Markus Andrews

Sinn Fein is on course for its best ever result in a Northern Ireland Assembly election after receiving the most first-preference votes, as counting resumed on Saturday.Sinn Fein currently has 21 seats, while the DUP have 19, the Alliance Party 14, the Ulster Unionists (UUP) six and the SDLP on four, with results through for almost 70 of the 90 assembly seats.Sinn Fein received 250,388 first preferences, compared with the 184,002 returned for the DUP and 116,681 for the Alliance Party.This means that it received 29 per cent of first preference votes, compared with 21.3 per cent for the DUP, 13.5 per cent for Alliance. It pointed to a majority of support for the Northern Ireland protocol.Sinn Fein’s vice president Michelle O’Neill, on course to be the first nationalist first minister, was elected on the first count in Mid Ulster, with Alliance leader Naomi Long topping the poll in East Belfast.Ms O’Neill, surrounded by party colleagues and supporters as the result was announced in the Magherafelt count centre, said Sinn Fein wanted to “together work in partnership with others”. More

Boris Johnson remains an electoral asset to the Conservatives, a cabinet minister has insisted, despite the Tories suffering a net loss of almost 500 seats in local elections across Great Britain.Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi urged Tory MPs not to move against the prime minister, despite rebel backbenchers saying the leadership issue “brought to a head” soon.“He is an asset, absolutely,” Mr Zahawi told Sky News. “If you look at the way that Boris cuts through in places like Nuneaton, places like Newcastle-under-Lyme, other parts of the country as well – Harrow in London.”In a message to Tory colleagues, he said: “People don’t like to vote for split parties, for teams that are divided. “We are stronger when we are united – that would be my message to all my colleagues.”However, Tory MP Aaron Bell, a critic of the prime minister, said the issue of his leadership must be “brought to a head” soon.Mr Bell, who has already submitted a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson, told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “I don’t think we can continue having this hanging over the party for many more months to come, with the Metropolitan Police and Sue Gray and then the Privileges Committee.”He said it was “perfectly reasonable” for colleagues to wait until the publication of senior official Ms Gray’s report, but “we do need to bring this to a head, one way or another, so that we can draw a line under this”.As of Saturday morning, with only a couple of counts to go in England, the Tories had lost almost 500 council seats – including 341 in England, 63 in Scotland, and 86 in Wales.Mr Johnson admitted his party had experienced a “tough night” in London and the south of England – where Partygate proved a major issue, sparking alarm among Tory MPs in traditionally rock-solid seats.Marcus Fysh – the Tory MP for Yeovil who has not declared his opposition to Mr Johnson – said he was “devastated” by the loss of Somerset county council to the Liberal Democrats.“We need a radical change of approach on the economy and I don’t think the team we’ve got as currently constituted is capable of delivering that,” he told The Times. “We need to discuss amongst colleagues whether Boris is the right person to do that.”On Friday, David Simmonds, the Tory MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, said “a change of leader” could be one way of restoring public confidence in the government after admitting Partygate had caused a major loss of trust.Sir Roger Gale, the first Tory to announce no confidence in Mr Johnson, suggested a challenge could come within as little as three weeks, telling The Independent: “There’s a tide that’s flowing that’s unstoppable. Something has got to happen.”Another senior Tory backbencher told The Independent it was now “clearly very much in the interests of both Labour and the Liberal Democrats to keep Boris in place”, said the MP. “He is clearly leading us down not up.” More

Tories lose Wandsworth as Boris Johnson faces backlash from own councillorsSinn Fein has hailed a “new era” for Northern Ireland as they became the largest party at Stormont for the first time and pushed the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) into second place.The Irish nationalist party’s vice-president Michelle O’Neill said it was a “defining moment for our politics and our people” and said she wanted to “work together” with the DUP to restore power-sharing arrangements at Stormont.Sinn Fein has won 27 seats and received 29 per cent of first preference votes, compared with 23 seats and 21.3 per cent of first preference votes for the DUP – raising the prosect of the first-ever Irish nationalist first minister.Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, whose nationalist party also made gains in local elections, said earlier it would be an “extraordinary result” if Sinn Fein came out on top and “something that seemed impossible not that long ago”.Over in England, the Conservatives have recorded a loss of nearly 500 seats in local elections to date as well as a string of flagship councils, including the London boroughs of Wandsworth and Westminster.Show latest update

