UKIP nationalists gain, Conservatives drop in British local races
LONDON -- Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives took a drubbing in local elections amid a surge of support for an anti-European Union and anti-immigration party, according to returns Friday.
Echoing results across Europe, British voters appeared to punish the ruling government, fed up with economic doldrums and austerity measures. Britain's nationalist United Kingdom Independence Party appeared to be the recipient of a sizable protest vote, analysts said.
In 34 contests across England, UKIP won 139 county council seats, while the mainstream opposition Labor Party gained 291. The Liberal Democrats -- junior partners in Britain's coalition government -- were down 124 county council seats, while Cameron's ruling Conservatives lost 335 seats in Thursday's vote.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage -- whose party Cameron once referred to as a bunch of "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists" -- said the results will send a "shock wave" through the British political establishment.
"This is a real sea change in British politics," Farage told the BBC.
Cameron's popularity has taken a beating as the government sticks to a strict policy of austerity to cut Britain's debts, slashing public sector jobs and welfare payments.
As results streamed in highlighting UKIP's strong showing in the election, Cameron said respect must be shown for those who chose to support the party.
"We are going to work really hard to win them back," he said.
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NewsdayTV team coverage of Rex Heuermann guilty pleas in Gilgo Beach killings Rex Heuermann, of Massapequa Park, has pleaded guilty to the murders of seven women whose bodies were found along Gilgo Beach and admitted to killing another. NewsdayTV has team coverage from key locations around Long Island.
