2 h. ago Local elections 2025: What ID can I take to the polling station for local elections

Voters will need to show photo ID at polling stations before they can receive their ballot paper - the Electoral Commission has compiled a full list of accepted IDs

Politics

3 h. ago Inside Taganrog: beatings, electrocution and starvation at prison where Ukrainians were tortured

Russia is holding an estimated 16,000 civilians in arbitrary detention at 180 separate facilities. Taganrog was the most notorious.Some weeks after being detained as she attempted to leave a Russian-occupied part of Ukraine in January 2023, Yelyzaveta Shylyk was given a polygraph test. As her interrogators attached the lie detector’s wires to her, they calmly issued a threat about what would happen if she failed the test: “You’ll go to a place where you’ll regret being born.”That place, she would later find out, had a name: Sizo number 2, a pre-trial detention centre in the southern Russian city of Taganrog. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Local elections 2025: What time polling stations open and close tomorrow

Campaigning in the 2025 local elections enters its final day as millions of voters in England will head to the polls tomorrow - the first major vote since last year's General Election

Politics

5 h. ago Canada election results live: Trump congratulates Carney even as White House repeats ‘51st state’ taunt

Liberals projected to win more seats than Conservatives in what is still a remarkable victory

Politics

6 h. ago Erin Patterson concocted cancer diagnosis to ensure children missed fatal mushroom lunch, murder trial hears

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastPolice have never recovered a phone used by Erin Patterson at the time of the deadly mushroom lunch, and another phone seized during their investigation was subject to a “remote factory reset” while they were searching her house, a Victorian court has heard.Patterson also told police she had never owned a food dehydrator nor dehydrated food, despite CCTV showing her dumping a dehydrator at a local tip, and forensic analysis later revealing it had her fingerprints, and contained traces of death cap mushrooms.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Events

6 h. ago Find your nearest local election 2025 polling station and which constituency you are in

Use our interactive map to find out where local elections are taking place near you

Politics

6 h. ago What are the polling station opening hours for the 2025 local elections?

Labour's first test since winning the General Election last July gets underway this week

Politics

7 h. ago Erin Patterson used different plate to guests at deadly mushroom lunch, murder trial hears

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastErin Patterson, who allegedly murdered her in-laws by serving them a lunch laced with death cap mushrooms, will defend the charges by claiming the poisoning was accidental, a Victorian court has heard.Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Events

7 h. ago The Tories have shown Labour exactly how not to fight Farage | Rafael Behr

As local elections loom, it’s clear that years of agreeing with the Reform leader have failed to discourage people from voting for himIn the playbook of election strategies, there are two canonical campaigns. Incumbents say things are going in the right direction; don’t let the opposition screw it up! Challengers say everything is screwed up already; it’s time for change!There is a less orthodox, third option, innovated by the Conservatives in competition with whichever party Nigel Farage happens to be leading: our opponent is right; don’t vote for him.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Erin Patterson weeps in court as prosecutor tells jury details of deadly mushroom lunch

Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastErin Patterson, who allegedly murdered her in-laws by serving them a lunch laced with death cap mushrooms, will defend the charges by claiming the poisoning was accidental, a Victorian court has heard.Patterson, 50, faces three charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder relating to a beef wellington lunch she served at her house in South Gippsland in 2023.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Events

12 h. ago Spruiking, fake tradies and corflute stoushes: how to understand the Australian election

Federal elections bring out a special vocabulary that has become all too familiar to Australian voters, but potentially baffling to outsidersFollow all our Australia 2025 election coverageAustralians pride themselves on their distinctive federal elections. It’s among a handful of nations that enforces compulsory voting, boasting a turnout rate of more than 90%. The preferential voting system, in theory, means no votes are wasted and choice matters. In recent years, Australians even have an emblem for their civic duty – a democracy sausage – the natural conclusion of voting on a Saturday at schools eager to raise funds.Also unique is Australian campaign vernacular, which is, year after year, keenly adopted by the media and politicians alike. From donkey voting to corflute stoushes and spruiking, here are some of the weird idioms you need to know to keep abreast of what’s been happening in the lead-up to Saturday’s federal election, which pitches incumbent Anthony Albanese’s Labor aga...

Events

15 h. ago Canada election results live: Carney vows ‘Trump will never break us’ as Liberal Party falls short of majority

Liberals projected to win more seats than Conservatives in what is still a remarkable victory

Politics

18 h. ago Canada election: Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre loses seat he held since 2004

Following election loss to Mark Carney’s Liberals, Poilievre is likely to face questions over his future as party leaderCanada election 2025 liveAnalysis: Carney’s victory owes much to Trump and circumstanceCanada’s Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, has lost his own seat in the country’s general election, in a stunning blow for the 45-year-old career politician who until recently had been widely expected to become the country’s next prime minister.Although Conservatives increased both their seat count and vote share, Mark Carney’s Liberal party secured control of parliament, and Poilievre’s defeat in the Carleton electoral district is certain to fuel mounting questions over his future as party leader. Continue reading...

