London elections: Sadiq Khan wins second term as mayor - BBC News

Labour's Sadiq Khan has won a second term as London's mayor, beating Conservative rival Shaun Bailey.

He won 55.2% of the popular vote, after entering a run-off with Mr Bailey when neither managed to secure a majority in the first round of voting.

The former MP became the first Muslim mayor of an EU capital city when he was first elected to the role in 2016.

Speaking at City Hall, he promised "to strain every sinew to help build a better, brighter future for London".

The Green Party's Sian Berry came third, while the Liberal Democrats' Luisa Porritt was fourth.

The Lib Dems lost their deposit, as Ms Porritt failed to win more than 5% of the vote.

Elsewhere on Saturday evening, Labour lost overall control of Durham county council while the Tories continued to make inroads in its traditional heartlands.

• Sadiq Khan: 'I never wanted to be a culture war poster boy'

Mr Khan was seen as the favourite throughout the campaign, with some pollsters predicting he would win more than half of the first-round votes.

The 51-year-old failed to reach his record-setting vote total of 2016, but won with a 228,000-vote majority.

Mr Khan's closest rival was Mr Bailey, who received 44.8% of the first and second-round votes, and increased the Conservative vote share by 1.6%.

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Who won in my area?

Enter your postcode, or the name of your English council or Scottish or Welsh constituency to find out. Eg 'W1A 1AA' or 'Westminster'

A really simple guide to the 2021 elections

Note: This lookup covers national elections in Scotland and Wales, the Hartlepool by-election, as well as council and mayoral elections in England and Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections in England and Wales. There may be parish council elections or council by-elections where you are. Check your local council website for full details. Last updated: May 7, 2021, 14:22 GMT

Speaking after the results were announced, Mr Khan said: "I will always be a mayor for all Londoners, working to improve the lives of every single person in this city.

"The results of the elections around the UK shows our country, and even our city, remains deeply divided.

"The scars of Brexit have yet to heal. A crude culture war is pushing us further apart."

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Mr Khan continued: "Economic inequality is getting worse both within London and in different parts of our country.

"As we seek to confront the enormity of the challenge ahead, and as we endeavour to rebuild from this pandemic, we must use this moment of national recovery to heal those damaging divisions."

PA Media

Mr Bailey said he had been "written off" by pollsters, journalists and other politicians, adding: "But Londoners didn't write me off."

He congratulated Mr Khan but said he hoped the re-elected mayor would not "blame everything on the government".

During his tenure as mayor, Mr Khan has had run-ins with the government over coronavirus restrictions and Transport for London's finances.

Analysis

Tim Donovan, BBC London political editor

In the end he won quite comfortably - but it didn't always feel like that.

Sadiq Khan's team got panicky on polling day when voting was slow. In fact turnout - though not at 2016 levels - was higher than previous elections unhindered by a pandemic.

Then there were jitters on the first day of counting when the margin between Mr Khan and Mr Bailey was narrow on the first constituencies announced.

Mr Khan's winning margin as an incumbent mayor eclipses Boris Johnson's in 2012.

But this was no Khan procession.

In the end Mr Bailey's performance exceeded expectations and utterly defied the grim predictions of numerous polls.

Not bad either, given how little resources he appears to have had from a Tory HQ that was focused elsewhere.

Mr Khan would have liked today to have been about sheer success - a victory to lift Labour hearts beyond the boundaries of the capital. It's not worked out like that.

And compare Mr Khan's result to Andy Burnham in Manchester, Andy Street in the West Midlands and Ben Houchen in Teesside - all of whom increased their victory margins.

That will hurt.

Labour continues its dominance in the capital, remaining the largest party on the London Assembly.

Labour took nine constituency seats, with the Conservatives winning the remaining five.

Membership of the London Assembly is split in two - with those 14 members representing constituencies and the other 11 elected by a party-list system.

• POSTCODE SEARCH: What are the results in your area?
• VOTE: Why full results might take longer
• BBC: How to follow the election results
• ENGLAND: Election results

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• London Elects

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2021-05-09 06:06:33Z
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Gove rejects indyref2 as Sturgeon says legal block to vote would be 'absurd and outrageous' - Sky News

Michael Gove has dismissed a second referendum on Scottish independence as a "massive distraction" as he repeatedly refused to say whether the UK government will seek to block a possible vote in court.

