Many Tories are either asleep or licking their wounds after a pretty awful night in the local elections in England and Wales. So far the party has lost control of 13 councils - a net loss of more than 350 councillors.
They might feel better later if Boris retains the job of London Mayor, but for now MPs on the right of the party are annoyed at the tactics of the leadership - and some of them are quite happy to say so.
Some of the major losses include Harlow in Essex, Great Yarmouth and Plymouth, plus a wipeout of Tory seats in Dudley in the the West Midlands.
David Cameron told reporters on Friday morning that he was sorry for all the Tory councillors who'd lost their seats, but didn't seem to offer any change of course.
"These are difficult times, and there aren't easy answers. What we have to do is to take difficult decisions to deal with the debt, the deficit and the broken economy that we inherited. We'll go on making those decisions because we've got to do the right thing for our country," he said.
Not all Tories believe Cameron's present course is sustainable. On Friday afternoon a former junior member of the government, Stuart Jackson, told BBC Radio 4: "He’s on notice, he does need to raise his game and focus on bread and butter issues like jobs and mortgages."
Jackson is arguably the most senior Tory to voice dissent - he quit the government six months ago over a vote in the Commons on the European Union. But he's far from alone.
Tory MP Douglas Carswell, who doesn't enjoy the best of relationships with David Cameron, told HuffPost on Friday morning:
"These results show why we need to deliver the EU referendum we promised when in opposition. UKIP cost us a number of seats in council elections. If repeated in a General Election, this will mean us losing dozens of seats and make an overall majority less likely. More 'wind turbine Toryism' is not the answer."
And it seems that those Tories who are on the right of the party are keen to stick their oar in. Mark Pritchard - who is stepping down as secretary of the backbench 1922 committee - told us : "This should be a wake-up call for all those who think diluting orthodox conservatism will bring electoral success."
Although Tories have been fairly reserved on Twitter - either pointing out a rare win or saying nothing at all - a few have vented their frustration:
Another Tory MP who doesn't want to be named (possibly hoping they will be among the contenders in a potential reshuffle?) - told us their fears about the coalition becoming distracted.
"To be honest much of it is to be expected, but at the same time our party's focus has been on the Mayoral election and boris so I'm not surprised what's happened is nationwide," they told HuffPost.
"The Queen's speech next week has got to be major, one to recalibrate the economy. We cannot carry on talking about the reform of the House of Lords. We are in a recession and that has to be the only focus of this government. "
See also:Cameron And Clegg 'Sad' And 'Sorry' Following Election Battering
Massive Rejection For Cameron's Elected Mayors Plan
The complaints are not restricted to the back benches. Reflecting on the results on Friday morning, Tory defence minister George Howarth suggested the losses could be down to plans to introduce gay marriage.
“There are issues, for example, like the proposals for gay marriage," he said.
“A lot of Conservatives have written to me saying ‘I am a lifelong Conservative, there is no mandate for this, why is this being proceeded with?’.
The coalition plan to bring in same-sex marriage has the support of all three main party leaderships, but it is unpopular with some on the right of the Conservative Party.
Howarth also took aim at Lords reform: “There is the business of trying to change the House of Lords. Do we need to do this at a time when the nation is preoccupied with restoring the public finances?”
The criticism was batted away by foreign secretary William Hague who said: "I don't think these elections results are about those issues."
So over 41 hours after polls opened on Thursday morning, Boris Johnson is mayor of London and we can all go to bed to dream analytical dreams about what the results mean for the country.
Probable ETA of a declaration is about an hour, hopefully less (please)
London Elects statement:
We have results in from 13 of the 14 constituencies in the Mayor of London and London Assembly election. The final constituency is Brent & Harrow. The Greater London Returning Officer has been in touch with the CRO for Brent & Harrow to establish the reason for a delay. All batches of ballot papers were registered and scanned. Two batches went to storage without some ballot papers being manually entered as required. Manual entry is required when a scanner cannot read a ballot paper – for example if a ballot paper is damaged. It is not an issue with the scanners. The issue was identified during the verification stage. These two batches are being re-processed. To make this happen as quickly as possible we have separated out into several smaller batches. This is why the progress screens appear to show a changing number of verified ballot papers.We will declare as soon as possible but it is obviously important that every vote is counted.
