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Labour has taken control of the new County Durham unitary authority, but it has gone backwards in both Sunderland and Hartlepool.

With four of the 63 divisions in Durham yet to declare, Labour has an overall majority of one on the new authority.

The Liberal Democrats and Independents were making a reasonable showing in pockets of the county. The British National Party polled heavily in a couple of divisions notably Tudhoe and Chilton but not won a seat.

Except in Teesdale, the Conservative showing was lukewarm in Durham bucking the national trend but they did gain five seats in Sunderland, which is their success story in the North-East.

In Hartlepool, Labour lost one seat, as did the Lib Dems, with the Tories and the UK Independence Party both gaining one. The council, which Labour has run for five years, has slipped back to No Overall Control.

Turnout in Durham appears to have been remarkably high.

The Lib Dems have done particularly well in Durham City, where they run the district council. They have won 15 of their 23 seats in Durham City.

In other areas of the county, Independents proved the main opposition to Labour, particularly in Derwentside and Newton Aycliffe.

Durham became the countrys first ever Labour council in 1919, and it would have been a major embarrassment if it had lost in its heartland.

1:54am Friday 2nd May 2008

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