Nigel farage

Around a third of all councils up for election yesterday have now declared. Here are the results so far: So far the Conservatives have lost eight councils, with 15 declared Conservative. The Tories have 1,005 seats (a loss of 85). Labour has gained 73 seats with 1,280 now Labour and two councils, with 25 declared Labour. The Lib Dems have one council declared for them, losing one. Seven councils have moved to no overall control - a total of 16 councils are NOC so far. Ukip has not won any councils but has gained 81 seats taking it 102. This means the party has already met its target of 80 gains. Here are some of the most interesting results: - Labour has taken control of flagship Conservative council Hammersmith and Fulham.

Whatever the result is when the votes are counted, there's no doubt who has dominated this campaign: Ukip. From the Farage-Clegg debates to the discussions during the past few days about Romanian neighbours, it has been the other parties that have been responding to Ukip. A party that has no MPs and received a mere 3 per cent at the last general election has managed to set the agenda for a nationwide election. To try and understand how Ukip have done this, I went out on the road with Nigel Farage. One of the things that marks Farage out from the other party leaders is that he relishes debate. When a group of Politics A-Level students came up to him in the pub and told him he was disgusting, he didn't simply walk away but stayed to talk the matter through with them.

Nigel Farage has told The Spectator that he doesn't want to lead the Out campaign come an EU referendum. In an interview, he said, 'It needs a figurehead and I'm a warrior not a figurehead.' Farage believes that if Ukip win the European Elections then a referendum will be inevitable. He says that come the referendum, he will play his part 'I'm a fixed bayonet man, albeit that I don't see myself as a private. But I see myself leading a division into battle, that's where I fit in.' The Ukip leader wants someone who 'someone who has been very big in British politics' to take charge of the No campaign, though Farage doesn't give any clue as to who that person is.

Ukip held a carnival in my hometown, and I found myself caught up in it. They'd enticed us to the Whitgift Centre with talk of a steel band, their large number of local BME candidates and a chance to see Nigel Farage. After more accusations of racism, picking Croydon did make sense for the party. It is London's most populous borough and the largest town in Europe. It can confidently describe itself as one of the 'melting pots' politicians love: 2011 Census data shows White British people make up less than 50 per cent of the population, with 18 different ethnic groups living in the borough.

The polls are all over the place this morning. Ukip is either on course for a thumping victory, going to be edged into second by Labour or has fallen into third place depending on which is your preferred pollster. But all three Westminster parties are operating on the assumption that Ukip will win, as I say in the Mail on Sunday. Certainly, Labour are getting their excuses in early. Those close to Miliband are quick to point out that Tony Blair never won a European Election and that the party machine will be concentrating more on Thursday’s council contests than the European Elections as having a strong council base will matter more in 2015 than who has the most MPs.

Ed Miliband visited Airbus this morning, where he gave a clear headline message on immigration: never again will Labour abandon people who are concerned about immigration.  Alas, he became less clear the more he spoke. At various points in an interview with The World at One earlier this afternoon, Miliband described immigration as a “class issue”; a concern of those people who are not getting a fair chance or those who are being undercut by cheap foreign labour exploited by predatory bosses. This fits neatly into his pre-packaged narrative about the evils of the modern market economy.

David Axelrod has parachuted into London to give Ed Miliband a ‘makeover’. Miliband needs all the foundation and blusher he can get; but a trip to the battleground in Newark might have been a more productive starting point for Axelrod: Labour’s greatest problem is its strategy, or lack of one. Newark has huge significance for the Tories – a chance to recover from their likely drubbing at the local and European elections, an opportunity to put Ukip to the sword and a way to build momentum towards next year’s general election. The party is well organised on the ground. A strong base of activists and councillors is operating out of five local campaign offices.

Ukip may be sailing towards first place in the European elections, but Nigel Farage unwittingly revealed today how the party is still a long way from becoming a mature political movement. During his interview on the Sunday Politics, Farage didn't seem to know what was in Ukip's local election manifesto — in particular whether the party was promising to make any spending cuts. This is a transcript of what he said: Andrew Neil: You have promised these tax cuts, how much will they cost? Nigel Farage: No idea. I’m not here to talk about, I’ve read the local election manifesto and it doesn't make those promises. AN: It does NF: We do talk about local services, we do talk about the need to keep council tax down but we don't talk about income tax. Absolutely not.