Labour councillors at Thanet District Council have chosen a new party leader.

Rick Everitt, a councillor for Newigton, will steer the group's 20 elected members forward - with the party having the second highest total of seats on the authority behind the Tories.

No party has overall control of the council as the Conservatives came up shy of a majority in last week's local elections.

Potential coalitions between rival parties are now on the agenda as the Conservatives (25), Labour (20), Thanet Independent Councillors (7), the Greens (3) and one independent fight to secure alliances.

Twenty-nine is the golden majority number on the 56-seat council.

On becoming Labour's leader, Cllr Everitt said: “It’s an honour to have been elected leader of such a talented group of new and experienced councillors.

"We have a manifesto which is full of good ideas for improving the lives of the people of Thanet and this will guide us in how we deal with the issues we will face in the coming years.

“We are now in a strong position to be an effective opposition, but there is no majority for any group on the council and we will co-operate with other parties where we find common ground and believe them to be acting in the best interests of Thanet as a whole.”

Second in command as Labour's deputy leader is disabled rights campaigner Helen Whitehead. The new treasurer is Helen Crittenden and the secretary is Ruth Duckworth, while Alan Currie is the whip and Harry Scobie is chairman.

Labour's leadership announcement comes after Bob Bayford was re-elected as Tory district leader.

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet