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Xander West: Baldwin’s resurgence and the first shadow cabinet

Baldwin’s actions directly disprove the notion that a substantial reformatting of ideas or policies must occur on a timeline approaching years. Just because the next election is remote, albeit nearly two years have elapsed already, should not engender a relative passivity nor timidity around key decisions. The post Xander West: Baldwin’s resurgence and the first shadow cabinet appeared first on Conservative Home.

Labour annihilation as Keir Starmer expected to lose nearly 2,000 Councillors

Damning new polling lays bare the massacre awaiting the Labour Party at next week's local elections.

Could Lib Dems become the biggest party in English local government?

With voter loyalty a distant memory, the Lib Dems’ cost of living policies and criticism of Trump could gain them ground It has been an election buildup dominated by the rise of Reform UK and the Greens, and the contrasting woes of Labour and the Tories. But there is a chance that on 8 May the Liberal Democrats, largely ignored in recent weeks, could wake up as the biggest party in English local government. This is just one of several paradoxes for the party’s leader, Ed Davey, and his team. T

Burnham: Labour Should Take “a Different Course” After Local Elections

Andy Burnham speaking to Bloomberg: The local elections will be “challenging“: “It’s got to be a moment of reflection… I understand the real frustration people have got with politics and politicians. I honestly, I really understand that. And they’re right to say politics just hasn’t been working.” Doesn’t rule out standing for Parliament again: “The…

Local election campaigning enters final week as forecaster warns Labour could lose 1,850 English seats –UK politics live

Robert Hayward predicts Reform will be big winner, taking seats from both Labour and the Conservatives Good morning. We are now into the final week of campaigning for the Scottish parliament, Welsh Senedd and English local elections. Keir Starmer had been planning a big speech today, but he, and other political leaders, are today focusing on their response to the Golders Green stabbing and the antisemitism threat facing Britain’s Jewish community – described as a “national security emergency” by

Could Starmer bring back Rayner to steady ship – and would she get onboard?

Former deputy PM has walked a line between loyalty and interventionism since resigning last September It is nearly eight months since Angela Rayner quit the cabinet because of her tax arrangements, but some might argue her influence on the government has not gone away. And soon she might return, whether as Keir Starmer’s saviour or, perhaps, his usurper. There is increasing speculation that the prime minister could carry out a small-scale reshuffle, primarily to bring back Rayner, his former dep

Why is Britain’s economy so stuck? It’s the tension between what voters want and what the bond markets allow | Larry Elliott

There is no such thing as the Bond Dealers party, but there might as well be – the people who trade in UK debt exert a stranglehold over our politics The days of two-party politics are over. When voters go to the polls in England next week, they will have five main contenders to choose from. In Scotland and Wales, the nationalists make it a six-strong race. This fragmentation reflects the deep discontent with Labour and the Conservatives. One thing in common between the Greens and Reform UK is t

Politics LIVE: Nightmare for Keir Starmer as pollster makes dire election prediction

Labour is set to face huge losses, while Reform UK will make major gains.

Is it a stunt or just doing the job? Either way the PM’s been playing politics as much as anyone else

Starmer’s comment about a stunt ‘just before elections’ supposes in one way that a ‘stunt’ is one thing, but it’s 'simply not cricket’ to deploy it just ahead of going to the polls. As he famously once said to a Tory Prime Minister - 'Come off it' The post Is it a stunt or just doing the job? Either way the PM’s been playing politics as much as anyone else appeared first on Conservative Home.

Labour is facing wipeout in its final stronghold. Why? It’s housing, housing, housing | Aditya Chakrabortty

In the 1980s, Labour-controlled London built 52,000 council homes. During the Tony Blair decade, just 280. It’s brought this local-election catastrophe on itself Over the week to come, journalists will repeat three things until they, and you, are sick: that local elections fall next Thursday; that the results will decide the fate of Keir Starmer; and that he is set to do badly. But just how badly, and where? Last week, Starmer’s own party dropped a big clue. The most popular politician in Britai

<a href='https://news.sky.com/video/kemi-badenoch-defends-record-as-tory-leader-and-says-golders-green-attack-is-a-national-emergency-13538163'>Era of two-party politics 'has gone', Badenoch tells Cathy Newman</a>

The Guardian view on assisted dying reform: now try a citizens’ assembly | Editorial

Parliament’s failure to change the law on a difficult issue should be the spur to democratic innovation The prorogation of parliament on Wednesday signals the end of the road for the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill. The proposal to allow some patients in England and Wales, under very specific circumstances, to have medical assistance in ending their own lives was still at committee stage in the Lords when the house rose. Since it was introduced as a private member’s bill, it cannot be c