Voters

YouGov survey shows cross-party consensus – but that many fear abortion access could be reduced New polling has found that whatever their party political leanings, an overwhelming majority of people support the right to access an abortion – although young people, in particular, fear reproductive rights may be reduced.The YouGov polling, commissioned by MSI Reproductive Choices to mark its 50th anniversary, found nine in 10 people support the right to access an abortion. Continue reading...

Governor called referendum after president urged GOP-led states to redraw maps to protect House majorityVoters in Virginia on Tuesday approved new congressional maps intended to boost Democrats’ chances of retaking the House of Representatives, in the latest blow to Donald Trump’s effort to use mid-decade redistricting to preserve his control of Congress.The tit-for-tat redistricting battle began last year after Trump pressed Texas’s Republican-controlled legislature to redraw that state’s congressional maps in a bid to oust as many as five Democratic House lawmakers in the November midterm elections. Continue reading...

With a reshuffled cabinet, the premier is hoping to quell leadership rumblings as her party seeks an unprecedented fourth termGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAs the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, stood alongside the fresh faces in her reshuffled cabinet on Wednesday, she attempted to send her increasingly jaded electorate a blunt message: despite its 12 years in power, her government is – apparently – new.In her opening four-minute preamble to reporters, Allan - whose Labor government will in November seek an unprecedented fourth term - repeated the word 17 times. In one sentence alone, she referred to her “new cabinet”, “new portfolios”, “new solutions” and “new areas that are going to drive this government forward”.Benita Kolovos is Guardian Australia’s Victorian state correspondent Continue reading...

Bipartisan backing for special relationship is fraying as Middle East conflicts turn public opinionIsrael’s conflicts in the Middle East have driven a sea change in US public opinion, threatening a bipartisan consensus of support for military aid for Israel that has been the status quo for decades.In public opinion polling of Americans, among likely candidates for president, and even in pro-Israel lobbying circles, the special relationship enjoyed by Israel with the US is now under fire as human rights concerns from the left and a new “America First” foreign policy groundswell on the right could impact coming elections – including the 2028 presidential elections. Continue reading...

Leaders of Poland and Germany hail Péter Magyar’s majority as a turning of the tide – but analysts say there were other reasons for defeat of prime ministerFor Poland’s Donald Tusk, the crushing defeat of Hungary’s illiberal prime minister, Viktor Orbán, after 16 years in office was evidence that the world was “not condemned to authoritarian and corrupt governments”.Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, also believes the two-thirds majority secured by Orbán’s centre-right challenger, Péter Magyar, in Sunday’s elections was “a clear signal against rightwing populism” that showed “the pendulum is swinging back”. Continue reading...

Scottish Labour leader pledges more homes and tax cuts as party tries to reverse slump in support before May electionsUK politics live – latest updatesAnas Sarwar has appealed to voters to give Labour five years “to fix the Scottish National party’s mess” as he pledged more homes, tax cuts and a smaller public sector.The Scottish Labour leader is fighting a last-ditch attempt to reverse a steep slump in support. Recent polls put Sarwar’s party third or fourth behind Reform and the Scottish Greens, dragged down by the UK government’s unpopularity. Continue reading...

Prime minister has been trailing in the polls to Péter Magyar in race that could have repercussions for Europe, the US and RussiaHello from Budapest where Hungarians are voting in a closely contested election that could oust Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power and potentially reshape the central European country’s relations with the EU, Moscow and Washington.Pre-election day polls appeared to suggest that Péter Magyar of the centre-right Tisza party could be on course to win the election, ending Orbán’s era, much criticised for weakening the rule of law and civil liberties, and raising hopes of a more pro-European government in Budapest. Continue reading...

Campaigning in Newcastle before next month’s local elections shows the rise of the far right, the climate and cost of living are concerning voters as much as the Middle EastMohammed Suleman, a self-described “straight-talking Geordie”, doesn’t love politics. The taxi driver and businessman prefers to focus on community initiatives. But when the time came, he voted Labour as the lesser of two evils.Then came the war in Gaza. Continue reading...

Thinktank says algorithms are fuelling isolation and division after analysing posts shown to social media usersReform UK voters are the least likely to see posts from friends and family on social media and most likely to see content from brands and news organisations, a study has found.The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank said algorithms were fuelling isolation and division after its research analysing users’ feeds on Instagram, Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok found that only 13% of Reform UK voters saw content from someone they knew, compared with 23% of Green party voters. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Survey published days before election in which anti-EU Viktor Orbán risks being ousted after 16 yearsEurope live – latest updatesHungary elections: what is at stake and who is likely to win?After years of relentless EU-bashing by their nationalist, illiberal prime minister, an overwhelming majority of Hungary’s voters back its membership of the bloc, and most – including many of Viktor Orbán’s voters – now want a new approach to Brussels.Days before elections at which Orbán, who has consistently painted the EU as an enemy of the Hungarian people, risks being ousted after 16 years in power, a poll has shown a huge appetite for a recalibration of the country’s relations with the bloc. Continue reading...

