F1 2012: Super six make history

AUSTRALIAN Mark Webber became the latest man to stand at the top of the podium - in Monaco, no less - making it six different winners from six races for the first time in Formula 1 history.

That remarkable statistic is evidence of surely the most open F1 season ever with 25 points - one race win - covering the top six drivers.

Surprisingly, it is Fernando Alonso who leads the way in a Ferrari that was written off by the critics before the start of the campaign.

But, despite an impressive win in the Malaysian Grand Prix, the feeling still persists that the Spaniard is outperforming his team - even if this does seem to be the year in which anything can happen.

Still maybe the most likely result is a third successive championship for second-placed Sebastian Vettel, although the 24-year-old German only has a sole victory amid the controversy in Bahrain so far this term.

Of course, an interesting subtext to the championship chases of Alonso and Vettel is that both drivers have Ayrton Senna's youngest triple world champion record in their sights.

Time is running out for Alonso who only has this year in which to achieve the feat but Vettel can be more relaxed about it as he has the benefit of another six chances even after 2012 is over.

And so what of the two main British drivers in the more fancied McLaren? Well, in truth, it has hardly been an ideal start considering the expectations in the run-up to the season.

Doubtless the topsy-turvy nature of this extraordinary campaign has made it difficult to assess the performance of McLaren or, indeed, of any team properly.

Nevertheless, it is clear that once again McLaren has been its own worst enemy at times.

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton can feel that he has had some hard luck so far. In Malaysia and Bahrain, he had problems in the pits, while in China and Spain, he suffered grid demotions.

Unsurprisingly, these issues have restricted Hamilton's chances and so it is a trio of third places in the first three races which is just about holding his season together.

But, following on from a tough 2011, Hamilton is showing signs of impatience, sparking fresh speculation that he may move on from McLaren at the end of the year.

In contrast to Hamilton, team-mate Jenson Button does have a race victory - in the season-opener in Australia - as well as a second-placed finish in China.

Other than that, though, the cupboard has been just about bare with just two points gained from the other four Grand Prix putting the man from Frome down in seventh in the standings.

Button, who is 31 points behind championship leader Alonso, is far from out of this season's championship race but he will need to turn his form around soon to avoid actually being cut adrift.

That is easier said than done in an increasingly competitive field of drivers.

After all, Nico Rosberg and Pastor Maldonado have both already scored maiden victories in China and Spain respectively.

What is even better is that both drivers fully deserved their wins having qualified on pole. In other words, these were clearly not instances of victory being attributable to the rain or some other factor of fortune.

For Rosberg, victory ended a long wait, coming as it did at the 111th attempt. Meanwhile, for Maldonado, much credit must go to the Williams team as a whole and their excellent recovery so far from last season's worst year ever.

These unexpected triumphs can all be expected to continue with maybe an even wider spectrum of winning drivers. Certainly, Kimi Raikkonen has threatened victory for Lotus - while his team-mate Romain Grosjean, and Sauber driver Sergio Perez, have had their moments and already finished in the top three.

But the depth of F1 2012 goes much deeper than just the podium competitors and, in all, 18 of the 24 drivers to appear so far have scored some points.

Only Caterham, Marussia and HRT look like truly lost causes - and, while we should perhaps exclude the inexperienced Toro Rossos as well, that still leaves potentially eight teams and 16 drivers with a genuine chance of victory before the season ends.

The unpredictability of F1 2012 truly is incredible - and long may it continue...

