Tories doomed
Nationally, the Tories now know it's over for them

By Alex Perkins, Liberal Democrat Canterbury City Council Leader

Nationally the Tories have bagged a few hundred council seats at a midterm election in which only a small minority of people bothered to vote.

When the Tory leader crows of a 'fantastic result' and a 'spectacular victory', we can all understand why. The Conservatives have drunk from the bitter cup of humiliation for so long that their desire to snatch after anything mildly resembling success is only human.

Mr Duncan Smith's relief is as obvious as the reason for it. His internal critics have been obliged to bite their tongues. His skin is saved. He lives to die another day.

The Conservatives have had a success - a catastrophic success.

There is one result less desirable for a political party than the stark defeat. And that is the deceptive victory. At least defeat has this to be said for it. Being punished by the voters should force a party to confront why it has lost the public and think about how to re-engage with them. The deceptive victory permits a party to indulge itself in the illusion that things really aren't so bad.

Parties become increasingly vulnerable to this delusion - a delusion we might call False Dawnism - when they have been in Opposition for a lengthening number of years. They inhale anything that faintly whiffs of success to block out the odours of deeper failure.

The local elections are both good news for Mr Duncan Smith and awful tidings for the Conservative Party.