HISTORY was made as the first female Asian councillors were elected in Blackburn with Darwen.
Cllrs Saima Afzal and Maryam Batan were among the 37 Labour candidates chosen by voters to take seats on the council on what proved to be a good day for the red half of the borough.
The Conservatives secured 13 seats while Lib Dem Roy Davies will be the party's lone voice on the council, leaving Labour with a 24-seat majority.
Everything was up for grabs in Blackburn with Darwen Council's election as it was fought on new boundaries and several senior politicians retired.
With just 17 three-member wards instead of 23 represented by 64 councillors, party strategists had to rethink tactics to take account of the new map.
There were shocks in Billinge & Beardwood - an expected Tory stronghold where Labour's Tasleem Fazal and Jackie Floyd took two of the three seats, leaving current Blackburn Conservative Association chairman Imtiaz Ali and his predecessor Sabir Esa to miss out.
And Labour exec member Arshid Mahmood missed out by just 100 votes.
The party's control of the borough was confirmed before dinner as a clean sweep saw Labour take 27 out of 27 seats announced over the course of the morning.
Cllr Afzal, a former assistant police and crime commissioner for Lancashire, stood as a Labour candidate in different Blackburn wards in 1999, 2000 and 2001 - coming second each time.
She said: "I started this journey 19 years ago in 1999. This is my fourth election. It's fantastic for democracy and great news for women everywhere.
"The hard work starts now as everyone will be watching us. I am here to represent all communities re3gardless of how they voted.
"I'm very proud to be the first Asian woman elected to Blackburn with Darwen Council."
Cllr Batan added: "I am absolutely delighted. This is great for Asian women. It shows that Panorama got this borough absolutely wrong."
Tory group leader Cllr John Slater, who was returned to his seat in Blackburn South & Lower Darwen, said it was a mixed bag for his party.
"I was disappointed to lose a good councillor in Beardwood but absolutely over the moon with the message that has been sent to Blackburn Labour that they are not welcome in Darwen.
"We secured nine seats out of 15 and we are the majority there. We have had some absolutely fantastic results and we had some close losses in Darwen West where we are disappointed not to have won.
"It can only bode well for the future. Blackburn Labour treated Darwen with disdain and the voters have reflected that."
Blackburn MP Kate Hollern said: "I'm really pleased for Saima Afzal and Maryam Batan but I'm also disappointed for Arshid Mahmood, who was a really good, hard-working councillor.
"Overall it was a good result for Labour and I'm very pleased for Kieran Richards in Darwen. It's been a great day."
Notable retirements included husband-and-wife team of Liberal Democrat leader David Foster and Karimeh, both former borough Mayors with more than 25 years each representing Whitehall in Darwen.
They joined former Tory council leader Mike Lee, Labour executive member for health Mustafa Ali Desai, former Mayor of Blackburn and Mayor of Darwen Town Councils Eileen Entwistle and 2013/14's borough Mayor Salim Mulla in standing down.
BLACKBURN WITH DARWEN COUNCIL ELECTION RESULTS
Audley & Queen's Park
Lab - Maryam Batan - 1,515 - ELECTED
Lab - Yusuf Jan-Virmani - 1,528 - ELECTED
Green - Tariq Khan - 316
Con - Zafar-Ul Malik - 308
Con - Lee Parker - 219
Lab - Salim Sidat - 1,484 - ELECTED
Bastwell & Daisyfield
Lab - Parwaiz Akhtar - 2,192 - ELECTED
