Labour's performance was just about as bad as it gets. To lose London, control of 9 councils and over 330 councillors is bad enough, but to see its share of the vote fall to 24 per cent, in third place behind the LibDems, is a true humiliation for Gordon Brown.
Labour will say they recovered from a similar rebuff in the 2004 local elections to win a General Election twelve months later.
What makes this a potential tipping point, is that under David Cameron, the Conservatives have polled 44 per cent, compared with only 38 per cent in 2004. This is sufficient for an outright Conservative majority in a General Election.
For the first time since 1997 voters have shown they are prepared to back Conservatives in sufficient numbers, right across the country.
The LibDem share of the vote continued a steady decline. From a peak of 29 per cent in 2003 and 2004, it dropped to 26 per cent in 2007 and 25 per cent last week.
Conservatives now need to show we deserve such support. We need to build on the policy work we have been doing to show what we would do if given the chance to govern. Boris Johnson will make a start as he now leads London.