Appearing on Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, the cabinet minister said the SNP's demand for another independence vote revealed a "skewed set of priorities" while the UK concentrates on the COVID-19 recovery.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it would be "absurd and completely outrageous" if the UK government went to court to block a second referendum, which the SNP has vowed to introduce legislation for.

Elections 2021: Follow the latest results and reaction

She told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "For this to end up in court, which is not something I ever want to see, it would mean a Conservative government had refused to respect the democratic wishes of the Scottish people and the outcome of a democratic election and tried to go to the Supreme Court to overturn Scottish democracy."

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Ms Sturgeon said the SNP has not yet taken legal advice about holding another referendum but "wouldn't rule out" legislation landing in the Scottish parliament at the start of next year.

Although the party fell one seat short of an overall majority in the Scottish parliament election, pro-independence parties will hold a majority of seats at Holyrood.

More on Elections 2021

Following the results, Ms Sturgeon said a second vote on independence "is the will of the country".

Asked if the UK government would seek to block a second border poll in the courts, Mr Gove told Ridge: "No, we're not even going there at the moment."

He added: "To start speculating about this type of legislation or that type of court hearing and all the rest of it, it's just a massive distraction.

"I'm not interested in going down that blind alley."

Asked whether there were any circumstances when the prime minister would agree to a second vote on Scottish independence, Mr Gove replied: "It's not an issue for the moment.

"Of course, the people of Scotland, as we saw in the referendum in 2014, they have that right, but it is absolutely important that we concentrate now on the issues in front of us."

Scots voted against independence by 55% to 45% when a referendum was held in 2014.

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Is there an appetite for Indyref2?

Mr Gove said the UK and Scottish governments should "concentrate on the things that unite us" rather than "constitutional wrangling" over a second vote.

"If we get sucked into a conversation about referenda, constitutions and all the rest of it, then we are diverting attention from the issues that are most important to the people in Scotland and across the United Kingdom," he added.

"Instead of concentrating on the things that divide, let's concentrate on the things that unite and let's concentrate on all of us to work together to serve the people that just voted for us."

Addressing the SNP's desire for a second referendum, Mr Gove said it was "a slightly skewed set of priorities to imagine that that is the most important issue" in the light of the pandemic recovery.

Mr Johnson has called a summit with the leaders of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, saying the UK is "best served when we work together".

The prime minister has written to Ms Sturgeon and Wales's First Minister Mark Drakeford to invite them to talks to "discuss our shared challenges" in a bid to work together in what he called "Team UK".

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Indyref2 is the 'will of the country' - Sturgeon

The PM will be sending a similar letter to Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers.

Ms Sturgeon said the people of Scotland "must have the right to decide our own future when the COVID crisis has passed", describing it as a "matter of fundamental democratic principle".

She added that the timing of another independence referendum "should be a matter for the Scottish parliament" and is "not a decision for Boris Johnson or any Westminster politician".

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2021-05-09 10:07:30Z
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Election results: Alex Salmond admits he may not lead Alba much longer after disappointment at polls - Sky News

Alex Salmond has admitted he may not lead Alba much longer after the new independence party failed to make a breakthrough in the Scottish elections.

He told Sky News he is an "interim leader" and the party will make decisions on its future at a conference next month.

The former first minister claimed Alba's future is "a very good one indeed", pointing out that it has "5,000 members and we'll have the best part of 50,000 votes across Scotland".

"We've got two members of parliament and 20 councillors," he added.

Image: Alex Salmond says he is 'interim leader' of the Alba Party

Asked by Sky's Adam Boulton if he is "finished as a political force", Mr Salmond ducked the question and said he was more concerned about the party than his own future.

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Who leads Alba will "depend on" the June conference, he said.

Mr Salmond added: "I'm the interim leader through this election. I was invited to do that and I accepted that charge."

More on Alex Salmond

He is "certain" he will be "a member of Alba going forward".

Mr Salmond admitted the party's performance with voters had not been good enough to achieve any real influence.

It had more than 10% of votes in a couple of ballot boxes in Aberdeenshire, he said, but that was rare.

"In some of the big ballot boxes, I think we ended up over 3% in Aberdeenshire East, and the same in Banff and Buchan - a bit more actually."

Image: Alba failed to win any seats in the Holyrood election

Those were the party's "best results in Scotland", he conceded, adding: "That doesn't get you a seat. You need 4.5%, maybe 5%, to get a seat."

But he said it was a "creditable performance for a party which has just celebrated its sixth birthday - in other words, we are six weeks old".

"I don't think we're going to make it this time round," he added.

His former party, the SNP, won 64 seats - one short of a majority.

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2021-05-08 20:43:36Z
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Green list countries: Bookings for holidays to Portugal go 'through the roof' - but angry airlines criticise the list - Sky News

Bookings for holidays to Portugal have gone "through the roof" after the country was added to the government's green travel list, Thomas Cook has said.

The European nation is one of just 12 destinations where travellers can visit from 17 May without needing to self-isolate upon their return to England.

On Friday night, Thomas Cook said it had taken more bookings for trips to Portugal in a single hour than it did in the whole of April.

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Transport sec on latest travel guidance

Searches for Portugal have increased by 264%, while enquiries about Gibraltar - another destination on the green list - rose by 277%.

The company's head of PR, David Child, said tourists appeared "poised, ready and waiting to go" when Transport Secretary Grant Shapps unveiled the relaxed rules at a Downing Street briefing.

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Despite the surge, he said bookings are lower than what they normally would be at this time of year - and although the price of flights may increase, many hoteliers are "not raising their prices yet" because they are "desperate for custom" and have rooms to fill.

Other destinations on the green list include Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, plus several small remote islands that are British Overseas Territories.

More on Covid-19

However, not all of these areas are accepting arrivals from British tourists - with entry to Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei and the Faroe Islands severely restricted.

No plans on international travel have been announced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland yet, but these administrations are expected to introduce "broadly similar" measures.

Airlines and holiday companies, many of whom are battling for survival after being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, have expressed anger over the green list.

Four of the most popular destinations for British tourists - Spain, France, Italy and the US - were left off the green list altogether. Instead, their amber rating means people who travel to these countries will need to self-isolate on their return.

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'Not fair if British public left behind' in travel restart

EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren said: "The decision to put so few European countries into the green tier is simply not justified by the data or the science and is inconsistent with the approach to reopen the domestic economy."

He called on the government to clarify when other European countries are set to join the green list "so that consumers and airlines alike can plan for summer".

The industry body Airlines UK echoed these remarks, and said the government's plan "represents a reopening of air travel in name only".

Its chief executive, Tim Alderslade, called for "major additions" to the made to the green list when it is next reviewed in three weeks' time - and warned the UK is "at risk of falling behind and not opening up international travel to key markets".

The pilots' union Balpa accused the government of an "excess of caution", adding that the new rules will be "extremely disappointing for everyone who works in the travel sector and the millions of people who are desperate to jet away on holiday or business".

General secretary Brian Strutton added: "Tourists are sat gazing at the amber light, revving their engines, desperate to travel safe in the knowledge that their jabs will protect them. The government must flick those amber lights to green as soon as it possibly can."

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Mallorca missing its visitors from the UK

And British Airways boss Sean Doyle said the UK needs to urgently reopen travel links with other low-risk countries with high vaccination rates, such as the US, "to restart the economy, support devastated industries and reunite loved ones".

During the Downing Street briefing, Mr Shapps had said the government needed to "make absolutely secure" that the countries the UK reconnects with are safe.

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2021-05-08 02:26:15Z
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Keir Starmer faces fury of Labour after 13-month march to election defeat - The Times

As polls closed in Hartlepool on Thursday night, Sir Keir Starmer and his closest aides spoke to discuss the impending result and how to handle the fallout. They were resigned to a defeat but had not anticipated its scale.

“Our vote is holding up,” one official in the town messaged late on Thursday, in a view relayed to Starmer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington, his political director. “The problem is that the Brexit Party is folding into the Tories.”

Yet as Starmer watched the result come through from his north London home, just after seven o’clock the following morning, it was soon apparent that this was not the only problem.

Not only had the Tories scooped up almost all the Brexit Party votes of 2019

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2021-05-07 23:01:00Z
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Scottish Election results 2021 RECAP: Alex Salmond concedes Alba unlikely to win seats | SNP's Angus Robertson takes Edinburgh Central from Scottish Conservatives | Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney win constituencies | Labour's Jackie Baillie holds onto Dumbarton | Turnout surges | Interactive constituency map - The Scotsman

Last updated: Friday, 07 May, 2021, 20:10

• Angus Robertson takes Edinburgh Central from Tories
• Sturgeon plays down chances of SNP majority
• SNP take Ayr from Tories in tight race
• Salmond concedes Alba unlikely to win seats
• SNP gain East Lothian from Labour

Top stories and analysis from The Scotsman’s politics team

Counting set to begin in Scottish constituencies

Counts in more than half of Scotland’s parliamentary constituencies are to begin later, as the country awaits the outcome of its strangest election since devolution.

Votes in some 46 of the 73 constituency seats will be counted from about 9am on Friday, with the first results expected from noon.

It is anticipated all 46 should be declared by Friday evening.

Then, from about 9am on Saturday, the remaining 27 constituency seats will be counted, after which the regional seats will be allocated.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a staggered tallying up of ballots for the 2021 Holyrood election, with all results expected to be declared by Saturday evening.

Voters turned away

On Thursday, two voters in Glasgow North West said they were temporarily turned away from a polling station because a ballot box was “too full”.

Nadeem Basharat, 37, said he and his partner Joanne Basharat, 34, went to Jordanhill Parish Church polling station at around 8.30pm and were told they could not cast their vote at the time.

He said he was told ballot box 52 was too full and he was told to “come back by 10pm”, by a steward who was “quite vague”.

He told the PA news agency: “We went home and waited and got there for about 9.30pm and managed to get in, ballot box 52 was still pretty full, like it had just been pushed down and not a new box.

“It looked like there were people there who didn’t manage to vote first time around.”

A spokesman for Glasgow’s returning officer said: “The sheer size of the regional paper meant some ballot boxes became full. We were able to deliver replacement boxes, but in this case some voters were asked to wait outside before voting.

“The presiding officer is confident that all voters who were asked to wait were ultimately able to vote.”

Scottish Election 2021: Sonic the hedgehog is turned into Nicola Sturgeon in parody video game

From 12pm: First results expected from the 46 Scottish parliamentary constituencies counting on Friday.

The constituencies are Aberdeen Central; Aberdeen Donside; Aberdeenshire East; Airdrie & Shotts; Angus North & Mearns; Argyll & Bute; Ayr; Banffshire & Buchan Coast; Caithness, Sutherland & Ross; Clydebank & Milngavie; Coatbridge & Chryston; Cowdenbeath; Cunninghame North; Cunninghame South; Dumbarton; Dundee City West; East Lothian; Eastwood; Edinburgh Central; Edinburgh Southern; Edinburgh Western; Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire; Falkirk East; Glasgow Anniesland; Glasgow Maryhill & Springburn; Glasgow Pollok; Glasgow Southside; Greenock & Inverclyde; Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse; Inverness & Nairn; Kilmarnock & Irvine Valley; Kirkcaldy; Linlithgow; Midlothian North & Musselburgh; Moray; Motherwell & Wishaw; Na h-Eileanan an Iar; North East Fife; Orkney Islands; Paisley; Perthshire North; Renfrewshire North & West; Rutherglen; Shetland Islands; Stirling; and Strathkelvin & Bearsden.

Tories win Hartlepool by-election

The Conservatives have won the Hartlepool by-election, taking the constituency for the first time since it was created almost 50 years ago, with Jill Mortimer defeating Labour candidate Dr Paul Williams by 6,940 votes.

A 30ft inflatable Boris Johnson erected outside Mill House Leisure Centre in Hartlepool, where the Conservatives have taken the seat from Labour

Scottish Parliament election 2021: what was voter turnout for 2016 election and what was the outcome?

Blow for Keir Starmer and Labour as Hartlepool elects Tory MP for first time in a generation

Labour’s Ros Jones tweeted that she was “privileged and humbled” after being re-elected Doncaster mayor.

Milling “absolutely delighted” to topple Labour

Conservative Party co-chair Amanda Milling said she is “absolutely delighted” by the result in Hartlepool and said the people in the town “wanted to see change”.

She told the BBC’s Today programme: “This was about change in terms of, for 57 years they’ve had a Labour member of Parliament, they’ve felt like they’ve been taken for granted for that period of time.

“In 2019, again we didn’t win that seat, Labour won the seat again, but you know since the general election we made the promise to the people across the country that we’d get Brexit done, we’ve done that.

“Bearing in mind the people of Hartlepool voted 69.5% to leave the European Union and we have delivered that for them.”

Scottish election 2021: What day will each Holyrood constituency declare a result and when will we know if the SNP wins a majority in Parliament?

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2021-05-07 21:00:00Z
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Vote 2021: Hartlepool election results alarm Labour party - Sky News

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2021-05-07 18:24:01Z
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