Ward-by-ward results as Tories take BIG majority

THE Conservatives’ triumph across large swathes of North East Lincolnshire have resulted in a huge majority for the party on the council. Following on from their success in 2019 when they took control of the authority, the Tories solidified their hold by gaining eight seats, some in previously solid Labour-supporting areas.

Council leader Philip Jackson’s party now hold 31 seats on the 42-seat council, leaving Labour on just eight and the Liberal Democrats on three. It completes the latest phase of a seismic shift in the political make-up of North East Lincolnshire over the past decade.

The local elections held in 2012 saw Labour take overall control of the council for the first time in years, boosting their seat count to 25. However, in elections over the intervening years, the party gradually saw its grip loosen with the authority reverting back to a Labour minority administration in 2014 before making further losses in 2016.

Though they remained the largest party in 2018, the following year saw the Conservatives overtake them with a slender majority of 23 seats out of the 42 on the council.

On Friday, that narrow lead turned into something of a landslide with the Tories ending the day with 31 councillors after making eight gains. Meanwhile, Labour went down from 14 to eight while the Liberal Democrats lost one councillor to end the day with three. Ukip’s presence on the council came to an end with their one remaining councillor, Jane Bramley, losing her South ward seat.

Only two seats contested this year ended the day a different colour than blue with the Liberal Democrats holding the pair that were up for re-election in the East Marsh.