Midnight ToryDiary: BORIS HAS WON THE LONDON MAYORAL ELECTION
10.15pm ToryDiary: Boris and Ken headed for a recount? 11.47pm The action has started…
7.15pm WATCH: George Galloway: "Labour's complacent arrogance" has led to "this sorry pass they find themselves in"
6pm Andrew Murrison MP on Comment: Cristina Kirchner's shameful insult to Britain's war dead
4.15pm MPsETC: Conservative MPs react to the local election results - Update – Stewart Jackson MP says: "David Cameron is on notice that he does need to raise his game."
3.15pm ToryDiary: How the commentators are reacting to the local election results
2.45pm WATCH:
- Alex Salmond: "We did incredibly well in 2007, amazingly it looks like we'll do even better in 2012"
- William Hague: Argentina misusing the Olympics "for political purposes isn't going to go down well anywhere"
1.45pm Dominique Lazanski on Comment: Britain can't afford to filter content online at home, whilst promoting an open internet policy abroad
1.30pm WATCH:
- David Cameron: "These are difficult times, and there aren't easy answers", but we'll continue deficit reduction
- Nigel Farage: "Our share of the vote is going up, and up, and up, very steadily and very surely"
Noon MPsETC: Conservative MPs react to the local election results
11.15am Local government: UKIP key to Labour victories in Dudley and Thurrock
10.30am WATCH:
- Ed Miliband: Labour have "work to do to convince those who didn't vote for us that we can change Britain for them"
- Nick Clegg: "It's been a disappointing and difficult night for the Liberal Democrats"
ToryDiary: Six immediate reactions to the election results
ToryDiary: David Cameron should follow Lord Mandelson's lead and give the British people a vote on Europe
Harry Phibbs on Local government: "It is disappointing that the Conservatives have not made the sort of compensatory gains from the Lib Dems we saw last year. Indeed in Portsmouth and Cheltenham rather than the Conservatives gaining power from the Lib Dems we lost seats to them. However the Conservatives gained control of Winchester."
Local government: UKIP boost Labour gains
LeftWatch: Ed Miliband can't even win in Labour's old heartlands
WATCH: Sayeeda Warsi attempts to link the BNP and UKIP during the BBC's election night programme
WATCH: Tim Montgomerie warns that a large UKIP vote could cost the Tories victory at the next election
Some non-election related features:
Lord Ashcroft on Comment: Opinion polling helps remind politicians of what matters to the voters
Labour are eight points ahead of the Tories according to the BBC's projected share of the national vote after local elections in England and Wales – BBC
Sky projects Labour Commons majority of 86 based on last night's results
"In a symbolic gain Labour wrested control of Birmingham, Britain's second largest city, from a Conservative-Liberal Democrat administration early on Friday. Labour also regained control of Great Yarmouth and Harlow from the Tories… Labour also won back control of Thurrock, Exeter, Wirral, Chorley and Nuneaton and Bedworth. There were signs that the party was on course to gain control of Southampton, allowing the party to say it is tackling the "southern discomfort" that helped keep Labour out of power nationally between 1979 and 1997." – Guardian
- BBC's Nick Robinson: "Victories in the South, in the East and in the Midlands will allow Ed Miliband to claim that his party is on its way back as a credible challenger for power. His leadership – questioned just a few weeks ago – will be secure."
Labour set to gain 700 seats amid voter backlash Tories lose a third of their councillors and Lib Dems HALF – Daily Mail
UKIP is averaging 13% of the vote in English and Welsh wards it fought, five points higher than a year ago – BBC
John Redwood: "UKIP’s intervention in local elections has been no more successful than its involvement in General Elections, in bringing out this natural majory they claim to be there. Instead, they target Eurosceptic Conservatives, seek to split the vote, and so damage the cause they claim to believe in."