Well we don't entirely know. The latest is that at least two ballot boxes were found unscanned at the Brent count, and they're now being counted by hand, for some reason.
There are rumours that Ken's team has asked for a full recount in Brent, which would delay things for another few hours.
London elects thinks it'll be only another 20 mins, but they've been saying that for nearly two hours.
|
| @ tnewtondunn : The Sun's pollster Peter Kellner of YouGov calls it - "Boris has won. He has too big a lead for Ken to overturn". |
It's leading to a sharp narrowing in the polls between the two candidates. On 1st preference votes Boris now has 44% and Ken 40% - 8 out of 14 constituencies have now declared.
Here's the latest.
People are talking about 50/50 odds between Ken and Boris. The atmosphere at City Hall has changed dramatically in the past half hour.
Ed Miliband, speaking in Southampton, has declared that Labour is "coming back".
This comes after Labour took control of Southampton from the Conservatives.
He railed against the "out of touch government in Westminster".
"David Cameron promised change, not for the better but for the worse. Today in Southampton, it is a rejection of the economic failure of this government, and the unfairness of this government". he added
He also boasted that Labour is "beating back" the SNP in Scotland.
He recognised the low turnouts, saying it showed there was "still more to do".
Conservative MP Peter Bone has said that the PM has 'one hand tied behind his back'.
"Worst of all, we've got the Liberals holding us back" he added
The results signified the "beginning of the end of the coalition", he told the BBC.
"We're seeing Boris winning as a Conservative in London, yet the Coalition losing against Labour. So the message must be let's come out of this coalition as soon as possible." he said
Liam Byrne, who quit the Shadow Cabinet in preparation for running for Birmingham Mayor, has just tweeted this
|
| @ LiamByrneMP : A huge thanks to ALL who supported Yes2Mayor, Albert and me: our job now is to get 4-square behind our brilliant new Lbr council #brummayor |
|
| @ SmithTonyD : Brum result: Leader 120,611, Mayor 88,085. 57.8 Per cent "no" #BrumVote12 |
|
| @ oflynnexpress : Brum votes No to a Mayor. Has anyone noticed people like voting No in refs? No2EU |
With 56 of 79 seats declared, Labour currently lead over the SNP by 29 to 20.
Barring a major upset, Labour will resist the SNP advance in Glasgow.
|
| @ suemacmillan : Labour holding its majority in Glasgow is a whopper of a result. Well done @scottishlabour |
|
| @ JenWilliamsMEN : Ian Stewart is mayor of Salford. |
|
| @ baddogOTM : Labour win CHIPPING NORTON! David Cameron, Rebekah Brooks, Elisabeth Murdoch, Steve Hilton + Jeremy Clarkson now have a LABOUR council. |
With 166 of 181 councils declared, Labour have gained more than 700 council seats.
Former Libdem leader Paddy Ashdown has said the Liberal Democrats should "keep on doing" what it is doing.
Speaking to the BBC, Lord Ashdown said the party's mettle has been "tested" by the results.
"The party's mettle has been tested, it has been tested before. We should keep on doing what we're doing" he said
"It doesn't look as bad in terms of hanging onto our seats that we have got as it might have been." he added.
According to the Guardian, Ken Livingstone's team are privately conceding defeat.
They reportedly also think Boris Johnson will increase his majority.
A council candidate dressed as a penguin called Professor Pongoo has received more votes than the Liberal Democrats in Edinburgh.
Professor Pongoo (real name Mike Ferrigan) was an independent candidate who had pledged to wear the penguin outfit to every council meeting if he was elected.
From the votes counted so far, Labour are on 44%, Conservatives are on 33% and the Greens are on 8%.
The LibDems dwell at 7% while Ukip are on 5%.
Harman castigated Watson for his "hold your nose and vote for Ken" comment - and was a bit hesitant to agree that Ken had been the right candidate in the first place...we thought.
Clearly annoyed, Farage has arrived at City Hall and says that the ballot paper fail was UKIP's fault, not London Elects. But he's blaming it on UKIP's poor performance. They're currently trailing in 6th place behind Siobhan Benita
Ukip leader Nigel Farage is reportedly furious that his party's candidate for Mayor of London, Lawrence Webb, was listed on the ballot paper as Fresh Choice for London.