1651953464The politics blog is now closed, however we’ll be back tomorrow with the latest news from the heart of Westminster and beyond.Joe Middleton7 May 2022 20:571651953009Keir Starmer should ‘consider position’ if fined by police, says Diane AbbottSir Keir Starmer should “consider his position” as Labour leader if he is fined as part of a police inquiry into a takeaway meal with colleagues, former shadow minister Diane Abbott has said.Durham Constabulary is investigating claims that an event attended by Sir Keir along with other senior party figures and activists while campaigning last year might have broken local Covid regulations.“I think if he actually gets a fixed penalty notice he really has to consider his position,” Ms Abbott, a left-wing critic of Sir Keir’s leadership, told LBC.Adam Forrest has the details.Joe Middleton7 May 2022 20:501651952109Nicola Sturgeon congratulates Sinn Fein on ‘historic result’Joe Middleton7 May 2022 20:351651951265Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill hails ‘new era’ in Northern Ireland after victorySinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill hails ‘new era’ in Northern Ireland after victoryJoe Middleton7 May 2022 20:211651950909Parties should restore power-sharing as ‘soon as possible’, says NI secretaryNorthern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis, set to travel to Belfast on Monday to meet political leaders, said he encouraged the parties to form an executive “as soon as possible”.The cabinet minister said: “The electorate delivered a number of messages on Thursday. They were clear that they want a fully functioning devolved government in Northern Ireland, they want the issues around the protocol addressed, and that they want politics to work better.”Mr Lewis added: “Over the coming days I will be meeting with all the party leaders and will urge them to restore the Stormont institutions at the earliest possible moment, starting with the nomination of an Assembly Speaker within eight days.”Joe Middleton7 May 2022 20:151651949469Sadiq Khan: Starmer allegations a million miles from Boris Johnson’s actionsSadiq Khan: Starmer allegations a million miles from Boris Johnson’s actionsJoe Middleton7 May 2022 19:511651947909Labour urges ‘return to the executive’ despite protocol rowLabour has urged Boris Johnson’s government to “prioritise practical solutions through negotiation with the EU” over the protocol and “not chase headlines with empty threats”.Peter Kyle MP, shadow Northern Ireland secretary, congratulated Sinn Fein and said they had “earned the right to nominate a new first minister”.He added: “Unionism will still have a strong voice within power sharing and calls for progress on the remaining issues of the protocol have been heard and should not prevent a return to the executive”.Mr Johnson’s government is drawing up legislation aimed at tearing up checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland unilaterally – a move which is sure to spark a major row with the EU.But the bill is understood to be on hold until after the 10 May Queen’s Speech, with ministers hoping that the election results can persuade Brussels to agree that checks must be dropped to restore power-sharing arrangements.Joe Middleton7 May 2022 19:251651946209Sinn Fein hails ‘new era’ in Northern Ireland as nationalists become largest party for first timeSinn Fein has hailed a “new era” for Northern Ireland as the Irish nationalist party swept history aside and emerged the largest political force at Stormont for the first time.Michelle O’Neill, the party’s leader north of the border, challenged the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to drop its obsession with Brexit checks and “work together” to restore the power-sharing executive which collapsed in February.“Today represents a very significant moment of change, it’s a defining moment for our politics and our people,” said Ms O’Neill after the Republicans won the most votes and most seats for the first time since the country’s political institutions were set up a century ago.Sinn Fein has won 27 seats and received 29 per cent of first preference votes, compared with 23 seats and 21.3 per cent of first preference votes for the DUP – raising the prosect of the first-ever Irish nationalist first minister.Adam Forrest reports.Joe Middleton7 May 2022 18:561651945404Labour lose control of Tower HamletsLabour has lost control of Tower Hamlets council in London to the Aspire party, after it won 24 of the 45 seats on the council, with two seats still to be declared.On Friday, Aspire’s Lutfur Rahman defeated Labour incumbent John Biggs to become the elected mayor of Tower Hamlets.It a remarkable turnaround, seven years after Rahman was removed from the same post for multiple breaches of electoral law. He was banned from politics for five years after an electoral commissioner ruled he had “driven a coach and horses through election law”.Joe Middleton7 May 2022 18:431651944962DUP leader says party is doing ‘extremely well’ despite success of Sinn FeinDUP leader says party is doing ‘extremely well’ despite success of Sinn FeinJoe Middleton7 May 2022 18:36 More

A row has erupted over the government’s use of real fur for the military, as critics claimed new tests prove that bear skins are outperformed by a fake fabric which ministers have rejected.The Ministry of Defence has long insisted the artificial skin, called Ecopel, is not a suitable alternative to the fur from slaughtered Canadian black bears used to make Queen’s Guards’ caps.But now tests by a fabric technologist have shown that Ecopel not only performed on a par with bear skins but actually gave better results in several areas, according to Peta.The animal-rights organisation has written to Boris Johnson to outline the test results, which used the MoD’s own five criteria.The independent expert’s tests showed the faux fur was more durable, more comfortable and more sustainable and dries more quickly, Peta says.The fabrics expert, Atom Cianfarani, said: “I believe that the combination of Ecopel, along with a waterproof membrane such as Tyvek, will produce a fast-drying, lightweight cap that will be more comfortable and less toxic for the wearer.”Real bear fur must be treated with toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde to stop it from decomposing.Peta said the tests, conducted at an MoD-accredited laboratory, “conclusively show that Ecopel’s faux bear fur performs in a way very similar to – or better than – real bear fur in all five areas”.It said Ecopel’s offer to supply the MoD with unlimited faux bear fur free of charge until 2030 still stood, despite having been rejected previously.But the government disputes the reading of the results, and has again refused to consider switching away from bear skins despite.The MoD has always said it would stop buying real fur as soon as a “suitable and affordable alternative” became available.The government spent more than £1m on bear fur hats between 2014 and 2019.The letter to the prime minister, seen by The Independent, reads: “A petition in support of Peta’s campaign is fast approaching the threshold for triggering a debate in Parliament, and a growing number of MPs are backing our call for humane ceremonial caps.“Please honour the commitment made in the Queen’s speech last year that the government would ‘ensure the UK has, and promotes, the highest standards of animal welfare’ by acting on the wishes of the British public, which overwhelmingly – with a 75 per cent majority, according to a new Populus opinion poll – opposes the use of taxpayers’ money to fund the pursuits of trophy hunters overseas, and bringing the superior faux fur caps into service.”An Army spokesperson said: “Bears are never hunted to order for the MoD. The iconic bearskin cap is made from bear pelts obtained from licensed culls by the Canadian authorities to manage the wild population.“Ensuring the Guards’ caps remain both practical and smart is vital, and currently there are currently no artificial alternatives available that meet the essential requirements for these ceremonial caps.”The Independent understands that the government advisers insist Ecopel did not meet the standard required to replace bear skins and that it met only one of the five requirements – that of water penetration.As a result, the MoD has again refused to replace its use of bear fur. More

