Labour regain control of Tamworth Borough Council
First time in 20 years that the town has gone red
THE ballots have been cast, the votes have been tallied and it is official that the Labour Party has gained control of Tamworth Borough Council for the first time in 20 years. Result after result showed a palpable momentum and by the end of the night the Conservative Party had managed to retain just one seat.
Ahead of the election the council was controlled by a minority Conservative administration, which had 14 of the 30 wards available. The Labour group made gains at last year’s election, getting 8 of the 10 wards up for grabs.
Working with this arithmetic, if Labour were to replicate this here they would gain control of the council for the first time in 20 years. By the end of the night they had.
Residents at the moment have become accustomed to voting, having voted in a byelection in October following the scandal over the former MP, Chris Pincher. At that time the people of Tamworth elected their first Labour MP since 2010 in Sarah Edwards.
This set of councillors were elected in 2021, which nationally saw an increase in Tory vote share and in Tamworth saw the party return a clean sweep of councillors to the town hall.
Some big names had previously decided not to seek reelection, including current Mayor John Harper and former leader, Danny Cook. Cllr Cook broke away from the party along with six colleagues in 2022 and formed his own electoral party, Tamworth Independent Future.
Before counting for the local authority got underway, things were already looking positive for the Labour Group as their candidate for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner topped the poll with a lead of just under 600 votes, despite losing county-wide.
The afternoon was filled with upset as Tory stalwart Robert Pritchard, who had been on the council for 20 years, was defeated. Deputy Mayor Daniel Maycock could also not hold on to his seat.
Another big loss on the night was for Andrew Cooper, the current portfolio holder for waste, recycling and environment, and whom contested the by-election in October, who could not win over Stonydelph residents. The glimmer of hope was for Martin Summers who managed to be the single Tory holding on at the end of the night - winning Trinity Ward by just over 100 votes.
The balance of power in Tamworth has well and truly shifted at this former bellwether and Labour activists here will hope they can keep up their efforts at the general election.