It's hard to imagine anyone describing Thursday's local election results as good news for the Liberal Democrats. But that hasn't stopped them giving it a try.
Late on Saturday night, a number of Lib Dem twitterers began to pass around a pie chart based on the election results from wards in Nick Clegg's Hallam constituency - Crookes, Dore & Totley, Ecclesall, Fulwood and Stannington.
Not a bad result, as long as you don't pay attention to the rest of the city. With the exception of Graves Park, where Denise Reany (ousted last year from her seat in Gleadless Valley) squeaked in by 99 votes, Hallam seats were the party's only wins.
But no matter, said Liberal Youth England chair Conor McKenzie. "It's only those [areas] in Hallam that matter, surely? Shows Clegg is safe."
As a bit of spin designed to make downhearted party faithful feel better, it's pretty deft and probably does its job. As a piece of electoral analyis it has one quite serious flaw. In 2015, when the next general election is likely to take place, the constituency of Sheffield Hallam is unlikely to exist.
The Sheffield West and Penistone seat, proposed by the Boundary Commission to take effect by 2015 would cover Clegg's Stannington home, and include Crookes, Fulwood and Ecclesall from the current Hallam constituency. Unfortunately for Nick, it also brings in Barnsley's Penistone West - a Labour/Tory swing seat, and Stocksbridge and Upper Don, a Labour gain in Thursday's poll.
Applying the Lib Dems' rather unscientific method of taking local council elections as a barometer for general election success to the new constituency, Clegg's position is altogether more precarious.