LONDON, May 5 (UPI) -- The British government suffered a disastrous night in England's local elections, prompting calls for Prime Minister Tony Blair to resign.
With 13 councils left to declare Friday morning, the ruling Labor Party had lost 251 councillors and ceded overall control of the capital to the Conservatives for the first time since 1978.
The Conservative Party, under recently-elected leader David Cameron, soared ahead with gains of 251 council seats, and claimed the result was evidence of a sea change in the country's political mood. It notably wrested control of the London borough of Ealing from Labor, widely seen as a "bellweather" seat for general election prospects.
In terms of the popular vote, Labor was relegated to third place with 26 percent, behind the Tories on 40 percent and the Liberal Democrats -- who gained 18 seats -- on 27 percent.
The humiliating outcome prompted calls for Blair to quit, or at least name the date for his departure. The prime minister has previously said he will stand down before the next general election in 2009.
Graham Stringer, Labor MP for Manchester Blackley, told the BBC that Labor needed regeneration if it was to fend off the Conservative Party, once again becoming a serious threat.
"It's not possible after nine years for the prime minister to regenerate himself," he added. "The only way to regenerate the party is with a new leader."
Even the normally tight-lipped Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, Blair's likely successor, appeared to suggest it was time for him to quit. Brown told BBC Radio that the results were a "warning shot" to the Labor Party, which needed to "renew" itself to deal with the challenges of the future.
Blair is expected to ignore the calls, which have become a deeply divisive issue within the party.
