Blair appeals to Labour to hold nerve after elections roasting

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair last night appealed to Labour to hold its nerve after the party’s hammering in the local council elections.

Labour crashed to third place behind the Liberal Democrats in the popular vote in what it believed to be the worst performance by a governing party in a mid-term poll.

A jubilant Conservative leader Michael Howard said the results had given the Tories a platform to go on and take power in the next general election.