Politics

18 h. ago The Guardian view on Canada’s Liberal election: Carney’s triumph is a rebuff to Trump | Editorial

The US president’s territorial and economic threats have prompted voters to unite against his bellicosityCanada’s astounding election comeback by the Liberals will hearten many outside its borders as well as within. The governing party’s Lazarus moment was sparked by a man who was not on the ballot – though he took the chance to reiterate that the country should become the 51st US state, implying that voters could then elect him.By then it was already clear that Donald Trump’s threats had backfired. Monday’s result was a clear repudiation of his agenda. For two years, the Conservatives’ Pierre Poilievre looked like a dead cert as the next prime minister, assailing Justin Trudeau’s government on issues including the cost of living, housing and immigration. His party built a 25-point lead. But within four months, Mr Trudeau’s resignation, his warning that Mr Trump’s “51st state” remarks were no joke, and the imposition of swingeing US tariffs, transformed the contest. Mr Poilievre los...

Politics

20 h. ago Mapped: Every council where local elections have been postponed

Reform and the Greens have accused the government of denying democracy, while the Liberal Democrats have accused Labour and the Conservatives of a ‘disgraceful stitch-up’

Politics

20 h. ago Canada election results live: PM Carney vows ‘Trump will never break us’ as rival Poilievre loses Parliament seat

In a remarkable victory in the Canadian election, the Liberals are projected to win more seats than Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party - but it isn't clear yet if they will secure an outright majority

Politics

23 h. ago Phasing out fossil fuels ‘doomed to fail’, says Tony Blair as he calls for rethink of net zero policy – UK politics live

‘Any strategy based on either phasing out fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail,’ says former PMSeverin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.Keir Starmer is not expected to campaign in the Hamilton byelection, a critical contest for Scottish Labour which takes place in early June, Anas Sarwar has confirmed.I wouldn’t expect Keir to be campaigning in the byelection. That’s not to say he won’t, but I’m not expecting Kier to campaign in the byelection.I’ll be on the stump campaigning for a Labour win. I’m the candidate for first minister next year. I’m the one that wants to remove the SNP from government.Next year, we’ve got to demonstrate to people that for all Nigel Farage might want to come here with his easy answers and create a bit of a circus, the reality is a vote for Reform only helps the SNP. If you want to get rid of the SNP, only Scottish Labour can beat them. Continue reading...

Events

23 h. ago Plan to phase out fossil fuels ‘doomed to fail’, says Tony Blair as he calls for rethink of net zero policy – UK politics live

‘Any strategy based on either ‘phasing out’ fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail,’ says former PMSeverin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.Keir Starmer is not expected to campaign in the Hamilton byelection, a critical contest for Scottish Labour which takes place in early June, Anas Sarwar has confirmed.I wouldn’t expect Keir to be campaigning in the byelection. That’s not to say he won’t, but I’m not expecting Kier to campaign in the byelection.I’ll be on the stump campaigning for a Labour win. I’m the candidate for first minister next year. I’m the one that wants to remove the SNP from government.Next year, we’ve got to demonstrate to people that for all Nigel Farage might want to come here with his easy answers and create a bit of a circus, the reality is a vote for Reform only helps the SNP. If you want to get rid of the SNP, only Scottish Labour can beat them. Continue reading...

Events

24 h. ago Triumph for Carney: what happened in Canada’s election, and what will it mean?

Leader of Liberals, who appear to have made a remarkable turnaround, has said old relationship with the US is overCanada election live – latest updatesAt the beginning of the year, Canada’s Conservatives had a 25-point lead over the Liberal government, and their leader, Pierre Poilievre, looked certain to be the country’s next prime minister. But as the votes cast in Monday’s election have been counted, the story of the campaign has been confirmed: victory for the Liberals and their new leader, Mark Carney, who have extended their decade of rule by as much as another five years.With almost all polls counted, it appears likely that the Liberals will fall just short of a majority, and instead be the leading party in a minority government, as in the last two elections. Regardless, it represents a remarkable turnaround, and vindication for Carney’s efforts to present himself as the prime ministerial candidate who would most effectively stand up to Donald Trump. As for Poilievre: the CBC...

Politics

25 h. ago Canada election 2025 live: Carney vows ‘Trump will never break us’ after win as rival Poilievre set to lose seat

In a remarkable victory in the Canadian election, the Liberals are projected to win more seats than Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative party - but it isn't clear yet if they will secure an outright majority

Politics