THE Labour Party has retained control of Redditch Borough Council.

Labour won seven seats and the Conservatives just two in last night’s election which saw Labour hit the ground running at the count, at The Abbey Stadium, gaining three consecutive seats.

Nine council seats were up for grabs across the borough in Batchley & Brockhill, Central, Church Hill, Greenlands, Headless Cross & Oakenshaw, Lodge Park, Matchborough, West, and Winyates.

It was a bad night for the Conservatives who not only lost out to Labour but saw UKIP beat them in key wards.

There were also some very good results for UKIP closing the gap on Labour.

However, even that failed to dampen the spirits of the clearly overjoyed Labour candidates and supporters.

Labour leader Councillor Bill Hartnett, fresh from being told he had retained his seat in Church Hill with a comfortable win, made a passionate speech following the night’s result.

He thanked everyone involved including the other parties and all the independents who ran.

“Today was a lovely day, a really great and one that should make us proud of this country,” he said.

“It was a great night for Redditch and a great night for Labour.

“They said it could not be done, that Labour were going to lose. This was a victory for our proud record and our future programme and I thank Redditch whole heartedly for putting its faith in Labour.”

To the biggest cheer of the night a tired-looking Mr Hartnett added: “Leicester won the Premier League – we won Redditch.”

For the full rundown of the winners and losers in this year’s local election click here.

Nationally Labour had a mixed night in council elections in England, holding on to some key authorities that it had been expected to lose.

But critics say it has not fared well enough to suggest a general election victory 2020.

Last night, residents also cast their votes for a new £75,000-a-year Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) following Bill Longmore, the current PCC for West Mercia, stepping down.

UKIP’s Peter Jewell, in the running for the top job, criticised how the campaign was run for its low turnout figures.

Six candidates including Redditch-born Mr Jewell are up for the position with the winner being announced in Shrewsbury later today, at around noon.

Keep checking the Advertiser website for details and updates throughout the day.