FAR-RIGHT extremists failed to secure any base in Darlington last night.
Despite its claims that it had strong support in the town, the British National Party (BNP) candidates were soundly beaten in each of the seven wards they contested.
Labour retained its overall control of the borough council, winning 35 seats to the Tories' 16 and the Liberal Democrats' two.
It was a heavy defeat for the BNP, which was adamant that its stance on asylum seekers had struck a chord with the people of Darlington.
Labour Group leader Councillor John Williams said his party had performed well, despite predictions of anti-war feeling affecting the vote.
He said: "To virtually maintain our majority is an outstanding result. The BNP, quite frankly, are an irrelevance.
"Any support they have got is a pure protest vote and not an endorsement of their vile policies."
He added: "We are focused on the people's priorities and have a clear vision for the future of Darlington.
"I am absolutely delighted with the result here, for everybody in the Labour Party and all the Labour councillors, who have worked so hard to achieve this.
"We are determined to improve the services we deliver in Darlington."
Conservative Group leader Councillor Tony Richmond said: "We are the only party that did gain. I am pleased about being re-elected in College ward.
"One of the consequences of a much increased turnout is that it is immediately difficult to establish what the swing is to any of the parties.
"The votes that have been cast will have to be analysed to see what the swing, if any, is. It would appear that where we have won we seem to have increased our majority in percentage terms."
Election officials had faced a last-minute rush from residents who had not used their postal vote earlier.
More than 40,000 residents cast their votes in a record-breaking election.
The figure meant that 52 per cent of people had their say, surpassing the election of May 1999, which recorded a turnout of 33 per cent.
The night appeared to be a disappointment for the Tories who were hoping to capitalise on what they perceived to be weaknesses in current policies from the use of controversial litter wardens to rising council tax.
The creation of a new Faverdale ward led to victory for Conservative John Armstrong over Labour's John Flook.
Darlington Borough Council
Bank Top
(2 seats)
Simon Cawte (C)184
Douglas Hardy (I)149
Stanley Johnson (C)225
Harry Marrs (BNP)135
*Sheila Robson (L)652
*John Williams (L)758
Central
(2 seats)
*Raymond Flowers (L)686
*Isobel Hartley (L)706
James Moore (C)278
David Reed (C)278
College
(2 seats)
Ian Barnes (LD)363
Sheila Dunstone (LD)345
Valerie Pringle (l)368
*Tony Richmond (C)979
Carl Robinson (L)324
*Philip Stamford-Bewlay (C)885
Cockerton East
(3 seats)
*Paul Baldwin (L)841
*Donald Bristow (L)865
William Lippett (C)549
Bryan Stapley (C)641
Elizabeth Sugden (C)534
*Bryan Thistlethwaite (L)1030
Cockerton West
(2 seats)
Andrew Bowers (C)372
Robert Bowman (BNP)157
*Clifford Hutchinson (L)775
*Eric Wilson (L)769
Eastbourne
(3 seats)
*William Dixon (L)831
Colin Fairman (I)343
*Roderick Francis (L)946
Janet Mazurk (C)468
Doreen Tucker (C)551
*Lee Vasey (L)758
faverdale
(1 seat)
*John Armstrong (C)337
John Flook (L)259
Harrowgate Hill
(3 seats)
Trevor Agnew (BNP)261
Francis Elliott (C)494
Stephen Fenwick (LD)276
Anne Harrison (C)647
*Elizabeth Hart (L)1016
John Hoodless (I)221
Tina Jones (LD)439
Angela McPherson (LD)337
Marjorie Roberts (C)513
*John Vasey (L)907
*Emma Vasey-Smith (L)833
Haughton East
(2 seats)
Hilda Allinson (C)408
*Christopher McEwan (L)892
*Geoffrey Walker (L)829
Haughton North
(2 seats)
*Veronica Copeland (L)773
*Thomas Nutt (L)809
Felicity Power (C)563
Roger Power (C)522
Haughton West
(3 seats)
Carol Lambird (I)476
*David Lyonette (L)1145
Nigel Nevison (BNP)185
*Andrew Scott (L)996
Leslie Smith (C)452
*Nicholas Wallis (L)1040
Terence Wilkinson (C)538
and Coniscliffe
(2 seats)
Elaine Hope (L)208
*Gerald Lee (C)1151
*Eric Roberts (C)943
Sandra Thorne-Wallis (L)173
Hummersknott
(2 seats)
*Sheila Brown (C)1272
Jennifer Chapman (L)425
*Charles Johnson (C)1285
Daniel Taylor (L)347
Hurworth
(2 seats)
*Roderick Burtt (C)1175
*Peter Foster (C)1121
Amanda McEwan (L)318
Krishan Bal Shukla (L)315
Lascelles
(2 seats)
*Jacqueline Maddison (L)702
Margaret Martin (C)264
*Wendy Newall (L)654
Douglas Tingate (C)252
Lingfield
(2 seats)
Paul Evans (C)368
*Ian Haszeldine (L)1103
*Frank Robson (L)974
Graham Smurthwaite (C)347
Middleton St George
(2 seats)
*Doris Jones (C)1167
*William Maybrey (C)1145
Elizabeth Muggleton (L)241
Rebecca Taylor (L)229
Mowden
(2 seats)
Margaret Bristow (L)557
*Ronald Lewis (C)1318
Jacqueline Saint (L)646
*James Stenson (C)1229
Northgate
(2 seats)
Kenneth Brown (C)299
*Eleanor Lister (L)751
*Dorothy Long (L)797
Ian Storey (C)325
Paul Thompson (BNP)151
North Road
(3 seats)
Debra Barley (C)197
Jennifer Hardy (C)211
*William Holmes (L)818
Edward Jenkinson (L)734
*Stephen Jones (LD)881
Mark Kilpatrick (BNP)154
Frederick Lawton (LD)690
Michael Nicholson (L)695
*Susan Walker (LD)963
Park East
(3 seats)
Barbara Bone (C)332
Malcolm Dunstone (LD)494
Peter Freitag (LD)518
*Cynthia Hughes ( L)816
Edward Kielb (LD)438
*Jonathan Lyonette (L)903
Brian Parkinson (C)330
*Glen Reynolds (L)741
Park West
(2 seats)
Daniel Klein (L)338
*James Ruck (C)1266
*Heather Scott (C)1266
Alison Wright (L)384
Pierremont
(3 seats)
Michael Barker (LD)515
Patricia Chapman (C)478
Brian Fiske (LD)540
*Stephen Harker (L)969
*Patrick Heaney (L)867
Jonathan Scott (C)443
Wayne Simpson (BNP)132
Joanna Summers (C)352
*Marian Swift (L)865
Colin Telfer (LD)567
Sadberge and Whessoe
(1 seat)
Ian Black (L)222
*Brian Jones (C)56
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