England

• Huizenkopers zijn voorzichtiger vanwege mogelijke stijgingen van de hypotheekrente en een hogere inflatie, terwijl verkopers hun woningen aanhouden • Angsten voor hogere hypotheekrentes en stijgende inflatie als gevolg van het conflict in het Midden-Oosten leiden tot een ingetogen en sombere woningmarkt, aldus makelaars. • De vraag van potentiële huizenkopers in heel Engeland en Wales vertoont recentelijk een "merkbare verzachting", volgens een maandelijkse enquête onder makelaars door de Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Exclusief: Waar partijen vorige week meerdere kandidaten stelden, was de kans groter dat zij die bovenaan de lijst stonden, werden gekozen

Honderden vierjarigen behoren tot de 'extreem overgewicht' patiënten bij 39 specialistische centra sinds 2021

• De maand behoort tot de droogste ooit, met een neerslag die volgens cijfers van het Met Office 23% lager lag dan gemiddeld • Een van de droogste aprils ooit voor centraal en zuidelijk Engeland heeft geleid tot rivierstanden die lager zijn dan normaal, wat in sommige gebieden zorgen wekt over droogte tijdens de zomer • Het nieuwste hydrologische onderzoek in het VK – dat rivier- en grondwaterstanden bijhoudt – suggereert dat centraal en zuidelijk Engeland en oost-Schotland de komende drie maanden merkwaardig lage rivierafvoeren zullen ervaren, wat zorgen baart over waterschaarste als het droge weer aanhoudt. Lees verder...

• Besluit genomen om Amerikaans techbedrijf ‘onbeperkte toegang’ te verlenen tot gegevens in project voor de bouw van een geïntegreerd platform, volgens rapporten • UK politics live – laatste updates • Parlementsleden hebben gewaarschuwd dat een besluit van de NHS om Palantir toegang te verlenen tot identificeerbare patiënteninformatie in het plan om AI te gebruiken om de gezondheidszorg te verbeteren, “gevaarlijk” is en de publieke angst zal aanwakkeren dat privacy van gegevens niet prioriteit krijgt.

• Invloedrijke IPPR stelt voor om huren te plafonneren op basis van wat het laagst is: de consumentenprijsinflatie of de loongroei. • Een van de thinktanks die het dichtst bij de Labour-regering staat, dringt er bij ministers op aan om huurcontroles in de particuliere sector in Engeland in te voeren, terwijl de kanselier onderzoekt hoe de stijgende kosten van levensonderhoud, veroorzaakt door de oorlog in Iran, kunnen worden verlicht. • Het Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) heeft een rapport gepubliceerd waarin wordt gepleit voor een ‘dubbel slot’ op de huur, waarbij huurverhogingen worden gekoppeld aan ofwel de lonen of de inflatie, afhankelijk van welke van de twee het laagst is.

Schok en angst voor de toekomst, waaronder dakloosheid, nadat verhuurders zich haastten om 'section 21'-berichtgevingen te versturen vóór 1 mei.

• Wes Streeting stelt dat wetgeving in de troonrede levens zal redden, maar huisartsen maken zich zorgen over de aansprakelijkheid voor fouten die door andere zorgverleners zijn geïntroduceerd. • Huisartsen en ziekenhuizen zullen verplicht worden patiëntgegevens te delen onder wetgeving die woensdag in de troonrede wordt aangekondigd. • Wetgeving om een enkelvoudig patiëntendossier (SPR) voor elke persoon te creëren, dat door alle zorgverleners zou worden gebruikt, maakt deel uit van een digitalisering van de gezondheidszorg ter waarde van £10 miljard. Lees verder...

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...

Harassment reported by 35% of students at ‘high tariff’ institutions compared with 17% at those with lowest entry gradesStudents at England’s leading universities were more than twice as likely to experience sexual harassment than those at “lower tariff” institutions, according to analysis.Data from a national survey of undergraduates shows that 35% of students at “high tariff” universities – those requiring the highest A-level grades for entry – reported experiencing sexual harassment, compared with just over 17% of those at universities requiring the lowest grades for entry and 26% of those at “medium tariff” institutions. Continue reading...

While Labour losses and Reform gains are obvious, the nature of how people actually voted is much more nuancedElections 2026 – live updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesEnglish local election results require careful interpretation. Not all places have them at the same time, a relatively small proportion complete their counts overnight and the early headlines may not reflect outcomes later in the day.But the headline number on Friday morning – that Labour has lost more than 250 councillors - will only grow as the day progresses. While Labour will want to stress that these “mid-term” elections often go badly for the incumbent Westminster government, they rarely go quite as badly as this. Continue reading...

Reform runaway winners in north-east, likely pushing Labour into opposition in Hartlepool, with other losses for Starmer in Chorley, Wigan, Redditch and TamworthElection 2026 live: latest news updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesThe scale of the electoral challenge facing Labour was laid bare overnight as the party haemorrhaged councillors at the local elections and Reform made significant gains.Keir Starmer’s party went into Thursday’s local elections expected to lose up to 1,850 councillors, with senior figures describing the contest as “tough”. Continue reading...

The first results in England are expected between midnight and 2am BST; Scottish and Welsh parliament results are due from midday2026 election results: latest from local, Scottish and Welsh votesAletha Adu is a Guardian political correspondentThe early hours of Friday morning will produce only a handful of declarations but they could shape the mood of the entire elections. Continue reading...

Results of elections for councils in England, the Senedd in Wales and the Scottish parliament could transform Great Britain’s political landscapePolls have closed across England, Scotland and Wales for local, mayoral and parliamentary elections, with the first results to be announced within hours.More than 30 million people across Britain were given the opportunity to vote on Thursday in what is widely seen as the biggest test for Keir Starmer since the 2024 general election. Results across three nations could fundamentally change the political landscape and could have repercussions for the prime minister. Continue reading...

