Mr William Hague yesterday hailed the beginnings of a Conservative recovery as the final results were declared in the English local elections. But a mixed bag of results gave each of the three main parties something to celebrate, and much cause for reflection.
The first major test of popular opinion since the general election was being assessed last night in the context of an astonishingly low turnout - just over 35 per cent in London and less than 30 per cent elsewhere. The Tories clocked up net gains of some 247 council seats, replacing the Liberal Democrats in terms of seats but not overall control. They strengthened their grip in Wandsworth - once "the jewel in the crown" of Thatcherite London - and reclaimed Tunbridge Wells, symbolic home of "Middle England", lost in 1994 at the height of Mr John Major's unpopularity.
However, Tory support elsewhere in London lagged behind the rest of the country. The net gains have to be measured against 440 losses in the same contests four years ago and the party's 32 per cent of the overall vote marked only a modest advance on its performance in last year's general election. It is comparable to the kind of support enjoyed by Labour at its lowest ebb in the early 1980s.
Liberal Democrat successes in some of Labour's "rotten boroughs" took the shine off Labour triumphs elsewhere. There was particular delight for the party as it claimed nine seats in Islington, former home to Mr Tony Blair and perceived spiritual home of New Labour. But while the Liberal Democrats claimed power in Liverpool - their first-ever big metropolitan authority - they lost control of the Isle of Wight, and net losses of 100-plus seats left Mr Paddy Ashdown welcoming a night of "consolidation".
While down on his party's general election performance, Mr Blair was able to claim Labour's 38 per cent share of the vote - better than in recent memory for a sitting government. And he seized the advantage offered by setbacks in "old" Labour heartlands like Liverpool and Sheffield as a message from voters on the need to continue "modernisation". The modernising process continued in London where the "yes" campaign for a directly elected mayor and a new Greater London Authority won a 72 per cent endorsement. But Mr Blair's delight was marred by the fact that two out of three of the capital's voters did not go to the polls.
And the London referendum result brought the opening shots in what could become a bitter internal battle over who is to choose Labour's candidate for what has the potential to become the second-most powerful political post in Britain. Taking his cue from the Tory plan for a London-wide primary of all its members, Mr Ken Livingstone MP said Labour likewise had no choice but to leave the decision to its party members. Amid continuing speculation of a determined leadership bid to "Stop Ken", Mr Livingstone said: "I would find it bizarre beyond belief if Tony Blair, having argued for one member, one vote for virtually everything else, didn't go along with that in London."
He said it would be equally wrong for the ruling national executive committee to vet candidates on a political basis. Dismissing the "mouthings of a few junior spin doctors, none of whom get time alone with Tony Blair", Mr Livingstone declared: "This isn't over until the tall nice man with the engaging smile sings . . ."
With the election of the London mayor at least 18 months away, Labour's selection process could take the best part of a year. And it will be another year before a convincing picture emerges about the underlying state of the parties in Blair's Britain.
Voter fatigue and the sheer dominance of Mr Blair's parliamentary majority, may well have been factors in Thursday's low turnout.