Poll blow for Nick Clegg in Sheffield

Labour were celebrating in the North of England today after big gains at the expense of the Liberal Democrats.

A key success was in Sheffield -where Nick Clegg is an MP - as Ed Miliband's party picked up nine seats from their rivals to become the largest party on the council.

In a bleak night for the Deputy Prime Minister, the ward of Broomhill, which has a large student population, was one of those that changed from Lib-Dem to Labour control.

Similar results elsewhere suggested the Lib-Dems were facing a wipeout in the region in line with the worst pre-election fears. Kingston-upon-Hull changed hands as the Liberal Democrats lost 10 seats, and control of Stockport was also surrendered to Labour.

Oldham turned red as the Lib-Dems lost six councillors, and it was an identical story in Warrington.

All six yellow seats in Nottingham disappeared - leading to calls from the Lib-Dem leader in the city for Mr Clegg to stand down - while 11 councillors were ousted in Liverpool and 10 in Manchester.

Labour also gained control of Bolton, Lincoln, Bassetlaw and Hyndburn councils with more success expected as results come in. Mr Miliband hailed the result in Sheffield and said he was "pleased" with the returns across England.

Mr Clegg said the Liberal Democrats were getting the "brunt of the blame" in the North for worries about the Government's spending cuts.