Labour is playing down its chances of winning the Tees Valley or West Midland mayoralties.

A shadow cabinet minister tells me Houchen and Street will likely hang on, but adds that those Tory mayors have distanced themselves from the Conservatives practically run as independents.

Labour leader Keir Starmer says there is more work to do for his party, but results overnight are a clear message to Rishi Sunak that people have had enough and want change.
#GMB

Heavy weather for Rishi Sunak in the local election results over night.

Big losses for the Conservatives, including a huge 26% swing in the Blackpool South by-election.

The actual weather isn’t much better on Downing Street this morning.

Good Morning Britain Louisa James

🗳️A huge helping of politics on Good Morning Britain tomorrow, with the latest local election results.

🔥Rt Hon Nadine Dorries Margaret Hodge 🤓Colin Rallings Iain Dale ⚒️🇺🇦.🇮🇱.🇬🇪 Jacqui Smith
🔵Richard Holden MP
🌹Pat McFadden
🟨Daisy Cooper MP 🔶

🫠Alarm is set for 3am, so I can go stand in the rain ☔️
📺 Glamour!

Boris classic from 2004:
“If I am ever asked…to produce my ID card as evidence that I am who I say I am…then I will take that card out of my wallet and physically eat it in the presence of whatever emanation of the state has demanded that I produce it.”

telegraph.co.uk/comment/361311…

Embarrassing for Sunak.

Though Poulter won’t stand again, is there much value for Labour in welcoming a Tory austerity-era former minister to their benches?

Starmer talks of ‘today’s changed Labour Party’. But is welcoming ex-Tory MPs the change Labour supporters want to see?

NEW: I delved into the strange world of political dining clubs, and how current donor rules allow them to hide the identity of party donors

Many of these clubs offer access to ministers as a perk of the membership fee - thread below 🧵
inews.co.uk/news/politics/…

GMB looked into hospital car parking in England and found
*279,710 parking tickets were issued in 2023 at 62 English trusts
*54,697 of them were appealed
*35,620, one in 8 of all tickets, were overturned
*Parking charge notices are normally £60/ £70, reduced if paid early

Dear, Youth Demand...

Here's how to register to vote
gov.uk/register-to-vo…

Another brutal poll for the Tories to dwell on over recess.

Huge YouGov MRP projects 403 seats for Lab - maj of 154.

Cons on 155, over 200 fewer seats than 2019 – a worse result than 97.
But that's 57 more Tory seats than a similar Survation/Times poll at the weekend projected.

Another Tory MP is standing down as an MP ahead of the next election...

Education minister Robert Halfon becomes the 63rd ... but there are also current independents, who were elected Conservative, also calling time.

Halfon had a majority over 14K at the 2019 election...

They think it’s all over?

EXC via ⁦Alex Wickham⁩ & me

- Tax cuts in Sept ahead of Oct / Nov election

- Early suggestions include a significant reduction in income tax, slashing stamp duty and council tax cuts that could mean those on the lowest income don’t pay bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

I imagine the journalist writing this had some fun adding these lines to their copy news.sky.com/story/shocking…

A visual metaphor?

'There won't be an election on that day'

Rishi Sunak confirms there won't be an election on 2 May

Keir Starmer approached Diane Abbott, conversation overhead went like this:

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do”

“You could restore the whip”

“I understand just let me know if there’s anything..”

“Restore the whip”

“I understand”

👀 “Zero tolerance on racism is just a slogan”, says government minister…

EXCL: Keir Starmer wants to legalise assisted dying in the next parliament.

ITV News filmed a phone call between the Labour leader and campaigner Esther Rantzen, in which he insisted a vote on assisted suicide cannot wait any longer.

Big moment.

itv.com/news/2024-03-1…