PM Gordon Brown's Labour party just lost the City of London in what has been claimed as a major rout. Most of us know PM Brown as the one dumping most of Britain's gold at the 2001 low. Although general elections are not until mid-2010, today's decisive loss should lower PM Brown's prestige and allow the opposition to keep a closer watch on this financial "non-wizard". The gold cartel will not be amused with this election outcome.

Pity - VHF


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Brown's party loses London as routed in UK elections

Fri May 2, 2008 8:42pm EDT

By Tim Castle and Katherine Baldwin

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LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Labour Party suffered its worst local election defeat on record and lost control of London on Friday, forcing Prime Minister Gordon Brown to rethink his strategy to avoid losing the next national poll.

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Conservative Boris Johnson, a journalist-turned-lawmaker prone to gaffes, wrested the prized post of London mayor from Labour's maverick Ken Livingstone, who has run the sprawling metropolis of some 7.5 million people since 2000.

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The election results were a major blow to Brown, who enjoyed a brief honeymoon with voters after he took over from Tony Blair, but has since been beset by economic turmoil, industrial unrest, administrative blunders and an image problem.

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Contrite Labour ministers and lawmakers said the government had failed to address Britons' fears of rising food and energy prices, higher mortgages and a possible housing market slump.

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The question now is whether the rout was just mid-term blues from which Labour can recover before the next general election, due by mid-2010 at the latest, or whether the tide has turned towards the Conservatives.