Marcus Wood

Winners and losers in the local elections.

After a long night of high drama I have been reflecting on the results of last nights local elections.

LABOUR are down 300 seats which would normally be cataclysmic but in the event, and following a pretty ghastly few weeks of headlines, is probably very narrowly the right side of the figures that would have prompted the end of Blair.

CONSERVATIVES are up (at the time of writing) over 315 seats and with over 40% of the popular vote so this has been the first test for Cameron and his new style of campaigning. Even the most hostile commentator has had to concede he has passed. Sure we still have a lot further to go especially in the Northern cities but in the West Country our results were superb.

LIB DEM are up one seat. All the hyperbole and the frenzied spinning and this is the result?

I reckon that many rank-and-file Lib Dem members will be wondering how they let their MP’s railroad them into sacking a young vote-winning leader when the only available alternative was someone who is wholly wrong for the political scene in which we now all operate. Today's results prove it.

The story of the night, then, is that the voters who want rid of New Labour are bypassing the Lib Dems and voting for the real Opposition.

Good news on which to end the week.