BURNLEY Council remained hung today as the ruling minority Labour group lost four councillors in Thursday’s local elections.

This leaves them on 18 with 23 needed to former a majority administration.

A major blow was the loss of deputy leader Lian Pate in Brunshaw ward who was the leading candidate to take over the Labour group leadership when current party and council boss Cllr Mark Townsend stands down to become Mayor of the borough later this month.

Labour also lost Gawthorpe ward to the Conservatives, Trinity ward to the Greens and Coal Clough and Deerplay to the Liberal Democrats.

It was a good election for the Green Party as their representation on the council rose from two to five with wins in Brunshaw for Andy Wight, Scott Cunliffe in Cliviger with Worsthorne, and Martin Hurt in Trinity ward.

The LibDem gain in Coal Clough and Deerplay was offset by the loss of Rosehill with Burnley Wood Ward to Tory Phil Chamberlain leaving them static on eight.

The Burnley and Padiham Independent Party lost one ward in Cliviger with Worsthorne where former Tory leader Andrew Newhouse lost to the new Cllr Cunliffe leaving it with five councillors.

It was a good day for the Conservative Party which gained three seats to go from six councillors to nine gaining Gawthorpe from Labour, Rosehill and Burnley Wood from the LibDems, and Whittlefield (formerly held by Independent David Roper who did not stand).

Labour remains the largest party but faces an uphill struggle to secure enough support to form an administration despite the collapse of the previous multi party coalition which ran the council for 17 months in September.

Cllr Townsend said the result of Thursday’s council poll was ‘really disappointing’.

Lib Dem leader and former MP Gordon Birtwistle said: “I really have no idea what happens now. Talks will start on Monday to form some kind of administration.”