GORDON Brown was under huge pressure today after Labour suffered a hammering in the local elections.

Senior party figures admitted the prime minister's decision to axe the 10p income tax band had played a part as early analysis suggested Labour would win just 24 per cent of the vote nationwide.

That would be one of its worst results in recent history - behind the 27 per cent it gained last year and 26 per cent in 2004 during a backlash over the Iraq war. Results from 92 of 159 councils voting showed the Conservatives were up 125 seats, while Labour were down by 116. The Liberal Democrats were up eight.

In Greater Manchester, Labour lost 25 seats including that of Roger Jones, the councillor who championed the plan to introduce congestion charging. They lost Oldham to no overall control and took big hits in Salford and Wigan.

The Conservatives were celebrating after taking outright control of Bury, where party leader David Cameron is expected to join the celebrations later today.

Ed Miliband, a key lieutenant of Mr Brown, pictured, admitted the 10p tax issue had made the campaign `difficult'.

And Tony Lloyd, MP for Manchester Central and chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, said: "It's not a good night."

Mr Lloyd said the electorate had sent a `very clear signal' to Labour in a `referendum on where the government stands'.

Health minister and Bury South MP Ivan Lewis said the party needed to `listen and learn'.

Asked if Labour needed to `relaunch', he said: "Of course you need to reassure people that you are on their side, of course you need to make it clear that you are the servants of the people and not their masters. You need to be absolutely clear about the mainstream majority's definition of fairness and standing up for hard-working families."

Majority

The Conservatives, who had set themselves a target of more than 40 per cent of the national vote, looked set to comfortably exceed that figure.

The BBC projected the results would give Mr Cameron a Commons majority of 138 if translated into a general election - with 394 seats against 169 for Labour. The Lib Dems would see their 63 seats reduced to 59.

Commenting on the early results, Mr Cameron said: "It looks like it's going very well."

Mr Cameron added later that Bury had been a `vital' council to win.

Tory chairwoman Caroline Spelman said the results showed `the country doesn't trust Gordon Brown'.

The Lib Dems also had a difficult night under the leadership of Nick Clegg in his first electoral test.

The party briefly lost control of Liverpool after a decade in power but appeared to have regained control when they announced the defection of independent councillor Nadia Stewart.

In Greater Manchester, the Lib Dems retained control of Rochdale and Stockport but failed to make significant inroads elsewhere.

But the party took heart after analysis suggested they had overtaken labour in terms of national vote share.

Chief executive Lord Rennard said: "In terms of our council seats, we are holding our own against the high base of 2004 and we are again the clear challengers to Labour in many of its former heartlands."

The result of the London mayoral election, likely to come down to a straight fight between Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson, will not be known until this evening.