Voters face local, mayoral, Scottish and Welsh contests on 7 May, with 136 English councils and more than 5,000 seats in play.
Morgan McSweeney told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that he made a “serious error of judgement” by advising Sir Keir Starmer to appoint Lord Mandelson as ambassador to Washington. McSweeney said he did not understand in December 2024 that Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was a close friendship, and that later disclosures in September 2025 led him to conclude he had been wrong.
The CPS said four Labour-linked figures — Joel Bodmer, Shila Bodmer, Gabriel Leroy and Carole Bonner — have been charged after a Metropolitan Police investigation into allegations that a Labour Party database was manipulated during the Croydon East candidate selection process. The charges include conspiracy and Computer Misuse Act offences, and Joel Bodmer also faces a charge of perverting the course of justice. All four are due at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 19 May, and none has been conv
Israel launched strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Sunday, and Hezbollah said it responded with cross-border shelling, days after a three-week ceasefire extension announced on 23 April. The exchange came as Pakistan-mediated efforts to restart U.S.-Iran talks remained stalled, with no new formal round under way, while Lebanese officials continued to push for an Israeli withdrawal and a halt to attacks.
At least 12 UK universities secretly paid a private intelligence firm to monitor students and academics