Free Republic

The Conservatives look to be on course for their best local election performance since they last won national power in 1992. On the projected share of the votes if the local polls were held nationwide, the Tories are on 40%, ahead of the Lib Dems' 27% and Labour's 26%. As well as net gains of more than 200 seats, the Tories have won control of councils like Crawley and Merton. But opponents say they have failed to breakthrough in northern cities. Ealing gain There have been Tory wins in areas such as Shrewsbury & Atcham, Bassetlaw and Mole Valley. The...

June 7, 2004Labour set for severe losses on all sides By Jill Sherman, Whitehall EditorLABOUR is heading for huge losses in many of its inner-city heartlands in the council elections on Thursday, with gains split between the Tories and the Liberal Democrats. Hundreds of seats are likely to change hands, with Labour set to lose up to 400 and to see its share of the vote plummet to below 30 per cent. The Lib Dems are on course to sweep up seats in Labour urban areas in the North with the Tories likely to gain inner-city seats in the South...

UK Voters Hand Far-Right Extremists Symbolic WinFri May 3, 7:14 AM ETBy Kate KellandLONDON (Reuters) - Far-right extremists sent a "chill factor" across Britain on Friday as they claimed a symbolic victory in English elections, winning their first council seats in almost a decade in a northern town dogged by racial tension. Buoyed by the shock success of France's National Front leader Jean Marie Le Pen in presidential elections, the British National Party tapped into resentment among white communities living side by side with large immigrant populations in Burnley. The BNP won three seats -- the last after a...