June 11, 2004

NOWHERE TO TURN:

British PM Tony Blair's Labor Party Suffers Major Losses in Recent Local Election (VOA News, 11 Jun 2004)

British Prime Minister Tony BlairResults of Thursday's election to 166 British local councils show major losses for Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labor Party.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said there is no doubt that government support for the war in Iraq was a major factor.

With more than half the results in, Labor has lost at least 234 seats on local councils, the Conservatives have gained at least 108 and the Liberal Democrats at least 62.

The BBC projects that overall the Conservative Party will win 38 percent of the vote, the Liberal Democrats 26 percent, and the Labor Party 26 percent. But analysts still expect a Labor victory in the next general election.


Kind of amusing that a nation upset with a PM who's too close to America and went to war in an Arab nation has to turn to a party led by a Jewish guy and even more closely allied with the GOP.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 11, 2004 1:39 PM
Comments

I know little to nothing of British politics, so: Would Britain still support U.S. policy in Iraq and the war on terror if Tony Blair and his party were to lose? If so, great; if not, not so great.

Posted by: Just John at June 11, 2004 2:13 PM

The Conservatives supported the War, so I'd expect were it a victory in the general election for them then nothing would really change in regards to British involvement in Iraq.

Posted by: Jim at June 11, 2004 2:33 PM

The Conservatives supported the war, but they're likely to do it State Department style, i.e. handing power to the first bloodthirsty local maniac he doesn't say "Death to America, death to Britain" at least a hundred times a day. That's still an improvement over Saddam of course, but it's only a matter of time before you have to fight another Saddam.

Posted by: Peter at June 11, 2004 3:00 PM

How can it ever be a good thing if the guy that supported us, loses because he supported us?

This would be a big negative in the future.

Posted by: h-man at June 11, 2004 3:21 PM

h:

Moral clarity is always good. Tony Blair isn't British anymore than Margaret Thatcher was.

Posted by: oj at June 11, 2004 4:31 PM

Blair is a transnationalist to his bones.He went to war in the Balkans to save the EU from it's own incompetence and NATO from it's irrelevence,as he went to war in Iraq to save the UN form it's incompetence and irrelevence.

No,he's not British,but Mrs Thatcher would hit you with her purse if told she wasn't British.

Posted by: at June 11, 2004 5:30 PM

Read her eulogy, she knows she's an American:

http://www.brothersjudd.com/blog/archives/013372.html

Posted by: oj at June 11, 2004 5:47 PM

Didn't any of you read "Michael Moore Conservatives" in the Weekly Standard?

Howard's party hates Bush as much Labor does. Beware a Blair loss.

Posted by: BB at June 11, 2004 9:00 PM

BB:

The aristos do, but the Tory future is as a more anti-immigrant, anti-EU, anti-government party of the middle & working class.

Posted by: oj at June 11, 2004 9:07 PM
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