Cameron's Conservatives take a beating in British elections

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party took an electoral bruising Friday, suffering widespread losses in local elections as voters punished the leader for biting austerity measures and a stalled economy.

By midmorning, with around half of polls declared in votes to about 180 local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland, the Conservatives had lost almost 300 seats — including some in Cameron's own political district.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats — the junior partner in Britain's coalition government — suffered similar woes, losing about 130 councilors, which pushed them toward their lowest total since the party formed in 1988.

In London, however, Cameron's Conservative Party colleague Boris Johnson — a longtime friend-but-rival of the leader — appeared likely to sweep to a second four-year term as the British capital's mayor. ..................(more)

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