Labour takes a drubbing...

[Religious Dick]

 BBC NEWS
Labour suffers big council losses

Labour is suffering a grim night in local elections in England and Wales, losing more than 140 seats so far.

BBC research suggests the party has fallen into third place nationally with 24% of the vote, beaten by the Tories on 44% and Lib Dems on 25%.

So far they are the worst local poll results for Labour in 40 years.

But the party's chief whip Geoff Hoon told the BBC there was "no crisis" for Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the lead-up to the next general election.

'Exceptional results'

The margin is similar to the drubbing received by Tory Prime Minister John Major in council elections in 1995, two years before he was ejected from Downing Street by Tony Blair.

   
RESULTS ROUND-UP
General turnout looks like it will be about 35%, similar to last year
Projected national vote share: Tories 44%, Lib Dems 25%, Labour 24%
Worst share of national vote for Labour in recent history
Surprise Tory win in Southampton and solid progress in north
Greens and BNP make little progress nationally, UKIP up 1

Elections expert John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said: "It looks quite possible that by the time all the results are declared some time on Friday afternoon, Labour will have suffered at least 200 net losses, widely regarded before polling day as the worst possible outcome that could befall the party."

So far the Tories have a net increase of more than 140 councillors and a 4% higher share of the national vote than at last year's local polls.

Such a share in a general election would have the potential to give the party a Commons majority of 138.

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "These are exceptional results and this could be the lowest Labour share of the vote in the modern history of local elections? This is a big step forward."

'Not greatest night'

The Tories have gained control of several councils including Southampton, Bury, Harlow and Maidstone.

BBC analysis suggests Labour's vote appears to have fallen most heavily in its traditional heartlands - confirming MPs' fears the 10p tax row has damaged their core support.

Ministers were trying to put a brave face on the results and pledging to listen to voters' concerns.

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Labour's Geoff Hoon played down the losses

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said: "Nobody is going to pretend this is our greatest night.

"Generally I think that we would recognise that these elections have been conducted in the context of people feeling exposed and feeling anxious about the state of the economy and its impact on them."

Mr Hoon said: "There's no crisis. This isn't something that's going to affect the fundamental stability of the government.

"We have to go on making the difficult decisions the country requires."

Former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy said he hoped for a "solid" set of results, adding: "It is not impossible because Labour I think are in very great difficulty."

Deputy leader Vince Cable said: "The important thing is that we've beaten Labour into third place."

London contest

More than 4,000 seats on 159 councils were up for grabs in Thursday's elections, as well as the London mayoralty and assembly.

All seats are up for election in the 22 Welsh unitary authorities.

The London mayoral result, due on Friday evening, looks extremely close, following a gruelling contest between Conservative Boris Johnson and Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone.

HAVE YOUR SAY I voted for the Conservatives and I'm glad they won my local election Matt, Bedworth

Their fate, along with that of Lib Dem contender Brian Paddick, will be closely watched for signs of how popular their parties are nationally.

Meanwhile, a BBC opinion poll suggests Tory leader David Cameron is seen as more effective than Mr Brown or Mr Clegg.

Of 1,005 people who took part in the poll, 68% said Mr Cameron was an asset to his party, compared with 43% for Mr Clegg and 42% for Mr Brown.

Mr Brown's reputation for economic competence has also taken a blow.

At this time last year 48% said that Labour could be trusted to run the country's economy, little different from the 53% who did so in 2002. But this year the figure has fallen to 32%.

However, only 36% said they trust the Conservatives to run the economy - 10 points down on last year, and little better than the figure of 32% recorded for the party in 2002.

Results in more detail
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7372860.stm

Published: 2008/05/02 04:07:43 GMT

? BBC MMVIII

[Religious Dick]

 BBC NEWS
How bad are local polls for Brown?
By David Thompson
Political correspondent, BBC News

The last time Labour did this badly in a local election, the Beatles were in the charts and Flower Power was all the rage.

Right now, love is not all Gordon Brown needs.

Clocking up Labour's lowest share of the vote since the late 1960s has turned what were always going to be a difficult set of mid-term elections into a serious problem for the prime minister, and set the tone for the politics of the coming months.

In 2004, the last time this set of council seats were up for grabs, the party could attribute its paltry 26% of the vote on Iraq and the unpopularity of then prime minister Tony Blair.

This time, things are 2% worse and the blame can not be pinned on either the war or Mr Blair.

Local elections are always tricky for governments, especially ones which have been around for more than a decade, but this was bad.

Tory joy

Treat this statistic with a slight pinch of salt - general elections are very different from council elections - but if this result were to be repeated next time the country goes to the polls, Labour would be left with 169 MPs and the Tories would have a majority of 138.

   Taking London may ultimately turn out to be a bit like your football team winning the local derby - makes you feel brilliant for a week or two but does not necessarily mean you're going to win the league

For the Tories, there was much to savour in this set of results.

Taking control of a council like Bury means they can claim a revival of their fortunes in northern England.

Seizing Southampton was a bonus - but one which will make John Denham, the Innovation and Skills Secretary and MP for Southampton Itchen, a worried man.

They increased their share of the vote and with it, David Cameron's claim to be a prime minister-in-waiting.

For the LibDems, a curate's egg of an evening.

London result

On the one hand they gained councils like Hull and St Albans, but on the other, their projected share of the national vote was 25% - one per cent less than former leader Sir Menzies Campbell.

Not a statistic likely to be enjoyed by successor, Nick Clegg, in his first election outing as party leader.

Then there's London.

By the time you read this, the capital may have a new Mayor - the city has already voted and made its decision.

