Election Battlegrounds 9) London

All three parties have a middling band of targets – what leaps out is how so many Cameron-era gains now seem out of the Tories’ reach.

Sunder Katwala: Childcare, not Kashmir. Neither Narendra Modi nor Imran Khan are candidates in this election.

Treat claims of a communalist election with suspicion. The evidence suggests that ethnic minority voters prioritise domestic issues over foreign policy ones.

Melanie Hampton: It’s the small things that provide satisfaction in being a councillor

You may smile; how can this woman take such pride in providing a bin at a bus stop? Well, she does.

The Australian Liberals know who their target voters are. The Conservatives don’t seem to have a clue.

Amidst the gathering leadership election debate, there is a lack of focus on who such voters are and where they live.

Round-up of new Conservative candidates selected in target seats, from Darlington to Plymouth

Also including: Twickenham, Battersea, Croydon Central, Kingston and Surbiton, and Dewsbury.

Selection news: Peterborough shortlist revealed, and the first London seats open for candidate applications

Plus: the postponed selection processes in Darlington and Wirral West have been restarted. And: Ryan Henson selected in Bedford.

Nick Hargrave: Yes, I compiled an attack dossier on Johnson. But at best, there’s a real purpose to opposition research.

It works best when painting a substantive contrast on issues that voters care about. And here are four strategic choices for the Conservatives.

Syed Kamall: The electoral disaster that will engulf our Party if we don’t boost our ethnic minority support

Once a seat reaches 30 per cent BME population, it goes Labour. In 2010, this applied to 75 seats. By 2022, it could apply to around 120 seats.

A lesson from Lewisham East?

Brexit poses a values and voting challenge for both the main parties. It may be even bigger for Labour than for the Conservatives.

Robert Halfon: Last week’s elections blazed a trail for fusing workers’ and metropolitan conservatism

The Conservative Government is also going to have to get back to its DNA – cutting taxes. Reductions for those on incomes below £45,000 would send a powerful signal.

Lord Ashcroft: Capital Punishment? The Conservatives and the 2018 London elections

Key voters include those who voted heavily to remain in the EU, and were decisive in the lost Tory seats of Battersea, Kensington, Kingston and Twickenham.

Lord Ashcroft: “There are more rainy days than sunny days.” My New Year focus groups.

People did not feel committed to their current party. The next election was, they hoped, a long way away, by which time much could have changed.

Matthew Offord: Enough sychophants. Enough time-servers. Enough of this CCHQ farce. Why I am standing for the Party Board.

Many of us were denied access to VoteSource, literature and printing resources – and we all had to wait for ever for CCHQ to ‘approve’ any and every statement printed.

Battlegrounds Revisited 5) London

Both parties hammered the Lib Dems as a clutch of very slender victories gave Labour their point of light on election night.

Lord Ashcroft: My final round of marginals polling

The last ten surveys contain mixed news for all parties and some noteworthy results.