LABOUR suffered a crushing defeat in Bexley’s local council election.

The Conservatives took all but nine of the 63 seats in Thursday’s ballot, a staggering increase on the 33 seats previous held by the Tories.

Labour not only lost control of the council, but also dropped from 34 seats to just nine.

Conservative leader Ian Clement said the blue-wash represented "a rejection of Tony Blair and his government by the people of Bexley".

He added: "It has been three years of hard work, but we knew we had a good chance.

"This has been a dream of mine forever, we have listened and we will do the things that matter to the people of Bexley."

A dejected Chris Ball, the council’s leader for the past four years retained his seat. He spoke of his concerns for the future of Bexley under a Tory administration.

He said: "My fear is that the Conservatives will go for cuts to council tax which would have a huge impact on residents who would have to pay for things that were previously covered by council tax."

Among those to lose their seats were the Mayor, Cllr John Shepheard, and Labour cabinet members John Browning, Trevor Perrin, Geoff Hacker and Manny Blake.

The Liberal Democrats, whose only representative on the council Nick O’Hare had defected to the Conservatives last year, failed to take any seats on Thursday.

Other groups who fielded candidates but failed to take any seats included 13 independent candidates, the UK Independence Party, British National Party, English Democrats - Putting England First, an anto-mobile phone mast campaigner representing Orange Squash, and the Thamesmead Community Party.

FULL DETAILS AND REACTION TO THE RESULT WILL APPEAR IN NEXT WEEK'S BEXLEY EXTRA

RESULTS

Barnehurst

William Alfred McEwen (Con) 2333 votes

Richard Michael Gillespie (Con) 2223 votes

Simon Windle (Con) 2188 votes

Belvedere

David Leaf (Con) 1287 votes

Daniel Francis (Lab) 1268 votes

John Fuller (Con) 1256 votes

Blackfen and Lamorbey

Brian George Beckwith (Con) 1830 votes

Peter Harold Craske (Con) 1804 votes

Katherine Louise Perrior (Con) 1777 votes

Blendon and Penhill

Margaret Patricia Cammish (Con) 2445 votes

Graham Martin D'Amiral (Con) 2364 votes

Nicholas O'Hare (Con) 2287 votes

Brampton

Ronald Horace French (Con) 2596 votes

Teresa Ann Jude O'Neill (Con) 2537 votes

John Paul Wilkinson (Con) 2406 votes

Christchurch

Roy Frederick Ashmole (Con) 2205 votes

Ian Sydney Clement (Con) 2188 votes

Leonard Stanley Newton (Con) 2098 votes

Colyers

Christopher Benjamin Brockwell (Con) 1506 votes

David Bryan Cammish (Con) 1415 votes

David Robert Hurt (Con) 1349 votes

Cray Meadows

Cheryl Bacon (Con) 1947 votes

Rosaline Mary Downing (Con) 1903 votes

Donald Frank Massey (Con) 1865 votes

Crayford

Geraldene Anne Lucia-Hennis (Con) 1378 votes

Howard Christopher Marriner (Con) 1345 votes

Melvin Norman Seymour (Con) 1286 votes

Danson Park Ward

Linda Jacqueline Bailey (Con) 2011 votes

Sharon Marina Massey (Con) 2002 votes

John Waters (Con) 1985 votes

East Wickham Ward

Alfred Webster Catterall (Con) 1362 votes

Michael George Tarrant (Con) 1340 votes

James Kenneth Albert Hunt (Con) 1234 votes

Erith

Christopher Ball (Lab) 1066 votes

Margaret Ann O'Neill (Lab) 939 votes

Bernard Cecil Clewes (Con) 884 votes

Falconwood and Welling

Nigel Patrick Betts (Con) 2074 votes

Peter Paul Catterall (Con) 1854 votes

Valerie Christine Clark (Con) 1721 votes

Lesnes Abbey Ward

John Charles Davey (Con) 1860 votes

Margaret Eleanor Hurt (Con) 1710 votes

Kirsty Maureen Duncombe (Con) 1707 votes

Longlands Ward

Gareth Andrew Bacon (Con) 1966 votes

Kenneth McAndrew (Con) 1956 votes

Michael Anthony Slaughter (Con) 921 votes

North End

John Walter Eastaugh (Lab) 1093 votes

Brenda Mary Langstead (Lab) 1070 votes

Alan Deadman (Lab) 962 votes

Northumberland Heath

Helen Sharon Fuller (Con) 1975 votes

Peter Robert Marryat Reader (Con) 1913 votes

Alex Sawyer (Con) 1806 votes

St Marys

Colin Edward Campbell (Con) 2596 votes

Alan Downing (Con) 2546 votes

Colin Leonard Tandy (Con) 2472 votes

St Michaels Ward

Joseph Robert Pollard (Con) 2062 votes

Raymond Stanley Sams (Con) 1907 votes

Matthew Richard Scott (Con) 1890 votes

Sidcup Ward

Aileen Margaret Beckwith (Con) 2127 votes

Jacqueline Anne Evans (Con) 2099 votes June Elizabeth Slaughter (Con) 2090 votes

Thamesmead East Ward

Sandra Eunette Bauer (Lab) 1071 votes

Harbans Singh Buttar (Lab) 983 votes