gmb45
6th June, 2009, 06:10 AM
Labour suffered humiliation in the local elections after the party lost all four of its county councils to the Tories.
David Cameron congratulates newly elected councillors in Exeter after taking Devon
The party lost Derbyshire County Council following 28 years of rule, while they were also beaten by the Conservatives in Lancashire, Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire.
By late evening Labour had lost more than 300 seats across the country while the Tories had gained 270.
In a press conference this afternoon Gordon Brown conceded the results so far were "a painful defeat for Labour".
As Gordon Brown shuffled his cabinet, Mr Cameron flew to Preston to congratulate local Conservatives on taking control of Lancashire County Council from Labour for the first time since 1981.
"We are winning in the South West, in Devon and Somerset. We are winning in the Midlands, in Staffordshire and Derbyshire. We are winning in the North, here in Lancashire," he said.
"That's not a protest vote, it's a vote for a strong, positive, united alternative to a failing government."
The British National Party picked up its first and second English county council seats in Lancashire and Leicestershire.
Sharon Wilkinson defeated Labour's Marcus Johnstone in the Padiham and Burnley West ward.
And the far-right party scored a shock win in Coalville, Leicestershire, as the Conservatives consolidated their grip on power elsewhere in the county.
But the BNP failed to win a single seat in the Cumbria County Council elections which saw Labour lose to the Conservatives.
Staffordshire also fell to the Tories as they soared past the 32 seats needed to claim a majority, and were predicting a landslide victory there as Labour and the Liberal Democrats failed to make inroads.
Elsewhere in the country Labour were trounced in the battle for Lincolnshire County Council, losing 17 seats as the Tories gained 15 and increased their hold on the authority.
They also failed to gain a single councillor in newly-formed Central Bedfordshire, where the Tories took 54 of the 66 seats up for grabs.
And the party lost eight seats in Bristol as the Liberal Democrats took overall control of the city.
The Conservatives also took overall control of North Tyneside Council after defeating Labour in the mayoral election.
David Cameron congratulates newly elected councillors in Exeter after taking Devon
The party lost Derbyshire County Council following 28 years of rule, while they were also beaten by the Conservatives in Lancashire, Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire.
By late evening Labour had lost more than 300 seats across the country while the Tories had gained 270.
In a press conference this afternoon Gordon Brown conceded the results so far were "a painful defeat for Labour".
As Gordon Brown shuffled his cabinet, Mr Cameron flew to Preston to congratulate local Conservatives on taking control of Lancashire County Council from Labour for the first time since 1981.
"We are winning in the South West, in Devon and Somerset. We are winning in the Midlands, in Staffordshire and Derbyshire. We are winning in the North, here in Lancashire," he said.
"That's not a protest vote, it's a vote for a strong, positive, united alternative to a failing government."
The British National Party picked up its first and second English county council seats in Lancashire and Leicestershire.
Sharon Wilkinson defeated Labour's Marcus Johnstone in the Padiham and Burnley West ward.
And the far-right party scored a shock win in Coalville, Leicestershire, as the Conservatives consolidated their grip on power elsewhere in the county.
But the BNP failed to win a single seat in the Cumbria County Council elections which saw Labour lose to the Conservatives.
Staffordshire also fell to the Tories as they soared past the 32 seats needed to claim a majority, and were predicting a landslide victory there as Labour and the Liberal Democrats failed to make inroads.
Elsewhere in the country Labour were trounced in the battle for Lincolnshire County Council, losing 17 seats as the Tories gained 15 and increased their hold on the authority.
They also failed to gain a single councillor in newly-formed Central Bedfordshire, where the Tories took 54 of the 66 seats up for grabs.
And the party lost eight seats in Bristol as the Liberal Democrats took overall control of the city.
The Conservatives also took overall control of North Tyneside Council after defeating Labour in the mayoral election.