Labour suffers big council losses

Labour suffers big council losses
Election count

Labour is suffering a grim night in local elections in England and Wales, losing more than 140 seats so far.

BBC research suggests the party has fallen into third place nationally with 24% of the vote, beaten by the Tories on 44% and Lib Dems on 25%.

So far they are the worst local poll results for Labour in 40 years.

But the party's chief whip Geoff Hoon told the BBC there was "no crisis" for Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the lead-up to the next general election.

'Exceptional results'

The margin is similar to the drubbing received by Tory Prime Minister John Major in council elections in 1995, two years before he was ejected from Downing Street by Tony Blair.

RESULTS ROUND-UP

* General turnout looks like it will be about 35%, similar to last year
* Projected national vote share: Tories 44%, Lib Dems 25%, Labour 24%
* Worst share of national vote for Labour in recent history
* Surprise Tory win in Southampton and solid progress in north
* Greens and BNP make little progress nationally, UKIP up 1

London result on knife edge

Emily Maitlis election blog

Elections latest at-a-glance

Elections expert John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said: "It looks quite possible that by the time all the results are declared some time on Friday afternoon, Labour will have suffered at least 200 net losses, widely regarded before polling day as the worst possible outcome that could befall the party."

So far the Tories have a net increase of more than 140 councillors and a 4% higher share of the national vote than at last year's local polls.

Such a share in a general election would have the potential to give the party a Commons majority of 138.

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "These are exceptional results and this could be the lowest Labour share of the vote in the modern history of local elections… This is a big step forward."

'Not greatest night'

The Tories have gained control of several councils including Southampton, Bury, Harlow and Maidstone.

BBC analysis suggests Labour's vote appears to have fallen most heavily in its traditional heartlands - confirming MPs' fears the 10p tax row has damaged their core support.

Ministers were trying to put a brave face on the results and pledging to listen to voters' concerns.

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said: "Nobody is going to pretend this is our greatest night.

"Generally I think that we would recognise that these elections have been conducted in the context of people feeling exposed and feeling anxious about the state of the economy and its impact on them."

Mr Hoon said: "There's no crisis. This isn't something that's going to affect the fundamental stability of the government.

"We have to go on making the difficult decisions the country requires."

Former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy said he hoped for a "solid" set of results, adding: "It is not impossible because Labour I think are in very great difficulty."

Deputy leader Vince Cable said: "The important thing is that we've beaten Labour into third place."

London contest

More than 4,000 seats on 159 councils were up for grabs in Thursday's elections, as well as the London mayoralty and assembly.

All seats are up for election in the 22 Welsh unitary authorities.

The London mayoral result, due on Friday evening, looks extremely close, following a gruelling contest between Conservative Boris Johnson and Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone.

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Their fate, along with that of Lib Dem contender Brian Paddick, will be closely watched for signs of how popular their parties are nationally.

Meanwhile, a BBC opinion poll suggests Tory leader David Cameron is seen as more effective than Mr Brown or Mr Clegg.

Of 1,005 people who took part in the poll, 68% said Mr Cameron was an asset to his party, compared with 43% for Mr Clegg and 42% for Mr Brown.

Mr Brown's reputation for economic competence has also taken a blow.

At this time last year 48% said that Labour could be trusted to run the country's economy, little different from the 53% who did so in 2002. But this year the figure has fallen to 32%.

However, only 36% said they trust the Conservatives to run the economy - 10 points down on last year, and little better than the figure of 32% recorded for the party in 2002.