Labour bruised in County Hall elections

THE Conservatives strengthened their grip on Teesdale but Labour clung on to their County Durham majority in last week’s local elections.
The Labour Party lost 20 seats, including high-profile cabinet member Neil Foster, who was in charge of economic regeneration and culture. It was also a strong day for the independents with 23 seats claimed countywide.
Meanwhile in Teesdale, Evenwood saw one change in personnel with Labour’s Andy Turner losing his seat to Tory stalwart Stephen Hugill after six years in the post.
In Barnard Castle’s East and West wards, Conservatives Richard Bell, Ted Henderson, George Richardson and James Rowlandson swept the board.
Labour council leader Simon Henig reclaimed his Chester le Street seat but admitted it had been a challenging day for his party.
He said: “I’m pleased to have been re-elected in what was a very challenging campaign for myself. It’s always very sad to see colleagues lose their seats – it’s sad to see Andy Turner, who has been a staunch Labour man in Teesdale, lose his seat.”
Teesdale’s Labour members were upbeat following their losses – pointing to higher shares of the dale vote than last time around.  Unsuccessful Barnard Castle West candidate Frank Roche said: “I think we’re quite pleased with that – it’s progress from last time in a difficult national environment. It’s a pretty good result for our branch and we think the exchanges on the NHS probably helped us.”
Turnout in Teesdale was better than the rest of the county with more than one in three dale folk going to the polls last Thursday (May 4).
Cllr Bell, who gathered 1,837 votes, was delighted he and Cllr Henderson would continue to represent Barnard Castle West.
He said: “Ted and I try and work hard and give a good service – it’s nice to see that is supported.”
Cllr Henderson added: “It’s nice to know people in Teesdale have confidence in Richard and I to press on regardless.”
Labour’s Heather Smith retained her seat in Evenwood and was pleased to be back.
She added: “I’m thrilled to be back – it’s such a lovely area to cover. I am sorry my colleague Andy Turner has not but such is life.”
Mr Turner will continue as a parish councillor in West Auckland. He added: “I'm pleased we got Heather back in topping the poll. I’m not going to stop and I will help Heather with what she does.”
Cllr Richardson comfortably retained his seat with his nearest challenger 540 votes adrift. 
He said: “I’m delighted and humbled that the electorate have shown confidence in the work we have done and the work we’re still hoping to do. “ 
Labour’s Emma Rowell said she was pleased with her tally of 752 votes in Barnard Castle East despite losing out.
She said: “We have not stopped – we’ve got the national election to think about now.  We’ve had a pretty good turnout of 37 per cent – we would like to increase that.”
The cafe owner suffered a second electoral blow over the weekend – missing out on a Barnard Castle Town Council seat by just ten votes.
However, she could still be co-opted onto the east ward of the parish council. Independent Thom Robinson claimed 478 votes in the Barnard Castle East ward.
Labour got off the mark early at the count, held at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, with wins in its heartlands signalling a continuation of the status quo. But there were moments of high drama as the afternoon wore on with prominent cabinet member Neil Foster sent packing in the wake of controversy over the closure of the DLI Museum.
Spennymoor Independents eroded Labour’s council majority from another angle,  leading the fight for the local interest groups.
The “people before politics” party took five seats including all three in the Spennymoor ward and all seats on its town council while the Derwentside Independents claimed six seats.
 West Auckland didn’t buck the county trend with Labour candidates Rob Yorke and Christine Wilson returning to the county chamber.
Cllr Yorke said: “We feel we have represented West Auckland well in the past ten years – I think that paid off.
“We have got lots of projects ongoing and there is always a lot of work to do.”
The final standings were: Labour 74 seats, Independents 23, Liberal Democrats 14, Conservatives 10 with “other parties” claiming five.