Good morning, England

 - and it is a very good morning in England. Liberal Democrats have regained virtually (I am writing this before all the results are in) all the losses in local government suffered in 2015. Promising for fellow party members in Wales is that many of the gains, including the dramatic capture of Bath from the Conservatives, are in bordering counties. We should also congratulate the Green Party, which is the only other organised political party which gained yesterday. Many of us could foresee the latter trend (which will almost certainly continue into the European Parliament elections) but not the BBC whose graphics prepared for their overnight coverage on the News channel did not allow for that. Nor did BBC include a Green representative on their panel until well over half-way into their coverage.

It was predictable that the Conservatives, the ruling party in Westminster during a period of economic stagnation, would lose badly. What most commentators expected, along with a Liberal Democrat bounce, was that Labour would benefit. In the event, Labour continued to lose councillors and even councils.

The pundits have put the Conservative and Labour losses down to a reaction to Brexit. I believe it is more nuanced than that. The Conservatives are clearly divided over Brexit, and Labour have swithered in their EU policies. Voters do not like divided or uncertain parties. The Greens and (true to our slogan before the current "Britain deserves better") Liberal Democrats have been united. There may be some doubts about some of our policies, but at least our leading figures are not seen to be fighting each other like ferrets in a sack.

Another common factor is the resistance to building on greenfield sites. Sitting councils are seen to be too willing to grant planning permission for development in green belts. The Conservatives' (and, to be fair, New Labour's) policy of trusting the commercial market to fulfil the nation's housing needs has been a clear failure. Profit-driven builders are not going to convert brownfield sites out of the goodness of their hearts, but instead will develop on land which is cheapest to buy and to work. (Nor will they prioritise the most-needed accommodation, that for single people and one-parent families.) There needs to be some direction from government, both central and local, in this area.

The pressure on government and the opposition to think green is increasing. Liberal Democrats, with an active green wing, are well-equipped to take advantage. Unless Labour and the Conservatives clean up their acts, on so many fronts, they will continue to fail at the ballot.