Labour takes Hartlepool council and Cleveland PCC
Labour has gained control of Hartlepool Borough Council and won the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) vote for Cleveland.
The Conservatives, who had led the council in a coalition with independent and Independent Union councillors, managed to hold their seat in Rural West but lost out in all other wards.
Labour won nine of the 12 council seats being contested, with independents claiming two.
The sitting Conservative PCC Steve Turner lost out by 6,441 votes to Labour's Matt Storey, who said he was "delighted".
"It's been a lot of hard work, it's been tiring and exhausting, but it's great and I'm really excited," Mr Storey said.
"It's a really important role and I can't wait to get started."
Labour’s council victory also means Hartlepool has its first female leader – former teacher Brenda Harrison.
She said it was now "highly likely" her party would win back the area's parliamentary seat at the next general election.
"People feel that they want change and people feel the Labour Party has changed enough for them to put their trust in it," she told the BBC.
Labour needed only two more seats to get a majority on the council, but gained eight, with the Conservatives losing six.
Ms Harrison said it has been "a difficult time" for the party in Hartlepool over the past few years.
In 2021 the Conservatives made major council gains, as well as winning the parliamentary seat from Labour in a by-election.
Ms Harrison said Brexit "had a big effect" in an area that voted strongly to leave the EU, but "the swing that happened in Hartlepool over the Brexit period has really gone".
Jill Mortimer, the Conservative MP for Hartlepool, said it had been "a very disappointing night".
"It's very sad that Hartlepool's going to lose some very good councillors," she told the BBC.
"I think it's the swings and roundabouts of politics, isn't it? Sometimes it's our night, sometimes it's somebody else's night.
"No-one comes into this game expecting to win all the time."
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