Opposition parties lose hundreds of seats as British Conservatives race ahead

With most of the results declared Friday in Britain's local elections, the results for the Conservatives under Prime Minister Theresa May, where the party's biggest success since 1973.

Political commentators said the results pointed to a potential landslide for May in next month's snap general election when voting takes place for the country's 650 House of Commons MPs.

Overnight counting of votes for town halls and county halls in England, Scotland and Wales offered little comfort to the main opposition Labor Party, but as counting continued Friday the toll of lost seats in council chambers continued.

UKIP, the United Kingdom Independence Party set up to campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, was virtually wiped off the political map, losing virtually every seat on local councils it had held.

The results will also have implications across the English channel, with the success of the Conservatives indicating approval for May's strong Brexit approach.

There were consolation prizes for Labor, winning the race for the first ever metro mayors in the big city regions of Manchester and Liverpool, though Conservative Andy Street became metro mayor in Birmingham after a nail-biting fight to the finish with Labor.

In Scotland, Labor lost control of Glasgow City Council, with the results making Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party the biggest group at city hall.

Rather than being in a celebratory mood, Prime Minister May responded to the Conservatives success by saying she was taking nothing for granted ahead of the June 8 general election, adding: "there is too much at stake".

May said she would be fighting on the election campaign trail every day of the next five weeks to earn the support of the British people to strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations with Brussels.

Election expert Professor John Curtice, from the University of Strathcylde in Scotland, said that if the council results were reflected at next month's general election, May would win a bigger majority, but possibly not the landslide May is hoping for.

When the British House of Commons was dissolved earlier this week, the Conservative government had a working majority of 17.

Labor's finance spokesman, the Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, said the results were not the wipe-out that many commentators had forecasted. Labor, he said, was building a solid base for the general election.

Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn was in Liverpool, one of the party's strongest areas of support Friday night, celebrating the success of Steve Rotheram in the metro mayor election.

In a statement Corbyn said: "The results were mixed. We lost seats but we are closing the gap on the Conservatives. I am disappointed at every Labor defeat in the local elections. Too many fantastic councilors, who work tirelessly for their communities, lost their seats.

In the Daily Telegraph, a commentary said Labor's heartlands are now under a new level of threat from the Conservatives, the party coming to sweep away Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn.

In Scotland, the Conservatives won more than 130 seats, making them the biggest party behind the SNP. May's party scored wins in council seats once described as no-go areas for Conservatives.

Some people are already talking of a funeral wake for UKIP, but the party's newly chosen leader Paul Nuttall said UKIP was a victim of its own success, having campaigned for and succeeded in bringing Britain out of the EU.

With virtually all the results in by mid-evening Friday, the Conservatives had gained 558 seats, Labor had lost 320 seats and the Lib Dems lost 37.

The SNP in Scotland gained 31 seats and there was success for the nationalists in Wales, with Plaid Cymru making 26 gains. UKIP, meanwhile, lost 114 seats. Endit