Labour loses less than expected

Sadiq Khan, Britain's Labour Party candidate for Mayor of London and his wife Saadiya leave after casting their votes for the London mayoral elections at a polling station in south London Britain May 5, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

Labour have not lost as sharply as many analysts had predicted in the local elections on Thursday. But the party could however end up third in Scotland behind SNP and the Conservatives.

After half of the votes were counted, Labour stands to lose about 30 seats around the country. Earlier some analysts thought that the party could lose 150 council seats.
The party has however decreased in Scotland and Wales. According to Sky News it looks like the Conservatives have knocked Labour off their perch as the largest party there after the Nationalist  SNP, and the BBC writes that Labour could even end up behind the Liberal Democrats.
The SNPs leader Nicola Sturgeon in turn declared a historic victory in the regional elections in Scotland.
The results so far suggest that Labour will hold key regions like Southampton, Norwich and Hastings, and Sadiq Khan is still the favorite to become the new Mayor of London. The result in London is not expected until Friday evening.

The Anti-EU UKIP party has done well in local elections in England and is also hoping for progress in Wales. In the UK yesterday UKIP gained by 12 percentage points, whilst Labour lost 8 points and the Conservatives 3 percentage points.

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today

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