Disgruntled Tory MPs have told Boris Johnson that momentum behind a challenge to his leadership is now “unstoppable” after the Conservatives lost almost 400 councillors and a string of flagship councils. The prime minister admitted the Tories had experienced a “tough night” in London and the south but insisted that the party had made “quite remarkable gains” elsewhere in the country as Keir Starmer’s Labour failed to make a breakthrough in the so-called red wall heartland.Tories were also buoyed by Durham Police’s announcement of an investigation into an alleged breach of Covid regulations by Starmer, which they hope will offset future attacks on Mr Johnson over Partygate.But this did little to settle nerves among MPs in traditionally rock-solid Tory seats in the affluent capital and the southeast, where the party saw Wandsworth, Westminster and Barnet fall to Labour after decades under Tory control – and Woking captured by the Liberal Democrats.Public anger over Downing Street parties was now permanently “baked in” to voters’ views of the prime minister, acting as a drag on the party’s performance across the country, warned Conservative MPs.The Tories lost overall control of John Major’s home council of Huntingdonshire and David Cameron’s West Oxfordshire, as well as Wokingham in Buckinghamshire – long represented in the Commons by John Redwood – as Lib Dems made big inroads into the so-called blue wall, with their overall tally of councillors boosted by more than 180.Celebrating successes that also saw the Lib Dems take Hull from Labour and gain control of new unitary authorities in Westmorland and Somerset, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “The tectonic plates of British politics are shifting. Now it is up to Conservative MPs to shove the prime minister into the abyss.”Mr Starmer said that results in London – as well as Crawley and Southampton, which they snatched from Tories, and Kirklees, Rossendale and Worthing, where they gained overall control – marked a “massive turning point” for Labour, whose overall gains topped 260.But elections guru Sir John Curtice calculated that Sir Keir had performed worse outside the capital than predecessor Jeremy Corbyn did the last time the seats were contested in 2018.Prof Curtice said that the BBC’s projected vote share of 35 per cent for Labour, 30 for Conservatives and 19 for Lib Dems from Thursday’s votes would give the Tories “no prospect of being able to remain in office” after the next general election, and would set the scene for Mr Starmer to enter No 10 propped up by Mr Davey’s party.One Conservative former minister told The Independent that shoring up support in red wall areas cannot compensate for the crumbling of traditional strongholds.“These are the Boris heartlands, but they are not the Tory heartlands,” said the MP, who is mulling a no-confidence letter for the PM. “It’s no good saving the soup if you lose the meal.”Another ex-minister said that it was clear that the party had been gearing up for a leadership contest in recent days, and that the result of the local elections would make no difference to that process.And another said that, while the investigation into Mr Starmer may stave off a challenge to Johnson’s position for some time, it was now “probably a question of when not if”.Veteran backbencher Sir Roger Gale, the first Tory to announce no confidence in Mr Johnson, suggested a challenge could come within as little as three weeks, telling The Independent: “There’s a tide that’s flowing that’s unstoppable. Something has got to happen.”While he avoided meltdown in this week’s election, Mr Johnson faces “danger ahead”, with the prospect of further police fines, the Sue Gray report into Partygate and difficult by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton, all against the backdrop of inflation soaring as high as 10 per cent and “catastrophic” increases in energy bills, said Sir Roger.With the Ukraine conflict now settling down into what could be a lengthy war of attrition, Sir Roger said that he no longer believed the crisis required Tories to hold back from a change of leadership.Some 54 Tory MPs must send a letter of no confidence to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, to trigger a leadership challenge, which requires a majority of MPs to succeed.Prominent backbencher Tobias Ellwood said that it was now time for all of the party’s MPs to confront the question of whether they want Mr Johnson to stay on in the face of evidence that Tories are “haemorrhaging” votes.The former defence minister agreed it was “a huge ask” for Tory MPs to consider dumping a charismatic leader who had won them a big majority in Westminster.But he told the BBC: “It’s now a requirement because the trust has been breached with the British people. And it is the duty of every single Conservative MP to make that assessment and then act accordingly.”Across the country, regional and national Tory leaders blamed Mr Johnson for undermining support for the party locally.In Cumberland, where Labour swept to an overwhelming majority in a council area represented by Tories in Westminster, former Carlisle City Council leader John Mallinson said voters no longer had “confidence that the prime minister can be relied upon to tell the truth”.Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, who saw his party slump from second to third place north of the border, said there was “absolutely no doubt” that voters were sending a message about Partygate.Mr Ross did not restate his earlier call for Johnson to go – which he retracted after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – but warned: “The PM simply can’t ignore the message that’s been sent by voters not just in Scotland but across the UK.”Tory leader in Wales, Andrew RT Davies, blamed the “national picture” for undermining a Welsh Conservative brand that he insisted had been warmly received on the doorstep.One senior Tory backbencher told The Independent it was now “clearly very much in the interests of both Labour and the Liberal Democrats to keep Boris in place”, said the MP. “He is clearly leading us down not up.”And another senior MP said anger and mistrust were now “baked in” into many voters’ views of Mr Johnson.“Once you lose faith in somebody it’s very hard to get it back,” the former minister said. “I think he will get to the autumn. My hunch is the moment of maximum danger for him will be party conference, because there will be a feeling that the dip in the polls is permanent and we’re running out of time to get a new leader before the next election.”One Tory MP in a red wall area said results may not be “catastrophic” enough to see a flurry of no-confidence letters next week, but could persuade some supportive backbenchers to change their minds.“Some MPs in the south will be thinking, ‘Bloody hell – we can’t carry on like this’,” said the backbencher. “It’s clear now some voters will never forget or forgive Partygate. I think the Sue Gray report is still a moment when more MPs get tipped over the edge and will make their minds up with letters.”David Simmonds, whose Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner seat in northwest London borders Mr Johnson’s own constituency, said that the prime minister had serious questions to answer.And he warned that the police investigation into Sir Keir would not take the pressure off the prime minister, because “two wrongs don’t make a right”.Mr Simmonds would not say whether he was considering a letter, but told The Independent: “What people won’t forgive is if we’re seen limping on in government.“If we’ve got bogged down because of the actions of the leader in respect of Partygate, then that needs to change.” More

