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Tories take control of Bury council

02/05/2008

There were jubilant scenes in Bury last night as the Conservatives took control of the council for the first time in 22 years.

The win is a major breakthrough for party leader David Cameron who will now be able to claim he has gained a foothold in the north-west

Labour, which until last night had 20 seats in the council, lost three to the Conservatives, giving the latter a total of 26.

Bob Bibby, Conservative leader of the council, told the Times: "On the doorstep, people told us they would not vote for Gordon Brown because of the tax situation and the rising cost of petrol and the car tax.

"And we have had some very, very good local policies in Bury, such as giving elderly people a discount on their council tax."

But David Chaytor, the Labour MP for Bury North, said he does not believe the Conservatives will sweep to power in the parliamentary elections in 2009 or 2010 on the back of its success in the borough.

Mr Cameron is expected to visit Bury - long considered a national barometer for the Tories - to celebrate his party's win.

Meanwhile, Roger Jones, the chairman of the city-region's passenger transport authority, has lost his Irlam seat in the Salford council elections.

He had been an eager champion of the congestion charge.