Durham Council was the first county hall to go red in 1919 and had been in continuous control by Labour since 1925. But Labour lost 16 seats on the council in Thursday's local elections - its worst loss on any council in England so far. It comes after Tory Richard Holden won Durham North West from Labour left-winger Laura Pidcock in the 2019 general election. But the result will still send shockwaves through Keir Starmer's Labour party, which was already reeling from local election results. Keir Starmer's party lost control of Harlow, Sheffield, Plymouth and Southampton while Tories made a string of gains across the Midlands and the North, including Sunderland.

Source: Daily Mirror May 09, 2021 06:29 UTC