Sam Hall: Conservative lessons from Houchen and Street about how to respond to the Greens

By uniting behind Johnson’s plan, and replicating the approach of these two mayors, the the environment can become a winning issue for the party.

Liam Fox: Labour’s choice – adapt or die

It despises the very values of patriotism and economic self-improvement that made people like my grandparents vote for them.

WATCH: We need to go from “jabs, jabs, jabs to jobs, jobs, jobs”, says Johnson in Hartlepool

The election has shown “people want a party and government that is focussed on them”, the Prime Minister tells Sky News.

WATCH: “I’d like to thank all the people of this great town” – Jill Mortimer’s victory speech in Hartlepool

“I’m also immensely proud to be the first Conservative MP in Hartlepool in 57 years” and “the first woman ever to be elected as MP for this town.”

Amanda Milling: Let’s keep our campaigning going during these last few days

It’s your efforts on the doorstep and phone that will help us to deliver more local Conservatives with a proven track record of delivering good local services.

Sorry, Matthew, but there’s a Centre Party already – Johnson’s Conservatives

The centre isn’t where he or ConservativeHome or anyone else wants it to be. It’s where it is – “Far From Notting Hill”.

Richard Holden: The Stockton South Test – and four others for Starmer, as the run-in for next week’s elections gathers pace

Will it be: Keir On Course, So-So Starmer…or a Knightmare for the Labour Party in Hartlepool – and elsewhere?

Gavin Rice: The Conservative campaign in Hartlepool kicks off today. But will Johnson deliver for his new working class voters?

The calling-in of a planning application to open a coalmine at Whitehaven suggests prioritising green optics over Northern livelihoods.

The Budget. Sunak’s strong message that operation “level up” is under way.

The Government got “Brexit done” – and now wants to deliver on its pledge to spread “opportunity across the whole United Kingdom”.

Ben Houchen: The Budget. On Wednesday, Sunak must hear the voice of the North – and kickstart a new era of job creation.

The “Red Wall” communities in my area overwhelmingly backed Johnson in the last election, and it’s essential that the faith they put in him is returned.

Michelle Donelan: The Government’s new Turing scheme will open up the world to British students

The decision not to continue participation in the EU’s Erasmus+ scheme has caused outrage. But it’s time for Global Britain to branch out.

Neil O’Brien: So you want to level up. In what way? And how will you do it?

Measuring people’s incomes needs to be part of measuring progress – but we need to be careful, because different measures give different results.

Election Battlegrounds 5) The North East

This region contains a string of those ‘Labour Leave’ seats which are central to the Tory strategy – but will the Brexit Party trip them up?

Local elections 2) The contest with Labour. A mixed bag for the Opposition to the very end. They gain Gravesham.

They’ll bank what good news they can get, but net losses of councillors and authorities is not what they had hoped for.

Richard Salt: If Conservatives want to win the next election, we must Think North

As so many elections have shown in the past, both the main parties only win elections when they move into the centre.