Redditch Borough Council election: Labour wins control

The council is now made up of 21 Labour, 5 Conservatives and 1 Green councillor in a result which is an important battleground.

Labour picked up nine seats and overall control, while the Conservatives saw their tally drop by 11.

It is the first time Labour has taken control of Redditch Borough Council since 2018.

The party said on social media: "We would like to thank everybody who voted Labour for a fresh start in Redditch.

"You have put your trust in us and we won't let you down."

The Greens won one seat.

Matt Dormer, who had been leader of the previously Conservative council, retained his seat.

But overall his party lost 11 seats in total, while Labour picked up nine to give it overall control.

The new council leader is councillor Joe Baker. 

Boundary changes meant all the council seats were contested.

Vote counting in Redditch (Image: Redditch Borough Council Facebook)

Ballot boxes began arriving at the Worcestershire town's Abbey Stadium shortly after polls closed at 10pm, with the final result coming just before 5am this morning (Friday May 3).

The turnout was an average of 29.45% across the nine wards.

It has been a bad night for Tories as Labour has won Blackpool South by-election and made gains in polls across England. 

The Tories have so far have lost around half the seats they were defending. 

Many results are still to come.