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In town halls across the country today, there will be jubilation for some - and crushing disappointment for others.

Having twice been elected as a local councillor, I know the immense pride that comes with being chosen to represent your residents. There's nothing quite like it.

But, for those who lost their seats, another emotion will soon begin to creep in: fury.

That's because councillors in the main work incredibly hard for their communities - often harder and in a more direct way than national politicians. Alongside local activists, they are the real foot soldiers of politics, be they Labour, Lib Dem or Conservative.

They are at the end of the phone at all hours of the day to sort the issues that are really driving their residents crazy: from getting potholes filled to sorting out the sofa dumped at the end of the road.

And in the run-up to the next general election - as long away as it currently seems - they are the ones who sacrifice huge chunks of free time to support their leader and stuff an inordinate amount of leaflets through letter boxes. It's hard graft. Unpaid and thankless.

This is why local election wipe-outs on the scale we've just seen create bitterness within political parties. Councillors know that many of them haven't lost their seats because of what they have done locally. Instead, it's because the people at the top, like Keir Starmer, are the ones making mistakes that are punished at the ballot box.

Hundreds of Labour councillors - many good ones - will now be forced to gather their coffee cups and paper clips from their civic centre offices - all down to Starmer's avoidable gaffes, that are too many to list.

This will feel very unfair.

Both times I have been elected - by a hair's breadth, I should say - it's been at a time when the Conservatives have struggled in the polls nationally. Hundreds of councillors lost their seats. The first time, the public were furious about Theresa May's lukewarm Brexit efforts. She didn't wave the white flag immediately - but that defeat was the beginning of the end.

At the moment, Starmer may be saying that the local elections won't "weaken my resolve". But a party's association, activists and councillors are the ones who keep the engines running. They are the grassroots army that deliver the leaflets and knock on the doors in rain, snow and stifling heat. And once you've lost their backing, it is a matter of when, not if.