Photo by Chris Gorman/Getty Images

Usual local election caveats all apply: results are still being counted, jumping to broadbrush conclusions when you’ve only got half the picture is a fool’s game, all of this could be out of date by tomorrow. But since the race to build a narrative out of this scrambled polling picture is in full swing, I thought it might be worth taking a moment to look at the party in second place. The one no one is really considering, despite the fact it has overtaken both the two main parties and one of the insurgent parties that has dominated coverage in the run-up to these elections.

I am talking, of course, about the Liberal Democrats – because someone ought to.…