CALENDAR

Date	TV		Pole position	Fastest lap	Winner
18 March	Sky	Australian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Button	Button
25 March	Sky	Malaysian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Raikkonen	Alonso
15 April	BBC	Chinese Grand Prix	Rosberg	Kobayashi	Rosberg
22 April	Sky	Bahrain Grand Prix	Vettel	Vettel	Vettel
13 May	BBC	Spanish Grand Prix	Maldonado	Grosjean	Maldonado
27 May	BBC	Monaco Grand Prix	Webber	Perez	Webber
10 June	Sky	Canadian Grand Prix
24 June	BBC	European Grand Prix
8 July	BBC	British Grand Prix
22 July	Sky	German Grand Prix
29 July	Sky	Hungarian Grand Prix
2 September	BBC	Belgian Grand Prix
9 September	Sky	Italian Grand Prix
23 September	BBC	Singapore Grand Prix
7 October	Sky	Japanese Grand Prix
14 October	BBC	Korean Grand Prix
28 October	Sky	Indian Grand Prix
4 November	BBC	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
18 November	Sky	United States Grand Prix
25 November	BBC	Brazilian Grand Prix

STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship

P	Driver	Team	Points
01	Fernando Alonso (Spa)	Ferrari	76 (1 win)
02	Sebastian Vettel (Ger)	Red Bull-Renault	73 (1 win)
03	Mark Webber (Aus)	Red Bull-Renault	73 (1 win)
04	Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)	McLaren-Mercedes	63
05	Nico Rosberg (Ger)	Mercedes GP	59 (1 win)
06	Kimi Raikkonen (Fin)	Lotus-Renault	51
07	Jenson Button (Gbr)	McLaren-Mercedes	45 (1 win)
08	Romain Grosjean (Swi)	Lotus-Renault	35
09	Pastor Maldonado (Ven)	Williams-Renault	29 (1 win)
10	Sergio Perez (Mex)	Sauber	22
11	Paul di Resta (Gbr)	Force India-Mercedes	21
12	Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn)	Sauber	19
13	Bruno Senna (Brz)	Williams-Renault	15
14	Felipe Massa (Brz)	Ferrari	10
15	Nico Hulkenberg (Ger)	Force India-Mercedes	7
16	Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra)	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	4
17	Daniel Ricciardo (Aus)	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	2
18	Michael Schumacher (Ger)	Mercedes GP	2
19	Heikki Kovalainen (Fin)	Caterham-Renault	0
20	Timo Glock (Ger)	Marussia-Cosworth	0
21	Narain Karthikeyan (Ind)	HRT-Cosworth	0
22	Charles Pic (Fra)	Marussia-Cosworth	0
23	Vitaly Petrov (Rus)	Caterham-Renault	0
24	Pedro de la Rosa (Spa)	HRT-Cosworth	0

Constructors' Championship

P	Team	Points
01	Red Bull-Renault	146 (2 wins)
02	McLaren-Mercedes	108 (1 win)
03	Ferrari	86 (1 win)
04	Lotus-Renault	86
05	Mercedes GP	61 (1 win)
06	Williams-Renault	44 (1 win)
07	Sauber	41
08	Force India-Mercedes	28
09	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	6
10	Caterham-Renault	0
11	Marussia-Cosworth	0
12	HRT-Cosworth	0

Loreen lives up to her billing as Sweden win Eurovision

BOOKIES' favourite Sweden won the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest after holding off a strong challenge from Russian grannies Buranovskiye Babushki in Baku.

Loreen's trance track 'Euphoria' finished on 372 points with Russia on 259 points. Serbia, in third, was the only other country to top the 200-point mark while host nation Azerbaijan was fourth.

The United Kingdom's entry Engelbert Humperdinck slumped to second last place, collecting just a dozen points from four countries - Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, and Belgium. 

Only Norway act Tooji prevented the UK from a fourth bottom-placed finish in the last 10 years, although no country suffered the indignity of scoring nul points.

Hopes were not particularly high for the 76-year-old crooner nicknamed the Hump especially after a poor draw put him and his ballad 'Love Will Set You Free' on first.

Viewers often tune into the contest late or simply cannot remember the early acts by the time the voting opens.

Nevertheless, Humperdinck was in a genial mood in this interview afterwards.

"I've had many highs in my career and Eurovision has been a wonderful experience," he said. "I did the best for my country, the rest was out of my hands."

The choice of Humperdinck was always a bit of a risk with his heyday having come over 40 years ago.

But, with greener acts having also failed miserably in recent times, it now seems impossible to know what the UK must do to regain its Eurovision credibility.

