Labour is finished in Essex - Lib Dems are now the official opposition

11.25.25pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 8th Jun 2009

The Liberal Democrats are celebrating a significant increase in councillors at County Hall and the re-election of this area's Lib Dem MEP Andrew Duff.

The County Council group went from 8 councillors to 12, taking seats from both the Conservatives and Labour to become the official opposition at County Hall.

Lib Dem group leader Tom Smith-Hughes, said: "It has been an astonishing result for the Labour group who have been virtually extinguished - left with just one solitary County Councillor. Clearly Labour is finished here in Essex. The shambles that is the Labour government was no doubt a factor in the way people voted this time, although the Labour presence has been in steady decline at County Hall for over a decade."

Stansted Division's Lib Dem candidate Alan Dean, who missed out on victory by less than a hundred votes, said: "Whilst it's disappointing to have come so close to success, but to be beaten at the winning post, I have enjoyed meeting over one-third of the area's electorate over the past few months.

"Now the Conservatives have won on a commitment to abandon Option 4 and their Elsenham new town plan, I challenge them to deliver their promise while also delivering a much-needed sustainable solution to the housing shortage in this area. It's time they turned their political rhetoric into reality for real people."

The Greens failed to gain a single County Councillor in Essex, although the intervention of Green candidates did allow a number of Conservative County Councillors to be re-elected. The Greens also failed to gain an MEP in the East of England.

Full details of the election results can be found here:

http://countyelections.essexcc.gov.uk/PoliticalBalance.asp

http://countyelections.essexcc.gov.uk/ListCandidates.asp?DivisionID=99

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/elections/euro/09/html/ukregion_32.stm