Conservatives lose hundreds of seats in British midterm elections

May 6 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party lost ground in British national elections as results came in Friday. Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer proclaimed his party is "back on track" to succeed in the next general election.

During a speech in northwest London, Johnson admitted the rough going his party faced, but called the results "mixed."

"We had a tough night in some parts of the country, but on the other hand, in other parts of the country you are still seeing Conservatives going forward and making quite remarkable gains in places that haven't voted Conservative for a long time, if ever," Johnson said.

During a stop in north London Friday, Starmer told supporters the midterm election results were a big turning back as he declared the results sent the message to the prime minister that Britain deserves better.

A scandal over parties that violated COVID-19 lockdown rules damaged Conservative candidates. In London, Conservatives lost the Wandsworth borough they had controlled for decades.

At least 124 of 146 councils in England had declared results by Friday. The Conservatives lost more than 280 seats.

In Northern Ireland, where final results are expected Saturday, all 90 members of the assembly were up for election. The Sinn Fein Party there was expected to make historic gains.

With much of the vote counted Friday, Sinn Fein was on track to win the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Conservative Party lost hundreds of seats across Britain to the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats.

Gavin Barwell, former chief of staff for Johnson's predecessor, said the London results were a catastrophic wake-up call for the Conservative Party.