Key results and those to watch

LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party avoided elimination in local elections in London and made gains in other pro-Brexit regions, results showed on Friday, dampening opposition Labor Party hopes of a landslide victory. Below is a list of some election facts and five council results that set the tone for the overall outcome. – Councils are local government authorities with responsibility for providing public services that affect the daily lives of residents. They consist of different numbers of seats and are led by the party that holds the absolute majority of these seats. – More than 4,000 council seats are contested, causing the formation of 150 councils. Over 40% of the places are in London. – All 32 London boroughs elect all their councils. Some councils outside London only elect a third of their councilors this time. – Unlike national elections that decide seats in parliament or the 2016 EU referendum, Thursday’s election is open to registered EU citizens residing in constituencies. PETERBOROUGH RESULTS – RESULT: CONSERVATIVE WIN The Conservatives have won the single extra seat they needed to take overall control of this council, which represents an eastern area that voted 61 per cent to leave the EU. The anti-EU UK Independence Party lost its only council seat as part of a wider collapse in the party’s vote. TRAFFORD – RESULT: CONSERVATIVE LOSS A council in the northern city of Manchester has been a much-loved Conservative stronghold in a region dominated by the opposition Labor Party. The Tories lost five seats, while Labor gained four, leaving the council without a single party in overall control. WANDSWORTH – RESULT: CONSERVATIVE HOLD A hotly contested Tory borough in south-west London with a tradition of low taxes dating back to former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Labor won council seats, but the Tories held enough to retain control. WESTMINSTER – RESULT: CONSERVATIVE DETENTION The Conservatives lost three seats in this token council in the heart of London’s political borough, but retained overall control by a wide margin. It has been led by the Conservatives since its creation in 1964. BARNET – RESULT: CONSERVATIVE WIN The Conservatives have regained overall control of Barnet council, having previously been the largest party there, but only under a majority. The borough has been an important target for the Labor Party, but a row between Labor and the Jewish community over the handling of anti-Semitism in the party appears to have cost them their vote. Barnet has the highest proportion of Jewish residents in England at 15.5%, according to the latest census figures. (Reporting by William James; Editing by Kevin Liffey)