The story so far: in England, the number of Liberal Democrat-run councils is up (including some spectacular gains from the Conservatives, such as Eastbourne and Hinckley & Bosworth along with dramatic slumps in Torbay and Bournemouth) but the number of councillors overall is down. The overall share of the vote looks like being within 1% of last year’s figures for all the main parties.
The Lib Dem performance looks like it is significantly better in those Parliamentary seats the party holds or would be looking to gain at the next general election than in other areas.
In Scotland and Wales it looks like the overall Liberal Democrat vote will be up, with probably one seat gained in Wales. The outlook in Scotland is less clear – victory in Dunfermline, defeats in both Gordon and Roxburgh & Berwickshire, some strong constituency performances falling short of victory and with the list votes yet to become clear.
It looks like the increase in the vote in Scotland will have pushed the Conservatives into fourth place which, alongside the continuing absence of any Tory councillors in the big northern cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, shows how hard Cameron is struggling to appeal outside the areas of his core vote.
Plenty more results still to come today.
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You have been stuffed!