strongholds and slumped to an unprecedented third place behind the Liberal Democrats, Home Secretary David Blunkett said he was 'mortified', and grim-faced Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott admitted that his party had received a good 'kicking'from a disillusioned electorate.

Tellingly, Tony Blair was out of the country when news of Labour's disaster at the polls came through. As the embattled Prime Minister faced fresh calls from senior Labour MPs to quit, Mr Howard seized on the voters verdict to issue another rally call to Conservatives.

Embarking on a barnstorming tour of the country taking in Leicester, Trafford, Tamworth, Dudley, Coventry, Swindon and Monmouthshire, he said the party's dynamic performance had provided a launch pad for the next general election.

'When it comes to the general election, what is important is the gap between the Conservatives and Labour parties. We have to be 11.5 points ahead to win the general election. On last night's results, we were 12 points ahead.'

Expressing a determination to 'put the country on the right track' with policies designed to reduce the size of the state and give everyone - not just the wealthy - the opportunity to choose in health and education, Mr Howard declared: 'We have had excellent results, and we are now represented up and down the country in cities and towns where we want to play an important part.'

Chairman of Gay Conservatives James Davenport said that the election results were good news for the gay community. 'The Conservative Party is making major progress in winning hearts and minds. We want a nation of people who live their own lives, not a nation whose lives are controlled by the state. This can only be good for the gay community, and the mass of the British people are backing our agenda. The end is nigh for this prying, intrusive, penal, discredited Labour Government.'

Earlier, Conservative co-chairman Dr Liam Fox said the party now had the solid base on which to challenge Labour at the next election. 'This has been a disaster for Labour. Tony Blair is presiding over the meltdown of his party. This is the first time a party in government has come third in local govt elections. The gap between Conservatives and Labour is the biggest since 1992, and the solid base we need to win the general election.'

Key election results

Conservative success across the country

Conservatives have made gains across the country, without losing control of any Conservative-held council.

East of England

· CON gain Brentwood from NOC. Last time we won was in 1988.

· CON gain Thurrock from Labour. We have gained 10 seats from Labour. This council has never elected a Conservative council before. This is beyond our expectations.
East Midlands (all-postal)

· CON gain control of West Lindsey – never been Conservative before.

London

· Conservatives (Bob Blackman) oust Labour's Toby Harris in Brent and Harrow.

· Conservatives (Brian Coleman) increase our majority in the Barnet/Camden seat from 551 to 11,519.

North East (all-postal)

· CON increase their representation in Sunderland to 12 seats.

· In North Tyneside, Conservatives become the largest party on the council (in addition to the existing CON mayor), including four gains in Stephen Byers' constituency.

North West (all-postal)

· CON gain Trafford from NOC. Last time Conservatives won this council was in 1994.

· CON gain Rossendale from NOC (Labour minority administration). Labour lost all its seats that were up for re-election.

Scotland

Although there are no local elections this year in Scotland, Conservatives won by-elections in Dumfries and Galloway last night. Since 1997, Scottish Conservatives have gained 13 seats in by-elections, have held 11, and lost absolutely none.

South East

· CON gain Horsham (due to by-election result) from NOC.
· CON gain Eastbourne from LIBDEMS.
· CON gain Worthing from NOC.

South West

· CON gain Swindon from NOC. The council is Conservative for the first time since its creation.

Wales

· Conservatives double representation in Newport (5 seats to 11).
· CON gain Monmouthshire from NOC (a council which has never been Conservative since its creation) – previously, Conservatives did not control any councils in Wales. A good result, following David Davies' win in the Welsh Assembly constituency seat of Monmouth last year, would put us in a prime position to win the Parliamentary seat at the next general election (Lab majority 384).
· LAB lose Swansea to NOC.
· LAB lose Cardiff to NOC.

West Midlands

· Conservatives become largest party in Birmingham.

· Conservatives running Coventry with Mayor's casting vote, the first time in twenty-five years (1978).

· CON gain Dudley from NOC - last won by the Conservatives in 1983. We took a seat from the BNP here.

· CON gain Tamworth from Labour. Last time Conservatives won this council was in 1987.

· CON gain control of Worcester from NOC for the first time since 1979.

Yorkshire & Humberside (all-postal)

· CON gain Harrogate from NOC (it has been a minority CON administration supported by independents). Last outright CON control was in 1988.

Labour's mid-term meltdown

As of 5pm Friday, Labour have lost over 400 seats – a scenario described by Sky News on Thursday evening as a ‘mid-term meltdown'.

East of England

· LAB lose Ipswich to NOC due to Conservative gains.

East Midlands (all-postal)

· LAB fail to win Amber Valley from CON control. This was a prime Labour target. The Press Association had remarked, ‘one of Labour's best chances of a control gain from Tories' (8 June 2004).

· LAB lose Bassetlaw to NOC – last NOC in 1976. Conservatives are now the largest party - one seat short of a majority. The Press Association described it as ‘a traditional Labour stronghold' (8 June 2004).

North East

· LAB lose Newcastle-upon-Tyne

North West (all-postal)

· LAB lose Burnley to NOC (BNP's level of councillors remains at six).

· LAB lose St Helens to NOC.

South East

· The Labour group leader in Basingstoke loses seat (to independent).

· LAB lose Hastings to NOC due to Conservative gains.

· LAB lose Oxford to NOC. Sitting Labour Mayor loses seat.

West Midlands

· LAB lose Tamworth to CON. Had been a Labour council since 1990.

· Labour minority administration of Coventry lost to CON gain (CON run with casting vote).

Yorkshire & Humberside (all-postal)

· LAB lose Doncaster to NOC. Doncaster had always been Labour-run since the met council's creation in 1973.

· LAB lose Leeds to NOC; it had been Labour-run constantly since 1980.

LibDems not making progress

· LIBDEMS lose Cheltenham to NOC due to Conservative gains. A poor result for the Liberal Democrats given their official newspaper predicted, ‘the key objective in June is to retain all defended seats and make gains in target seats, to ensure that the current LibDem majority on the council of 2 is increased… The June local elections will be a key general election indicator. LibDems retaining control will be a major blow to the Conservatives nationally as well as locally' (Liberal Democrat News, 23 April 2004).

· LIBDEMS lose Norwich to NOC. A target LibDem council; their goals were to ‘retain Norwich! Squash the Greens! Prepare the ground for "sack Charles Clarke" ' (Liberal Democrat News, 4 June 2004).

· LIBDEMS lose Winchester to NOC due to Conservative gains. The home turf of senior Liberal Democrat Mark Oaten.

· LIBDEMS lose Eastbourne to CON. This was a target council for the Liberal Democrats to hold – ‘the narrowness of the majority speaks for itself. The fact that Eastbourne is a crucial target seat in the general election make this a prize that the Tories in the South East will be fighting hard to regain' (Liberal Democrat News, 21 May 2004).

· LibDem minority administration of Worthing lost to CON control.

· Liberal Democrat minority administration of Brentwood lost to CON control. Prior to 2003 when it went NOC, it had been a Liberal Democrat controlled council since 1991. Senior Liberal Democrat MP, Bob Russell, said the result was ‘disappointing' (Press Association, 11 June 2004).