A group of independent candidates said they were “absolutely blown away by the support” after gaining four seats on West Lancashire council - all of them from Labour.
Our West Lancashire (OWL) were celebrating after making gains, as borough residents voted to elect representatives for 18 of West lancashire’s 54 seats in the local elections .
One third of West Lancashire Borough Council (WLBC) is elected each year, followed by one year without an election.
Previously OWL had only held two seats on the council.
Leader of the OWL group for the borough, Adrian Owens, pointed to major housebuilding plans in the local area as a major issue for voters.
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He said: “I’m absolutely blown away by the support we got from the residents of West Lancashire in this election.
“We’ve gone from two seats to six, we’ve made four gains, all from the local Labour party.
“I think that particularly the vote in Bickerstaffe underlines the main local issue.
“It’s not really about Brexit, there is some of that, there was some about that in the election.
“But mainly it is about the unpopularity of the local plan proposals.
"16,000 (extra) houses in the borough are not needed, or are those houses projected for people outside of the area? That was a big issue.
“The Labour majority is much smaller and I think it’s a wake-up call to them.
“I hope they for the sake of the residents of West Lancashire, listen to the message that’s been sent today and that they really start listening to residents.“
At the count at Burscough Sports Centre on Friday the Conservative group were declared to have held all of their seats, though Labour retained overall control of the council.
OWL won in Bickerstaffe, Derby, Knowsley and Scott wards.
When the same seats were voted for in 2015, Labour won 11 and the Conservatives seven. This time round the major parties took seven apiece.
Cllr Ian Moran, Leader of the West Lancs Labour group said he was “disappointed, but anticipated it as well.”
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He said: "We know people have lost their faith in the mian parties, especially with what’s going on with Brexit.
"We here locally need to bring that faith back with people."
Conservative leader for the borough David Westley said he was “delighted” with his party’s result.
He said: “We’ve held all the seats that we were already sitting in including two new candidates, two young candidates, both under 30, with increased majorities.
"Overall it’s a good result.
"We haven’t gained any, but given the national picture it could be far far worse.”
The overall turnout for the borough was 34.3%. The council now has 29 Labour seats, with 19 seats held by the Conservatives and six OWL seats.