Ireland, who last won in 1996, has a plan: simply enter Jedward twins John and Edward Grimes every year until they win.

It doesn't seem likely to work, though. As predicted on this blog, Jedward lacked the element of surprise for 2012 and always seemed likely to fare worse than last year when finishing eighth.

This time the twins could only manage 46 points to be placed in 19th, though they did at least make a splash by finishing their song 'Waterline' by jumping into an on-stage fountain.

Thankfully for the organisers in Baku, that was about as ridiculous as it got, meaning this controversial contest passed by without incident.

After all, the 57th edition of the competition had been making headlines in the run-up for all the wrong reasons.

The venue - named the Crystal Hall - was newly-built but came at the expense of the relocation of hundreds of Baku residents. Meanwhile, other human rights abuses by the Azerbaijani authorities were also uncovered.

As such, Eurovision organisers will be comforted by the fact that next year will be in the relative safety of Sweden following what the Guardian described as "the most politicised contest yet".

That remains a genuine shame but, considering even the very first competition in 1956 was overshadowed by the Suez crisis, it was clearly ever thus.

FINAL STANDINGS

	Country	Song - Artist	Points
01	SWEDEN	'Euphoria' - Loreen	372
02	Russia	'Party for Everybody' - Buranovskiye Babushki	259
03	Serbia	'Nije ljubav stvar' - Željko Joksimović	214
04	Azerbaijan	'When the Music Dies' - Sabina Babayeva	150
05	Albania	'Suus' - Rona Nishliu	146
06	Estonia	'Kuula' - Ott Lepland	120
07	Turkey	'Love Me Back' - Can Bonomo	112
08	Germany	'Standing Still' - Roman Lob	110
09	Italy	'L'amore è femmina (Out of Love)' - Nina Zilli	101
10	Spain	'Quédate conmigo' - Pastora Soler	97
11	Moldova	'Lăutar' - Pasha Parfeny	81
12	Romania	'Zaleilah' - Mandinga	71
13	FYR Macedonia	'Crno i belo' - Kaliopi	71
14	Lithuania	'Love Is Blind' - Donny Montell	70
15	Ukraine	'Be My Guest' - Gaitana	65
16	Cyprus	'La La Love' - Ivi Adamou	65
17	Greece	'Aphrodisiac' - Eleftheria Eleftheriou	64
18	Bosnia-Herzegovina	'Korake ti znam' - MayaSar	55
19	Ireland	'Waterline' - Jedward	46
20	Iceland	'Never Forget' - Gréta Salóme & Jónsi	46
21	Malta	'This Is the Night' - Kurt Calleja	41
22	France	'Echo (You and I)' - Anggun	21
23	Denmark	'Should've Known Better' - Soluna Samay	21
24	Hungary	'Sound of Our Hearts' - Compact Disco	19
25	UNITED KINGDOM	'Love Will Set You Free' - Engelbert Humperdinck	12
26	Norway	'Stay' - Tooji	7

--
Preview
ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK will open the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest for the United Kingdom, having been drawn as the first act on stage at the Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan.

The 76-year-old crooner, who had two number one hits in the late 1960s with 'Release Me' and 'The Last Waltz', aims to give the UK their first Eurovision win since 1997 with his new ballad 'Love Will Set You Free'.

But Humperdinck's hopes have been hit by the draw as the first song is rarely remembered by the time that voting opens.

In that respect, Irish twins Jedward have been given a better chance. They are 23rd in line having been one of 10 countries to qualify from the first semi final on Tuesday.

The question remains, though: if they failed last year, what are the chances of them doing any better this time?

Russia's Buranovskiye Babushki - featuring eight grandmothers - was another novelty act to emerge from the preliminaries but the strong favourites - as short as evens in places - are Sweden and their trance hit 'Euphoria'.

Eurovision 2012 is on BBC One at 8pm tonight, thus clashing with Roy Hodgson's first game as England manager against Norway in Oslo which is on ITV at 7.45pm.


EUROVISION 2012 RUNNING ORDER
Click on the links for the official Eurovision videos of each of the songs.

