Well what an interesting night.
The Tories won on the night and there will be many Tories who will be very happy today. However it was not all good news for the Conservatives. I suspect there will be some disappointment that the margin of victory was not even bigger. The fact that some of their essential targets (Cheltenham & Worcester to name two) did not come off will cause a lot of head scratching. Especially when you consider some their surprise council gains.
We may not have won but the LibDems pushed Labour into third place in the national share of the vote. The LibDems defied expectations of big losses, instead making some good advances at the expense of the Conservatives and Labour. Even the expected collapse in the south did not happen, as Libdems held their ground in key seats. Indeed, the LibDems improved on their previous high water mark. Having held our own it is now clear that the Libdems have steadied the ship and are ready to move forward to achieve success in the future. We now have over 4,200 council seats (more than 21% of the total in Great Britain).
The night’s biggest losers were Labour who polled a dismal 24%. Dropping to new record lows has signalled the beginning of the end for Labour.
Whilst on the subject of losers a special mention has to be made for the dismal BBC election night coverage. Their dreadful coverage has been widely mocked and criticised by bloggers. Note to BBC: must try harder.
The Liberal Democrats retained control of:
Ø Cambridge
Ø Eastleigh
Ø Liverpool[After 1 Ind joined LibDems]
Ø Rochdale
Ø Stockport
Ø Newcastle
Ø Watford
Ø Three Rivers
Ø South Lakeland
The Liberal Democrats gained control of:
Ø Sheffield
Ø St Albans
Ø Hull
Ø Burnley
The Liberal Democrats lost control of
Ø Pendle
Ø West Lindsey
Following these elections Liberal Democrats are just one seat short of overall control in: Oldham (4 gains), Warrington (1 gain) and Cheltenham (3 gains).
Liberal Democrats will continue to be the largest party in Cardiff (2 gains), Sefton (1 gain), North East Lincolnshire (1 gain) and are now also the largest party in Derby (5 gains), Exeter (1 gain) and Wrexham (3 gains).