Thing is, we won't know what that decision is until this evening, as the votes aren't being counted until later on Friday.

Local derby

Seizing London would be the icing on the cake for the Tories.

They could justifiably claim that victory in such a diverse and multicultural city shows that people are ready to vote Conservative again.

For Labour, holding it would be a crumb of comfort from a pretty unpalatable evening.

But in a way, important as it is, taking London may ultimately turn out to be a bit like your football team winning the local derby - makes you feel brilliant for a week or two but does not necessarily mean you're going to win the league.

Whatever happens between Ken, Boris and Brian, a general election could be as much as two years away and if a week is a long time in politics, that is an eternity.

Plenty of time for things to turn round - or get worse.

Thursday's results do not necessarily mean the knives are out for Gordon Brown but unless he does something that shows he is a man with a plan - that he is a winner - that whirring noise you can hear in the background may well be the sound of blades being sharpened by his worried MPs.

Results in more detail
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7379275.stm

Published: 2008/05/02 04:59:27 GMT

? BBC MMVIII

[_JS]

Good riddance.

Labour deserves what they get.

Though the Liberal Democrats are one of the most unfathomable parties in all of world politics. It is baffling why anyone would choose to vote for them. They truly muffed their vote on the EU Treaty by calling for an unprecedented three-line abstention, to which a good number of their MP's rebelled and voted against it. This coming from the only solid pro-EU party in Britain!

Truly baffling.

[Religious Dick]

 BBC NEWS
Johnson wins London mayoral race

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Boris Johnson's victory speech

Boris Johnson has won the race to become the next mayor of London - ending Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign at City Hall.

The Conservative candidate won with 1,168,738 first and second preference votes, compared with Mr Livingstone's 1,028,966 on a record turnout of 45%.

He paid tribute to Mr Livingstone and appeared to offer him a possible role in his new administration.

Lib Dem Brian Paddick came third and the Greens' Sian Berry came fourth.

Mr Johnson is expected to stand down as MP for Henley, triggering a by-election.

'Exuberant nerve'

In his victory speech, he described Mr Livingstone as "a very considerable public servant".

He added: "You shaped the office of mayor. You gave it national prominence and when London was attacked on 7 July 2005 you spoke for London."

Mr Johnson also paid tribute to his "courage and the sheer exuberant nerve with which you stuck it to your enemies, especially in New Labour".

   
FIRST AND SECOND PREFERENCE VOTES
Boris Johnson: 1,168,738
Ken Livingstone: 1,028,966

Mr Johnson told Mr Livingstone he hoped to "discover a way in which the mayoralty can continue to benefit from your transparent love of London".

He said he would work to earn the trust of those that had opposed him, or who had hesitated before voting for him.

"I will work flat out to repay and to justify your confidence. We have a new team ready to go into City Hall.

"Where there have been mistakes we will rectify them, where there are achievements we will build on them, where there are neglected opportunities we will seize on them."

Livingstone 'sorry'

He promised to focus on crime by promoting 24-hour policing, transport, including promoting cycling, green spaces, affordable homes and getting value for money for taxpayers.

Mr Johnson's victory crowns the Conservative Party's May Day local election wins in England and Wales.

   
FIRST PREFERENCE VOTES
Boris Johnson (Tory): 1,043,761
Ken Livingstone (Lab): 893,877
Brian Paddick (Lib Dem): 236,685
Sian Berry, (Green): 77,374
Richard Barnbrook (BNP): 69,710
Alan Craig, (Christian Choice): 39,249
Lindsey German (Left List): 16,796
Matt O'Connor, (Eng Democrats): 10,695
Winston McKenzie (Ind): 5,389

He said he hoped it showed the party had changed "into a party that can be trusted after 30 years with the greatest, most cosmopolitan, multi-racial generous hearted city on earth".

Mr Livingstone's defeat ended what Gordon Brown called a "bad" day for Labour, in which it suffered its worst council results for 40 years.

Asked by the BBC what his views were on the poor Labour showing, Mr Johnson said: "The smart thing for Labour to do would be to quietly to remove Gordon Brown and install [Foreign Secretary David] Miliband, is my view, but I don't think they'll do it."

In his speech after the result was declared at City Hall, Mr Livingstone thanked the Labour Party for all its help with his campaign.

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Ken Livingstone accepts electoral responsibility

"There is absolutely nothing that I could have asked from the Labour Party that it didn't throw into this election, from Gordon Brown right the way down to the newest recruit, handing out leaflets on very wet, cold days.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get an extra few points that would take us to victory and the fault for that is solely my own. You can't be mayor for eight years and then if you don't at third term say it was somebody else's fault. I accept that responsibility and I regret that I couldn't take you to victory."

However, Justice Secretary Jack Straw said Labour as a whole should shoulder the blame for Mr Livingstone's loss.

He told BBC News: "I disagree with Ken in one particular only, that we all share the responsibility for the defeat that he suffered yesterday."

Mr Straw admitted that the row over the 10p tax rate had left some voters "understandably very upset".

The government would get behind Londoners' decision at the polls, he added.

Conservative Party leader David Cameron praised Mr Johnson for a "serious and energetic campaign" and said his party was "winning the battle of ideas".

Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick paid tribute to Ken Livingstone as "an amazing mayor" and indicated that he would not be interested in working with Mr Johnson.

He said he would be talking to Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg about his future and what he could do for the party.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7380947.stm

Published: 2008/05/03 07:56:04 GMT

? BBC MMVIII

[_JS]

You forgot to mention that the BNP won some seats.

That should make some of the people in here, like CU4 and Rich, particularly excited.