鳥不語花不香男無情女無義

But Labour's chief whip Geoff Hoon insisted there was "no crisis" for Gordon Brown.

'Exceptional results'

The margin is similar to the drubbing received by Tory Prime Minister John Major in council elections in 1995, two years before he was ejected from Downing Street by Tony Blair.

Elections expert John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said: "It looks quite possible that by the time all the results are declared some time on Friday afternoon, Labour will have suffered at least 200 net losses, widely regarded before polling day as the worst possible outcome that could befall the party."

BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said all sides believe Conservative candidate Boris Johnson will win the London mayoral election. Counting has just started and the results are not due until early evening.

The fate of Mr Johnson, Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone and Lib Dem contender Brian Paddick, will be closely watched for signs of how popular their parties are nationally.

In the local elections so far, the Tories have a net increase of more than 140 councillors and a 4% higher share of the national vote than at last year's local polls.

Such a share in a general election would have the potential to give the party a Commons majority of 138.

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "These are exceptional results and this could be the lowest Labour share of the vote in the modern history of local elections. This is a big step forward."

'Not greatest night'

The Tories have gained control of several councils including Southampton, Bury, Harlow and Maidstone.

BBC analysis suggests Labour's vote appears to have fallen most heavily in its traditional heartlands - confirming MPs' fears the 10p tax row has damaged their core support.

Ministers were trying to put a brave face on the results and pledging to listen to voters' concerns.

Labour's Geoff Hoon played down the losses

Ms Harman told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the results had been "very disappointing indeed", but said the elections had taken place against a background of rising economic concerns.

"We didn't respond early enough to those groups of people who were going to lose out as a result of the change in the 10p rate which overall benefits lower income people but there were some people who lost out and we didn't react early enough," she said.

"We've got to be more focused on listening to people and more in touch.

"There's nobody with more experience and commitment to take this economy through difficult times than Gordon Brown."

Mr Hoon said: "There's no crisis. This isn't something that's going to affect the fundamental stability of the government.

"We have to go on making the difficult decisions the country requires."

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg told BBC Breakfast: "We were 13% a few months ago, we're now 25%. We've over-taken Labour, we've taken seats off the Conservatives, we've taken seats off Labour... If you call that a disappointment then we inhabit different planets. I am actually delighted, we are regaining momentum."

Deputy leader Vince Cable said: "The important thing is that we've beaten Labour into third place."

London contest

More than 4,000 seats on 159 councils were up for grabs in Thursday's elections, as well as the London mayoralty and assembly.

All seats are up for election in the 22 Welsh unitary authorities.

Meanwhile, a BBC opinion poll suggests Tory leader David Cameron is seen as more effective than Mr Brown or Mr Clegg.

Of 1,005 people who took part in the poll, 68% said Mr Cameron was an asset to his party, compared with 43% for Mr Clegg and 42% for Mr Brown.

Mr Brown's reputation for economic competence has also taken a blow.

At this time last year 48% said that Labour could be trusted to run the country's economy, little different from the 53% who did so in 2002. But this year the figure has fallen to 32%.

However, only 36% said they trust the Conservatives to run the economy - 10 points down on last year, and little better than the figure of 32% recorded for the party in 2002.