I overheard Labour and Tories say 'we've cocked it up' - and they were right

A DAY of political drama in Nottinghamshire was best summed up by a few pithy words exchanged between a re-elected Tory councillor and a downcast Labour campaigner.

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

“We've cocked it up and you've cocked it up," the Tory said, and the Labour campaigner had to agree.

The two parties that have dominated British politics for the last 100 years received a proper kicking by the electorate in these local elections, both in Nottinghamshire and around the country. Figures on both sides are now torn on whether it represents a mere "blip", or something much more existential that they need to formulate a better response to.

Nottinghamshire County Council, an authority always run by either the Conservatives or Labour, is now firmly in the hands of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Around the region, Reform have also taken control of Derbyshire County Council and are the largest party in Leicestershire.

The only party figures in Nottinghamshire seriously talking about being a sizeable force during the election campaign were Reform and the Conservatives. Yet the Tories expected to be the largest party and they thought the weekend was going to be dominated by coalition talks as they formed a partnership with Reform.

The mood had changed by Friday morning though. No votes had been counted by then, but politicians had been closely watching the initial verification process on Thursday night and, coupled with the emerging picture across the country, everyone inside Nottinghamshire County Hall knew change was on its way.