Leeds council: coalitions, deals and the balance of power

Deals need to be struck and coalitions formed in order for power to be seized at the Civic Hall. Will Labour convince the Green Party to join them to lead the council - or will the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition continue? A crunch week lies ahead

leeds civic hall Which coalition of parties is going to gain control of Leeds council following Thursday's local election?

It may still be unclear who's going to be running the country in a hung parliament following Thursday's general election - but the uncertainty has been echoed in Leeds on a council level this weekend.

As Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg spent the weekend in talks with David Cameron's Conservative Party over the possibility of forming a coalition government, there will have been many hours of crunch talks in Leeds this weekend, too.

The local elections saw Labour gain four seats in Leeds - but the council was still under no overall control from any political party.

Labour have been left with 48 seats, two short of the magical 50 mark that would give them overall control. The Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Morley Borough Independents coalition - assuming they decide to stay as a coalition - would have 49 seats on the 99-seat council.