LONDON: Counting was under way in England on Thursday in local elections which are expected to deliver a drubbing to Prime Minister David Cameron and confirm the rise of the anti-immigration UK Independence Party (UKIP).
Cameron's Conservatives are prepared for the loss of between 300 and 700 seats, out of about 2,400 which are up for grabs across 34 local authorities in England, plus another in Wales.
Ruling parties traditionally do badly in mid-term polls, particularly when the economy is stagnating, but the Tories' pain has been made worse by the rise of UKIP, which also wants Britain to leave the European Union.
Although they have no members of parliament, UKIP have been scoring one fifth of the vote in opinion polls and Cameron has been forced to reassess the party he famously once described as full of "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists".
The scrutiny sparked by the electoral campaign has proved embarrassing for UKIP, exposing the far-right views of some of the 1,700 candidates it is fielding for the vote.
But Cameron's party has struggled to form a coherent response -- one of his cabinet ministers, Ken Clarke, branded them "clowns" but London mayor Boris Johnson warned that "ill-advised insults" risked driving voters away.
In a move seen as an attempt to claw back Tory support, Cameron indicated on Wednesday that he may bring forward legislation on holding a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU.
He had previously said the commitment to hold an in-out vote -- itself widely viewed as a response to UKIP's rise -- would not be put into law until after the next general election in 2015.
However, UKIP leader Nigel Farage tweeted: "Cameron EU poll pledge just isn't believable: clearly another desperate attempt to stop the rise of @UKIP."
In an interview on the eve of the vote, Cameron said he was prepared for a bad night.
"Of course it's mid-term, the government has had to make difficult decisions, we're responsible for making a series of difficult cuts and difficult choices," he told BBC radio.
"I think people understand that but often it's not welcome and often it can lead to people feeling frustrated."
The junior partners in the Tory-led coalition, the Liberal Democrats, have admitted they may be relegated into fourth place when the results come in on Friday.
"You know, we have been beaten by UKIP before in the polls," said Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
"What I am saying is that these things come and go in politics and I've seen them in my time come and go. UKIP beat us in 2009; a year later we won 24 percent of the vote in the general election and UKIP were nowhere."
Blue sky and sunshine covered much of England, as millions of voters chose who will represent them on their local council.
More than 2,300 seats are up for grabs across the country, with polls closing at 10.00pm local time (2100GMT).
The main opposition Labour party will be closely watched too for signs that it can transform its lead in opinion polls into success at the general election in two years' time.
The party is defending its north east England parliamentary seat of South Shields, which is up for grabs following the departure of former interior minister David Miliband, with early exit polls suggesting a strong challenge from UKIP.
<Center><b><i>Copyright Reuters, 2013</b></i><br></center>
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