Runcorn

With counting complete, Nigel Farage's party took control of 10 local councils, won two mayoral races and added a fifth MP by taking Runcorn and Helsby.

Reform also displaced Labour in Runcorn and Helsby, where it won a tightly-fought Westminster by-election to make Sarah Pochin its fifth MP.

That's what a Labour campaigner in Runcorn told me first thing this morning, referring to the early decision this government made to means-test the winter fuel allowance and the more recent announcement that eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment will be tightened.

No wonder that it appeared at the start of new MP Sarah Pochin's victory speech in Runcorn too.

Leaving the eight-hour count in Runcorn and Helsby this morning, Labour campaigners were utterly dejected, not least at having lost by only six votes, the closest result in any by-election ever.