Parties

• Actor-turned-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single largest party with 108 seats in Tamil Nadu elections, falling 10 short of the 118-seat majority needed to govern alone. • TVK is seeking outside support from Congress (5 seats), CPI (2 seats), CPM (2 seats), and VCK (2 seats) to secure 129 total seats and form a minority government, with potential swearing-in as early as May 7. • The alliance signals a historic rupture in the DMK-Congress alliance that has governed Tamil Nadu for years, as Congress considers backing TVK instead of its long-time partner DMK which won 59 seats.

Pledge ahead of local elections dismissed as ‘not a serious policy’ and ‘profoundly un-British’Coming just days before millions go to the polls, Zia Yusuf’s announcement that a Reform government would ‘prioritise’ the citing of migrant detention centres in areas with Green MPs or councils was certainly eye-catching.“That means areas like right here in Brighton,” Reform’s shadow home secretary said with barely concealed relish in a video in which he paced the beachfront at the constituency which elected Britain’s first Green MP. Continue reading...

Labour called SNP first minister John Swinney ‘shameless’ for claiming credit when it was the result of king’s US visitDonald Trump’s announcement that he will lift punishing US tariffs on scotch whisky has been overshadowed by a row between rival Scottish party leaders over claiming credit for the decision.The whisky industry and business leaders were delighted by the US president’s sudden announcement on his Truth Social network on Thursday that he would end the tariffs to mark the visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla. Continue reading...

Loyalists of President Mahmoud Abbas won most races ‌in Palestinian municipal elections, election officials said on Sunday, in a vote that for the first time in nearly two decades included a city in the Gaza Strip run by rival Hamas.

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...

Exclusive: Health secretary warns of dangers of protest vote as he pitches NHS as key battleground in May electionsVoters in May’s local and devolved elections risk putting the NHS in jeopardy if they vote for populist parties, Wes Streeting has said, as he sought to make the health service a key battleground.“The founding principles of the NHS are at greater threat than at any time since the NHS was founded in 1948,” the health secretary said. Continue reading...

With former ministers and party heavyweights ​b​eing dragged into court, the country is once again confronting the unresolved legacy of political ​g​raft and ​shady backroom deals• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereEaster will not have been a particularly celebratory time for Spain’s two biggest political parties. In a quirk of judicial fate, both the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) and the conservative People’s party (PP) are bracing themselves after two high-profile trials involving former senior figures from each party began in Madrid this week.Though vastly different, both cases have the potential to seriously dent each party’s claims of having zero-tolerance for corruption as voters in Andalucía, Spain’s most populous autonomous community, prepare for next month’s regional election. That will be followed by a general election next year. 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...

Change is on offer across the political spectrum, but no one knows whether apathy or tactical voting will prevailUK politics live – latest updatesHope, change, progressive change, change with fairness at its heart – from a harbour north of Edinburgh to a hipster arts venue in Glasgow’s Barras Market, Scotland’s political parties spent the first official day of the Holyrood election campaign reaching for the phrase that best encapsulates what people will get if they vote for them on 7 May.Only one of the main parties did not hold an event to set out their stall on Thursday: possibly Reform UK was too busy firefighting after another of their Scottish parliament candidates quit, bringing to four the number who have stepped down or been suspended since they stood with party leader Nigel Farage under a storm of turquoise confetti last week. Continue reading...

Outcome suggests that when mainstream parties cooperate they can still block Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally Europe live – latest updatesFrance’s local elections, closely watched for clues to next year’s crunch presidential vote, have given parties of the centre a welcome and unexpected lift as the far right and radical left fell some way short of their ambitions.The 35,000 municipal ballots often focus on local survival and their outcomes do not always reflect national voting patterns, but they do show trends in popularity and suggest what kind of alliances can be struck in a fragmented political landscape. Continue reading...

The SA election result is devastating for the Liberals, but there are warning signs for Labor too in One Nation’s startling rise, which has rocked Australian politicsLabor secures overwhelming victory in SA electionRarely – perhaps never – has the winner of an election felt more like a subplot to a bigger and more consequential narrative than in South Australia on Saturday night.The ABC called the result for Peter Malinauskas and his Labor government less than 90 minutes after the polls closed, validating the opinion polls that had long forecast a landslide victory. Continue reading...

CenTax warns bill under debate in parliament has ‘easily exploitable’ loopholes and will not prevent foreign interferencePolitical donations by companies should be banned to protect UK elections from foreign interference, a thinktank has warned.In the first big overhaul of election funding in 26 years, ministers have pledged to “keep British democracy safe” by closing a loophole that allows individuals not eligible to vote in Britain to donate to political parties through UK-registered companies. Continue reading...

Candidates look for deals with rivals to boost chances as major seats including Paris, Marseille and Lyon look closePolitical parties in France are hastily attempting to negotiate strategic alliances ahead of the final round of local elections this weekend, after a strong showing by the far right and the radical left.This Sunday’s final-round vote for mayors and local councillors in major cities including Marseille, Lyon and Paris will be close. Continue reading...

Democrat says Congress ‘doing nothing’ may embolden president to attack countries such as Cuba and North KoreaDemocratic US senator Cory Booker has criticized both his own political party as well as its Republican counterpart for being “feckless” in ceding congressional war powers to Donald Trump, saying that their decision could embolden the president to unilaterally attack Cuba, North Korea and other countries.“I’m going to be one of those Democrats [who] say I think both parties have been feckless in allowing the growth of the power of the presidency,” Booker said on Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. Continue reading...