David Cameron's plans to replace local council cabinets with directly elected mayors have been rejected by voters in Manchester, Nottingham and Coventry – BBC
- Ministers could defy results of the referendum over regional majors and bring a 'Boris' to every city – Daily Mail
Win or lose in London's mayoral elections, Boris Johnson’s vivacious brand of Conservatism will now set the agenda – Fraser Nelson in The Telegraph
"Mr Johnson may just have won in a city that leans heavily towards Labour. And he will have won in the middle of a recession and the wider “omnishambles”. Just three months ago it was almost fanciful to imagine Boris as a future leader. The chance is still small. But he is the one senior Conservative who simultaneously appeals to core Tory voters and to a large proportion of Labour supporters." – Tim Montgomerie in The Times (£)
- "Boris Johnson plans to seek a return to the Commons at the 2015 general election, a move which could see him emerge as the front-runner to succeed David Cameron as Conservative Party leader." – Independent
Tory MPs to launch alternative Queen's Speech on ConservativeHome
"Unhappy Conservative MPs plan to challenge David Cameron with an “Alternative Queen’s Speech” next week as he faces growing internal criticism of his leadership. Tories with grievances over policy and complaints about the competence of No 10 plan to speak out after “biting their tongues” during the local and mayoral election campaigns. Tim Montgomerie, founding editor of the ConservativeHome website, said the Prime Minister was acting like Napoleon and urged an overhaul of the No 10 machine." – Times (£)
Government relaunch at risk of being overshadowed by Leveson
"Rebekah Brooks, the former chief executive of News International, will give evidence for a full day to the Leveson inquiry next week. Andy Coulson, David Cameron’s former communications director, will also give evidence under oath, speaking in public for the first time since he was arrested last July on suspicion of phone hacking and corrupt payments to public officials. The questioning on consecutive days of the two witnesses, both of whom are former News of the World editors, is expected to focus on communications between News International and the Conservative Party." – Times (£)
David Cameron is preparing for his appearance before the Leveson Inquiry later this month by receiving personal legal tutoring from a small group of leading lawyers – Belfast Telegraph
- Jeremy Hunt has admitted he failed to declare thousands of pounds worth of donations from companies in sectors for which he has ministerial responsibility – Telegraph
PM steps in to 'safeguard children' by saying Government will discuss 'opt in' on internet porn – The Sun
"The introduction of web filters to make adults who want to view pornography ‘opt in’ is to be considered by the Government. David Cameron has intervened to insist a default block on porn, deactivated only when users make an active choice to have it switched off, is put back on the table. Today he will announce a consultation on whether to introduce automatic filters, or a less stringent system which would mean people would have to make an ‘active choice’ on whether or not to view explicit sites when they sign up with an internet service provider." – Daily Mail
"Prisoners can be turned into loyal employees by making them learn trades with businesses such as Marks and Spencer, according to the justice secretary Ken Clarke." – Metro
Philip Hammond says British households that borrowed too much money must “accept responsibility” for their role in the current economic troubles – Telegraph
Telegraph urges Cameron to introduce new anti-strikes legislation
"Instead of wasting their time on a constitutional boondoggle that is of no interest or benefit to the voters, ministers should instead bring forth legislation to ensure that any strike ballot must have a turnout of at least 50 per cent to be valid. Otherwise, an irreconcilable rump will continue to hold the rest of us to ransom." – Telegraph leader
It's green growth or nothing – Chris Huhne says high energy prices are here to stay and resource-frugality is our only hope for a sustainable future – Guardian
Lord Mandelson: Britain must hold an “in or out” referendum on the EU
"The pro-European will say: “I believe a referendum on this will be necessary because parties can’t reconcile their own differences and come to a final conclusion. A referendum would be a healthy means of re-establishing a consensus among Britons about Britain’s place in the world and role Europe should play in that.”" – The Sun
- Lords will warn that Tobin Tax could penalise Britain by £21 billion – Express
- "Germany must spend more on defence to fill the gap left by cuts in US spending, say peers. The House of Lords EU committee has called for the bloc to spend more on its armed forces, saying the US focus on the Asia-Pacific region should act as a “wake-up call” to member states." – FT (£)
Politicians work harder than ever, but deciding what they are worth would be much easier in a less divided country – Polly Toynbee in The Guardian
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