Winning Tory seat keeps Labour running Norwich

Labour took the scalp of the former Tory leader as 13 seats went up for election yesterday at Norwich City Council. With this gain and holding its six seats that were up for election means Labour will continue to run the council as a minority administration. The Greens took one seat from the Lib Dems.

The Eastern Daily Press this morning summarises the results thus:
"The Labour party will continue to run Norwich City Council with a minority administration after holding all six of its seats in yesterday's election and winning a further one. The last of the results came through just before 2.30am today, with Labour holding 16 seats on the council, the Green Party 14, the Liberal Democrats five and the Conservatives just four.

"The biggest shock was in Bowthorpe, where former Conservative group leader Antony Little lost his seat to Labour's Jo Storie by just 46 seats. And the Green Party gained Thorpe Hamlet from the Liberal Democrats, with Lesley Grahame's 859 votes placing her well ahead of the other three candidates."

The election was ordered by the courts after Norwish's failed bid to become a unitary authority. 13 councillors had their terms of office extended to see through the transition. When the unitary authority plan fell, they had to stand down imediately.