THE status quo remained in Blackburn with Darwen.

The only seat to change hands between parties was Darwen East, where former councillor Paul Browne was victorious to regain a seat on the local authority.

Labour incumbent Kieran Richards had stepped down and his replacement on the ballot, Katrina Shepherd, lost to Cllr Browne by just 79 votes.

Elsewhere, it was business as usual as the Tories retained all four seats they were fighting to hold while Labour comfortably won the remaining 12.

Former public health and adult social care boss, Mustafa Desai, was also successful in regaining a seat on the council, winning in Little Harwood and Whitebirk by more than 1,200 votes.

Labour now holds 36 seats to the Tories’ 13, with two Liberal Democrats.

Deputy leader of the council, Cllr Phil Riley, said there had been a hostile atmosphere on the doorstep, with voters angry at the mismanagement of Brexit.

He added: “There are clear concerns about the way Brexit has been handled by the Government.

“We have seen significant increases in our majorities which is very pleasing.

“Jackie Floyd increased her margin of victory in Billinge and Beardwood from about 10 to 300. We’ve also had our biggest ever majority in Roe Lee with 700.

“It’s a tribute to the efforts that the Blackburn Labour Party always puts into elections.

“The election of Zainab Rawat is just fantastic and we are absolutely delighted to welcome a third Asian woman on to the council.”

Tory group leader, Cllr John Slater, was successful in his bid to retain his seat in Blackburn South and Lower Darwen, defeating Labour opponent Liz Johnson by 985 to 509.

He said: “The campaign was very positive. We had a good local message. I would like to thank the people of Blackburn South and Lower Darwen for voting me back in.

“If you take the overall picture across the country, I have lost some really good colleagues - especially in the north west.

“On the whole, I’m really pleased we have held all our seats but disappointed not to have taken any from Labour.”

Council resources chief, Cllr Andy Kay, added: “These results show despite what’s going on nationally, here we still have a good campaign team and good policies."

Last year, 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. Turnout across the borough hit 32.65 per cent.