Senior Tory Sir James Cleverly said it had been a “tough night” for his party but a “disastrous” one for Labour.
The shadow housing secretary told the Press Association it would take time for Kemi Badenoch to get her message across.
He said: “Well, as predicted. It’s been a tough night for us, but we’ve made some real gains, against expectations.
“I’ve just heard we’ve taken control of Westminster Council. We held Fareham in Hampshire, Harlow in Essex, Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, and so we have got real pockets of good news in what we always knew was going to be a tough night.
“I think Labour have had a disastrous night, and we can see why, with the terrible situation they’ve created at a national level.”
He acknowledged Reform UK “are doing well” but insisted Nigel Farage “has still got big questions to answer” about a £5 million gift from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne.