LONDON, May 3: An eccentric ex-journalist from the opposition Conservatives ousted the Labour mayor of London on Saturday, capping an election rout for British Premier Gordon Brown who faces an uphill battle to revive his government’s fortunes.

Gaffe-prone lawmaker Boris Johnson beat maverick left-winger Ken Livingstone in the capital, the key prize in council elections on May 1 that the British media said became a “May Day Massacre” for Labour.

They were Labour’s worst local election results in four decades, and a blow to Brown in his first test at the ballot box since he took over from Tony Blair in June. Brown is expected to launch a fight back as early as next week, when a new legislative programme is outlined.

Brown admitted the loss of more than 300 council seats across England and Wales was “bad”, but blamed the effects of the global credit crunch for the centre-left party’s defeat.

“We have lessons to learn from that and then we will move forward,” he said.

Johnson said he hoped his victory signalled improving fortunes for the Conservatives, who have been out of government for exactly 11 years.

“I do not for one minute believe that this election shows that London has been transformed overnight into a Conservative city. But I do hope it does show that the Conservatives have changed into a party that can again be trusted,” he said.—AFP