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| Britain |
| Boris Johnson is the new London Mayor |
| 2008-05-03 |
| Boris Johnson claimed a remarkable victory in the London mayoral contest on Friday night to cap a disastrous series of results for Gordon Brown in his first electoral test as Prime Minister. The Conservative candidate's win over Ken Livingstone followed a calamitous showing for Labour at the local elections - the party's worst performance at the polls for 40 years. Mr Johnson's landmark victory, a result that would have been almost unthinkable six months ago, was the most symbolic blow to Mr Brown's authority on a day that left the Prime Minister facing the gravest crisis of his leadership. By taking City Hall, Mr Johnson becomes the first Tory politician to hold a senior role in British politics since the party was swept out of power in 1997. His win provided a significant boost to David Cameron's bid for victory at the next general election. In the local elections, Labour lost more than 300 councillors and slumped to a humiliating third place behind the Liberal Democrats in the share of the vote – a full 20 points behind Mr Cameron's Conservatives. The results represented a significant breakthrough for Mr Cameron and were the best the Tories have recorded at the polls since John Major won the 1992 general election. If translated to a General Election, it would see the Tories with a Commons majority of more than 100. As one Labour backbencher gave Mr Brown six months to reverse the party's slide or resign, comparisons were made between his Premiership and the dying days of John Major's tenure. The Tories predicted the results marked the beginning of the end of Labour's three terms in Government. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 They're pushing The Party of Defeat and The Last Jihad at me. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-05-03 09:34 |
| #3 And Amazon is pushing Ron Paul's book at me. Hummm... |
| Posted by: George Smiley 2008-05-03 08:31 |
| #2 Well, You can call me Boreey, Or you can call me Tory, But 'ye need not be a callin me a Johnson /end inside Circus Joke |
| Posted by: George Smiley 2008-05-03 08:13 |
| #1 Get Red Ken a Red Barbie for a consolation prize! |
| Posted by: Tepes 2008-05-03 03:07 |