Damian Grammaticas reports from the Runcorn and Helsby by-election count after a knife-edge victory for Reform. Read full article at source...
The overnight results from Thursday’s elections have confirmed the message of the polls that Reform are posing a major challenge to the traditional dominance of British politics enjoyed by the Conservatives and Labour. The party won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, just managing to overturn a 35-point Labour majority. Meanwhile, Andrea Jenkyns, a former Tory...
The Runcorn and Helsby by-election is on a knife edge, with just four votes separating Reform UK and Labour, the BBC has been told. A full recount is taking place, after party officials said the first tally put Nigel Farage’s party ahead by a tiny margin. The by-election – Sir Keir Starmer’s first major electoral...
2025 Exeter City Council by-elections results The votes cast for each candidate with vote share, party vote share change and turnout in Mincinglake & Whipton and Topsham. Thursday 1 May 2025, updated 2 May 2025 2025 Exeter & Devon local elections guide Devon County Council elections take place on 1 May alongside two Exeter City...
The government has defended its net-zero policies after Sir Tony Blair said limiting fossil fuels was “doomed to fail” and a new approach was needed. The former Labour prime minister argued the debate on climate change had become “irrational” and people in rich countries no longer wanted to make financial sacrifices “when they know that...
Alex Forsyth Political correspondent BBC Catherine Chadwick is a Runcorn resident who wants to see more focus from politicians on the NHS and for more police on the streets In a quiet corner of Runcorn, a group of residents who’ve been fighting to bring a disused canal back to use have found themselves thrust into...
Just now ShareSave ShareSave A range of stories lead Friday’s front pages. The Daily Telegraph’s reports Britain’s biggest bank Lloyds has “pledged solidarity” with transgender staff following the Supreme Court ruling a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law. To the side of the lead story is a photo of Harry Potter author...
The UK’s largest teaching union will “make Labour MPs pay a high political price” if the government does not offer teachers in England a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise, its general secretary has said. Daniel Kebede said members of the National Education Union (NEU) “expect better from a Labour government” than the pay recommendation ministers...
More than 40 Labour MPs are urging ministers to introduce a new form of digital ID to help control the migration system and improve public services. In an open letter, Labour MPs from three groups said a “gear shift” was needed to reap the benefits of digital identification. The idea of digital ID for all...
Two Labour MPs have been refused entry to Israel and detained by Israeli authorities, the foreign office said. Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang were denied entry because they intended to spread “hateful rhetoric” against Israel, the Israeli population and immigration authority said in a statement reported by Israeli media. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the...
Damian Grammaticas BBC News BBC The Labour Party has suspended MP Dan Norris after “being informed of his arrest”, a party spokesman has told the BBC. The suspension means Mr Norris, the MP for North East Somerset and Hanham, is also understood to have had the party whip suspended, meaning he is not able to...
Becky Morton Political reporter PA Media Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has urged the public to “vote for change in your community”, as he launched Labour’s local election campaign for England. The elections on 1 May are the party’s first major test at the ballot box since winning power in last July’s landslide victory. But...
Iain Watson Political correspondent EPA There has been some unease in Labour’s ranks over the planned savings in the welfare budget. The government’s newly published assessment of the impact of the changes has increased that anxiety. The contents – with its estimates of increased poverty levels – show that talk of difficult decisions is not...
BBC “The world has changed” is the mantra we are hearing from the government. It is a phrase designed to explain and justify the chancellor’s argument on Wednesday in what is known as her Spring Statement. The Conservatives are branding it an “emergency Budget”, which ministers insist is nonsense, but it is certainly true it...