British Prime Minister Tony Blair suffered a big loss in local council elections, as preliminary results showed Friday that his Labor Party came third behind the major opposition parties.

With 82 of 166 councils up for grabs having reported by early Friday, Labor had lost 211 seats, which analysts believed would be a serious blow to Blair.

The BBC projected Labor's vote share at just 26 percent, 12 percentage points behind the Conservatives and below Britain's third party, the Liberal Democrats on 30 percent.

Blair acknowledged Iraq was a key factor in the public's voting decision.

"Iraq and the worries over Iraq have been a shadow over our support," he was quoted by a Sky News report as saying at the end of the G8 summit in the United States.

British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell also admitted that there had been "clearly a very strong protest vote" against her party.

"Iraq is certainly a factor but it is only a factor," she added when being interviewed with the BBC.

British Home Secretary David Blunkett said he was "mortified" by the early results although he denied it was "meltdown" or "take-off for the Conservatives."

"An awful night for Labor, really seriously dreadful," said Anthony King, professor of government at Essex University.

However, many local analysts say that it has been a bad day so far for Labor but not a complete disaster, although the election results will inevitably renew speculation about Blair's leadership.

Britons voted in three polls Thursday, selecting representatives for the European Parliament, 166 local councils in England and Wales, and for a London mayor and assembly.

The Sky News/YouGov poll suggests Labor's Ken Livingstone is set for a narrow win in the mayoral election when votes are counted late Friday.

The European Parliament ballot is not due to be declared until Sunday as other EU countries are not voting until the weekend.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2004)