Nick Clegg: A fantastic night for the Lib Dems
- 00:01:13
- ITN
Nick Clegg: A fantastic night for the Lib Dems
The Labour Party has suffered heavy losses to the Tories and Liberal Democrats in the local elections. In the first council to declare overnight, Labour was forced into third place in Bristol, losing a string of seats to the Liberal Democrats, who took overall control for the first time in their history. Conservatives also picked up seats from Labour in the city. The Government lost eight of its ten contested seats - four to the Liberal Democrats and four to the Conservatives. A total of 23 seats were up for grabs at the city council, one of only four authorities in the UK to hold an overnight count. Labour MP for Bristol South Dawn Primarolo remained defiant, but said the result was "clearly disappointing". "Lots of good Labour councillors have lost their seats tonight. It's undeniable that the voters are angry and it focused around the issues at Westminster and MPs expenses," she said. "But from speaking to people on the doorstep, as I have, it's quite clear that people are saying we've got a Prime Minister who's got strength, determination and intelligence and Gordon Brown will lead us out of this recession". Labour failed to win a single seat on the new Central Bedfordshire unitary authority, the second council to declare. As expected the Tories had a landslide victory. The Conservatives also increased their overall control of Lincolnshire County Council at the expense of Labour, whose share of the vote fell in virtually every seat. But there was some comfort for Labour in Scotland, with two local council by-election victories over the SNP. The vacancies in Glasgow and North Lanarkshire were created by Nationalist councillors standing down after becoming MSPs. Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray declared it a "stunning" result for his party. He added: "It is also a personal humiliation for Alex Salmond as two of the seats won were vacated by his SNP MSPs standing down from their dual council roles." The remainder of the council election results are expected between noon and 8pm, with European results due on Sunday evening. Meanwhile, independent Stuart Drummond has been re-elected Mayor of Hartlepool for a third term. It is the first time a mayor has successfully won a third spell in office since directly elected mayors were introduced. Mr Drummond began his political career as H'Angus the Monkey, the mascot for the local football club.
ITN | June 5, 2009
