Markus Andrews

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorSir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is set to win 410 seats in parliament, just shy of Tony Blair’s 418-seat landslide nearly 30 years ago, according to an exit poll.If the poll is accurate, Sir Keir will have led his party to victory with a 170-seat majority, pushing the Conservatives back to only 131 seats.The result will almost certainly lead to a series of high-profile Conservatives losing their seats as results come in in the early hours.Follow live updatesThe Liberal Democrats are forecast to win 61 seats, with Reform UK on 13, the Green Party on 2, the SNP on 10 and Plaid Cymru on 4.So how does Labour’s position on the exit poll compare with New Labour’s election victory in 1997? The Independent takes a look below.Former prime minister Tony Blair won a landslide election victory in 1997 with a huge 179-seat majority More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorElection night is here, so get ready for a series of exciting twists, turns and upsets.Most of the results should be declared by about 6.30am on Friday — and as the seat declarations start to trickle in, I’ll be here to answer your burning questions on the biggest shocks and surprises; what the outcomes signify; and how the results will shape the future of British politics.Throughout the night, we may be treated to several “Portillo moments” – when big-beast cabinet members have their majorities overturned, as in 1997 when former Tory leadership contender Michael Portillo lost Enfield Southgate to Labour’s unknown candidate Stephen Twigg.We could see several high-profile ministers lose their seats in quick succession. Among those most at risk are the chancellor Jeremy Hunt, in Godalming and Ash, Penny Mordaunt in Portsmouth North, and possibly Gillian Keegan, who could lose her Chichester seat to the Lib Dems or even Labour.At around 4am we should hear from Clacton and Richmond and Northallerton, where Nigel Farage and Rishi Sunak are standing respectively. If Sunak loses, this would be the biggest Portillo moment of them all: the first time a sitting prime minister is deposed in their own seat. However, only one MRP poll, from Savanta, predicts that he will lose.Once the bigger picture is formed, it will be time for the comings and goings on Downing Street. If the result is as expected, Sunak will leave No 10, and Starmer will arrive by lunchtime. A new cabinet will be appointed within a few hours in the early afternoon.If you’re following along with election night and have a question on the results submit it below as I join you at midnight for this special “Ask Me Anything” event. I am hoping to keep answering your questions through the night and on Friday morning. Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article.Scroll down or click here to leave your comment.If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question. For a full guide on how to comment click here. More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorViewers who tuned into Channel 4’s general election coverage have described Nadine Dorries’ interactions with panelists as the “moment of the night”. Ms Dorries branded former Tony Blair spin doctor Alastair Campbell “sexist” after he told her she needs to  “get over” Boris Johnson. The fiery clash began when the panel were discussing who was responsible for the Conservative Party’s historic defeat. Mr Campbell told the former culture secretary, who is one of Mr Johnson’s most outspoken supporters, she needs “get over” the former prime minister. Follow our blog for live updatesMs Dorries responded: “Actually I find that to be quite a sexist comment!”Mr Campbell replied: “It really isn’t, you seem to think Boris Johnson is still an electoral asset. Rishi Sunak wheeling him out on the eve of the election was one of his many mistakes.”In a separate interaction, Ms Dorries revealed she received a text from Mr Johnson but refused to divulge his thoughts. She then tried to shift the focus when asked if Mr Johnson was “watching you on Channel 4”, asking, “why don’t you talk to Alistair about Tony Blair?”Moments later Emily Maitlis, who is hosting the Channel 4 general election coverage alongside Krishnan Guru-Murthy, appeared to struggle not to roll her eyes at one of Ms Dorries’ answers. One viewer said on X: “I’ve got #channel4 and #BBC on at the same time and I’m sorry but our Nads getting ripped into by Alistair Campbell is brilliant.”Another said: “20 minutes into C4’s coverage and Alistair Campbell is telling Nadine Dorries to get over Boris Johnson & she’s accused him of making a sexist comment, long night ahead.”Other viewers were not as impressed by the clashes. One posted on X: “Get rid of her. Totally ruining your coverage. We’re not watching to watch her constantly argue with people”Another viewer added: “She’s constantly talking over others and not saying anything of substance. Cant stand her!”This comes as Labour is on course for one of the biggest Commons majorities in history with the official exit poll pointing to a crushing defeat for the Tories.Sir Keir Starmer’s party is expected to win 410 seats while Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives are set to fall to 131 seats, down from 365 five years ago when Boris Johnson secured a 80-seat majority. More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorWatch live as vote counters in the North East race to declare the first result of the UK general election on Thursday (4 July).Vote counters are set to start their long-standing tradition of racing to declare the first result at 11pm.Ballot-counting rivals as well as football rivals, Sunderland and Newcastle have competed against each other for first place since Sunderland won in 1992.It held onto this title until Newcastle beat them in 2017 and again in 2019.But a changing of constituency boundaries means Newcastle will be recieving ballot boxes from neighbouring wards in North Tyneside for this general election, which is likely to cause delays and put them outside the usual 90-minute time frame.The city council has declared that their priority will be accuracy rather than speed, meaning a third contender, Blyth and Ashington, has a shot at being the first constituency to declare their next MP. More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorThe former prime minister Theresa May has been given a peerage while the former environment secretary Therese Coffey has been handed a damehood in the dissolution honours list.Ms May, the former MP for Maidenhead, was nominated for a peerage by Rishi Sunak as No 10 made the surprise decision to announce the list on Thursday evening, less than an hour before the election polls closed.The former PM stood down at the general election after a career spanning 27 years in parliament. Announcing her decision to step back from politics, Ms May told the Maidenhead Advertiser she had taken the decision to “focus on causes close to her heart”, including her work on the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.Meanwhile, Alister Jack, the Scottish secretary, who admitted to placing three bets on the date of the general election, was given a knighthood. You can follow our liveblog here where we will update you on the election results seat by seat as they come inMr Jack revealed that he had placed three bets on the date of the election – one of which was successful – as the row over election betting engulfed the Tory party campaign. He made it clear that he had not breached any rules and was not being investigated by the Gambling Commission.Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has been awarded a knighthood More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorA bombshell exit poll has offered the first clue on how election night could unfold – and it looks like bad news for Rishi Sunak.A joint exit poll from the BBC, ITV and Sky News has predicted Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party will clinch a huge victory, predicting that Labour will win 410 seats, Tories 131, Lib Dems 61, Reform 13 and SNP 10.It is a stunning reversal in fortunes since the Tories won an 80-seat majority under Boris Johnson just under five years ago, in what was also Labour’s worst election result since 1935.At each of the past few elections, the exit poll has produced a very accurate projection of the actual result. At the last general election, in December 2019, the exit poll slightly overestimated the Conservatives’ win by three seats. It underestimated them by four seats in 2017, and by 15 seats in 2015. In 2005 and in 2010, the exit poll got the number of the leading party’s seats exactly right, first Labour and then the Conservatives.As counting begins at venues across the UK for all 650 seats, we want to know what you think. Do you agree with the exit polls? Or do you think there are still some shocks and surprises in store overnight? Share your election result predictions by adding them in the comments — we’ll highlight the most insightful ones as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details — then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Join the conversation with other Independent readers below. More

