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Reform, Greens and pro-Gaza independents make significant gains, although no party has yet won majorityElections mapped: how Labour lost ground in different directionsLatest news updates and analysis from election nightThe Labour party’s 14-year leadership in Birmingham has come to an end after Reform, Greens and pro-Gaza independents made significant gains in the UK’s second-largest city.No party has yet won an overall majority at Birmingham city council, one of Europe’s largest local authorities, with the results reflecting wider political fragmentation across England. Continue reading...

Sunderland, Barnsley, Gateshead and South Tyneside among councils reporting gains for Farage’s party • Full results from England, Scotland and WalesNigel Farage chose Sunderland for the launch of Reform UK’s local election campaign because, he said, it was where he had first sensed the “big political earthquake” underfoot.A decade ago next month, the city was the first to declare its vote in the Brexit referendum – a thumping 61% opting to leave the EU – and the aftershocks are still being felt across Labour’s heartlands. Continue reading...

First time Welsh nationalist party has enough support to run Wales, while also blocking momentum of Reform UKElection 2026 live: latest news updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesPlaid Cymru is on course to declare victory in the Welsh Senedd elections, a result that would simultaneously end nearly 30 years of Labour dominance in devolved politics in Wales and block the momentum of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.By early Friday evening, with 14 of 16 constituencies declared, the centre-left Welsh nationalist party appeared poised to win enough support to lead the nation, replacing Welsh Labour, which had won the largest vote share in every electoral contest in Wales for more than 100 years. Continue reading...

• Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won West Bengal for the first time in its 46-year history, securing 207 out of 294 seats in recent state elections on May 8, 2026. • The BJP retained control of Assam and, with coalition partners, the federal territory of Puducherry, now governing 21 of India's 28 states and 72% of its 1.4 billion population. • Al Jazeera described the West Bengal victory as the Hindu nationalist party's most consequential win since Modi took power in 2014, driven by anti-incumbency against Mamata Banerjee and anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Chedrick Greene will have to defend his new perch in midterms, as Republican challenger vows to run againUS politics live – latest updatesChedrick Greene, a Democratic firefighter and marine veteran, won a special election in Michigan on Tuesday, allowing Democrats to retain control of state senate for the remainder of the year.In the race for Michigan’s 35th senate district, a constituency that former vice-president Kamala Harris won by only a single percentage point in 2024, Greene beat Republican Jason Tunney – clinching more than 58% of the vote, compared with Tunney’s 39%, according to local results. The district includes parts of Bay and Saginaw counties, purple areas of the state. Continue reading...

• The BJP and its coalition allies have expanded their territorial control to 21 of India's 28 states, representing unprecedented political consolidation and establishing the party in a more dominant national position than at any point since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014. • From the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal, India's political map is now overwhelmingly controlled by the BJP, with only Jharkhand remaining as a lone opposition-governed state in major regions, reflecting near-total electoral saturation. • Political analysts describe this expansion as more than electoral success—it constitutes political saturation, raising fundamental questions about whether India is moving toward an opposition-diminished political order.

Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison agrees to sell 49% stake as it attempts to reshape its portfolioBusiness live – latest updatesVodafone is to take full control of the UK’s biggest mobile operator in a £4.3bn buyout deal with the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison.Billionaire Li Ka-shing’s business said it had agreed to sell its 49% stake in VodafoneThree – a network with more than 27 million subscribers – to its partner Vodafone. Continue reading...