Newslinks for Friday 2nd May 2025

Elections 1) Reform beats Labour by six votes to take Runcorn

“Reform UK has won the first by-election of the new parliament in Runcorn and Helsby, beating Labour by just six votes. The vote was triggered in Labour’s 49th safest seat after Mike Amesbury, the former Labour MP, received a suspended prison sentence for punching a constituent. After a recount was called in the early hours of Friday, it was announced that Reform’s Sarah Pochin had won 12,645 votes, while Labour’s Karen Shore won 12,639. The Tories won just 2,341 votes. Asked what message the result sent, Mr Farage [Reform UK Leader] told broadcasters: “What it sends is a message not just from here but across the country that we are now the opposition to the Labour party, who are in government, and actually in most parts of the country now, if you vote Conservative, you get Labour.” – Daily Telegraph

• Reform wins by-election after recount – The Times
• Knife-edge by-election won by Reform – FT
• Tories braced for losses – FT
• A Reform-quake hits Britain – Daily Mail
• Reform wins tightest ever by-election – The Sun
• And Reform topples Labour – Daily Express

Comment

• Reform surge shows Britain will keep voting for change – Robert Shrimsley, FT
• The Reform revolution has begun – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph
• Winning big might become Reform’s worst nightmare – Stephen Pollard, Daily Telegraph
• I can finally see how Labour’s abominable misrule will be brought to an end – Allister Heath, Daily Telegraph
• Starmer should know to beware the mayors – Patrick Maguire, The Times

>Today:

• ToryDiary: Not much good a lot of bad and some ugly realities – of a grim night for the Conservatives
• Local Election Live Blog: Tremors from last night suggest today’s results could see an earthquake
• Video: Hill: Next critical test for Reform is whether their councillors can prove themselves in office

>Yesterday:

• Video: There are big drawbacks to a deal for both the Conservatives and Reform
• Comment: Owen Webster: Is Robert Jenrick the real leader of the opposition?

Elections 2) Former Tory MP Jenkyns wins mayoral seat for Reform

“Reform UK made Lincolnshire the epicentre of its political earthquake today after Dame Andrea Jenkyns became the new Mayor and the party is on course to take the county council. Dame Andrea, wearing an Abba-inspired glam sequined jumpsuit in Reform blue, won a thumping majority of 40,000 over her former party, the Conservatives. Immigration and efficiencies in local government, including a British DOGE for each council they control to slash town hall waste, were at the heart of Reform’s campaign. But Arron Banks, a close friend and political ally of Nigel Farage, missed out on becoming mayor for the West of England.” – Daily Mail

• Farage declares ‘Tories are toast’ as Jenkyns becomes Lincolnshire mayor – Daily Express
• Reform UK candidate Jenkyns wins the Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty – BBC News
• Reform makes huge headway with 78 new councillors and its first mayor – The Sun
• Four words that will haunt Reeves and Starmer after by-election humiliation – Daily Express
• Jenkyns quits Sky News interview – Daily Express

Miliband and Rayner join forces to save net zero

“Gas boilers in new homes will be banned as soon as next year under plans being spearheaded by Ed Miliband and Angela Rayner. The energy and housing secretaries have joined forces on new rules for housebuilders, which will require newbuilds to have heat pumps and solar panels. The Telegraph understands the new rules will be announced by Ms Rayner this summer, and are likely to be in force by next year. The fight for net zero is at the heart of a growing row engulfing Labour, exposed this week by Sir Tony Blair who warned Sir Keir Starmer that his current green policies were “doomed to fail”. – Daily Telegraph

Comment

• The glory days of net zero are thankfully over – David Frost, Daily Telegraph
• I worked with Blair when he put climate at the heart of UK policy. He must not now undermine that – David King, The Guardian

Assisted dying assessment to put price on change

“A long-awaited assessment of the impact of assisted dying legislation will put a price on administrating the procedure for the first time and is expected to conclude it will save parts of the NHS money by accelerating the deaths of terminally ill people. The Whitehall document, which is expected as soon as Friday, is likely to make difficult reading for both sides of the campaign, government sources have suggested. One warned the language used in the impact assessment could be dehumanising as it set out to quantify the costs and savings of the state helping people to end their lives in England and Wales.” – The Guardian

First phase of social care reform to be drawn out over a decade

“The first stage of social care reforms will not be completed for a decade, according to a timetable imposed by the Treasury to delay costly changes. A task force designed to build a cross-party consensus on fixing the crumbling elderly care system has been told its initial recommendations should be implemented by 2036, with “long-term” reform taking even longer. Baroness Casey of Blackstock, chairwoman of the review, began this week by talking to people with experience of the system, after spending four months reviewing evidence and setting up a team. Terms of reference set by ministers say she should submit a first phase report next year on how to create a “national care service”, which was promised in Labour’s manifesto but never defined.” – The Times

Trump removes Mike Waltz as security adviser and offers him new job

“President Trump has removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser weeks after he was blamed for the Signal group chat scandal. Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong, left their roles on Thursday and more national security staff were expected to follow. Trump confirmed Waltz’s departure on Truth Social and said he was nominating him as ambassador to the United Nations. “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my national security adviser, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s interests first,” Trump wrote. “I know he will do the same in his new role. In the interim, secretary of state Marco Rubio will serve as national security adviser, while continuing his strong leadership at the state department.” – The Times

• Waltz moved from national security adviser to UN ambassador role – The Guardian

Comment

• Hubristic Trump is due a reality check – Gerard Baker, The Times

Princess Anne: UK needs coherent housing plan

“The Princess Royal has said that the UK needs a “a coherent national programme” to support the building of affordable rural housing. Princess Anne, the patron of the non-profit organisation English Rural, said that a “longer-term vision” was needed when building homes for the future. She told the charity’s national conference on affordable rural housing that rural communities needed better transport and logistics, noting there was “a whole lot of work to be done” to support scaling up the delivery of homes and jobs across the countryside. The Government has announced plans to grow the housing stock in Britain by building 1.5 million homes over the course of this Parliament.” – Daily Telegraph

• Princess speaks out on rural housing – The Times

News in Brief

• Ignore everything the Tories and Reform say about the local elections – Stephen Pollard, The Spectator
• What Reform gets wrong about Britain – Chris Clarke, UnHerd
• Is Badenoch right about Net Zero? – William Davison, CapX
• Badenoch should abolish the College of Policing – William Yarwood. The Critic

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