Graphic: the local election results | Graphic:history of election results | Graphic: how London voted

Boris Johnson sealed a nightmarish first electoral test for Gordon Brown, surging to a hugely symbolic victory for the Conservatives in London.

Mr Johnson claimed the largest prize of a triumphant day for David Cameron by ending Ken Livingstone’s eight-year reign as London Mayor. He said that he did not believe that his victory meant that London was a Conservative city, but pledged to work “flat out” to earn the trust of those who doubted his capability and commitment to the job.

Mr Livingstone, fighting back tears, said that the fault for his defeat was entirely his own.

Mr Brown suffered humilation across the country as the party lost an astonishing 331 seats. It was Labour’s worst election night for 40 years, leaving its local government and campaigning base severely weakened and ministers fearing for their survival at the next general election.

Mr Brown accepted that it had been a “bad night” and vowed to “listen and lead”. He will launch a fightback this weekend to show the country that he can take it through difficult times.

Yesterday’s huge reverses make it almost certain that the next general election will take place in 2010 rather than next year. Personal criticism of Mr Brown from the Labour side was muted. Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, told him that the message was to “get a grip”; one MP said that he had suffered a “John Major moment”; and his closest ally Ed Balls said that the results could not be dismissed as a traditional midterm kick to the governing party.

The electorate was cross with Labour, Mr Balls said.

To compound Labour’s difficulties, the party faces months without a general secretary after it was forced to abandon the appointment of David Pitt-Watson, Mr Brown’s personal choice. Mr Pitt-Watson was said to have been daunted by the size of the job and concerned that he might have been personally liable for the party’s multi-million-pound debts.

Mr Brown’s main worry will be whether party discipline holds up as MPs fret about their re-election prospects. Last night’s results show that Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, and Ruth Kelly, the Transport Secretary, are highly vulnerable in their seats.

The Prime Minister faces a further battle in three weeks’ time. Labour will try to hold Crewe & Nantwich in a by-election on May 22, which is now expected to be a tight race.

Councillors were left almost defenceless in the face of the 10p tax row and economic worries. Labour finished third overall, with just 24 per cent of the vote. The Conservatives secured 44 per cent on an evening of unbridled triumph and the Liberal Democrats 25 per cent.

The Tories gained 256 seats and the Liberal Democrats 34, with Nick Clegg voicing satisfaction over his party’s advances in the North, including his home city of Sheffield.

Labour lost key councils such as Southampton and Reading and was hit hard in its Welsh heartlands, losing Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Torfaen, Caerphilly and Flintshire. It also lost Wolverhampton and Hartlepool. Tory gains included Bury and North Tyneside.

Mr Brown blamed “difficult economic circumstances”.

Mr Cameron said: “This is a very big moment for the Conservative Party, but I don’t want anyone to think that we would deserve to win an election on the back of a failing government. I want us to really prove to people that we can make the changes that they want to see, in terms of schools and hospitals and crime and the other issues that really matter to all of us.

Mr Clegg said: “We were 13 per cent a few months ago, we’re now 25 per cent. We are regaining momentum.”

David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary, said that the Government had to re-engage with voters’ day-to-day concerns: “We’ve got to get a grip,” he said.

Ministers under threat, according to council results:

Bill Rammell Harlow (maj. 97)
Jim Knight Dorset South (1,812)
Ruth Kelly Bolton West (2,084)
Michael Wills Swindon North (2,571)
Jacqui Smith Redditch (2,716)
John Hutton Barrow in Furness (6,037)
Ben Bradshaw Exeter (7,685)
Ivan Lewis Bury South (8,912)

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