The Tories lost out in the Trafford Council local election on a difficult day for them locally and nationally.

The Conservative Group lost three seats on the authority when the results were announced at Old Trafford, with the Green Group and the Liberal Democrats taking seats from it in the villages of Hale and Timperley.

It could have been worse for the Conservative Group, with the same rivals running it close in its other strongholds in the south. It won a seat in Broadheath Ward but lost a seat in Brooklands Ward, with the Labour Group running it close in Manor Ward too.

The Labour Group, which reclaimed the seat it lost when one of its councillors became an independent last year, remained in overall control.

READ MORE: Trafford Council local elections – as it happened.

Tom Ross, leader of Trafford Council, said: "I am delighted with the results. We have our high watermark of councillors and we have some strong results in wards which have been Conservatives for some time."

He added: "We have excellent candidates and I'm disappointed Ulrich Savary wasn't elected this time in Broadheath Ward. Likewise I'm sorry our excellent candidates in Manor Ward weren't elected this time."

The Conservative Group is still the second largest group on 10 seats. The Green Group and the Liberal Democrats are on six seats apiece.

Nathan Evans, who returned to the town hall a year after he lost out at the local election in 2022, was bullish about his party's performance.

READ MORE: Trafford Council local elections – the list of results.

He said: "The Conservatives are pleased with today's results. With a gain from Labour by Kaushik Chakraborty in Broadheath Ward, we remained the main opposition and we narrowed all the margins in our target wards.

"We want to thank the people of Trafford for their votes and we will work tirelessly for our residents."

Dan Jerrome, leader of the Green Group, said: "This is a great result with two new councillors in Hale, a nail-bitingly close result in Bowdon and an increased vote share in Altrincham.

"We have had a fantastic result across Trafford. Our group of six councillors is the only group to gain two seats tonight."

Julian Newgrosh, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "This is a fantastic result for the Liberal Democrats. We have our largest group since 1986 and we have made it clear we are the challengers to complacent Conservatives in Hale Barns."

He added: "Our councillors will now get down to work challenging the Labour Council to start getting the basics right, taking action when our local services don’t deliver for people, fighting for investment on our high streets and standing up for people who are struggling because of the mess the Government have made of the economy."

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.