Livingstone defeat heaps more misery on Labour » Central government » 24dash.com

Ken Livingstone's defeat in the race for London mayor put the seal today on a disastrous set of elections for Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

In his first electoral test as PM, Mr Brown led Labour to its worst results for 40 years, losing nine councils and more than 330 seats, crashing into third place nationally behind the Liberal Democrats and watching Boris Johnson seize the reins of power in the capital last night.

After promising yesterday to "learn the lessons" of Labour's rejection by the voters, Mr Brown is now facing pressure for a change in direction from MPs on both sides of his party.

A swift Cabinet reshuffle was thought unlikely in response to Labour's battering, but the PM is expected to look for opportunities in the coming days and weeks to show voters he is now in full "listening" mode. He has less than three weeks to start turning the position around before the May 22 by-election for Gwyneth Dunwoody's old seat of Crewe & Nantwich.

Meanwhile, a buoyant David Cameron will be hoping that seeing Mayor Boris Johnson in action in City Hall will persuade voters to cast off whatever lingering doubts they may have about voting a Tory administration into power in Westminster.

The Conservatives' projected 44% share of the national vote from this week's elections would deliver Mr Cameron a comfortable three-figure majority in the Commons if repeated in a general election, injecting real momentum into his drive to unseat Mr Brown.

Senior Labour figures acknowledged that the party needs to change if it is to pick itself up off the floor after its drubbing, which Cabinet minister Ruth Kelly described as "a terrible result for Labour - worse than anyone in government expected".

Minister for London Tessa Jowell, who ran the Livingstone campaign, said Labour had to "get out of the Westminster village" and re-engage with ordinary people's worries about the impact of economic downturn on their families.

"It is the politics of the kitchen table that we have got to pay more attention to," she said.

Health minister Ivan Lewis told BBC2's Newsnight: "The danger is after a long period in government, you look like a new elite - you don't look like the voice of the people in Westminster, you look like the voice of Westminster to the people.

"We have got to be the party that speaks to the concerns of hard-working families and relates to their everyday pressures... The message is, not just to Gordon Brown but all of us at Westminster, that we have to shape up."

Asked whether Mr Brown could win the next election, former Home Secretary Charles Clarke replied: "It's possible. But it will require changes."

Labour's 24% projected share of the national vote would cost hundreds of seats if repeated in the general election expected in 2010, and unhappy MPs made clear that the pressure is now on Mr Brown to restore his credibility.

Derek Wyatt, whose 79-vote majority in Sittingbourne & Sheppey is one of the smallest in the Commons at 79, said it had been a "John Major moment" for the party.

"How many more Northern Rocks can there be? Look at the situation with fuel prices, the non-doms and the 10p tax band. Gordon has committed spectacular own-goals and the public is punishing him for it," he said.

Mr Wyatt said there was little "mood music" on the backbenches for Mr Brown be replaced, but left-wing MP Ian Gibson suggested he must come up with an "exciting" new agenda by Labour's autumn conference or face the anger of the party.

"I'll give him six months to do it or there will be really hard talking," he said.

Mr Brown was clearly chastened as he faced the press the morning after what he described as "a bad night" for Labour.

"I said I was going to listen and lead," he said. "We are in difficult economic circumstances. I think people accept that we're going through some of the most challenging times we've seen in many years.

"The test of leadership is not what happens in a period of success but what happens in difficult circumstances."

Already bruised by a backbench revolt over the 10p tax rate, Mr Brown now faces confrontation with his own MPs over plans for 42-day pre-charge detention of terror suspects and the reclassification of cannabis. Many in the party will scrutinise his handling of these rows in the coming weeks for signs of a new approach.

Exactly 11 years after Tony Blair welcomed the "new dawn" of his Labour administration, Mr Cameron said Tories now had the opportunity to demonstrate they were ready for government.

"I think these results are not just a vote against Gordon Brown and his government. I think they are a vote of positive confidence in the Conservative Party," he said,

"I think 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 just on the back of a failing government.

"I want us to really prove to people that we can make the changes they want to see. That's what I'm going to devote myself and my party to doing over the next few months."

With all 159 local council results declared, Labour suffered a net loss of 333 councillors - worse than the gloomiest pre-poll predictions - and control of nine councils.

It was hit particularly hard in its Welsh heartlands, losing Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Torfaen, Caerphilly and Flintshire.

The Conservatives, in contrast, gained 260 councillors and 12 councils, making gains right across England, from Southampton to Bury and North Tyneside.

The Liberal Democrats, in contrast, were only able to make limited gains, despite Labour's evident unpopularity. Overall they picked up 34 more councillors and one authority.