The new head of the Greens Institute will organise thousands of volunteers for a major survey of economic and social life around AustraliaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMax Chandler-Mather says the Greens can use “progressive economic populism” to win over Australians deserting the major parties for One Nation as the firebrand former MP accused the political class of thumbing its nose at the concerns of everyday voters.Chandler-Mather has been named the new executive director of the party’s internal thinktank, The Greens Institute, charged with closing capacity gaps exposed at the federal election. One of the Greens’ highest profile losses at the 2025 poll, Chandler-Mather and the former leader Adam Bandt were both defeated by Labor candidates in shock results. Continue reading...

The rightwing populist has been in power for 16 years but a new generation of voters are preparing to vote for his opponent, polls suggestAs he rushed to finish off his cigarette before heading to class, Ákos, 20, confessed that he has more at stake than most as Hungarians prepare to head to the polls in the coming days.“If things remain the same, or get even worse, I can’t see a future here,” said the aspiring teacher. “There are many people who want to try living elsewhere, and that’s totally fine, but I’m not one of them. For so long I’ve dreamed of working and teaching here.” Continue reading...

Reports on English policies seen in Wales as relating to whole of UK contribute to widespread confusion, researchers sayUK media is failing to report properly on devolved issues in Wales, leaving voters ill-informed about May’s Senedd elections, a report has found.A Cardiff University study of more than 3,000 news items found repeated patterns in coverage across different broadcasters and platforms, including not signposting whether an issue was relevant to England or England and Wales only, widespread references to “the government” rather than “the UK government”, and the use of “you” and “your” in contexts that apply only to people living in England. Continue reading...

Former Labour mayor Jamie Driscoll aims to win central Newcastle ward after defecting to the Green party“Thank you very much to all you would-be penguins huddling together for warmth,” said Jamie Driscoll to the dozen supporters braving bitingly cold, blustery weather to begin knocking on doors and delivering leaflets.The former Labour North of Tyne mayor is one of the Green party’s highest-profile recruits. Standing for Newcastle city council in the central Monument ward, he was giving a pep talk to a group that would probably have been even bigger, were some not in London for a demonstration against the far right. Continue reading...

Nigel Farage has called Tate an ‘important voice’ for young men and held back from criticising his misogynistic viewsReform insiders are becoming increasingly irritated by the party’s association with Andrew Tate and other extreme online celebrities whose views are too toxic for the mainstream voters Nigel Farage needs to win over.Insiders have revealed that as Reform prepare for power they are trying to end their association with more controversial figures on the right such as Tate, whose extreme and misogynistic content could taint the party’s credibility. Continue reading...

Prime minister is scrambling to clean up her government after youth vote powered a damaging referendum defeatFilippo Michelini was having a drink at San Calisto, a popular bar in Rome’s Trastevere neighbourhood on Wednesday night. As he chatted to his friends, Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government was reeling from a failed referendum, and her beleaguered tourism minister, Daniela Santanchè, had just resigned.Michelini, a 29-year-old computer scientist who lives in Brussels, was spending a few days in the Italian capital after returning home last weekend to cast his ballot in the plebiscite on judicial changes. Continue reading...

Incumbent Mette Frederiksen widely predicted to continue as PM but neither bloc expected to be able to form majorityDenmark election: far right has slowed under Frederiksen – but at what cost?After votes in France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia over the weekend, it’s now time for Denmark, as Danes go to the polls today amid the backdrop of (waves arms) everything, everywhere, all at once.As our Nordic correspondent Miranda Bryant explains, the incumbent, Mette Frederiksen, has been widely predicted to continue as prime minister after the election. Continue reading...

Referendum result could tarnish PM’s reputation and make winning next year’s general election challenging Italian voters have rejected an overhaul of the country’s judiciary pushed by the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni,, an outcome expected to tarnish her reputation and make winning next year’s general election more challenging.In a two-day referendum, 54.63% of voters said “No” to the reforms to reorganise the judiciary compared with 45.37% for the “Yes” camp. Continue reading...

Evanston mayor Daniel Biss and Cook County commissioner Donna Miller were among those who came out on top in the elections ahead of the midtermsDemocratic voters in Illinois handed the party’s nominations for five open seats in the House of Representatives to candidates that included Evanston mayor Daniel Biss and Cook County commissioner Donna Miller, after heated and at times bitter campaigns that saw significant spending by outside groups, most controversially the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac).The primaries acted as a test of the style of politics voters were looking for ahead of the midterm elections in November, when Democrats hope to regain control of Congress. All five districts are heavily Democratic, making the primary victors favorites to triumph in the general elections. Continue reading...

The bill continues a cycle of abortion restrictions repeatedly blocked by the state supreme courtSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxWyoming’s Republican-dominated legislature passed a six-week abortion ban this week, prompting a new lawsuit and some lawmakers to call it “an insult to voters and our institution”.Mark Gordon, Wyoming’s governor, signed the bill while simultaneously warning of its constitutional hurdles, noting that prior abortion bans were struck down by the state’s all Republican-appointed supreme court this January. Almost immediately, an identical set of plaintiffs filed suit against the new bill. Continue reading...