IF THE results of the national elections in Scotland and Wales still grimly remind the Conservatives how far into the political wilderness they have been cast, then the re-emergence last night of Tory blue on the local government map proves that deserts can be made to bloom again.

And as party leader William Hague felt the pressure on his leadership easing as Tory gains across the country comfortably passed the 1,000-seat mark, in parts of East Lancashire, the party's optimism was soaring - even if it still does not command a single town hall.

They came close to clinching it in the once deepest-blue Ribble Valley - as just one vote prevented control of the council being decided by the toss of a coin - where the Tories are now the biggest party though two independents hold the balance of power.

Yet how spectacularly they hit back in Hyndburn, exceeding their own hopes with 11 gains and turning this former Labour fief into a hung authority.

And, oh, the acute irony of council leader George Slynn being Labour's biggest casualty - not only ousted by independent, former traffic policeman Adrian Shurmer who fought against the council's traffic-calming excess, but seeing his opponent becoming the man whose vote now holds sway in Hyndburn. Elsewhere in East Lancashire, the Tories were encouraged. Four gains in Blackburn with Darwen led them to predict their being in control of the Labour-dominated council by 2001. And in Rossendale a similar score - and three near-misses - led them to declare that they will be back in power next year.

But while these results buoy up the Blues - and also improve local government democracy as party leaders on the hung and finely-balanced have to seek consensus or carefully watch their step - Tory optimism must be tempered by the fact that Labour are far from floored.

Certainly, the polls in Scotland and Wales reflect the party's strength nationally, as does the fact that Labour is, when every vote is counted, likely to have the biggest share of the vote.

And locally we see this robustness reflected in Labour's immovable dominance in Burnley and with three Labour gains at also-hung Pendle offsetting the Tories' four - in a combination that tipped the Liberal Democrats out of power after four years.

For the Lib Dems, locally and nationally, this was not a good election. Their loss of control at Pendle may be allayed by the prospect of running Ribble Valley at the head of a coalition with the two independents, but they made little real impact generally - and, nationwide, despite two key gains, they slipped slightly.

But if the Tories look on the council election results as a launch-pad for recovery, they must look, too, at the low turn-outs suggesting many Labour supporters stayed home, content with how the country is run. As well as coming top in Scotland and Wales, Tony Blair might claim that as a mid-term victory, too.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.