LABOUR slumped to a catastrophic defeat in Thursday's county council elections in Welwyn Hatfield, losing more than half the votes it polled five years ago and finishing only just ahead of the Greens.

With the Government's popularity badly dented by the recession and several ministers deserting Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the days leading up to the vote, Labour took only 15.7 per cent of the vote in Welwyn Hatfield's seven electoral divisions.

The party's dreadful results extended across the county, where it lost 13 of its 16 seats to be reduced to a rump of just three in the 77-strong council chamber.

But there was success for the Lib Dems, whose candidate Malcolm Cowan held the Handside and Peartree division from the Conservatives, victorious in the district's six other county seats.

Turn-out across the borough was a mere 38.7 per cent, but fears this would boost the far-right British National Party were confounded when it took just 283 votes in Hatfield South.

Welwyn Hatfield's Tory MP Grant Shapps said: “Obviously I am delighted that we picked up two Welwyn Hatfield seats from Labour. We now have six out of seven, and were only just behind the Lib Dems in Handside and Peartree.

“People have shown their dissatisfaction with the Labour Government, which has very little excuse to carry on in power.

“The Prime Minister just seems to want to carry on in office regardless, despite the damage it is causing to his party, which I don't really care about, and to the country, which I do.”

Welwyn Hatfield's Labour parliamentary candidate Mike Hobday said: “Clearly it was a very difficult election for us, not just here but across the country.

“But we achieved a remarkable success in the borough council by-election in Hatfield South, which I am sure is down to our campaign against the county council's plans for an incinerator.

“Gordon Brown may not be a media star with a bright smile, but he has more important qualities – intellect and deeply held principles.

“He has taken the steps which, copied by many other countries, are beginning to lead not just Britain but the whole world out of recession.”

Lib Dem Tony Skottowe said: “I am delighted Malcolm held his seat with an increased majority – it is a testament to how hard he has worked for the people of Handside and Peartree.

“We are now the official opposition on the county council – we will be pressurising the Tories to improve road repairs, the protection of children in care and home help.”

In the simultaneous poll for the European Parliament, Welwyn Hatfield's results fed into the wider East of England region, which will be represented by three Tories, two from the United Kindom Independence Party (Ukip), one Labour member and one Lib Dem.