The Conservatives have taken control of Harlow Council for the first time in almost a decade with council leader Mark Ingall losing his seat.

It is only the second time the town town has been under Tory control.

Cllr Mark Ingall who has represented Bush Fair since 2016 took to Twitter to voice his “disappointment” at losing his seat and his party’s performance on the night.

He said: “I am proud to have served as a Labour Councillor and proud to have represented Bush Fair.”

Labour held on to just one of the seven seats it was contesting and the Conservative now have 20 seats on the council compared with the 12 held by Labour.

In total, the Tories gained 12 of the 13 seats being contested in Harlow in Thursday's election.

Harlow MP Robert Halfon said he was “proud” after the Tories seized control of the Essex district’s council from Labour.

On Twitter he said: “Proud of Harlow Tories. Won 11 seats, including 7 from Labour as well as defeating the Harlow Labour Council leader..

“Harlow Council now under Conservatives control for only the second time in the history of our town.”

He added: “Commiserations to the many hard-working Harlow Labour councillors who lost their seats this evening and thank you for their service to our town. Whatever our significant political differences, all political parties want to build an even better Harlow and help people through Covid.”