ELECTION: 'There might be a few surprises for Labour tonight'

A senior Conservative councillor has said he believes Labour might not have it all their own way tonight.

Ashton Hurst Tory councillor Dan Costello said: "It looks like a reasonably positive night. It is fair to say nationally we don't expect a good result for the Conservative party.

"Its going to be a trickier night than Labour expect tonight. Across Tameside we've had some interesting campaigns from some of the independent candidates that seem to be having some traction so I think there might be some surprises tonight.

"I would like to think that locally people will realise we have been under Labour control for 45 out of the last 50 years and we are still the lowest borough for growth, we have the lowest job density and all these things signal to me that it is time for change."