The Conservatives suffered a “tough night” at the hands of voters in parts of England Boris Johnson has admitted, as a series of flagship councils fell amid public anger over partygate and the cost of living.But while Labour took control of three Tory-led councils in London in the local elections the party struggled to make a similar impact in other areas of the country.There was cause for joy for the Liberal Democrats who made significant gains, winning more than 175 new council seats.Among the key Tory councils to fall was Wandsworth in London – reputedly Margaret Thatcher’s favourite – as well as Westminster, Tory since it was created in 1964. Mr Johnson insisted that across the country the picture was mixed. But with most councils in England declared the Conservatives had lost more than 300 seats, Labour had gained 50 and the Lib Dems more than 190The results led to warnings from Conservative MPs that a leadership challenge against Mr Johnson, whose behaviour during the partygate scandal was a major issue on the doorsteps, was inevitable.While the party could point to gaining Harrow council in London, it lost Castle Point, Gosport, Huntingdonshire, Maidstone, West Oxfordshire and Worcester.Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer declared the results as a major “turning point” for his party.As well as in London, his party took councils including Cumberland, Kirklees, Rossendale, Southampton, and Worthing.The Lib Dems, meanwhile, won control of councils in Somerset, Westmorland and Furness and Kingston-upon-Hull.The Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey predicted his party would take “Blue Wall” constituencies from Tory MPs at the next general election, as he declared the party was “winning across the country again”. The term ‘blue wall’ signifies Tory held seats mainly in the south of England and is a riff on the ‘red wall’ of seats further north that the Conservatives won from Labour at the last general election.Tory MPs are increasing worried about the security of ‘blue wall’ seats and a resurgence in support for the Lib Dems across the south and south west, following a disastrous showing for Sir Ed’s party in 2019.North of the border the Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, who saw his party slip from second to third place behind the SNP and Labour, said he was in “absolutely no doubt” that voters were sending a message to the government over partygate. The SNP topped the poll in Scotland, while former leader Alex Salmond’s Alba party failed to secure any council seats.The Conservative leader in Wales, Andrew RT Davies, also blamed the “national picture” for undermining a Welsh Conservative brand, which has been resurgent in recent years, with voters. In Northern Ireland Sinn Fein look on course to create history as the first nationalist party to top the polls and win the right to nominate a first minister. Opposition from the unionist DUP, however, looks set to plunge Northern Irish politics into a stalemate, potentially lasting many months, yet again. More

Boris Johnson’s premiership has come under increased pressure after the Conservatives lost more than 300 councillors in Thursday’s local elections.In a bad set of results for the Tories, they failed to retain some of their London strongholds, including the boroughs of Wandsworth and Westminster, which were won by Labour, putting an end to decades of Conservative rule.As the scale of its losses became apparent on Friday, Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood said his party had “serious issues” and was “haemorrhaging support in parts of the country”.Meanwhile, Tory backbencher Roger Gale called on Mr Johnson to go. He had previously said the prime minister should remain in office because of the geopolitical challenges presented by the war in Ukraine.As well as facing criticism from some of his MPs, Mr Johnson was blamed by local Tory campaigners, who suggested that scandals such as Partygate had tarnished their campaigns.The prime minister, however, attempted to downplay his party’s losses during a visit to his constituency on Friday morning.“We had a tough night in some parts of the country,” he admitted, before claiming that the Tories had made some “quite remarkable gains” elsewhere.However, the BBC projected that, based on Friday’s results, Labour would win 291 seats if a general election were held now, compared to 253 for the Conservatives.Although this would still leave Labour without a majority, it signals a large reversal in fortunes from the 2019 general election, when the Tories gained a large majority.Opposition parties celebrated their gains in the local elections, with Labour’s Keir Starmer describing the results as a “turning point”, while the Liberal Democrats’ Ed Davey said they would send an “almighty shockwave” through British politics.With almost all councils now declared, here are the five biggest moments from Thursday’s local elections:Westminster City Council turns redSince its creation in 1964, Westminster City Council had, until this week, always been controlled by the Conservatives.Labour’s remarkable victory here came just two hours after the Tories lost Wandsworth, Margaret Thatcher’s favourite council, which they her party had run since 1978.The Conservatives also lost Barnet, with its former council leader saying the defeat should be seen by the government as a “warning shot”. Jonathan Carr-West, the chief executive of the Local Government information Unit (LGiU), said the loss of Barnet, Wandsworth and Westminster councils had dealt a “big blow” to Conservative morale.Labour flips Wandsworth CouncilIn one of its biggest victories in this year’s local elections, Labour managed to seize control of Wandsworth Council, a Tory stronghold for the last 44 years.Leading Labour figures including Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, celebrated the historic win on Friday.“Boris Johnson losing Wandsworth is monumental. This was the Tories’ jewel in the crown,” one Labour source said. More

Sinn Fein is on course for its best ever result in a Northern Ireland Assembly election after receiving the most first-preference votes.With counting for the 90 Stormont seats continuing late into Friday the republican party had won 16 seats, well ahead of the Alliance on four and the DUP and UUP on three.Sinn Fein received 250,388 first preferences, compared with the 184,002 returned for the DUP and 116,681 for the Alliance Party.The party’s vice president Michelle O’Neill was elected on the first count in Mid Ulster, with Alliance leader Naomi Long topping the poll in East Belfast. More