European observers have seen incidents of confusion over ID requirements but problem is not regarded as widespreadInstances of voters being turned away from polling stations due to confusion over photo ID requirements have been recorded by European election observers watching voting in England on Thursday.While the problem is not regarded as widespread, it has been noted by the delegation from the Council of Europe, which will issue a report on the local elections in England as well as the Scottish and Welsh government elections. Continue reading...

London Waterloo services particularly hit after radio network fault prevented communication between drivers and signallersTrains in parts of southern England have been severely disrupted after a fault in a radio system.Services out of London Waterloo, one of the UK’s busiest rail stations, have been particularly delayed. Continue reading...

Ministers to mandate use of tools that record individuals’ cumulative exposure to harrowing incidentsPolicing in England and Wales faces a reckoning over the levels of trauma experienced by officers and staff as “trauma tracker” tools are to be mandated by ministers to ensure the psychological toll caused by exposure to death, abuse and neglect is recorded.A Home Office white paper published in January outlined a legislative push to make trauma monitoring systems mandatory across all 43 forces in England and Wales. Continue reading...

About 5,000 councillors and six mayors up for election in England, while Scotland chooses 129 MSPs, and Wales selects 96 members of the SeneddHere is Nigel Farage’s overnight eve-of-poll statement. The Reform UK leader said:The Tories tried to remove the gutless Keir Starmer and failed.The only way to finally remove the most unpopular and unpatriotic prime minister in our lifetime is to back Reform. Continue reading...

In-depth study also reveals patients from black African and Caribbean backgrounds are less likely to receive timely carePeople from black backgrounds in England are twice as likely to experience strokes as their white counterparts, while also being less likely to receive timely care, according to the largest study of its kind.The study, conducted by researchers at King’s College London and presented at the European Stroke Organisation conference, analysed 30 years of stroke incidents from the South London Stroke Register, one of the longest-running population-based stroke registers in the world. Continue reading...

Staff told to prosecute as quickly as they can, rather than waiting to gather all evidence, to tackle ‘climate of fear’ felt by Jewish communityProsecutors in England and Wales have been told to “fast-track” hate crime prosecutions after a spate of antisemitic attacks that the prime minister on Tuesday called a “crisis for all of us”.Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions, issued guidance to his staff on Tuesday telling them to bring forward prosecutions against any sort of hate crime as quickly as they could, rather than waiting until they had gathered all possible evidence. Continue reading...

Injectable pembrolizumab can treat several types of cancer and can be administered in under two minutesThousands of patients across England each year will benefit from a new immunotherapy treatment that can be used for several types of cancer, the NHS has announced.The injectable form of pembrolizumab, which can be administered in under two minutes, kills cancer cells by blocking a protein called PD-1, which acts as a brake on immune responses, allowing the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells. Continue reading...

Documentary makers seek to start ‘informed conversation’ in country where public is allowed on just 8% of landAnger and momentum are building for Scottish style rights of access to mountains, meadows, rivers and woodlands in England where the public is allowed on just 8% of land, a new documentary suggests.Our Land, a film whose title is a nod to the protest song by Woody Guthrie, explores the rise of the right to roam movement in England. Continue reading...

Patient safety mechanism which gives patients the right to seek a second opinion having ‘lifesaving impact’, says health secretary‘I am invoking Martha’s rule’: how a woman saved her father from near death in hospitalMore than 500 people have received potentially life-saving care thanks to Martha’s rule, which gives hospital patients the right to seek a second opinion about their health.They were moved to intensive care or a specialist unit after they, a loved one or a member of NHS staff triggered the patient safety mechanism, which the NHS in England began using in 2024. Continue reading...

Advice charity also helping thousands of tenants before Renters’ Rights Act comes into force on FridaySolicitors say they have been inundated with requests to serve last-minute section 21 no-fault eviction notices before they are banned when the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force in England on Friday.The legislation, which has been hailed as the biggest change to renting in a generation, bans no-fault evictions, limits rent increases and abolishes fixed-term tenancies. Continue reading...

Decision not to change rate comes despite signs inflation is rising amid the Iran war’s effects on fuel pricesThe Bank of England has left UK interest rates unchanged at 3.75%, despite signs that inflation is beginning to accelerate due to the impact of the Iran war.The Bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to leave borrowing costs on hold at noon on Thursday, after its latest rate-setting meeting. Continue reading...

Matthew Pennycook says ending system must be done slowly to avoid hitting housing supply and legal pitfallsA ban on new leasehold properties in England and Wales is unlikely to come into force until after the next election, the housing minister has said, as he defended the government’s piecemeal attempts to dismantle the system.The long-promised end would take years to “switch on”, Matthew Pennycook said, even though the ban of leaseholds on new houses was passed in 2024 and the government intends to pass one on new flats soon. Continue reading...

Campaigners saying public spaces protection orders also being used to criminalise wide range of everyday activitiesOne in five local councils have banned swearing under new “busybody” orders, up from one in 20 councils in 2022.A new report by the Campaign for Freedom in Everyday Life has found that public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) – originally intended to tackle serious anti-social behaviour – are being used by councils in England and Wales to criminalise a wide range of everyday activities, including standing in groups, shouting and picking up stones. Continue reading...

Exclusive: 839,000 homes in urban areas face threat of surface-water flooding, with social housing tenants most vulnerable to costsEight in 10 of the homes that are at high risk of flooding in England are now in towns and cities, according to analysis by the National Housing Federation (NHF), which said social housing tenants are disproportionately vulnerable to the financial cost.Research found that 839,000 homes in urban areas are now classed as being at high risk of surface water flooding, a threefold increase since 2018. Continue reading...