It’s official: Conservative candidate Boris Johnson has defeated “Red Ken” Livingston to become London’s first Tory mayor. Johnson’s win caps off an excellent election day for the Tories… and a bloodbath for Gordon Brown’s Labour Party. Labour lost an incredible 331 seats on local councils, 256 of which were picked up by the Tories.
This is devastating news for Brown, since local elections are much more closely intertwined with national politics in the UK. In fact, this could be the beginning of the end for Labour’s current 11-year reign. If trends continue the way they’re going, the Conservatives will be back in power at Number 10 in the next two years.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about the mayoral race is that Boris Johnson won the seat for the Tories. Johnson almost always appears aloof and disheveled, with his tie askew and his hair looking like he just got out of bed. Two years ago, the idea of “Mayor Boris” would have sent most any Londoner into fits of laughter… but not now.
THREE CHEERS FOR THE TORIES!
HIP HIP.. HOORAY! HIP HIP… HOORAY! HIP HIP… HOORAY!
Read more about it:
The Evening Standard’s article about Johnson’s Win
An op-ed piece called “Now the writing really is on the wall for Labour”
The BBC’s 2008 elections page
MSNBC’s lame UK Election Coverage page
BBC political commentator Nick Robinson’s Newslog