Early predictions in Portsmouth say Ukip's gain is Labour's loss in the local elections

But Labour group leader John Ferrett believes he’ll scrape through and retain his Paulsgrove seat - despite Ukip putting up a strong fight.

Tory council leader Donna Jones said: ‘There’s going to be no political change at all, we will win one and lose one seat. The Lib Dems will lose Charles Dickens to Labour, but will win Nelson.

‘But the Labour vote across the whole city has completely collapsed and gone to Ukip. They are coming second in most places.

‘I think the EU issue has been a key factor for people who have voted for Ukip. The Conservative vote has held up well.’

Labour group leader, Cllr John Ferrett, said: ‘It’s pretty close in Paulsgrove, but we are hoping to retain it.

‘But Ukip’s performance has been very strong in Paulsgrove and strong in other parts of the city as well, and that’s very worrying for us as the Labour Party.

‘We have suffered the most in terms of people’s votes.’

Portsmouth’s Ukip leader Colin Galloway said: ‘At this stage, things are feeling good. We are doing well in a couple of wards. We’ve had a few shocks, but it’s early stages yet. Paulsgrove and Cosham, surprisingly, are areas we’ve performed well in. It’s looking very likely we will unseat John Ferrett in Paulsgrove.’