8 h. ago A protest vote is an important democratic safety valve, but be careful how you use it

Editorial: Nigel Farage’s party is expected to do well on Thursday as voters turn away from Labour and the Conservatives

Politics

9 h. ago Labour crisis as the city of John Prescott turns its back on Starmer

Canvas returns seen by The Independent suggest that Labour could be a distant third to Reform and the Lib Dems in their former heartland of Hull and East Yorkshire

Events

11 h. ago Key seats to watch in the 2025 local elections and why they matter

Will a string of controversial policies be Labour’s downfall at the ballot box? And will Reform surge ahead leaving the Tories in their wake as pollsters predict? Kate Devlin looks at where the votes will count the most on May 1

Politics

11 h. ago Why these are the most important local elections since Boris Johnson won London in 2008

Polls have put Reform UK ahead for months now but these local elections will be the first test of whether the traditional two-party Labour-Tory grip on British politics is under threat, writes David Maddox

Politics

25 h. ago BORIS JOHNSON: It's time for Donald Trump to take the boot off Ukraine's neck and put the squeeze on Putin

When Putin this week launched one of his most vicious attacks so far upon the innocent citizens of Kyiv , it was an act of supreme contempt.

Politics

26 h. ago Tory leader Kemi Badenoch gets financial boost as video game tycoon donates £2million to Conservative Party

The money from Jeremy Elliott, who is better known as Jez San, will give a huge boost to Kemi Badenoch's leadership, just days before challenging local elections.

Economics

35 h. ago Pollster predicts grim local elections for Starmer and Badenoch with Reform surge

The local elections, which will be the first big electoral test since last summer’s general election, will see the Tories lose around 500 seats, a leading pollster has predicted

Politics

37 h. ago Reform and Labour tied at the top ahead of local elections, poll shows

The Conservatives have the most seats to lose in next week’s local elections

Politics

37 h. ago Reform UK candidate at next week's local elections was last year convicted of £5,000 council tax fraud

Martyn Cubitt is standing for Nigel Farage 's party for the Burwell division of Cambridgeshire County Council next Thursday.

Economics

38 h. ago Reform UK on course to win in two mayoral contests – UK politics live

Polling predicts victory for party in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull/East Yorkshire with the Greens possibly taking West of EnglandThere are six mayoral elections next week. Two of them are for single-authority mayors (Doncaster and North Tyneside), but the others are for combined-authority mayors (or regional mayors – like metro mayors, but not just covering city regions). Today YouGov has released polling covering all four of these contests and it suggests Reform UK is on course to win two of them easily. And the Green party is narrowly ahead in a third, the poll suggests.Here are the polling figures.In theory the Tories should be winning in Lincolnshire as they hold most of the parliamentary seats in the area and have dominated local politics forever. But it’s also the most Reform-friendly part of the country. It contains Richard Tice’s constituency and numerous seats in which they came second. Plus their candidate is a former Tory MP – Andrea Jenkyns, famous for her Boris Johnson...

Politics

42 h. ago Boris Johnson warns Ukraine ‘gets nothing’ from Trump’s peace proposals

The former UK prime minister, who built the international coalition backing Ukraine, has demolished the US president’s peace proposals

Events

42 h. ago Starmer's EU Brexit 'reset' to include 'one in, one out' version of free movement for youths ... but he won't unveil it until AFTER local elections

The Home Secretary is said to be willing to consider a limited operation, having previously been opposed to any type of exchange over fears it would affect migration figures.

Politics

47 h. ago Scottish Labour accuses SNP of 'parachuting' candidate into Hamilton by

EXCLUSIVE: SNP candidate Katy Loudon does not live in the Hamilton constituency - but has promised to run a by-election campaign "centred on local values".

Politics

49 h. ago Local elections 2025: Guide to every council and mayoral contest

A total of 1,641 council seats are up for grabs across 23 local authorities.

Politics

58 h. ago Farage accused of being ‘out of touch’ after ‘overdiagnosis’ comments

The Reform leader told a local elections campaign event that overdiagnosis is ‘creating a class of victims’ in the UK.

Politics

59 h. ago Nigel Farage clashes with charities as he claims GPs are 'massively overdiagnosing' children with special educational needs and disabilities

Ahead of next week's local elections , the Reform UK leader said there was a 'massive problem' among councils due to soaring demand for SEND services.

Politics

61 h. ago Jenrick letter intensifies speculation he is preparing Tory leadership bid

The speculation comes just a week before the local elections where the Tories are set to lose hundreds of seats

Politics

64 h. ago Tories face 'losing 500 seats' in election hammering by Reform in North and Lib Dems in London commuter belt

The town hall polls are a test of Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage’s leaderships

Politics

64 h. ago Tories 'face losing 500 councillors' in local elections next week as Kemi Badenoch dismisses Robert Jenrick's hint at 'coalition' with Reform

Lord Robert Hayward, a Conservative peer and top pollster, said he expects the Tories to lose between 475 to 525 councillors at next Thursday's elections.

Politics

3 d. ago Tory peer and pollster predicts local election wipeout for his own party

The local elections, which will be the first big electoral test since last summer’s general election, will see the Tories lose around 500 seats, a leading pollster has predicted

Politics