Local election results 2014: London bucks Nigel Farage Ukip trend as Labour makes gains in capital

 
'Serious players': Nigel Farage hailed Ukip's progress after a strong showing in Essex
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Nigel Farage redrew the political map today with a series of spectacular Ukip victories that bloodied both David Cameron and Ed Miliband.

His party’s purple army marched into Tory town halls in the South and trampled over Labour heartlands in the North, gaining at least 90 seats and triggering panic among MPs in the old parties.

But in London they failed to make big gains, with Labour emerging as the biggest party.

The Conservatives lost control of Basildon, Castle Point and Southend-on-Sea — areas of Essex where Mr Farage’s anti-EU and immigration message produced a surge of Ukip support. Three Tory MPs broke ranks and called for a pact with Ukip at the general election. Labour lost control of Thurrock, again due to a Ukip surge, and watched in shock as the rival party won seats in old strongholds such as Hartlepool and Rotherham.

A jubilant Mr Farage declared Ukip were now “serious players” and ready to gain seats at the 2015 general election. “The Ukip fox is in the Westminster hen house,” he said. In key developments after 64 councils declared results:

Labour topped the voting, gained 105 seats and had their best results in London, seizing David Cameron’s “favourite council” Hammersmith & Fulham, along with Croydon, Merton and Redbridge. However, Mr Miliband’s team came under fire from Labour MPs who said his vote share was too low to win the 2015 election.

The Conservatives lost 97 seats and seven councils but won Kingston-upon-Thames from the Liberal Democrats. There was alarm that Essex Man — the aspirational working class voter who emblemised Margaret Thatcher’s successes in the 1980s — appeared to be turning to Ukip

Nick Clegg’s Lib-Dems lost Kingston and Portsmouth and at least 100 seats in a disastrous night. They suffered severe losses in key London areas, including boroughs with sitting MPs, and were set to be wiped out in Brent.

London local election count - in pictures

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Ukip won three seats in Bexley but did not make major gains in London. In an embarrassing gaffe, communities spokeswoman Suzanne Evans admitted that was because London- ers were “cultural, educated and young”. She tried to repair the damage by tweeting later that “clever people vote Ukip”

Mr Farage predicted his party could mop up 200 extra council seats by the end of the day. Recriminations were flying in the traditional parties. Tony Ball, who was Tory leader on Basildon council but lost his seat to Ukip, hit out at Mr Cameron, saying he “just doesn’t get it as far as Europe and immigration are concerned”.

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg called for a pact with Ukip to “get those votes into one pot” to avoid losses next year. That was swiftly rejected by party chairman Grant Shapps. Labour MP Graham Stringer accused his party leadership of running an “unprofessional” campaign.

Main party bosses put on a brave face. Education Secretary Michael Gove said voters were using Ukip to send a “very clear message” which the Con- servatives would heed. “Those concerns and that anger is legitimate,” he said. Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander said the UK appeared to have entered a period of “four-party politics”. The Lib-Dems’ deputy leader Sir Malcolm Bruce said: “It looks very unlikely that any party can win an outright majority at the next election.”

Brentwood, a parliamentary seat held by Tory Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, also slipped from Conser- vative control as the party lost two seats to the Lib-Dems and one to Labour.

In Kent, Maidstone switched from Conservative to no overall control as Ukip gained four seats. Thurrock went from Labour to no overall control as Ukip gained five seats. Ukip also gained 10 seats in Rotherham.

Celebrations: Zac Goldsmith joins Tory candidates celebrating in Kingston (Picture: Lucy Young)

Mr Miliband said the Ukip vote was an “expression of discontent” that the economic recovery was not benefiting working people. He vowed that Labour would win people’s trust in 2015.

But elections expert John Curtice said the swing to Labour, at three per cent on the early results, was low.

Essex Tory backbencher John Baron, the MP for Basildon and Billericay, said Mr Cameron was paying for “past mistakes” including a failure to stem immigration from the EU. The count in the European elections begins on Sunday.

Additional reporting by Ben Morgan and Anna Dubuis.

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