up for grabs is a huge endorsement of the work we are doing for our residents and shows that people can tell the difference we are making in our communities.

"I'd like to thank everyone who has supported us at this election and look forward to delivering even more for the people of Chorley in the coming year.

"Alongside the hard work we have done locally, it is also a sign that people are fed up with the incompetent government that has made a complete mess of things nationally and I hope to see Labour make gains across Lancashire and the country."

Conservative group leader Alan Cullens concurred with his triumphant political rival that national factors had been at play, as he reflected on "a very difficult night".

"Whilst this was a local election, the message on the doorstep was [about] the state of the national party," he said.

"Turnout in some wards was less than 30%, so this election was by no means a ringing endorsement for Labour, locally [nor] nationally.

"We now regroup and will continue to hold the ruling group to account," Mr Cullens pledged.

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