	Country	Song	Artist
01	United Kingdom	Love Will Set You Free	Engelbert Humperdinck
02	Hungary	Sound of Our Hearts	Compact Disco
03	Albania	Suus	Rona Nishliu
04	Lithuania	Love is Blind	Donny Montell
05	Bosnia-Herzegovina	Korake ti znam	MayaSar
06	Russia	Party for Everybody	Buranovskiye Babushki
07	Iceland	Never Forget	Greta Salome & Jonsi
08	Cyprus	La La Love	Ivi Adamou
09	France	Echo (You and I)	Anggun
10	Italy	L'amore e femmina (Out of Love)	Nina Zilli
11	Estonia	Kuula	Ott Lepland
12	Norway	Stay	Tooji
13	Azerbaijan	When the Music Dies	Sabina Babayeva
14	Romania	Zaleilah	Mandinga
15	Denmark	Should've Known Better	Soluna Samay
16	Greece	Aphrodisiac	Eleftheria Eleftheriou
17	Sweden	Euphoria	Loreen
18	Turkey	Love Me Back	Can Bonomo
19	Spain	Quedate conmigo	Pastora Soler
20	Germany	Standing Still	Roman Lob
21	Malta	This Is The Night	Kurt Calleja
22	FYR Macedonia	Crno i belo	Kaliopi
23	Ireland	Waterline	Jedward
24	Serbia	Nije Ijubav stvar	Zeljko Joksimovic
25	Ukraine	Be My Guest	Gaitana
26	Moldova	Lautar	Pasha Parfeny

Related links
- Official Eurovision website
- Official Eurovision Youtube page
- BBC Eurovision page
- Previous Eurovision reports on this blog - 2009 2010 2011

Thailand 2012: From panic to paradise

SHUDDERING, sweating, and dry-heaving - all mixed in with bouts of sickness and diarrhoea. This was horrendous.

I also knew exactly what it was: the onset of another panic attack, and just three days before the start of the holiday of a lifetime to Thailand.

I was aware that it was a panic attack because, unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. In fact, I had endured these episodes for some years now and foolishly done nothing about them.

These situations had indeed been mentioned in passing on this blog in the days when I was learning to drive.

In my review of my third failed test, entitled 'Under Pressure' no less, I wrote: "My anxiety was so bad that no rational explanation could calm me down and, due to the resultant insomnia, I expected that I may even have to cancel."

Meanwhile, another panic attack in London was the reason why a promised review of my work experience at the Camden New Journal back in 2009 was conspicuous by its absence.

For, on the first morning of that placement, I had a visceral reaction, similar to the one which I described in anticipation of the trip to Thailand.

Specifically, I was overwhelmed by the fact that, as a trained journalist following my successful NCTJ course at Darlington, I expected myself to work in a way that any other reporter would.

By rights, I should have been able to do this, of course.

However, the panic attack rendered me unable to do much around the office and this negative experience has been reinforced by my failure to do any placements elsewhere since. Perhaps, even though I am now seeking help, I am just not cut out for it.

Recently, I have found life more difficult, despite the support of excellent friends and family, as a series of relatively stressful events happened one after another.

For instance, in March, I was the best man at the wedding of my best mate. Now, making a speech is widely regarded as one of the most pressurised occasions of a person's life if they are not used to public speaking.

Rather than a touch of the nerves, though, I entered full-blown panic mode with stomach acid shooting up my oesophagus, making me nauseous and unable to eat the fine wedding feast on offer.

That, in the end, I still managed to stand up and deliver the speech was nothing short of remarkable, according to the doctor, and it remains for me a very proud moment.

Indeed, without declaring that I want a medal or anything, the fact is that I have always managed generally to muddle through with any task which I was feeling anxious about, undoubtedly showing some strength of character.

Sadly, my panic attack about Thailand - a holiday, for goodness sake! - was perhaps the worst I had ever experienced. And so, I finally decided it was time to seek professional assistance. 

My excellent GP immediately prescribed some diazepam to take me down off the ceiling and two days of this powerful stuff was enough to start and get me on the straight and narrow.

