Councillor Tom Harney, Wirral's new Liberal Democrat leader, remained non-committal about which way his party would sway in the council’s coalition conundrum.

He confirmed that he would be holding talks with Labour and the Conservatives over the course of the next few days “before making any decisions about what we will do next.”

Although reduced to only ten seats, Lib Dems hold the balance of power as Labour with 29 seats, and the Tories with 27, failed to gain enough councillors to form a majority administration in Thursday's elections.

Following his elevation to leader over the week-end Cllr Harney acknowledged: “This is a difficult time for the Liberal Democrats in Wirral.

"There can be no doubt that last week’s election results were very bad for us and we lost come outstanding councillors.

“The presence and input of Simon Holbrook, Bob Moon and Peter Residorf will be greatly missed by the group but we must now move forward.

“I am pleased to have been chosen to lead the Lib Dems through this challenging period and will ensure that we continue to contribute positively to the work of the council.”

Ex-group leader Simon Holbrook, who lost his Prenton seat last week, said he would remain active in politics locally but now intended to concentrate on his professional career with the Environment Agency.

He commented: “I will therefore not be seeking election in 2012 but I do hope to return to frontline politics at some point in the future.”

He added: “The past four years have been particularly challenging as a coalition partner to both the other parties.

"I am particularly proud of the fact that, during the past 12 months, we have responded to the most difficult financial conditions ever put onto local government, without making the types of cuts made by other councils; protecting frontline services and making no compulsory redundancies.”