AS one of Southampton's Tory's big beasts he was the biggest scalp in a night that saw Labour slash the Conservative's majority on the council.

Cabinet member from environment and planning Matthew Dean lost his Shirley seat by 119 votes after a recount to Labour newcomer Satvir Kaur.

Labour had targeted the ward and deployed a small army of campaigners backed by city MP Alan Whitehead.

Daily Echo: VICTORY: Satvir Kaur leads Labour celebrations Newly elected Satvir Kaur leads the Labour celebrations.

The ward had the highest turnout in the city with 46 per cent. The average across the city was 37 per cent, boosted by the alternative vote referendum held at the same time.

Cllr Dean said: "I'm upset and very disappointed but there was a lot of good will out there for me. My support held up and my vote actually went up on 2007."

He added: "Labour got out its core vote and ran a clean campaign."

Cllr Dean said he was proud of his record as Cabinet member which has seen the road repair budget doubled, the highways division outsourced to construction giant Baflour Beatty, and a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) deal signed to replace half the street lights in the city.