As they toured the media studios on Friday, Conservative spokesmen argued it was not surprising that the party was losing ground.
They pointed out that, in the local elections three years ago, their party had done remarkably well.
Contrary to the typical experience when a party is in government, the Conservatives had gained councils and councillors – and even gained a seat in the Hartlepool by-election. Thus, they concluded, there was no need for undue alarm over the results now.
Up to a point. While the Conservatives had undoubtedly performed well in 2021, it was against a backdrop of only a modest lead of six points in the opinion polls.
That was only half what Boris Johnson achieved in 2019, and not much more than could be needed for the party to win another overall majority this year.
So, while some losses on Thursday might have been commensurate with the party still being within touching distance of being able to win the forthcoming general election, losing nearly one in two of the seats the party was defending was not.
When the round of elections held on Thursday was held back in 2016, the Conservatives lost ground too. Nevertheless, they still won 30 per cent of the seats being contested. This time around they have won just 20 per cent, even fewer than the Liberal Democrats.