Council elections are as much about being a weather vane of how the parties are viewed nationally as verdicts on how well or poorly residents rate local services.

So, where are the parties in Kent after the poll? With only a third of wards up for grabs in both Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, any interpretation has to come with the usual caveats.

However, the Conservatives had a better outcome than perhaps they anticipated, notably in Maidstone where the Lib Dems were keen to underline they remain a party to be reckoned with but lost two of its councillors.

It will be disappointed that it was unable to build on its numbers and will probably be unwilling to relinquish control of the council. Should it have done better? Yes, given it has a decent track record in the County Town and was clearly campaigning hard.

Perhaps the party’s pro-EU stance counted against it at a time when the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU is still up in the air and many fear the government is back-sliding on Brexit.

The Conservatives had a better result than it anticipated although it fell short of a working majority in Maidstone. The election came at a difficult time for the party, with Windrush, the resignation of Amber Rudd and a split in the cabinet over Brexit casting a shadow.

In the circumstances, it fared better than expected and maybe feels it missed a chance in Maidstone to gain outright control.

Neither of the two councils are happy hunting ground for Labour and proved so again. It took one ward which had previously been held by UKIP in Maidstone but if there was any genuine momentum in the party, it wasn’t much in evidence.

Over in Tunbridge Wells, the true blue party heartland stayed the same hue but it did lose one seat to the newly created Tunbridge Wells Alliance party - an independent group that had it been about a little longer, may have done better.

The alliance showed that there can be a place for independent groups where they touch on controversial issues, in this case the civic centre-development.

It was a sobering election for Ukip - in Maidstone, recast as Maidstone Independent - with not unexpected losses across the country.

As with all mid-term polls, we should be wary of drawing hard and fast conclusions. But in the game of managing expectations, the Conservatives probably won that particular battle.

Next year's council elections will see a slew of elections in Kent councils and as things stand, the Conservatives appear to be in a better place than they might have imagined. The only fly in the ointment? There's the tricky Brexit business to deal with first.