By Thursday 3 May, I was ready to make a decision about Thailand - and thankfully so, given that my train to the south was due to set off at just after 1pm. This was really cutting it fine.

In the end, I decided to bite the bullet and ensure that I did not waste a lot of money and a most wonderful experience. Whether I liked it or not, I was going to Thailand.

First, though, I was off to Reading for a couple of days before a flight from Heathrow to Bangkok via Zurich.

Handily included in that time was a trip to the CAMRA Reading Beer Festival which impressed with its size and organisation.

Then, on Saturday 6 May, the real deal began. Following a nervy landing at the short stop-off in Zurich, courtesy of a skiddy arrival on a sodden runway, I was at last on board a plane to Bangkok.

An episode of the Simpsons and the music of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Beethoven passed the time on the 10-hour flight which did not seem anywhere near as long to me.

And so to Bangkok. Admittedly, at first, I found the metropolis of the Thai capital a little overwhelming with its constant bustle.

But, after being introduced to the atmospheric Khao San Road - a Glastonbury-esque experience without the rain - I began properly to relax into my holiday.

I did not have long in Bangkok at this point to see the sights - although I did fit in my first ever ride in a tuk-tuk - as, once our crowd was assembled from various flights, we were off to the islands via a flight to Suritthani and a ferry.

Koh Samui and Koh Phangan are both idyllic places without being off the beaten track for the casual tourist (cf. the backpacker) and hiring scooters helped us get around the islands more easily.

In Lamai on Samui, we visited the Grandmother and Grandfather Rocks - so named because of their, er, appearance - as well as a nearby waterfall. Then, at night, we kicked back by drinking buckets of various concoctions at the Ark Bar while being hustled by nine-year-old children playing Connect 4.

Refusing to play one of the kids, she retorted that I was a "ladyboy" before running off. It was certainly not an insult which I expected to hear but quite amusing all the same.

Meanwhile, on Phangan, we reached the beach near the Haad Rin peninsula where the legendary Full Moon parties take place.

There was not one scheduled for when we were there and, though the expected Half Moon party was cancelled for renovation, the Jungle Experience near Baan Tai was an adequate replacement.

The week on the islands - four days on Samui, three on Phangan - were highly relaxing and exactly what I had needed. By this stage, there were no second thoughts in having taken the plunge.

Back to Bangkok for the second week and there was plenty of 'work' to be done if we wanted to see the sights.

The heat and humidity were tough going at the height of the afternoon but I soon learned that Sprite and the 7-Eleven shops were my friends and would just about keep me in my comfort zone.

So, what did we end up seeing in Bangkok then?

Well, the Grand Palace complex does indeed seem to be the grandest area of the capital. It is split into several quarters and features 34 buildings, many of which are still in proper use today.

But, while the Palace is one of the most extraordinary sights in Thailand, the mish-mash of its layout left me slightly confused and overwhelmed meaning my favourite tourist traps in Bangkok lie elsewhere.

Wat Pho nearby, for instance, is a much smaller complex but hardly forgettable on account of the huge Reclining Buddha which is its centrepiece.

And Wat Arun - the Temple of the Dawn (pictured) - is an imposing landmark on the west bank of Chao Phraya river, featuring a central prang of 86 metres.

Steep stairs allow tourists to clamber up the prang to gain a fine panoramic view of the skyscrapers overlooking the river - but more on that sort of thing a little later.

For, the entirety of the second week was not just spent in Bangkok: there was also an excursion out to Kanchanburi which took in the Kao Poon Cave and allowed us a walk along the reconstructed Bridge over the River Kwai.

A trip to a safari park required us to engage our consciences as it was clear that many of the animals were not treated particularly well.

Nevertheless, the feeding of bananas to giraffes and zebras produced happier memories and some great photographs. The giraffes were particularly friendly, moving their heads right inside the safari bus to snaffle the goodies while earning a stroke on the neck.

The second day of the tour featured the Erawan Falls, named after the three-headed white elephant of Hindu mythology.

