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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Local elections results: Labour holds on to Sunderland | Local elections results: Labour holds on to Sunderland |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Labour has held on to Sunderland Council, though its share of the vote has gone down sharply. | Labour has held on to Sunderland Council, though its share of the vote has gone down sharply. |
| UKIP, the Lib Dems and Greens all gained their first seats on the council and the Conservatives also took seats at Labour's expense, which lost 12. | UKIP, the Lib Dems and Greens all gained their first seats on the council and the Conservatives also took seats at Labour's expense, which lost 12. |
| The council's leader blamed its losses on Labour MPs supporting a fresh vote on Brexit. | The council's leader blamed its losses on Labour MPs supporting a fresh vote on Brexit. |
| Councillor Greame Miller said: "We've seen a massive voter protest on that issue." | Councillor Greame Miller said: "We've seen a massive voter protest on that issue." |
| He added: "Sunderland voted as a city to leave and having had a message from MPs saying we have to have a people's vote and a second referendum, people are saying we are not just accepting that in the Labour party. | He added: "Sunderland voted as a city to leave and having had a message from MPs saying we have to have a people's vote and a second referendum, people are saying we are not just accepting that in the Labour party. |
| "I have lost councillors tonight because of this - the Brexit message has stepped into local politics and that is the outcome. | "I have lost councillors tonight because of this - the Brexit message has stepped into local politics and that is the outcome. |
| "Hopefully the party will learn from it and will not make that mistake again." | "Hopefully the party will learn from it and will not make that mistake again." |
| However Bridget Phillipson, Labour MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, tweeted: "Losses to different parties across city tells us this isn't a simple Brexit story." | |
| Labour also lost five seats in South Tyneside and two in Newcastle, as it held on to both councils. | Labour also lost five seats in South Tyneside and two in Newcastle, as it held on to both councils. |
| It also held on to North Tyneside, where it lost one seat to the Conservatives. |