Tory defeats include loss of control of Bromsgrove District Council

The Conservatives suffered a disastrous night in Worcester and Bromsgrove as lost seats upended dominance.

At Bromsgrove District Council, the Tories lost control of the authority for the first time since 1999.

While they have the largest amount of seats with 11, other results mean no party has overall control there.

At Worcester City Council, Labour became the largest party for the first time in 23 years, with the Tories losing all seven seats they defended.

Worcester was under no overall control and that remains the case despite Labour's strides.

Results in Worcester also had the Tories falling behind the Green Party which took four seats to become the second largest group.

In Bromsgrove, Conservative councillor Karen May said the outcome was disappointing for her group but stressed her party was still the largest block.

"People are experiencing great challenges around the cost of living," she said. "The residents have sent a clear message: they are financially challenged."

She added of the seats amassed: "I am grateful for those seats and we will work for the people of Bromsgrove."

Overall in Bromsgrove, the Conservatives lost seven seats with Labour gaining five and the Lib Dems two.

The Labour group now has eight seats, the Independents stay on seven seats and the Lib Dems have five.

Sam Ammar, the chair of Bromsgrove's Labour Party, said the party had put a lot of effort into the election.

People felt their concerns were not being addressed and they had not been listened to, Ms Ammar said.

"We are not surprised that many people in Bromsgrove have decided the right thing to do is to vote differently."

Among the Tories to lose their seats in Worcester was former council leader Chris Mitchell, who was beaten by Green Party candidate Victoria Pingree.

He said while candidates had tried to keep the election about local issues when speaking to voters on doorsteps, the wider political landscape had dominated.

"We don't influence what goes on in the National Health Service or things like that, but residents kept going back to national issues," he said.

When asked by the BBC whether the defeat was a red flag for the Conservatives in the next general election, Mr Mitchell pointed out the Worcester parliamentary seat was "relatively marginal".

"Whoever the next candidate will be knows they've got a tough job on their hands," he said.

It is the first time since 2000 Labour can claim to be the largest party on Worcester City Council.

It now has 13 seats, with the Green Party on 10, Conservatives on eight and the Liberal Democrats on four.

The Green Party sent congratulation to its candidates who ousted the Conservative councillors from their seats.

Worcester Green Party leader Marjory Bisset said she was "just so pleased and so proud of all our wonderful candidates" and put success down to hard work and also "the Conservatives not being very popular at the moment".

"They've made a complete hash of running this country for the last 12 years," she added.

Elsewhere in Worcestershire, Wychavon remained Conservative although the party did lose three seats. The Green Party gained four to give them six seats on the council, with Labour having one and the Lib Dems five.

Malvern Hills remained with no party in overall control. The Conservatives lost five seats and the Independents gained six, making them the largest party on the council with 16 seats.

There was good news for the Conservatives in Wyre Forest as they took back control of the district council, after four years of being out of power. They made six gains, but it was a bad result for the Independents. Following the disbanding of the Health Concern Party before the election, the Independents lost seven seats.

Redditch saw Labour increase its number of councillors to 13, but the Conservatives remain in power with 16.

Labour leader Joe Baker said he was "ecstatic" with the gains. His party faced "a massive mountain to climb" to take the eight seats it needed, with only 10 up for election this year, he said.

But he pointed out Labour only had four seats a year ago and now had more than treble that.

He said the result proved "Redditch is now a Labour leading town when it comes to elections".

Conservative leader in Redditch, Matt Dormer, said he would have taken the result if it had been offered to him the day before and admitted he had been concerned when counting started.

He said he believed his party had "been the victim of the national picture".

"We're still in control, that's the main thing - we can still deliver on our promise," he added.