The Tories have secured control of Kidsgrove Town Council for the first time in its history.

Labour has had control of the council for almost 50 years, but the most recent round of local elections saw them reduced to just six members on the 20-member authority.

Kidsgrove Town Council was created in 1974 after Kidsgrove Urban District Council became part of the Newcastle Under Lyme borough.

It serves the community of Kidsgrove – including Talke, Butt Lane, Newchapel and Mow Cop.

It's now expected that Cllr Paul Waring will become both chairman of the council and mayor of the town.

He said: "This marks a new era for Kidsgrove where the people have chosen to elect hard working business men and women, with a can-do attitude, to run their local council.

"We will be focusing on delivering ambitious projects for the people of Kidsgrove on-time and on-budget and would like to thank everyone who gave us their support."

Tory MP Jonathan Gullis has been at loggerheads with the previous Labour-led town council over a number of issues over the past few years.

He said: "I'm so proud of Cllr Paul Waring and the local team for their hard work in pulling off another big result and upset. 

"Thank you to everyone who lent us your vote. We know you have given us a chance and it's not one we will ever take for granted. 

"For too long Kidsgrove Town Council hasn't been working in the interests of the people it serves. 

"The new administration will turbo charge getting the new CCTV installed that has been promised since December 2020.

"I also look forward to working with the new administration on investing in our local parks so we can tidy up and restore pride in the place we call home, and provide support to Kidsgrove Sports Centre, helping to make sure it's a success and enjoyed by all."

He highlighted his party's turnaround in fortunes since 2018, where they couldn't field a full slate of candidates and only had seven elected councillors.

This time around the Conservatives had 20 candidates while Labour only managed to put 18 nominations forward, ultimately securing only six seats.

Here are the full results for the Newchapel and Mow Cop ward - candidates who were elected are marked with a '*':

Newchapel and Mow Cop

(Five seats – Conservatives held two and gained three)

Matthew Churchill (Lab) 527

* Stephen Gallimore (Con) 671

* Andrew Gould (Con) 647

Oluwagbenga Ifatumo (Lab) 439

* Victor Jukes (Con) 597

* Jill Waring (Con) 705

* Paul Waring (Con) 664

Brenda Williams (Lab) 505

And here are the results for the other wards in the district:

Talke and Butt Lane

(Seven seats – Labour held six and Conservatives gained two)

John Alcock (Con) 769

* David Allport (Lab) 1,031

Sharon Battiste (Con) 747

* Cressida Dickens (Lab) 848

* Sylvia Dymond (Lab) 1,094

Joel Edgington-Plunkett (Lab) 815

* David Grocott (Lab) 832

Nigel Morgan (Con) 769

Rebecca Morgan (Con) 765

* Jason Owens (Lab) 896

* Michael Stubbs (Lab) 938

Keri Walters (Con) 815

Lee Walters (Con) 785

* Amy Wood (Con) 852

Kidsgrove Central and Ravenscliffe

(Seven seats – Conservatives held five and gained two)

Sylvia Burgess (Lab) 739

* Gillian Burnett (Con) 1,010

* Christine Duffy (Con) 825

Jonathan Ireson (Lab) 697

Anthony Jones (Lab) 667

* Simon Jones (Con) 801

Narissa Mather (Lab) 657

* Mary Maxfield (Con) 901

Robert Moss (Lab) 650

Sarah Pickup (Lab) 675

* Craig Skelding (Con) 906

* Loren Skelding (Con) 829 

James Smith (Lab) 708

* Raymond Tait (Con) 800

Harding's Wood

(One seat – Conservatives gained one)

* Kevin Johnson (Con) 73

Brian Owen (Lab) 64