Third-place Labour take a kicking in polls

Senior British Labour figures tonight rallied round Tony Blair to insist his position was secure as the party crashed to third place in the local council elections.

After a night of big gains for the Tories, a jubilant Conservative leader Michael Howard claimed that they had opened up a sufficient gap from Labour to win the next general election.

Labour insisted that the Tory advances fell short of the breakthrough needed if they were to stand a chance of taking power at Westminster.

However senior figures admitted openly that they had taken a “kicking” from the electorate, as voters took out their unhappiness with the government over the war in Iraq.

With more than three-quarters of the results in, Labour had lost more than 400 seats with a net loss of control in six councils – including the big city prizes of Newcastle and Leeds.

The Conservatives had gained more than 200 seats while the Liberal Democrats were also up by more than 100.

A BBC projection said that the figures equated to a 38% share of the popular vote, followed by the Liberal Democrats on 30% with Labour trailing in third place on 26%.

It is thought to be the first time that the governing party has been forced into third place in such a test of public opinion.

Cabinet heavyweights David Blunkett and Jack Straw were wheeled out to scotch speculation about Mr Blair’s future, insisting that his position was not under threat.

While they made no attempt to deny that it had been a bad night for the party, they said that they could still bounce back in the general election to secure a historic third term.

“The Prime Minister’s position is very secure and very well recognised around the country,” Mr Straw said.

Mr Blunkett said he was “mortified” that the party had done so badly, but said that the Conservatives would have to do better if they were to regain power at Westminster.

“A bad night for us, but not meltdown. No take-off for the Conservatives. They haven’t even got the undercarriage down, never mind managed to actually get across the Atlantic or – dare I say it – the English Channel.”

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said the war in Iraq was a crucial factor, but he insisted the general election would be fought on the battleground of public services.

“They didn’t judge this election on that. Iraq was a cloud, or indeed a shadow, over these elections. I am not saying we haven’t had a kicking. It’s not a great day for Labour,” he said.

He added, however: “Mr Howard is not capturing the councils he should have been capturing if he wants to make a break. They haven’t made a break-out.”

Mr Howard said the results – which saw the Tories gain control of 11 more councils – gave them an ideal platform for the next general election.

“We have to be 11.5 points ahead to win the general election. On last night’s results, we were 12 points ahead,” he said.

“We had excellent results last night. We are now represented up and down the country in cities where we want to play an important part.”

Labour had been braced for bad results. Mr Blair had conceded Iraq cast a shadow over the Government’s support.

There could be further bad news for Labour, with a second wave of councils declaring their results later today.

They include big metropolitan authorities such as Birmingham and Sheffield where Labour is expected to do poorly.

There is also the possibility of embarrassment for Labour in the London mayoral election. Ken Livingstone was facing a close contest with Tory Steve Norris to hold on to his position.

Defeat for Mr Livingstone would be a real snub to Labour. Mr Livingstone won the last election running against Labour, but he has now been readmitted to the party, standing as its candidate.

A YouGov poll suggested he would scrape in for a second term.

Labour will hope the local election results will be overshadowed by the results of the European Parliament polls. They will be announced on Sunday, with indications that the UK Independence Party could hit the Tory vote.

But the Tories will be determined to keep the focus on the council elections.

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who saw his party take control in Newcastle, said he was “absolutely delighted” with what he called their best ever result.

Speaking on the steps of party HQ in central London, he said the Liberal Democrats’ predicted second place was “a dramatic advance” and “augurs very well indeed” for a general election.

“It is an encouraging omen,” he said.

“The general election is going to be much more a three-party contest.

“With us having challenged and seen off the Conservatives, we are now taking the fight to Labour in their heartlands in the North.

“The Lib Dems are emerging as an effective alternative to the Government across huge swathes of the country.

“This is three-party politics writ large.”