Labour is claiming to have avoided an election disaster despite suffering many losses in England and Wales and seeing a swing to the SNP in Scotland.

The full picture will not be known until much later today as many counts - including those in Cherwell, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse - did not begin until this morning.

But the Tories, led by Witney MP David Cameron, are claiming that they have 41 per cent of the vote in England and that that result means they are on course for a general election victory.

Labour is on course to remain the largest party in Wales but will fall short of the 30 seats needed for a majority, with both the Tories and Plaid making gains.

The Lib Dems, in their first election since Charles Kennedy stood down amid allegations of alcoholism, appear to be losing ground overall but have managed some high profile wins.

The contest in Scotland has been overshadowed by an unprecedented number of spoilt ballot papers which have been recorded across the country, with fears that the national figure could exceed 100,000.

At this stage, all of the parties are attempting to put a positive spin on their performance.

Conservative vice chairman Eric Pickles said he was "happy" with the party's performance, which showed "a new dawn is breaking".

And shadow chancellor George Osborne said the party was making gains in the North, the Midlands and in Wales.

He said: "No one in the Conservative Party leadership thinks the job is done. We know there's much more work to do, but on the basis of this we are extremely confident that we are well placed to do well in a general election."

But Labour chairman Hazel Blears said: "I am not saying it was a brilliant night for Labour. We have take some lessons from that.

"But I don't see that surge from the Conservatives."

SNP leader Alex Salmond has taken Gordon from the Lib Dems, telling supporters there was a "wind of change" blowing through Scotland.

He claimed Labour was poised to lose an election in Scotland for the first time "since 1955".

He also complained that postal voting arrangements, which he blamed for "tens of thousands" of spoilt ballots, were "totally inadequate".

Labour's Jack McConnell. who is hoping to remain as first minister, said the SNP's predicted major gains may have been "a little bit presumptuous".

Mr McConnell was re-elected, in the first Holyrood result to be announced, but with an 8 per cent swing to the SNP in his constituency.

He told his supporters it followed the "toughest and most hotly contested election in Scottish history".

Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said he always knew the elections would be "tough".

He said it was a "mixed bag", but added: "To win Hull and Rochdale and Eastbourne is obviously extremely acceptable."

He added that the party's share of the vote was "pretty much as it was 12 months ago".

Asked if he would consider forming a coalition with the SNP in Scotland, if they continued to press for a referendum on independence, Sir Menzies said: "Absolutely not ... We are against independence, that's our position and it ain't going to change."