Women and men have often had different ideas when it comes to voting in elections.In the 2019 general election, the British Election study found one of the biggest gender gaps in party support in modern British history, with more men voting Conservative and more women voting Labour.But what about now? The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian dives into the numbers.A recent YouGov polling shows that the gender gap among Labour and Tory voters in this election is shrinking — but the real divide comes for Reform voters.The latest polls, released just yesterday (3 July), showed that 40 per cent of women were planning to vote Labour, compared to 38 per cent of men. It’s the same similarity for Conservative voters, with 23 per cent support among women, and 21 per cent men. More

Support trulyindependent journalismFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorA woman said to be affiliated with George Galloway’s Workers Party was allegedly assaulted outside a polling station in Rochdale.Greater Manchester Police said officers were called to reports of an assault on Victoria Street, in the town of Littleborough, just before 11.30am on Thursday as voters headed to cast their ballots in the general election.The force said in a statement: “A woman was assaulted by a male. No injuries were reported and no arrests have been made.”The Littleborough United Reformed Church, situated on Victoria Street, is being used as a polling station.Mr Galloway, the seven-time MP who is standing to retain the Rochdale seat he won in a February by-election, alleged: “Our female polling station attendant in Littleborough has just been brutally assaulted outside the polling station where no officer was in attendance.”The assault took place on Victoria Street, Greater Manchester Police said More