Looking more and more like he's going to be dragged from office, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is shuffling his Cabinet around today, after Labour takes it on the chin after some disastorous local elections threatens to put the part in eclipse.
The Conservative Party saw significant gains on the local councils, according to the BBC:
Labour came third in the overall share of the vote in local elections in England, losing control of 18 local authorities. The Tories were the biggest winners, gaining 274 extra councillors and 40% of the vote.
The Guardian on the Tories' 40% gain.
A Sky News projection suggested that the Conservatives would have a 10-seat majority in the House of Commons if last night's figures were repeated in a general election.
After a series of weak leaders, these results will consolidate Leader David Cameron's grip on the party, as he has been facing percolating criticism from various ideological purists. With rank-and-file members smelling general election victory, the pressure will be on for the backbenches to keep it down a bit.
What is most troubling and appalling in all of this, however, is the inroads the thuggish British National Party (BNP) made. More BBC:
The party fielded more than 350 candidates and now has 44 seats in England. Before Thursday's local elections it held about 20 of 22,000.
This is a challenge not just to the ruling party, but to all three major parties. It is a challenge to Britain's constitutional order to have fascists thriving politically.
But back to Labour: How much more implosion can Labour withstand before Gordon Brown seizes control of a party viable enough to win a fourth general election? If the party is truly yearning for opposition, as some have wittily put it, then things are going great. But if Gordon Brown wants to rule in the epoch-defining manner I'm sure he intends, he needs to push Blair out soon.



























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