TORIES were today counting the cost of last night's trouncing at the polls in East Lancashire.

The party lost more than 500 seats in England to push the prospect of a General Election this year even further away.

The largest local shock was in Hyndburn with the loss of Conservative deputy Mayor Doug Hayes who was due to become Mayor later this month. The post will now be taken by Mirza Yousaf who will become the area's first Asian mayor.

Winifred Lesley Jackson, the 61-year-old sister of Labour trade and industry spokeswoman Margaret Beckett, won Rishton Eachill ward. The recently retired teacher from St Wilfrid's High School, Blackburn, is also heavily involved in the affairs of her local church, St Charles' in Rishton.

Shadow Home Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw predicted last night's results would mean an even longer wait for the General Election.

"It was a very bad night for the Conservatives, but turnouts were low and I think the Labour Party should be very careful about complacency." Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson was delighted. "Darwen is now a Conservative-free zone," she declared.

"In my constituency, Labour won six out of the eight Tory seats.

"This is a very clear message that people do not like divided parties and they see the Conservatives as weak, incompetent and divided."

There were no shifts in power throughout the East Lancs area as Labour strengthened its grip on Blackburn, Hyndburn, Burnley and Rossendale, while Liberals gained a larger majority in Pendle.

In Blackburn, Conservative leader Don Heatlie-Jackson and deputy leader Fred Slater paid the price with the loss of their Darwen seats.

Labour swallowed up two Liberal Democrat and two Tory seats in Burnley, while Pendle Liberals boosted their numbers to 29, leaving Labour with 19 and Tories with just three.

And in Rossendale, Conservatives were reduced to just six seats on the 36-seat council.

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