Could Tory success finally bring a breakthrough at the Town Hall?

Andy Carter reclaimed Warrington South for the Conservatives from Labour's Faisal Rashid with relative ease.

A majority of more than 2,000 was reward for all the work put in during the campaign.

Because make no mistake, this was a seat the Tories really, really, really wanted to win.

The big names visited in their droves.

Chancellor Sajid Javid, foreign secretary Dominic Raab and health secretary Matt Hancock were among the list of ministers to stop off in Warrington.

Then on Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson came to the Hut Group, making quips about the Incredible Hulk.

Boris Johnson on Tuesday

And as the results were read shortly after 4am on Friday, that work paid off.

Warrington South was again Conservative.

Warrington North candidate Wendy Maisey was at many of those visits and produced perhaps an even more stunning result - even if she failed to win.

She reduced a Labour majority of more than 9,500 to little over 1,500.

Without a Brexit party candidate in Warrington North, she could possibly have won.

One Conservative source said their party won 1,500 votes in Orford. These are unheard successes.

And it is clear that Brexit and the promise to get things done message played a massive part in winning over Labour voters left angry but the party's new EU remain stance.

So what of Labour?

Well sources say the national party had almost given up on Warrington South some weeks ago.

Certainly there were not the high profile visits which have characterised previous general election campaigns in the town.

Only shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry came to campaign and that ended in a shambles.

So Warrington South fell back into its usual pattern of the MP being from the same party as the Government.

Warrington North is a rosier picture - just.

Charlotte Nichols

Charlotte Nichols had a rocky start to her campaign, labelled a parachute candidate for her Islington address and criticised for her address on the ballot paper, she was also standing in the seat Helen Jones had held for the past 22 years.

When she arrived, her agent Russ Bowen, council leader, said he would be happy with a one vote win. Well 1,500 was rather more comfortable than that.

And the reality is, those people who switched to the Tories due to Brexit may come back to Labour in five years.

But they may not and the Conservatives will now look at Warrington North as a winnable seat.

National disappointment for the Liberal Democrats was mirrored locally.

Ryan Bate put in a lot of work and impressed in the debates.

Indeed four members of a Radio 4 hustings audience all thought he won that debate - but none said they would vote for him.

Ryan Bate, right

And that remains the biggest challenge for the party. Translating goodwill into crosses on a ballot paper.

Sources say the Lib Dems were almost wiped out in Appleton - a place where they will again expect to win all three councillors in the local elections for the Town Hall next year.

The party cannot get people to think they can win at the general election.

And in a knife edge vote such as this one, people seemed to have gone back to what they know.

Meanwhile The Greens, Brexit Party and SDP were all squeezed as the two main parties dominated.

So what happens next?

Well in May we have the local elections.

And for the Conservatives, the question is can they translate national success to seats at the Town Hall?

Remarkably for a town where more people voted Conservative than Labour at yesterday's General Election, the Tories only have once councillor - in Lymm.

Labour has 43 and enjoys a whacking majority.

Tory officials were talking bullishly about how getting Brexit done by the spring could help bring that local success.

But as was shown in Appleton, all too often that vote either fails to turn up at the polling station or goes to the Liberal Democrats in the local elections.

And the Lib Dems will be aiming to improve on their 11 seats.

For Labour, it is inconceivable to think it could lose control of the Town Hall.

But it was probably also unthinkable for them to lose Leigh or Workington in a General Election.

So there will be more than one or two Labour councillors looking nervously over their shoulders when we all vote again in May.