NICK Clegg admitted that Northern voters believe his government is a return to Thatcherism, after the Liberal Democrats were humiliated at the ballot box yesterday.

After crushing town hall losses - followed by the death of his dream of Westminster voting reform - the Lib Dem leader said the Coalition's policies were stirring "strong memories" of life in the 1980s.

The revealing admission came as Mr Clegg pledged to bow to party pressure to fight harder for Lib Dem victories within the Coalition, ending his chummy relationship with David Cameron.

Senior Lib Dems will strengthen demands to water down the NHS revolution and there will be calls to slow the painful pace of spending cuts, which Mr Clegg admitted was why voters were punishing his party.

He said: "In those parts of the country - Scotland, Wales, the great cities of the North - where there are real anxieties about the deficit reduction plans we are having to put in place, we are clearly getting the brunt of the blame.

"To the many families, in those parts of the country especially, there are some very strong memories of what life was like under the Thatcherism of the 1980s, and that's what they fear they are returning to."

Asked, later, if the dreadful results would change the way the Lib Dems work with the Conservatives in the Coalition, Mr Clegg replied: "Of course. We must listen to what people have said on the doorstep."

But buoyed up Conservatives are unlikely to be in the mood for policy concessions. Many are pressing the prime minister - who yesterday sent out a "no gloating" message - to ram home his advantage.

Yesterday, no influential Lib Dem called for Mr Clegg to face a leadership challenge. Tim Farron, the party's president, branded those who wanted to dump their leader "spineless".

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, who angrily denounced Tory tactics in the 'No to AV' campaign, urged the party to hold its nerve, Asked if he would resign from the Cabinet, Mr Huhne said: "Absolutely not. I'm a team player."

The public displays of loyalty came despite voters' overwhelming rejection of a switch to the 'alternative vote' (AV) for Westminster seats - a cherished Lib Dem priority in this parliament.

Victory came early in the evening for the 'No' camp, when it easily passed 50 per cent of the 18.6m votes cast - a turnout of almost 42 per cent - while heading for just shy of a resounding 70 per cent share.

In the North-East, the 'No' triumph was even more overwhelming - victory by 546,138 votes to 212,951, which handed almost 72 per cent of the vote to anti-AV campaigners. The turnout was just under 39 per cent.

Every local authority area in the region voted 'No' - and only Newcastle saw the anti-AV share of the vote fall below 70 per cent. The city voted 64 per cent-36 per cent 'No'.

The picture was the same in North Yorkshire, with every area voting to stick with 'first-past-the-post'. York recorded the lowest 'No' vote - at 62 per cent.

In the local elections, the results backed up Mr Clegg's view that Northern voters had punished him him the hardest, with dismal performances in Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Hull, Manchester and Liverpool.

With most of the results in, the Lib Dems had lost nearly 700 councillors - while the Conservatives had gained around 800 and Labour nearly 800.

But the day offered mixed blessings for Labour leader Ed Miliband, who supported AV and saw his party win well in the North - but fail to break through in anything other than pockets of the South.

In Scotland, Mr Cameron warned triumphant SNP leader leader Alex Salmond that he would fight the promised referendum on independence "with every single fibre I have".