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POLITICS
Voters back status quo in UK local elections
May 4, 2018 - Voters have passed judgement on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party in local government elections with partial results showing support for her strategy for leaving the European Union.
England’s local elections decided 4,371 council seats, determining the makeup of 151 local government authorities who are responsible for the day-to-day provision of public services. Just over 40 percent of the seats are in the 32 boroughs of the capital, London.
London brought disappointment for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party and relief for Theresa May. The Conservatives held on to Westminster in the heart of London’s political district, and Wandsworth -- both Labour targets.
May’s Tories won councils in the pro-Brexit regions of Basildon and Peterborough, taking votes from the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP), but lost control of Trafford in Manchester -- its only foothold in the Labour-dominated northern region.