What the papers say post 3rd May

So what do the papers make of the results of the local and regional elections.

The Independent's verdict is a Divided Britain according to their front page lead.

The historic victory by a party committed to pulling Scotland out of the United Kingdom was a crushing blow for Labour and could cast a dark cloud over Gordon Brown's first months as Prime Minister. It could provoke huge tensions between the Government and the Edinburgh parliament ­ and demands from English voters to allow Scotland to break away.

Its leading article reflects on the positions of the main parties

The truth is, though, that Labour did not do at all well
anywhere. Its 27 per cent of the vote was a damning indictment of the party in
power. That it appeared less than catastrophic yesterday owed much to the
management of expectation by Labour ministers and others, who had hinted that
the outcome could be worse. But Mr Blair leaves his party weakened, nationally
and locally, and there is evidence of widening fissures in his New Labour
coalition.

For the Telegraph

On any objective measure, Labour has lost badly. Swathes of
England are now without a single Labour councillor. In many Home Counties wards,
Labour candidates were beaten into fourth place by Ukip or the BNP.

Adding that the real winners were

Alex Salmond and David Cameron. It is again true (and,
again, irrelevant) that they could have done better still. It is true, too, that
most of their votes were cast against Labour rather than for the Tories or the
SNP. But this has probably been true of every successful Opposition in post-war
Britain.

For the Times,"One political age is almost over; its successor is unclear"

Mr Brown has to respond, therefore, by acknowledging where
those difficulties are located and among which sections of the electorate. Tony
Blair’s electoral genius came in welding together a coalition between
traditional Labour supporters, largely based in northern England, Scotland and
Wales, and the aspira-tional electorate of southern England. Labour has suffered
a severe setback even in its heartlands, as the votes in Scotland and Wales
illustrate. But its most profound dilemma is in London and the South East.
Middle-class voters there do not feel that their economic interests are still
being protected and reflected by new Labour.

Adding that the political landscape is at a crossroads

These elections come at the end of an era. Mr Blair will
soon be history. Mr Brown is not sure how much of his legacy he can afford to
drop, while Mr Cameron is not certain how much more of it he can seek to adopt.
The one who strikes the right balance is the man who will be Mr Blair’s true
successor

The Guardian reflects on the result across the country looking particully at the electoral problems in Scotland

The background in Scotland was a scandal of
incompetence that threatened to throw the election into chaos. It saw the late
dispatch of postal votes, a misleading ballot paper that led many people to make
more than once choice, rendering their vote invalid, the questionable decision
to try out a different form of council voting on the same night, and an new
electronic counting system that fell apart under pressure. If it had happened
across Britain in a general election some might have asked for it to be rerun.
Some 100,000 Scots voters lost their democratic voice, around 4% of all the
votes cast and more in some marginals.

Apocolypse No says the Sun rejoicing in the fact that the meltdown did not take place but warning that

"

Ever the optimist, Tony Blair claims Labour now has a
“perfect springboard” for a fourth term.
His springboard will need
industrial strength springs. If this result was replicated at a general
election, Cameron’s removal men would be heading for No10.
If the outgoing
PM wants a straw to clutch, here it is: At least he’s not Ming Campbell. His Lib
Dems had their worst night ever, and the vultures must now be circling him.
David Cameron has every right to be pleased. He has made the Tories look
modern and electable again."

The Mirror looks to the challenges ahead saying that

The country hasn't been fooled by David Cameron's
touchy-feely Tories. The months of political stunts have failed to move the
dial, a dismal performance from a leader who has courted the media like a
wannabe Big Brother contestant.
And Ming Campbell's Liberal Democrats never
even made the audition.

The Mail looks forward to an epic political struggle ahead

New Labour has made an art form out of lowering
expectations so they can then proclaim results as a success but that was beyond
even their skills this time. Their performance was a smidgen away from being
Labour's worst in 30 years.
They are virtually invisible in the South. They
lost hundreds of seats. Their overall majority in Wales vanished. Their
heartlands have been penetrated by the Tories. And in Scotland, in what is a
bitter blow for Gordon Brown, the Nationalists are now the biggest party.
This is Mr Blair's true legacy. The consequences of the Scottish vote are
huge. It is now possible that we will see separation of Scotland from the rest
of the UK and an end to 300 years of union.