The local election results paint a picture of a divided and uncertain country.
Voters turned their back on the big two parties in favour of the Greens, Lib Dems and independent candidates.
While this was a disappointing night for Labour we should not lose sight of the fact the biggest losers were the Tories who suffered the worst council results of any party since 1995.
Voters delivered a damning verdict on a Government which has run out of steam, lacks compassion and has failed in its overriding task of delivering Brexit.
Labour’s failure to make headway should prompt some soul searching in Jeremy Corbyn’s team.
Tories crushed in local elections as voters give Theresa May kick in the ballots
The party should be especially concerned it lost ground in its former bastions of Bolsover, Hartlepool, Burnley and Middlesbrough.
Winning control of Trafford and the Amber Valley are a consolation but these gains cannot disguise the fact that Labour needs to do more to appeal to voters outside the big cities.
While there is a way forward for Labour, the same cannot be said of Theresa May’s Conservatives.
This is a threadbare administration which has no plan for Brexit and has abandoned any pretence it is governing in the national interest.
The Tory hammering was entirely deserved.
