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Conservative Ousts London Mayor

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The Associated Press

Published: May 3, 2008

LONDON - An eccentric Conservative lawmaker with a knack for offensive remarks ousted the left-wing mayor of London on Friday in an upset that capped the ruling Labour Party's worst local election showing in four decades.
Boris Johnson defeated Ken Livingstone in Labour's first test at the polls since then-Prime Minister Tony Blair last year handed the reins to Gordon Brown, who has since been dogged by accusations of indecision and incompetence.

Brown humbly pledged to heed the scathing verdict from voters, who voted for opposition candidates in more than 300 municipal council races.
Conservative leader David Cameron said his party's strong gains in the capital and in a longtime weak spot in northern England represented a key moment on the path to ousting Brown at the next national election, to be held before mid-2010.

Johnson, a former magazine editor, becomes the first Conservative to hold a high-profile national post since his party's overwhelming 1997 national election defeat by Labour.

"I do hope it shows that the Conservatives have changed into a party that can again be trusted," Johnson said.

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