The last time Labour did this badly in a local election, the Beatles were in the charts and Flower Power was all the rage.

Right now, love is not all Gordon Brown needs.

Clocking up Labour's lowest share of the vote since the late 1960s has turned what were always going to be a difficult set of mid-term elections into a serious problem for the prime minister, and set the tone for the politics of the coming months.

In 2004, the last time this set of council seats were up for grabs, the party could attribute its paltry 26% of the vote on Iraq and the unpopularity of then prime minister Tony Blair.

This time, things are 2% worse and the blame can not be pinned on either the war or Mr Blair.

Local elections are always tricky for governments, especially ones which have been around for more than a decade, but this was bad.

Labour has lost control of four councils across Wales and could also be out of office in another.

Labour was defeated in its south Wales valley heartland areas of Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It also lost Flintshire.

Gordon Brown says it has been a "bad" and "disappointing" night for Labour...

• Londoners must see more police on the buses, especially in outer London. This is why I will double the number of police officers to patrol them.
• Suburban stations need to be safer, which is why I will provide funding for 50 extra British Transport Police Officers to patrol the worst stations.
• The bendy bus is unsuitable for London's streets, they are twice as dangerous as non-articulated buses and have almost three times the rate of fare evasion. I will phase out bendy buses and run a new competition to find a 21st century Routemaster that has full disabled access, runs on clean fuel and has conductors.
• I will introduce live, interactive bus tracking so you can see where your bus is and avoid long waits at the bus stop.
• The tube needs to be rescued from the ruins of Gordon Brown's finance deal, so that vital upgrades that were promised actually happen. I will look again at having an air-conditioned tube. We need to take the thumbs of the RMT off the windpipe of London commuters with a no-strike deal that gives both sides the benefit of an independent arbitrator.
• The Congestion Charge must be reformed. Congestion has now risen above pre-Congestion Charge levels. Ken Livingstone's £25 levy will not improve congestion or emissions and will hit families and small businesses - it is a stick with which to beat motorists which is why I will not introduce it.
• Cars stuck in traffic emit more than cars that are moving so we need to rephase traffic lights to get traffic moving more smoothly and to achieve this, I will lobby government for powers to fine utility companies that run overtime when digging up the roads.
• We must also encourage Londoners to walk and cycle more and I will provide £2 million for safe cycle parking. I will work with boroughs to improve existing cycle and walking routes.
• I will fight for London's rail commuters and campaign for longer trains, more frequent services and Oyster at all stations*.
• The Freedom Pass will be protected as an untouchable right for London pensioners.
• Injured veterans who live in London will be able to travel free on London buses.
• I will lobby for long-term projects that London needs, including the Oxford Street Tram, East London Line Phase 2, DLR and Transit extensions and the Crossrail to Ebbsfleet.
• We will continue to oppose the construction of a third runway at Heathrow airport.