Conservatives take control of Staffordshire
Jun 5 2009 By Jonathan Walker
Conservatives are on course to win four Parliamentary seats in Staffordshire following their local election victory, they have claimed.
Tories were celebrating after snatching control of Staffordshire County Council from Labour in a devastating loss for Gordon Brown’s party.
The Labour casualties included deputy leader of the council, Robert Simpson, who lost his seat in Stafford North to his Conservative opponent.
In Kidsgrove and Talke, Labour's sitting councillors Margaret Astle and John Taylor were both ousted, to be replaced by UKIP's Geoffrey Locke and Liberal Democrat Mary Maxfield. Mr Taylor finished sixth out of eight candidates for the two seats.
Control of the county switched to the Tories as they passed the majority threshold of 32 seats in the council of 62.
It was the first time Tories had controlled Staffordshire since 1977.
Conservatives said they could gain seats including Burton, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands and Tamworth in a general election, based on the local election result.
Shadow Local Government Secretary Caroline Spelman, MP for Meriden, said: “We have taken control of Staffordshire, which is the county of the Potteries and manufacturing.
“The whole of the West Midlands is going through a very tough time, so fact that people are switching to the Conservatives in a traditional Labour heartland is a very clear sign that people have despaired of Labour.
“They are not just making a protest vote. They are voting for the governance of their county.
“It is very significant that voters from the working class areas of Staffordshire are looking to the Conservatives for leadership and governance.”
Tories also gained overall control of Warwickshire, which they had previously run as a minority administration.
