This year's local elections proved 'devastating' for Trafford's Conservatives after the party lost their leader and four seats in the council chamber. Once a flagship Tory town hall, the party's share of the vote has 'completely collapsed', according to their rivals.
Labour gained one seat - retaining overall council control - as did the Greens. The Liberal Democrats gained two. All gains were from the Conservatives.
The group's leader, Nathan Evans, lost his seat in Timperley by a decisive margin to Lib Dem Will Frass.
Labour now has 41 seats (+1); the Lib Dems five (+2); the Greens four (+1); and the Conservatives 13 (-4).
In the south of the borough, the Greens snatched Conservative strong-hold seat Hale Central by nearly 500 votes.
Hale Central has been Tory since its inception in 2004. Before that, it was part of the larger Hale ward. It had been blue since the 1970s.
The ward was tipped as one to watch after a closely-run contest last year. Jane Leicester was elected as ward councillor.
She said: "I'm absolutely ecstatic. I almost didn't want to hope, but at one point looked closer and as it was getting higher during the count I was just amazed.
"I'm so appreciative for the voters in Hale Central that they've given me their trust to be their councillor.
"We've had a fantastic day in Greater Manchester with three new Greens now, it just feels like the Green movement is really growing and people are starting to believe we actually can win.
"People have recognised that I've worked really, really hard. There's a lot of talk about the Johnson effect and I'm sure there's an element of that, but so many people were saying how much they appreciate my hard work and passion they recognised that and I believe that's why the majority voted for me.
"I've waited so long for this moment, I feel ready to get on with the job, ready to work hard and get on with it and do what I need to do to be a good councillor. I will do my best to warrant that vote."
Council leader Andrew Western said he was ecstatic after his party snatched another seat in Ashton on Mersey from the Tories.
"We won everything we could and we won it well," he added.
"This was the first year of us defending the gains we've been making consistently. We've made progress again, which is phenomenal. It's been a terrible night for the Tories, but that isn't taking away from what has been another brilliant day for us.
"We've seen change in Ashton in the last few years. Now, there are three Labour councillors there, we've never had Labour councillor until 2019 and we've got a handsome majority to boot.
"Thank you to everyone who turned out to vote, whoever you voted for and to those who put their trust in Labour."
On the Conservative group losing their leader and three other seats, Coun Western said: "That's politics, it's a difficult business. Nathan and I have always had respectful relationship and they will go through process now of selecting a new leader. I've wished him well, we don't know if he'll be back in the future, but I wish him all the best for whatever he goes on to do.
"I think it was coming regardless of the national situation, it's broadly in line with Trafford Labour gains we've been seeing since 2018.
"They failed to offer anything by way of opposition for several years and the residents of Trafford have given their verdict on their performance. There was nothing particularly surprising. This was very much on the cards."
Shaun Ennis and Will Frass, newly-elected Lib Dem councillors for Village and Timperley wards respectively, said they were 'really pleased' that their hard work payed off 'in big way'.
Coun Frass said: "It's been more than a decade since we were this big, we have five councillors now, it's a real comeback. It was an emphatic endorsement with a good turn out and a majority in both wards. People were enthusiastically supporting what we were offering."
Coun Ennis said: "We've got a lot of hard work ahead of us and a lot to get stuck into. People are struggling with the cost of living. In my ward, there's a very proud, self-contained community of people. Where housing associations are being slow of mark, we're stepping in.
"The Conservatives have completely collapsed in Trafford, they're now too small to form a functioning opposition group, so we'll be stepping up to be that functioning opposition and hold Labour to account. For what was a flagship Tory council not too long ago, it's been a really serious collapse."
Outgoing Tory boss Nathan Evans tweeted: "Thanks to an amazing team across Trafford so proud to have worked with you all. You know who you are."
