‘We’re quietly chirpy’: some Tories glimpse ray of hope, but others see abyss at May elections

“The Conservative party is coming back,” Kemi Badenoch declared at her party’s local election launch last week, surrounded by cheering supporters. And it’s fair to say that many of her MPs are, relative to their mood in recent years, quite cheery.To others in the Conservative family, though, this optimism appears disconnected from the reality of the situation facing the party. Even the MPs backing Badenoch agree that the Tories face heavy losses on 7 May, not just across English councils, but particularly in votes for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, where in both they are expected to be reduced to a handful of seats.This is in part a factor of circumstance

Reform candidate in Wales steps down after apparent Nazi salute

A Reform UK candidate for the Welsh Senedd elections in May has announced he is standing down because of his mental health, after a photograph emerged of him apparently making a Nazi salute as an imitation of Adolf Hitler.The announcement by Reform comes a day after Nigel Farage defended Corey Edwards, its lead candidate for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency, saying he may have instead been impersonating the John Cleese character Basil Fawlty.Reform has also experienced problems with candidate selection in Scotland, where four of its picks for elections there in May stood down or were suspended within a week of being announced by Farage.The photograph of Edwards, an ex-adviser to the Conservative former Welsh secretary David TC Davies, was published by the Nation.Cymru website and showed him raising his right arm, with a finger of his left hand under his nose

Former miners can finally speak the truth about Orgreave, says inquiry chair

Former miners will finally get the chance to speak the truth about their experiences after four decades of silence during a public inquiry into infamous clashes with police at Orgreave, the inquiry’s chair has said.Pete Wilcox, the bishop of Sheffield, said only an inquiry could help South Yorkshire move on from the events of 18 June 1984, when striking miners unexpectedly found themselves in a pitched battle against thousands of police officers brought in from forces across the UK.The Hillsborough-style inquiry, officially launched by Sarah Jones, the policing minister, in parliament on Thursday, will examine how 6,000 police officers were deployed to a picket at Orgreave coking plant three months into a National Union of Miners strike over planned pit closures.About 8,000 people – miners and their families – were on the receiving end of what was described as heavy-handed policing, with witnesses and images from the day detailing how mounted police charged at the pickets and hit them with batons.Many were injured, some seriously, but it was the moral injury that the injustice caused in the minds of South Yorkshire miners and wider working-class communities that was the lasting effect

Police find no evidence of criminality in Gorton and Denton byelection

Police have found no evidence of criminality in the Gorton and Denton byelection after claims by Nigel Farage that it was “a victory for cheating”.Reform UK had asked Greater Manchester police (GMP) to investigate allegations of corrupt voting in the Greater Manchester contest, which the Green party won.The election observers’ group Democracy Volunteers said it had witnessed “concerningly high levels” of so-called family voting, where one family member dictates how others cast their ballot. However, GMP said on Friday its investigation had found “no evidence of any intent to influence or refrain any person from voting”.Four observers from Democracy Volunteers had given accounts to police of about 32 potentially suspicious voting habits

Reports Sadiq Khan could join Starmer’s cabinet dismissed by allies

Allies of Sadiq Khan have dismissed reports the London mayor could join Keir Starmer’s cabinet after being made a peer, although it remains possible he could join the Lords while keeping his current job.Downing Street said reports that Khan could become a peer after crucial elections in May across England, Scotland and Wales were “speculation”, while a Labour source also declined to comment.Any decision on a peerage was one for No 10, Khan’s allies said, but they ruled out the possibility cited by the Financial Times that Khan could be brought in to strengthen Starmer’s cabinet after joining the House of Lords.Khan spent a decade as a London MP before stepping down in 2016, having won the first of three consecutive election victories to be London mayor, a role where he has had some success in courting support beyond Labour’s core vote, such as Greens and Liberal Democrats, to defeat Conservative opponents.A role for Khan working closer with Starmer could be sold by No 10 as the prime minister making full use of Labour’s talents, particularly given that the London mayor has at times been critical of the government, for example warning after the Gorton and Denton byelection loss to the Greens that Labour must stop taking progressive voters for granted

Social media has led to a ‘complete rewiring of childhood’, says minister – UK politics live

Josh MacAlister, the minister for children and families, said there has been “a complete rewiring of childhood” over the last decade due to social media and screen time.Speaking on the new government guidance for parents of young children, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “We’re trying to help create some new social norms.“There’s no judgment. It’s much easier to say these things than it is to do them, I appreciate.”That’s all from us on the UK politics blog, thanks for following along