He says it was a 'cockup which undoubtedly cost UKIP votes' and could have helped Boris Johnson's bid for four more years at City Hall.
Also here is a round-up from HuffPost of Tory dissent following the local elections drubbing. A few themes emerge. Many Tories think House of Lords reform is a distraction - a couple but don't like gay marriage, but the overwhelming narrative is there needs to be a growth strategy.
In an update to previous news about the BNP's difficulties, it has emerged that the party has lost every single one of the 12 seats it has been defending.
|
| @ Kevin_Maguire : Looks like Labour will win London but lose the Mayoralty, getting most votes/seats in the Assembly but Blue Boris beats Red Ken |
|
| @ StewartHosieMP : 16 out of 16 #SNP win outright control of Dundee |
Labour Makes Big Gains in UK Local Elections
Local elections: Ukip and Respect gain ground
Local elections: What's at stake for party leaders
Politics News: Local council elections 2012: All the news as the results come in

|
CPHeinze
9 interesting things about the past 36 years of presidential elections. http://t.co/V5oB0W5TmJ
3 minutes ago from web
|
||
|
BlogsofWar
Candidates submit candidacy requests for elections under 1960 law http://t.co/NVRCHDMUij
54 minutes ago from HootSuite
|
||
|
BlogsofWar
Lebanese cabinet set to speed up elections preparations http://t.co/4X4AAGKXe3
2 hours ago from HootSuite
|
||
|
CFR_org
MT @robertdanin: The Middle East This Week- #Syrian PreNegotiations, Elections in #Iran, #Jordan #Egypt #Libya & More http://t.co/yLHbLKvNXp
2 hours ago from HootSuite
|
||
|
RightWingWatch
#NotTheOnion: Todd Akin (in WorldNetDaily) teaches Republicans how to win elections http://t.co/ulWAVLQwcC
3 hours ago from web
|
||
|
ReutersIndia
IOC sets September 1 deadline for India to hold elections http://t.co/7Szp76MCBM
3 hours ago from Tweet Button
|
||
|
RightWingWatch
Todd Akin lectures Republicans on how to win elections, seriously http://t.co/ulWAVLQwcC
3 hours ago from web
|
||
|
POMEDwire
Amb.Limbert: If #Iran elections are "good enough," Obama should congratulate winner. #Iran #POMED
3 hours ago from TweetDeck
|
||
|
POMEDwire
McInerney: Upcoming elections in #Iran are far from free and fair but still extremely important. #POMED
3 hours ago from TweetDeck
|
||
| HugoSwire Welcome registration of 3 political parties in Fiji. Authorities must ensure parties can operate freely in run up to elections. | ||
|
JohnCook1964
Read Lewis Baston's analysis of 2013 elections published by @thefabians. @ipswichlabour listed amongst the "best" http://t.co/JA3qsMh9GM
5 hours ago from TweetDeck
|
||
|
BlogsofWar
MTV: FPM leader MP Michel Aoun presented his candidacy for elections at Interior Ministry http://t.co/mexNLb2FCZ
9 hours ago from HootSuite
|
||
|
ReutersIndia
All-NBA Team: LeBron James and Kobe Bryant headline selections http://t.co/8YPdyPEejA
12 hours ago from Tweet Button
|
||
| RaquelGarridoPG "@Parravicini_FdG: http://t.co/uDdPHgTfne - ELECTIONS PARTIELLES - Qu'attendent les Français de Grèce ?http://t.co/KGUmlU3UOV" #circoext08 | ||
|
rezamarashi
Better late than never?... - "#Iran elections: Khomeini daughter attacks #Rafsanjani exclusion": http://t.co/6Kcnkr8aLh #IranElection
14 hours ago from web
|
||
|
SusanDelacourt
Btw, Elections Canada investigation on #robocalls is still under way. Fed Court ruling could light some fire under it. #cdnpoli
14 hours ago from TweetDeck
|
||
|
davidakin
Mosley asked-and-answered: "Should the Court exercise its discretion to annul the elections?" It should not. #robocalls #cdnpoli
16 hours ago from TweetDeck
|
||
|
AlexNBCNews
Gov. Walker takes the stage in Iowa and jokes: I might not have had as many terms as Terry Branstad but I've had as many elections #recall
17 hours ago from web
|
||
| acoyne Not since Fortier. @kady: Eve Adams just say the PM won't appoint any more senators until there are Senate elections? Has *he* said that? | ||
|
kady
Hey, @PMO_MacDougall, can you confirm the PM will not be appointing any new senators until there are senate elections?
