The political leadership of the Local Government Association looks set to change, following the huge gains of the Conservatives at the local elections last week.

As the Tories took control of 30 more councils – with an increase of nearly 500 seats – the balance of power is likely to shift back to the Conservatives after only a year of a Labour lead, with Dudley's Cllr David Sparks as the chairman.

While the figures will need to be calculated over the coming days, the shift in the balance of power to Labour last year was marginal, while the shift back to the Conservatives in Thursday's elections was significant.