'Theresa May is going down unbelievably well on the doorstep. She has struck the right note'

It was a night of shocks and celebrations, with Labour losing some long-serving councillors and the Tories making significant gains, with a similar picture also unfolding on a national level.

But before the dust could settle, the spotlight was already moving to the General Election, now just four weeks away.

Parties are asking what they can learn from Thursday's results, and whether the Conservatives' success locally is a true indicator of what will happen in Cumbrian constituencies on June 8.

Overall the Tories saw their share of the county's 84 seats rise from 24 to 37, while Labour lost 10, dropping from 36 to 26.

The Liberal Democrats gained one, while five independents were elected.

Ukip didn't win any seats, with the party's share of the vote dropping in 50 out of 58 constituencies.

The Greens doubled their overall vote, but also failed to secure any councillors.

Ian Stewart, of the county council's Liberal Democrat group, has analysed the local election figures back to 2001 and said there is quite clearly a link between who is in 10 Downing Street, and how popular they are, and how well a party performs locally.

"Does the council result impact on the national picture? No, but the national picture does impact on the council result," he said.

The Conservative vote went up everywhere compared to 2013, apart from Cockermouth North, Gosforth and Penrith Rural, with voters switching from both Labour and Ukip in many areas.

Conservative John Mallinson, who held his Houghton and Irthington seat, said although there are more factors at play in the General Election, the voting picture bodes well for his party.

"County council elections are fundamentally different from a general election. For a start you get a much lower turnout.

"However I was confident enough last Thursday when the results came in to think that it's a very good indicator for us. We shouldn't take anything for granted but it's a sound place to work from," he said.

"What struck me this time is that I've never felt the electorate so responsive to our message. Theresa May is going down unbelievably well on the doorstep. I think she's genuinely popular in her own right. She has struck the note that the country is looking for."

Mr Mallinson was particularly pleased to see his party gain some long-standing Labour seats from well-established county councillors, citing Tim Knowles' seat in Cleator Moor and Beth Furneaux's seat in Yewdale, Carlisle, as examples.

John Mallinson "It was a good night for us. I'm very optimistic for the Conservatives in Cumbria and further afield on June 8," he added.

For Labour, the biggest losses were in Copeland and Barrow, where the Conservatives gained five and four seats respectively.

But although the party lost some key seats and long-serving councillors, it wasn't all bad news. Labour made two significant gains in Alston and Keswick, and managed to cling on to several others by narrow margins.

In Alston and East Fellside it was local postie Claire Driver who won the seat from Independent Mary Robinson after a high-profile campaign.

It was a similar picture in Keswick, where another well-known local candidate, Tony Lywood, won the seat from the Conservatives.

Ms Driver, 41, joined the Labour party last year after seeing how members were fighting for local services, such as the town's cottage hospital.

Asked what lessons the party could take forward to its General Election campaign, she believes her community links were key, as well as making herself really visible both on the doorstep and on social media.

Claire Driver On the eve of the election she was even spotted handing out fliers to motorists waiting in traffic at Langwathby Bridge.

"For me I think it was the fact I am so connected to the area. It was real grassroots stuff. Everywhere I went there was someone I went to school with or went to school with my brother, someone my mum taught or one of my dad's clients," she said.

"On paper Alston and East Fellside should be a Labour stronghold, but being part of Eden it's been caught up in a very Conservative area.

"But knocking on doors and talking to people I discovered this hidden socialist element. People were saying they'd always wanted to vote Labour but felt their vote would be wasted."

Although it's more difficult to replicate Ms Driver's grassroots campaign in a general election, over large constituencies, she believes the party can take some inspiration by looking at the turnout in her ward.

Official figures show it was over 42 per cent, up 10 per cent from 2013 and well above other parts of the county.

Ms Driver, who said she had felt disconnected with politics for years, believes that Labour must focus on trying to engage with the electorate, to give individuals reason to go out and cast their vote.

"It's making yourself as visible but also as accessible as possible. You've really got to put the time in on the ground," she said.

Overall the Ukip vote collapsed, dropping by about half - from 14,591 in 2013 to 7,797 this time around.

George Kemp Their best performing candidate was George Kemp, who took on Carni McCarron-Holmes in Maryport North and lost by just 17 votes.

But he accepts that it wasn't a good night for his party, which had previously performed well due to its anti-European Union agenda.

"It was poor, but Labour didn't do well either. There was a big swing to the Tories. But to be perfectly honest the Tories are flying high at the moment on Ukip policies," he said.

"Twelve months ago George Osborne and David Cameron were remainers. So was Theresa May. People have short memories."

He will now stand as Ukip's Parliamentary candidate in Workington, but said he would be focusing on local issues rather than just Brexit.

Jack Lenox The Green Party has been buoyed by its local election campaign. Although the party still has no elected councillors, its total votes have more than doubled - rising from 2,798 to 5,632 - since 2013.

Jack Lenox had been selected to stand as the Green Party's General election candidate in Copeland.

However the party has now decided not to field candidates in three of Cumbria's marginal constituencies as part of national efforts to help prevent a Conservative landslide.

In return they hope the other parties will stand down in key Green target areas, and use their MPs to push for a fairer electoral system in future - replacing the current first past the post system with proportional representation (PR), so parties like the Greens can get their voices of their voters heard on a bigger stage.

"I ideally hope this is the first and last time we do this, that we can get enough MP backing for PR. As much as the Conservatives might feel happy if the get a majority, turnout is generally going down and engagement is low so it's not as though they are really taking the country with them. There are so many non-voters," he said.

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