British Conservatives Suffer Election Blow Labor Party Gains Seats On Municipal Councils

Prime Minister John Major’s Conservatives suffered heavy losses Thursday in municipal elections, the last big test of opinion before his government has to call national elections.

The main opposition Labor Party consolidated its grip on large English cities, wiping out the Conservatives completely on local councils in 10 municipalities, including Manchester and Oxford.

“These have been spectacularly good results,” declared Labor Party leader Tony Blair.

The Conservatives lost more than half of the 1,000 council seats they defended. They also lost control of the council in Runnymede, a comfortable commuter county south of London; it was one of only four of the contested districts under Conservative control before voting.

But the Conservatives avoided the near wipeout many analysts had forecast, and their predicted 28 percent share of the vote edged up from 24.9 percent last year, a worst-ever performance.

“It’s beginning to look very, very good; … it bodes well for the party in the coming general election,” said Labor deputy leader John Prescott.

Major’s government must call national elections within 12 months.

Embattled Conservative leaders, reaching for explanations well-rehearsed during three years of defeats, blamed the party’s losses on tough economic decisions but claimed signs of recovery.

“The confidence of the electorate is returning,” said Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine. “And we have another 12 months. … That is sufficient time for people to realize that benefits are returning because we took the tough decisions.”

With results declared from 146 of the 150 municipal districts, Labor had won 85, a gain of 10; the centrist Liberal Democrats, 23, up five; and the Conservatives three, down one. In the rest, no party had overall control.