Labour lose overall control of Blackburn with Darwen Council

12.02.37am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 17th Jun 2004

In a shock development Labour lost overall control of Blackburn with Darwen Council when 6 of their newly-elected councillors resigned from the Party.

The state of the parties is now:

Labour....................27

Conservatives..........17

Liberal Democrats....12

Independents........... 6

2 seats are vacant as their is a by-election on July 15 in Earcroft

The Liberal Democrat Group is in negotiations with other groups on the Council, trying to form a stable administration.

Liberal Democrat Leader, Paul Browne said, "We were elected to put forward Liberal Democrat policies. In our negotiations we will be trying to get as many of our policies as possible implemented for the good of the community. We also believe that there should be a stable administration so that the Council can deliver services effectively."