Ahem...

The local Liberal Democrat candidate for my ward, Nazi Slam, probably lost his deposit. The lack of Labour candidates in 'pointless wards' possibly handed overall control to the Tories. Tony Clarke, who has done more for this town in recent years than, I dunno, anyone, lost his seat. Northampton became blue and I lost my faith in human nature.

I'm glad that I didn't stand as an independent; by the looks of things I would have been crushed by voter apathy and the Tories ability to mobilise their minority support, where other parties just don't bother or, more realistically, can't. The political landscape of Northampton has just become a hostile and ultimately destructive place. The new keepers of the Borough Council are not benign; they will be looking at how to drag Northampton back from the brink of bankruptcy as quickly as possible and that means in four years time you will be left wondering just what the party has done to have deserved to get the majority vote. This is not bad blood or sour grapes. The last Tory only administration NBC had screwed the town up so badly they became something of a laughing stock and there were huge calls for a unified council.

The Libdems took a kicking. Every one knew they would and former councillors must be looking at their results this morning and thinking two things - how can they consider trusting Nick Clegg ever again and probably more likely, they'll be wondering where it all went wrong. The brutal defeat of the Liberals and the failure by Labour to bother turning up in 14 of the wards will not explain why the Tories - the stronger party in government - increased its share and gained strength from it - bucking a trend that never gets bucked. Incumbent parties never do well at local elections; it's almost a God given. Yet, the Tories shone will they're coalition partners disappeared into the ether and considering the cuts, the job losses, the support of another Arab war, the many faux pas, Andrew Lansley and Michael Gove, the Tories will be sitting in their ivory towers, with smug grins and wondering whether or not holding a general election in September would see them return with a working majority and the ability to spend 5 years fucking up the country even more.

But that's just me being a prophet. The sad truth is that even though most people who live in this town know someone who has lost their job because of government and council cuts, they either didn't vote or decided that it was time for the Tories. And boy is that sad. It doesn't matter whether you disagree with labour's ideology, whether or not you can allow yourself to be bothered by others less fortunate than you, the people of Northampton have spoken and reflected the national feeling and Britain has become a scarier and less safe place to live in. If you voted Tory, I really truly hope that you suffer for it over the next four years. I mean, really suffer, because perhaps you'll be swayed to never vote for them again. They don't like you; they don't care about you and yet you fall for them like a hirsute bad boy, every time...