Council changes across Cumbria

The elections are a barometer

There were mixed fortunes for the Labour and the Conservative parties in the local elections.

Labour lost control of Allerdale, but gained seats in Carlisle, where one of the most dramatic changes of the evening took place.

The Conservatives lost control of the marginally-held Carlisle City Council after Labour won four seats.

But, after winning his own seat, the Conservative mayor Alan Toole announced he was resigning from the party.

It means the Tories have 23 seats to Labour's 22 and that no party is in overall control.

In Allerdale, the council leader Mark Fryer did not come a close second in his fight for the Seaton seat.

That was just one of nine losses for Labour, which lost control of the council in the west of the county. The main beneficiaries were the Conservatives, who picked up six seats.

Casting vote

Labour has however secured outright control of Barrow Council - gaining two extra seats.

The party had held power for a year, thanks to the casting vote of the mayor.

Labour retook Ormsgill, ousting the sole People's Party councillor Jim Hamezian. In marginal Parkside, Labour's Steve Groundwater beat the sitting Tory, Shirley Richardson.

In Copeland, the postal ballot boosted the turnout to nearly 56%, and Labour still has control of the council after gaining two seats.

Labour gained two seats, the Conservatives lost one, and the Liberal Democrats held onto their only place on the council after a triple recount.

Independent councillors

In South Lakeland, the Liberal Democrat ambition of winning a controlling majority remained unfulfilled. They ended the night two seats up but may not even gain an extra cabinet position as a result.

And Eden District Council remains in the hands of the Independents, the majority of whom were returned unopposed.

The Conservatives now have five seats and the Liberal Democrats have four councillors. But the Labour party has lost the only seat they had at the town hall in Penrith.

But of the 38 seats, only 12 had more than one candidate.