Conservative candidates selected for Colne Valley and Portsmouth South

Both have chosen people with previous experience of their constituencies, which will stand them in good stead in the event of an early election.

Farage’s latest row with the BBC suits both sides

Marr’s interview has shaped the news agenda whilst the Brexit Party leader has another opportunity to burnish his outsider status.

Where does the Liberal Democrat revival leave Change UK’s cursed campaign?

A lethal combination of strategic incoherence and operational incompetence has seen the Remain wave pass the would-be mould-breakers by.

Promotions for Frazer and Murrison as May fills out her Government

The new Solicitor General and FCO/DfID minister are both sensible choices, which might say more about the Prime Minister’s position than her judgement.

Henry Hill: Davidson rejects calls to split Tories as she sets out campaign vision

Also: Mercer resigns over Government’s handling of historical allegations against veterans; and Welsh health minister fends off no-confidence vote after latest scandal.

Local elections 4) The minor parties: Greens surge, UKIP collapse, localists and independents thrive

Could the absence of the Brexit Party explain in part the enormous increase in the number of ‘Others’ being returned?

Henry Hill: Davidson demands May’s successor rules out another Scottish independence referendum

Also: Ministry of Defence and Northern Irish Office clash over protecting ex-servicemen and police; and another bad week for Scottish Labour.

The loss of May’s fracking tsar illustrates a decaying will to govern

The Government’s combination of pro-shale rhetoric and highly restrictive regulation could almost be calculated to please nobody.

Henry Hill: Caught between her activists and the voters, Sturgeon plays for time on independence

Also: Will Lyra McKee’s murder in Londonderry be enough to re-start the political process in Northern Ireland? It doesn’t seem likely.

Henry Hill: Hunt urges May to repair relations with DUP as leadership hopefuls woo Ulster allies

Also: Dugdale wins lawsuit against cybernat blogger; devolution row as English hospitals shut out Welsh patients over funding; and a week in SNP bad news.

Henry Hill: Support for independence slumps in latest Scottish polling

Also: Dublin urged to ‘come clean’ over support for IRA during the Troubles; Welsh tax powers come into force; and Salmond inquiry tells Sturgeon not to destroy evidence.

Has May just delivered the coup de grâce to any imminent hope of reviving Stormont?

If she insists on a functioning Assembly before a no-deal Brexit, why on earth would Sinn Fein oblige her?

Recap 2) The forty members of the payroll the Prime Minister has lost since the 2017 election

Some have stepped down due to scandal or ill-health, but the overwhelming majority are down to policy disagreements with the Government.

Recap 1) Nineteen posts vacant as May struggles to staff her Government

It is a telling sign that several PPS positions – usually the first step on the ladder for ambitious MPs – have gone unfilled since November.

Henry Hill: DUP attack decision to ‘contract out’ Brexit to Corbyn

Also: May cites absurd fears about ‘direct rule’ to justify abandonment of No Deal; Tory rebels wooed separatist votes; and polls open in Newport West.