I succeeded in reaching the top of the seven-tiered falls, and swam in gorgeous rock pools filled with unnervingly nippy fish. Later that day, I rode on the back of an elephant and then got comprehensively soaked when it swished river water with its trunk back over its head!

The remainder of the holiday was spent in Bangkok again, though our group of six dwindled in number as we left on our respective flights.

Even still on the last day when there were just two of us left, we made attempts to get around the city and be productive.

The stomach-turning Siriraj Medical Museum had been well-placed in a slot at the end of the break with its gruesome displays having earned it the nickname of 'The Museum of Death'.

And so it was just as well that it could be balanced out by some spectacular sights in our very last activity as we visited a skybar at the top of the State Tower.

Standing at a height of 810 feet, the view from the 64th floor was an amazing end to a holiday which I somehow almost never made it on.

I now know that staying at home would have been a foolish decision in the extreme and hindsight has caused me to shake my head in disbelief at a panic attack over a holiday.

Still, I cannot deny that it actually happened - and has happened in the past - and so the problem now needs to be dealt with properly.

In the meantime, the memories of my Thai hiatus are all good, and live on and on: many thanks to family and friends who helped me let it be.

Elections 2012: Boris wins, Tories lose

OVERALL COMPOSITION
Councils

Conservatives 42 (-12)

Labour 75 (+32)

Liberal Democrats 6 (-1)

Councillors

Conservatives 1006 (-405)

Labour 2159 (+823)

Liberal Democrats 431 (-336)
Scottish Nationalist 424 (+57)

Others 843 (-173)

ENGLAND

METROPOLITAN BOROUGHS/UNITARY COUNCILS

Conservatives

Peterborough

Solihull

Southend-on-Sea  
Trafford

Wokingham 

Labour

Barnsley

Birmingham - LAB gain from NOC
Blackburn with Darwen

Bolton

Bury

Coventry

Derby - LAB gain from NOC
Doncaster

Dudley - LAB gain from Con

Gateshead

Halton

Hartlepool

Kingston upon Hull

Knowsley

Leeds

Liverpool

Manchester

Newcastle upon Tyne

North East Lincolnshire - LAB gain from NOC
North Tyneside

Plymouth - LAB gain from Con

Reading - LAB gain from NOC

Rotherham

St Helens

Salford

Sandwell

Sefton - LAB gain from NOC
Sheffield

Slough

South Tyneside 

Southampton - LAB gain from Con

Sunderland

Swindon

Tameside

Thurrock - LAB gain from NOC

Wakefield

Warrington

Wigan 

Wirral - LAB gain from NOC
Wolverhampton

Liberal Democrats

Portsmouth

No overall control
Bradford
Calderdale
Kirklees
Milton Keynes
Oldham
Rochdale
Stockport
Walsall

DISTRICT COUNCILS

Conservatives

Adur

Amber Valley

Basildon

Basingstoke and Deane

Brentwood

Broxbourne

Castle Point

Cherwell

Craven

Crawley

Daventry 

Elmbridge

Epping Forest

Fareham

Gosport

Harrogate

Havant

Hertsmere

Huntingdonshire

Maidstone

North Hertfordshire

Reigate and Banstead

Rochford

Rugby

Runnymede

Rushmoor

South Cambridgeshire

Stratford-on-Avon

Tamworth

Tandridge

Tunbridge Wells

Welwyn Hatfield

West Lancashire

West Oxfordshire

Winchester - CON gain from NOC

Woking

Worcester

Worthing

Labour

Bassetlaw

Burnley - LAB gain from NOC
Cannock Chase - LAB gain from NOC
Carlisle - LAB gain from NOC
Chorley - LAB gain from NOC
Exeter - LAB gain from NOC

Great Yarmouth - LAB gain from Con
Harlow - LAB gain from Con

Hyndburn

Ipswich

Lincoln

Newcastle-under-Lyme - LAB gain from NOC
Norwich - LAB gain from NOC
Nuneaton and Bedworth - LAB gain from NOC
Preston

