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Politics
Starmer fights for political survival as two ministers quit
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is battling to hold his government together after two senior ministers and four aides resigned, with more than 80 Labour MPs demanding he set a timetable for his departure.
Swinney demands Starmer show Scotland respect after SNP election victory
John Swinney told Downing Street it must show Scotland greater respect after the SNP won a fifth consecutive term at Holyrood, as Labour collapsed to a historic tie for second place with Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
One Nation wins Farrer, taking first lower-house seat in Coalition rout
David Farley took 57.3 per cent of the two-candidate-preferred vote in the southwestern New South Wales seat, ending a Coalition hold that had stood since the late 1940s and giving Pauline Hanson's One Nation its first directly elected House of Representatives seat.
Phillipson defends Starmer as West sets Monday deadline for Cabinet
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson defended Keir Starmer's leadership on Sunday, hours after Labour MP Catherine West gave the Cabinet until Monday morning to force the prime minister out or face a leadership contest.
Labour councillors demand Starmer resign after historic election rout
More than 110 Labour councillors have signed a letter demanding Keir Starmer set a timetable for an orderly transition, as backbencher Catherine West threatened to trigger a leadership contest if cabinet ministers do not challenge the prime minister by Monday.
West gives Cabinet until Monday to force Starmer out
Labour MP Catherine West has given the Cabinet until Monday to force Keir Starmer to resign or face a formal leadership contest, deepening the crisis after Thursday's local election losses. The former minister said she had 10 MPs signed up and was confident of reaching the 81 needed to trigger a contest.
Virginia Supreme Court voids redistricting referendum in 4-3 ruling
Virginia's Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved redistricting referendum on Friday in a 4-3 ruling, blocking a map that would have given Democrats four more congressional seats. Attorney General Jay Jones said Democrats would appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Swinney declares SNP victory as Labour records worst ever Holyrood result
The SNP won a fifth consecutive term in power at Holyrood but fell seven seats short of a majority, while Labour slumped to its worst ever Scottish Parliament result and tied for second place with Reform UK, which broke through with 17 seats.
Florida, Tennessee maps and Virginia ruling tilt 2026 House
Three redistricting events in 10 days have moved the 2026 US House map decisively toward Republicans. Democrats, citing Trump's approval slump and a string of special-election overperformances, insist the GOP advantage of six to seven seats will not be enough to hold the chamber.
Starmer brings in Brown and Harman to steady premiership after election rout
Sir Keir Starmer named Gordon Brown special envoy on global finance and Harriet Harman adviser on women and girls on Saturday, drafting in two Labour grandees to steady his premiership after the party's worst local election defeat since 1995.
Reform UK candidate exposed for racist posts wins Sunderland council seat
Glenn Gibbins, exposed days before polling for Facebook posts demanding Nigerians in his town be 'melted down' to fill potholes, was elected to Sunderland City Council on Reform UK's slate. Reform took 58 of 75 seats and ended a 52-year Labour grip on the authority.
Indiana primary sweep restates the Republican rule on crossing Trump
Trump-backed challengers ousted at least five Indiana state senators who blocked his redistricting push. As the Texas Senate runoff still waits on a presidential endorsement, the Indiana result reads as a narrow but emphatic verdict on the enforcer question.
Republicans seek $1bn for White House ballroom security in $70bn immigration bill
Senate Republicans tucked $1bn for Secret Service upgrades tied to Donald Trump's East Wing ballroom into a $70bn immigration enforcement package, drawing immediate Democratic accusations of self-dealing.
Alabama Republicans push primary reset as redistricting fight nears federal courts
Alabama lawmakers could vote Friday to scrap the state's May 19 congressional primary in some districts and replace it with a new ballot if federal courts allow Republicans to switch maps after a recent Supreme Court ruling weakened the Voting Rights Act.
Senedd count begins as Labour faces end of 27-year rule in Wales
Welsh Labour faces the end of a 27-year run in government as the Senedd count begins, with First Minister Eluned Morgan's own seat under threat and Plaid Cymru and Reform UK vying for first place.
Labour Suffers Heavy Losses as Reform UK Surges in Local Elections
Labour suffered heavy losses in English local elections as Reform UK surged, prompting calls from within the party for Keir Starmer to set a timetable for his departure as leader. Reform UK gained nearly 300 seats in a historic shift.
Virginia Supreme Court throws out Democratic-backed US House map
The Virginia Supreme Court threw out the Democratic-backed congressional map that would have flipped four Republican-held US House seats, ruling that the rushed referendum used to enact it failed constitutional muster. Existing district lines stand for 2026.
Starmer under pressure to agree exit plan after Labour local election losses
Keir Starmer is facing the most serious threat to his leadership after Labour lost control of 25 English councils and suffered defeats in Wales and Scotland, with senior MPs urging him to agree a transition timeline.
UK borrowing costs fall and pound rises as Starmer vows to stay on
UK government bond yields fell and sterling strengthened on Friday as Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would remain in office despite heavy losses for Labour in local elections that saw Reform UK make major gains.
Tennessee Republicans pass map splitting Memphis as Cohen vows lawsuit
House votes 64-25 to split majority-Black 9th District. Cohen says he will sue in state court on First Amendment timing grounds.
Eleventh Circuit rejects Trump no-bond ICE policy as circuit split deepens
Atlanta-based appeals court rules 2-1 that 8 U.S.C. 1226(a) entitles immigrants present in the US to bond hearings; second appellate loss for the no-bond policy in two weeks.
Stanford's Fingar calls Trump tariff policy a complete failure ahead of Xi summit
Former US Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Fingar told the Shanghai Forum that the Trump tariff regime has missed every stated goal. Refunds of $166bn loom as the Supreme Court ruling bites.
Tennessee Republicans set Thursday vote on map that splits Memphis into three districts
Tennessee Republicans were due to vote Thursday on a congressional map that would split Memphis into three districts and end the state's only Democratic House seat, days after the Supreme Court's Callais ruling.
UK voters head to polls in local elections that could hasten Starmer exit
Voters across the United Kingdom went to the polls on Thursday in elections rivals have framed as a referendum on Keir Starmer. Labour is bracing for heavy losses to Reform UK, the Greens and the nationalist parties.
Republican-led states race to redraw maps after Supreme Court guts Voting Rights Act
Republican legislators in Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee moved this week to redraw their congressional maps after a Supreme Court decision hollowed a core provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The moves could yield Republicans an additional dozen House seats before November.
UK 30-year gilt yields hit 28-year high as Iran war and election jitters collide
The yield on 30-year UK government bonds climbed to 5.78 per cent on Tuesday, the highest level since 1998, as the Iran war drove up energy prices and traders weighed a possible leadership challenge to Sir Keir Starmer after Thursday's local elections.
Starmer faces leadership plot rumours as gilts hit 28-year high before Thursday vote
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is bracing for a politically catastrophic set of local elections on Thursday amid open reports that Labour MPs are plotting to oust him, with British government borrowing costs reaching their highest level in 28 years on Tuesday.
Starmer warns antisemitism is 'a crisis for all of us' as Downing Street summit opens
Keir Starmer convened business, policing and community leaders on Tuesday after the Golders Green stabbing, an arson at a former East London synagogue and a counter-terror probe into possible Iranian links. He promised a 'whole of society' response and warned of consequences if a foreign state was involved.
Indiana primaries become first big test of Trump's grip on the GOP
Voters in Indiana cast ballots on Tuesday in a state Senate primary that has become the first concrete test of Donald Trump's ability to discipline Republicans who defy him, after seven sitting state senators became targets of presidential endorsements over a redistricting fight they had blocked in December.
