The Labour party are back in control of Gravesham council following a close battle at the polls.

After voting on Thursday candidates made their way to The Woodville in Gravesend for a tense showdown at the count the following day, with rumours abounding that Labour were set to take votes from the ruling administration.

Four years ago there were victorious scenes for the Tories, but infighting last year saw council leader David Turner break away from the party with fellow rebels to form the Gravesham Independent Conservatives - and it seemed those divisions had taken their toll as early results on Friday showed the Labour party racing away.

A fightback from the Conservatives made it closer, but in the end Labour won enough seats in key wards to take power - the final result giving Labour 24 councillors and the Conservatives 18, with two independent candidates taking also taking seats in Higham

Labour leader Cllr John Burden said it was a great day from the party, but that lessons needed to be learnt from the divisions that had wracked the council in recent months.

"I feel great," he said. "It's great for the local community and it's great to be back in control. For the next four years what we plan to do is reconnect with the local community. We need to make sure we represent what local people want and deliver what local people want.

"It's not so much about policies, it's about ethos and about engaging with the community. We don't want the disconnect, we don't want political friction, or friction within the community.

"In the last six months we've seen a lot of disconnect in the community and a lot of friction in the council. We need to serve the people first, not ourselves.

"On a local level, we've focussed on delivering on an agenda. We've separated ourselves from national policy."

And he said there were also positives to be taken from labour's performance around the county.

"If you look at what's happened in Dartford, Medway and Folkestone the Labour count has gone up," he said. "It shows if you connect with people, local people will trust you and give you their votes.

"The whole Brexit debate has separated communities and families. We need to get past it and deal with the important things that matter - education, housing, roads, the health service.

"We need to stop talking about Brexit."

Earlier all eyes had been on Higham ward, where former Conservative party councillors Leslie Pearton and Harold Craske were standing as independents - and it became apparent their ties to the community remained strong as both beat their Conservative opponents.

Speaking after the result Cllr Pearton said Higham would look much the same after his win, adding: "We're very much against building on the green belt... I want to keep the village as a village."

But while he wanted to concentrate on issues affecting his ward, he was disappointed that national politics was still dominating the minds of voters.

"From what we've been hearing on the doorstep there's a lot of discontent with central government and it has a knock on effect top local government," he said. "We have been hearing 'we're not working for anybody, we're not going to do this, we're not going to do that.'

"But people have got to realise we have no effect on what goes on in central government. We are trying to do the best we possibly can for our wards. That's what we set out to do and that's what we hope out to achieve. Over the last eight years we've been very successful, Harold and I, and we hope to continue that."

While the Lib Dems enjoyed a surge in votes around the country, the success wasn't to be shared in Gravesham - but Woodlands ward candidate Ukonu Obasi said there were still positives to take from the election.

"It didn't go as well as I would have liked but what it signals is there's support here in Gravesham and that is something we'll look to build on," he said. "It's been a wonderful, record-breaking day for the Lib Dems, with over 500 new seats won. This is a signal that the people want to exit from Brexit - the Lib Dems have been consistent in saying we're going to give people a people's vote to remain in the EU.

"This vote signals that people are supporting that message. It also shows that the party is back - this is our best ever local elections. The Lib Dem fightback is truly here.
"It signals a shift in the mood of the country, "he added. "The country is now a country of Remain. People have changed their view from three years ago."