A LABOUR candidate who lost his Redditch Borough Council seat has said his party did everything they could to get their message out.

The Conservatives gained seven Labour seats in yesterday's election, including those of party leader Bill Hartnett and deputy leader Greg Chance.

Former Redditch mayor Joe Baker, who lost his Greenlands ward seat, told the Advertiser the party is "devastated" by the result and have a "hard fight back."

“It was very disappointing and obviously the party is devastated by our losses. We believe we had really good candidates and we did everything we could to get our message out.

“We had a great manifesto. At the end of the day, I think people voted nationally. They looked at the national picture instead of local candidates. That’s the disappointing thing with local politics.

“We’ve got a hard fight back, but I’m positive next year we’ll see a return to Labour winning seats again.

“We have just got to talk to the people, see where went and bring that faith and confidence back to Labour.”