Saturday, May 5th 2012 - 06:09 UTC

London’s mayor Johnson saves Tories from a humiliating defeat in council elections

Boris Johnson dodged a humiliating nationwide defeat for Prime Minister David Cameron by winning London in local elections that saw voters angry at Britain's economic woes flock to opposition Labour and a right-wing anti-European fringe party.

The victory could put Johnson on course to one day lead the Conservative party forecasted his defeated opponent Ken Livingstone

Maverick mayor Johnson's silver-lining win in London was the only good news for Cameron whom local media said had been given a bloody nose by voters upset at spending cuts and Britain's return to recession.

Even Johnson, who as one of the most popular politicians in Cameron's own party is tipped as a possible future prime minister, saw his majority slashed, claiming victory only after a lengthy count that had put him head to head with his rival, Labour candidate Ken Livingstone.

“I will continue to fight for a good deal for Londoners, a good deal from the government that will help us deliver prosperity for everybody in this city,” Johnson, famous for his ruffled fair hair, said after the vote count at London's City Hall, a rounded glass building on the Thames.

Johnson failed to mention the wider Conservative defeat, but his challenger, Livingstone, said that the victory could put Johnson on course to one day lead the Conservative party.

With results declared in all 181 councils being contested across the country, Labour had gained 823 new councillors while the Conservatives had lost 405 and their Liberal Democrat coalition partners were down by 336.

After preaching economic prudence, Cameron's coalition government was damaged by a return to recession and weeks of blunders that made ministers appear out of touch with voters struggling with high unemployment, price rises and low wages.

Cameron apologised to Conservative candidates who lost their jobs, blaming the defeat on the tough decisions he had been forced to make to reduce Britain's debt mountain and mend the 2.5 trillion dollars economy.

“There aren't easy answers,” said Cameron, whose party lost seats to Labour in the rural constituency he represents in parliament.
 

9 comments Feed

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1 DanyBerger (#) May 05th, 2012 - 09:27 am Report abuse
And where are those moron who keep saying UK has a sound, strong, bullet prove economy?
2 Think (#) May 05th, 2012 - 09:37 am Report abuse
(1) You just wait...............

The English Defence League and the British Freedom Party have just merged......

The UKIP will soon join forces with them.......

Everything will then be much better for Great England ....

You will see....

And the BDL and the BFP
3 Guzz (#) May 05th, 2012 - 09:44 am Report abuse
It's a harsh defeat for the conservatives and now is not the time to laugh about it... .... But now it is :)))))
4 reality check (#) May 05th, 2012 - 09:50 am Report abuse
Boris for Primeminister. Yeah! now there's a thought.
5 Usurping Pirate (#) May 05th, 2012 - 11:27 am Report abuse
Guzz : In 1982 the Conservatives were almost finished politically .
Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands and united the country behind them , as a result they remained in power for another 15 years .
Cretina's sabre rattling about the Falklands is very good for Cameron , Boris , et al , because it unites the country behind them now , so keep up your war of words and your 6am invasions , you distract the people from their problems and focus them on hating you .
6 Brit Bob (#) May 05th, 2012 - 12:54 pm Report abuse
Mid-term blues. The economy will pick up and so will the Tory party.
7 Max (#) May 05th, 2012 - 01:06 pm Report abuse
@ 4

Boris Johnson's granddad was the Interior Minister of Ottoman Empire !
8 Marcos Alejandro (#) May 05th, 2012 - 03:06 pm Report abuse
Poor Camoron :-)))
9 RobWilliams (#) May 05th, 2012 - 03:30 pm Report abuse
@8

I wouldn't get your hopes up, no political party in the UK would consider giving up the Falklands, it's one of the few universal agreements so Cameron or not, there will still be no talks.

I suspect the “right-wing anti-European fringe party” they refer to is UKIP, if somehow they got into power then that's even worse for Argentina.

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