19 hours ago from MetroTwit
|
||
|
TheBigPharaoh
Today marks 1 year since round one of the presidential elections. I voted for Khaled Ali. It was a symbolic vote for the future.
20 hours ago from web
|
||
|
kady
Sorry, what? Did Eve Adams just say the PM won't be appointing any more senators until there are Senate elections? Has *he* said that? #hw
20 hours ago from MetroTwit
|
||
| stellacreasy Just informed Walthamstow GC I intend to seek their support to be their candidate at 2015 elections - trigger ballot process now beginning.. | ||
| THE_47th If I ws head of CIA right now, and I wanted to go on the offensive (FOR ONCE AND WITHOUT FUCKING UP), all I'd do is focus on #IranElections | ||
|
AJStream
What issues need to be addressed in the upcoming #Iran elections? #IranElection -- We're live: http://t.co/Ec3wMmMMnd #ajstream
22 hours ago from HootSuite
|
||
|
AJStream
Will Iran have a free and fair elections? Why or why not? Join our live show on #IranElection: http://t.co/Ec3wMmMMnd #ajstream
22 hours ago from HootSuite
|
||
|
AJStream
Is the internet still an adequate forum to discuss politics and the elections in #Iran? #FilterNet #IranElection http://t.co/Ec3wMmMMnd
22 hours ago from HootSuite
|
||
|
AJStream
What needs to be done to ensure legitimacy for the upcoming elections in #Iran? #ajstream is live: http://t.co/Ec3wMmMMnd
22 hours ago from HootSuite
|
||
|
AJStream
In 30 minutes: How will Internet crackdown & social media surveillance impact the elections in #Iran? http://t.co/WHlL6162HO #IranElection
22 hours ago from HootSuite
|
||
|
DKElections
If you aren't a subscriber to the .@DKElections Daily Digest, you are missing out. Rectify that here: http://t.co/EhWC4DfTlQ
22 hours ago from bitly
|
||
|
IranNukes
Iran Elections http://t.co/SAr7Bbgz4r via @newspin
22 hours ago from NewsPin
|
||
| howardfineman "@DKElections: Hah! Nice catch RT: @PoliticsPA: City in Weiner's NYC Mayor website is Pittsburgh http://t.co/UQWqgI8fPi" My hometown's hot! | ||
|
craigkielburger
South Africa has had three free and fair elections since 1994. This was the sign used in 1994. http://t.co/3rsQajvSA0
23 hours ago from HootSuite
|
||
|
davidakin
RT @DenisCoderre: The DGEQ (@electionsquebec) informed us that "Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal" is officially recognized
23 hours ago from TweetDeck
|
||
|
ajimran
Al Jazeera Iran elections page is live. This rocks. And will do over the next month or so. http://t.co/LOmDKAPyou
24 hours ago from Facebook
|
||
| AJStream Is the internet still an adequate forum to discuss politics and the elections in #Iran? #FilterNet #IranElection | ||
|
UANI
June '09 fraudulent elections in #Iran. Take action 2 increase #digitalfreedom this time: #TBT http://t.co/T2HejIJ7pr http://t.co/6qMhvM9wcc
1 day ago from web
|
||
| AJStream Will Iran have a free and fair elections? Why or why not? #IranElection | ||
| LAWeekly Should L.A. city elections sync up with presidential years? http://t.co/uXwqRuwmNo | ||
| MujMash . @ShaharzadAkbar is on @TOLOnews with @OmidFarooq, discussing AFG's recently passed elections law. | ||
The Huffington Post UK | By Ned Simons & Chris Wimpress Posted: 04/05/2012 13:43 Updated: 04/05/2012 22:52