There were hugs, cheers and tears as Labour rode a wave of success in Tameside’s all-out election that turned last year’s turbulence into a distant memory.
The council’s former leader, Brenda Warrington, continued in the role for just a handful of days following last year’s election before being replaced by Ged Cooney. Yet there were few signs of struggle for those wearing the red rosette, as Labour gained four councillors - wiping out the Green Party’s one-member presence, regaining a seat from an independent and reversing recent progress made by the Conservatives.
Against the backdrop of a positive night for Labour nationally, Tameside leader Coun Cooney said: “We’ve had a great night. Everyone would expect us to win [seats] off the Tories, but we’ve actually took the seat back from the Greens, so people must believe that we’ve got an environmentally green policy that suits them and that’s important to us.
