Boris victory is seal on Brown’s disaster

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.

See also: Look back: Boris back at the E&S

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 the Tories into power in Westminster.

The Tories’ projected 44 per cent share of the national vote from this week’s elections would deliver them 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 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. Asked whether Mr Brown could win the next election, former Home Secretary Charles Clarke replied: “It’s possible. But it will require changes.”

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.”