Redditch - LAB gain from Con

Rossendale - LAB gain from NOC

Stevenage

Liberal Democrats
Cheltenham 
Eastleigh
South Lakeland
Three Rivers
Watford
No overall control

Cambridge - NOC gain from LD

Colchester 

Gloucester - NOC gain from Con

Hart - NOC gain from Con

Mole Valley

Pendle

Purbeck

St Albans

Stroud

Weymouth and Portland

Wyre Forest - NOC gain from Con

MAYORAL ELECTIONS OUTSIDE LONDON (no previous mayor)

Liverpool - Ian Stewart (Lab)

Salford - Joe Anderson (Lab)

Referenda: Yes-No to a Mayor-run council 
(x) Birmingham 42-58
(x) Bradford 45-55
(/) Bristol 53-47
(x) Coventry 36-64
(/) Doncaster 62-38
(x) Leeds 37-63
(x) Manchester 47-53
(x) Newcastle upon Tyne 38-62
(x) Nottingham 43-57
(x) Sheffield 35-65
(x) Wakefield 38-62
 
LONDON
MAYORAL ELECTION
Boris Johnson (Con) wins second four-year term as Mayor of London
First round:
Boris Johnson Conservatives 971,931 (44%, +2)
Ken Livingstone Labour 889,918 (40%, +4)
Jenny Jones Green 98,913 (5%, +1)
Brian Paddick Lib Dems 91,774 (4%, -5)
Siobhan Benita Independent 83,914 (4%)
Lawrence Webb UKIP 43,274 (2%, -3) 
Carlos Cortiglia BNP 28,751 (1%, -4)

Second round:
Boris Johnson Conservatives 1,054,811 (52%, -2)
Ken Livingstone Labour 992,273 (48%, +2)


LONDON ASSEMBLY
Con 9 (-2) Lab 12 (+4) LD 2 (-1) Grn 2 (-) Ind 0 (-1)

CONSTITUENCY

Conservatives

Bexley and Bromley

Croydon and Sutton

Havering and Redbridge

Merton and Wandsworth

South West

West Central

Labour

Barnet and Camden - LAB gain from Con
Brent and Harrow

City and East

Ealing and Hillingdon - LAB gain from Con

Enfield and Haringey

Greenwich and Lewisham

Lambeth and Southwark

North East

LIST

Conservatives

Andrew Boff, Victoria Borwick, Gareth Bacon

Labour

Nicky Gavron, Murad Qureshi, Fiona Twycross, Tom Copley

Liberal Democrats

Caroline Pidgeon, Stephen Knight

Green

Jenny Jones, Darren Johnson

SCOTLAND AND WALES

SCOTLAND

Labour

Glasgow City - LAB gain from NOC
North Lanarkshire

Renfrewshire - LAB gain from NOC

West Dunbartonshire - LAB gain from NOC

Scottish National Party

Angus - SNP gain from NOC

Dundee City - SNP gain from NOC

Independent

Na h-Eileanan Siar 

Orkney

Shetland 

No Overall Control

Aberdeen City

Aberdeenshire

Argyll and Bute

Clackmannanshire

Dumfries and Galloway

East Ayrshire

East Dunbartonshire

East Lothian

East Renfrewshire

Edinburgh City

Falkirk

Fife

Highland

Inverclyde

Midlothian - NOC gain from Lab

Moray

North Ayrshire

Perth and Kinross

Scottish Borders

South Ayrshire

South Lanarkshire

Stirling

West Lothian

WALES

Labour

Blaenau Gwent - LAB gain from Ind
Bridgend - LAB gain from NOC

Caerphilly - LAB gain from NOC
Cardiff - LAB gain from NOC

Merthyr Tydfil - LAB gain from Ind

Neath Port Talbot

Newport - LAB gain from NOC
Rhondda Cynon Taff

Swansea - LAB gain from NOC

Torfaen - LAB gain from NOC

Independent

Pembrokeshire

Powys

No Overall Control

Carmarthenshire

Ceredigion

Conwy

Denbighshire

Flintshire

Gwynedd - NOC gain from PC

Monmouthshire
Vale of Glamorgan  
Wrexham