Cameron's honeymoon "over" as Tories flop across the country

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Sun 10th Dec 2006

Cllr. Ed Bridges, Lib Dem Assembly Candidate for Cardiff North

As David Cameron's Conservatives lose control of four councils in a week, Lib Dems in Cardiff have declared the Tory leader's honeymoon "well and truly over".

The latest council to go is Gosport, where the Conservative minority administration walked out after losing a vote. Previously, the Tories lost their majority in Crawley after a councillor switched to the Lib Dems, and it was the same story in Dover a few days before that. Closer to home, Conservatives in the Vale of Glamorgan also lost a vote of no-confidence.

Lib Dem Assembly Candidate for Cardiff North, Cllr. Ed Bridges, said: "These losses show what we've been saying for some time - the Tories are in complete disarray. At local and national level, they aren't moving forward anything like their supporters had hoped would be the case post-Cameron. If anything, this latest news shows that they are just moving back."

Cllr. Bridges added: "Here in Cardiff, the Lib Dems run the council and are the clear challengers to Labour. I strongly believe that voters in Cardiff North will see through Cameron's Tory spin and will back the Lib Dems to see off Labour at next year's Assembly elections."