The UK Independence Party has won its first council seats in the Westcountry as Nigel Farage's party hailed breakthrough local elections.
At Cornwall Council, the first election since becoming a "super" authority in 2009 saw the Conservatives ousted as the biggest group, with a hung vote possibly leading to a "rainbow" coalition of diverse freshly-elected politicians.
The eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP) won six seats from a standing start, Labour made seven gains to now boast eight councillors and the Green Party secured its first councillor on Cornwall Council. Talks last night began among the two biggest groups, the Liberal Democrats, followed by Independents, over a deal.
While Lib Dem central office will be pleased gains were made in Cornwall, Devon was closer to a disaster for the party, taking a bigger hit than the Tories for national Government policies. The Conservatives retained their majority, and increased the lead over the Lib Dems to 29 seats.
The Lib Dems slumped to nine councillors – their worst showing since the 1970s – as UKIP secured four seats at Devon's county hall. Labour made gains and now trail the Lib Dems by just two seats.
Meanwhile, amid heckles, Collin Brewer, the Cornwall councillor who said disabled children "should be put down", was re-elected by four votes in Wadebridge.
Two former Westcountry MPs – ex-Falmouth Labour MP Candy Atherton, and former Teignbridge MP Richard Younger-Ross – returned to the fray as councillors.
UKIP campaigners said the first wins in the region undermined the "nutters, fruitcakes and loonies" labels tagged to them by critics.
Alec Yates, UKIP's Devon news co-ordinator, said the party was becoming "a national force" which had the Tories "worried".
"They called us nutters, fruitcakes and loonies but we have proved to a lot of voters that we are just ordinary people," he added.
Nationally, UKIP gained at least 88 county councillors and secured second place in the South Shields parliamentary by-election.
With full results from 26 county councils in, Conservatives had lost 233 councillors and Liberal Democrats 75, while Labour gained 182, UKIP 88 and Greens two.
Mr Farage said UKIP now has "every chance" of winning a House of Commons seat at the next by-election in a marginal constituency.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who is likely to come under pressure from backbenchers to deliver more right-wing policies to ward off the UKIP threat, said all of the mainstream political parties had "major lessons" to learn.
UKIP, which has its headquarters in Devon and already has two Euro-MPs in Brussels representing the South West, secured 23% of the vote in Devon (only the Conservatives got higher) and 15% in Cornwall (the fourth biggest share).
The two council seats in Bideford, north Devon, were both UKIP gains from the Tories, it emerged yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives held both Somerset and Dorset councils. But UKIP again secured their first seats on the authorities, coming as it attempts to broaden its appeal beyond its eurosceptic roots to also campaign against wind farms and champion grammar schools – traditional Tory territory.
Cornwall Conservative MP George Eustice said the party was already implementing policies to cut immigration and scale back immigration but it had to "get much better at making sure we are getting the message out there".
The Labour Party, which has long struggled in the Westcountry shires, offered hope to leader Ed Miliband's One Nation philosophy by making unexpected gains throughout Devon and Cornwall.
Michael Bunney, successful Labour candidate in Mevagissey, South East Cornwall, said: "We listened to ordinary working people and I think that's why people voted for us."
Lib Dems in Cornwall were pleased too. MP Stephen Gilbert said: "It's been a strong day for the Lib Dems in Cornwall. I think the reflects not so much the national picture but the feelings and concerns of people in Cornwall."
