A SENIOR Labour politician said it was no surprise the party swept through Harrow and Brent as campaigners celebrated last night.

Despite the bleak picture for the party's national leadership there were beaming smiles on Labour faces locally following emphatic victories in the two boroughs last night.

A Conservative Party wipeout in Brent saw nine seats go red, leaving just six blue, and the Lib Dems haemorrhaged a further ten, including education big wig Bob Wharton.

Labour now have 40 councillors in the borough with wards that have been Tory for decades returning all Labour candidates.

Harrow Council also fell to Labour with the Tories losing seats in historically blue wards, including Harrow-on-the-Hill, and the party has a majority of 34 seats to 27.

Navin Shah, London Assembly member for Brent and Harrow, joined in the celebrations at Brent Town Hall last night.

He said: “This isn't a surprise. It was on the cards, it's just the scale of it. I would have been called an idiot if I'd said that Labour would win but people have seen the arrogance and the cuts.

“That's what has terrified people, and this big society pact, which David Cameron drew up – people saw through it. This isn't what we want.

“That's why they've got a Labour council in Harrow and a Labour council in Brent.”

There was shock in the Lib Dem camp at the scale of their losses, which many attribute to the focus on the Brent Central parliamentary vote, where two incumbent MPs went up against each other.

The party's local campaign concentrated heavily on that battle, between Sarah Teather and Labour's Dawn Butler, leaving its local campaign across the borough weak.

Ms Teather won the contest but, while some inside the party said the sacrifice was worth it, others were looking back at the gamble with regret last night.