By Ida Dalgaard Steffensen and Leo Watson

Last night the Lib Dems suffered a heavy defeat in Sheffield City Council elections. They lost nine seats to the Labour Party, leaving the control of the council in the hands of Labour. Labour now has a majority of 17 seats.

What does this mean for Sheffield?

If the Liberal Democrats are to be believed, this could be a return to 1980-style local politics, with the local Labour council constantly at loggerheads with central government.

Julie Dore, new Labour leader of the council acknowledges the size of the task ahead with extensive cuts having to be made in Sheffield. Although, she is confident that her team is up for the task and will come through for the people of Sheffield.

On the surface we can see that the electorate has cast their vote based on national issues. The role of Nick Clegg in the coalition has understandably left many local residents feeling betrayed. When they went to the polls in 2010 the majority of Lib Dem voters would now have done so, had they realised their vote could directly lead to the Conservative being directly in power.

Poisoned chalice?

Factors such as the cut of the Forgemasters loan and tuitions fees have clearly had substantial impact on the outcome of this election.

Rumours have been circulating that Labour may not have been too keen on sweeping to victory in Sheffield, as the year ahead includes severe cuts in Sheffield’s budget. This appears very short-sighted as it is hard to believe any party or candidate would stand for election without a genuine appetite for victory. Although this victory might appear a poisoned chalice, Labour will undoubtedly be celebrating today.

Up and down the country Labour has made substantial gains, leaving Ed Miliband with the foundation to build electoral success in the coming years.

Last night’s election was do or die for the Labour party, and in particular Ed Miliband. Had they failed to strike a substantial blow to Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems, it would be hard to see a more favourable political situation for Labour to do so in the future.