The mayor of North Tyneside was left delighted after a successful night for the Labour Party in the 2022 local elections that saw the Conservative group leader lose his seat.
Coun Sean Brockbank lost his ward of Monkseaton South to Labour candidate Martin Murphy after the late arrival of thousands of postal votes saw the count go on well into the early hours of the morning. Labour also claimed the Howdon ward from councillor Maureen Madden, who did not run for re-election - thought it wasn't all good news for the party, with cabinet member for housing Steve Cox losing the Collingwood Ward to the Conservatives' Olly Scargill.
However, the party strengthened its grip on the authority further, now controlling 51 of the 60 seats on the council, with the Tories holding the remaining nine.
Read more: North Tyneside Council local election results 2022: How every candidate scored
Speaking after the count, mayor Norma Redfearn said: "I'm overjoyed. It's very reassuring that the voters of North Tyneside have put their faith in us once again.
"It's even with the Conservatives because we've lost one councillor, but we've taken their leader. This is the tenth year of this administration, and if people are still with us it is amazing. The residents of North Tyneside are amazing, they have got us through a lot of difficult times."
The mayor said that she was "proud" that the people of North Tyneside had once again put their faith in Labour.
Martin Murphy took Conservative leader Sean Brockbank's seat by 1,798 votes to 1,412 - a majority of 386.
Speaking after his election, Coun Murphy said: "The people of Monkseaton South have taken a chance on a new face and put their trust in me. I will repay that trust."
Speaking to the Local Democracy Service, he added: "We always knew that if you campaign on the things that are important to residents' lives, people will put their trust in you," and thanked his fellow Monseaton South Labour councillors Naomi Craven and Davey Drummond for their work in laying the foundations for his election.
Elsewhere, it was a poor night for both the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party. In a break from the national trend, both parties failed to win any seats, despite targeting the Weetslade and Whitley Bay wards respectively.