Con - Michaely Coker - 183
Con - Andrew Eastham - 193
Lab - Iftakhar Hussain - 2,114 - ELECTED
Lab - Shaukat Hussain - 2,075 - ELECTED
Con - Francis Winkley Riding - 166
Billinge & Beardwood
Con - Imtiaz Ali - 1,080
Con - Julie Daley - 1,206 - ELECTED
Con - Sabir Esa - 1,159
Lab - Tasleem Fazal - 1,273 - ELECTED
Lab - Jackie Floyd - 1,192 - ELECTED
Lab - Arshid Mahmood - 1,182
Blackburn Central
Lab - Saima Afzal - 1,174 - ELECTED
Lab - Faryad Hussain - 1,127 - ELECTED
Lab - Zamir Khan - 1,215 - ELECTED
Con - Abdul Makda - 326
Con - Rizwana Sindhu - 236
Con - Filip Szary - 218
Blackburn South & Lower Darwen
Con - Denise Gee - 1,029 - ELECTED
Lab - Matt Gibson - 645
Lab - Tony Humphrys - 624
Lab - Carl Nuttall - 610
Con - Jacquie Slater - 1,055 - ELECTED
Con - John Slater - 1,014 - ELECTED
Blackburn South East
Con - Joan Bamber - 346
Con - Athshaam Hussain - 263
Lab - Andy Kay - 811 - ELECTED
UKIP - Michael Madigan - 280
Lab - Vicky McGurk - 773 - ELECTED
Lab - Jim Shorrock - 826 - ELECTED
Darwen East
Lib Dem - Paul Browne - 723
Lib Dem - Roy Davies - 800 - ELECTED
Lab - Jane Oates - 828 - ELECTED
Con - Lynn Perkins - 293
Lab - Kieran Richards - 750 - ELECTED
Lab - Katrina Shepherd - 714
Con - Ryan Slater - 341
Con - Emily Topping - 265
Darwen South
Lab - Lee Ball - 624
Con - Kevin Connor - 934 - ELECTED
Lab - Morgan Crawshaw - 577
Lib Dem - Joan Hepple - 545
Lib Dem - Simon Huggill - 574
Lab - Sarah Rose - 598
Con - Lilian Salton - 817 - ELECTED
Con - Neil Slater - 874 - ELECTED
Darwen West
Lab - Stephanie Brookfield - 1,146 - ELECTED
UKIP - Ian Grimshaw - 131
Con - Joe Morgan - 997
Lab - David Smith - 1,344 - ELECTED
Con - Konrad Tapp - 1,096
Lab - Brian Taylor - 1,237 - ELECTED
Con - Andrew Walker - 1,056
Ewood
Lab - Maureen Bateson - 993 - ELECTED
Lab - Jim Casey - 889 - ELECTED
Lab - Jamie Groves - 928 - ELECTED
Con - Maureen McGarvey - 634
Con - Keith Murray - 680
Con - Martin Needham - 583
Little Harwood & Whitebirk
Con - Asad Iqbal - 380
Lab - Pat McFall - 1,550 - ELECTED
UKIP - Arlene Noone - 193
Lab - Abdul Patel - 1,533 - ELECTED
Con - Ismail Patel - 356
Lab - Naushad Surve - 1,490 - ELECTED
Con - David Walsh - 414
Livesey with Pleasington
Con - Derek Hardman - 1,629 - ELECTED
Lab - Pete Hollings - 623
Con - Paul Marrow - 1,578 - ELECTED
Lab - Paul Rigby - 560
Con - John Pearson - 1,583 - ELECTED
Lab - Ashley Whalley - 560
Mill Hill & Moorgate
Lab - Julie Gunn - 948 - ELECTED
UKIP - Michael Longbottom - 236
Con - Judith Pearson - 494
Con - Mark Russell - 537
Lab - Jim Smith - 959 - ELECTED
Lab - Damian Talbot - 903 - ELECTED
Con - Ann Tolley - 510
Shear Brow & Corporation Park
Lab - Hussain Akhtar - 1,947 - ELECTED
Lab - Mahfooz Hussain - 1,547 - ELECTED
Lab - Suleman Khonat - 2,270 - ELECTED
Con - Mark Marrow - 255
Ind - Muntazir Patel - 960
Con - Naseer Sajid - 325
Con - Helen Voegt - 583
Roe Lee
Con - Bilal Afzal - 802
Con - Asghar Ali - 783
Lab - Sylvia Liddle - 1,253 - ELECTED
Lab - Phil Riley - 1,292 - ELECTED
Con - Tommy Temperley - 875
Lab - Ron Whittle - 1,222 - ELECTED
Wensley Fold
Green - Robin Field - 403
Lab - Dave Harling - 1781 - ELECTED
Lab - Mohammed Khan - 1853 - ELECTED
Lab - Quesir Mahmood - 1742 - ELECTED
Con - Tariq Mahmood - 415
Con - Mags Morrow - 314
Con - Ghulam Sabir - 248
West Pennine
Lib Dem - John East - 581
Lab - David Hollings - 648
Lab - Matt Jackson - 702
Con - Colin Rigby - 1411 - ELECTED
Con - Jean Rigby - 1369 - ELECTED
Lab - Jude Rowley - 697
Con - Julie Slater - 1540 - ELECTED
Turnout was 36.2 per cent.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel