Durham County Council's Labour leader has stepped down after the party lost its majority control for the first time in almost a century.
Simon Henig said the results were “deeply disappointing” and it was time for someone else to lead the party through the next phase.
Coun Henig retained his seat for the Chester-le-Street West Central Ward but the party fell short of the 64 seats needed to maintain a majority, winning 53, a drop of 16 seats.
The biggest winners on the night were the Conservative group which saw its number of seats leap from 10 to 24 and the Independents with 21, up nine. The Liberal Democrat group gained two winning 17 seats.
Coun Henig said: “The results of the election in County Durham last week were deeply disappointing for the Labour Party.
"Unfortunately the outcome was in line with the national and regional picture, and the result of the December 2019 General Election.
“I have had the opportunity to reflect on the situation, and have decided that the time has come for someone else to lead the Labour Group, so I will not be putting my name forward to the Group AGM this weekend.
“I am very proud of the Labour County Council’s record over the past 12 years, with the creation of over 10,000 new jobs prior to coronavirus, including major companies such as Hitachi choosing to locate in County Durham, plans for 30,000 more jobs now being realised, a world-class events programme and visitor numbers increasing year by year.
“This is a wonderful county and I believe this legacy is a firm foundation for continued growth across County Durham in the future.
“It is now the time for someone else to lead us through this next phase. I would like to wish the new leadership every success.”
Having lost the overall majority, the Labour group has just over two weeks until the annual meeting on May 26 to work out a way forward.
Durham Council was the first county hall to go red in 1919 and had been in continuous control by Labour since 1925.
The region was at the centre of the Miners' Strike of the 1980s and its Miners' Gala is still a fixture in the UK's socialist calendar.
