A surrender in the North

The grim reality of what will happen to Labour in the local elections this week is illustrated in the Independent which focuses on the elections for Lancashire County Council.

Held by Labour since 1981 and only one of four county councils still held by the government,the county is on the cusp of changing colours.

Dr Andrew Russell, of Manchester University, believes that this week's results in Lancashire will prove a turning-point for both the Tories and Labour nationally. If victory in the county's rural fringes offered Labour a springboard into Middle England during its long years in opposition, so too it could signal that the tide has finally turned for the Conservatives.

The party has aleady surrender power in local government in the south and it may well be that this week sees a surrender in its northern heartlands.