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Sir Keir Starmer calls voters from the Labour Party headquarters on the last day of campaigning |
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Gordon Rayner Associate Editor |
Will today finally be the day that brings down the curtain on the Starmer premiership?
All the talk ahead of today’s local council elections (and Holyrood and Senedd elections in Scotland and Wales) has centred on whether the Prime Minister can survive the drubbing that seems to be coming Labour’s way.
We should have some idea by the weekend how things might play out. By tomorrow night, almost all of the results will be in, and it might start to become clear whether an attempt to oust Starmer is under way.
It is possible, of course, that he will decide he has had enough and announce a timetable for his own departure, which might be encouraged by a co-ordinated letter or a delegation from Labour’s back benches.
Otherwise, all eyes will be on Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, who has the most to gain from pouncing early. He could steal a march on Andy Burnham, who is currently ineligible to stand for the leadership because he isn’t an MP, and Angela Rayner, whose campaign is not ready to go, by surging out of the traps.
There will be no shortage of Streeting supporters urging him to do so, or, at the very least, resign in the hope that others will follow and force Starmer to quit. It could be a huge week in Westminster.
Go deeper with our local elections coverage:
• Unions turn on Starmer ahead of election rout ➤
• Ministers back Burnham return on eve of election bloodbath ➤
• Badenoch calls for general election if Starmer ousted ➤
• Plus, the key local election seats to watch ➤ |
Local Election must-reads |
When the results of this year’s local and devolved elections are called, Nigel Farage is likely to be the biggest winner, writes Tony Diver, our Political Editor. For his final interview of the campaign, the Reform UK leader sat down with me and was more bullish than ever. If Starmer is challenged, he should call an election, he argues. If the Prime Minister is replaced before then, who would Farage want as leader? The answer may surprise you.
This interview is available only to subscribers.
Continue reading ➤
Tony Diver: My predictions for how divided Britain will vote ➤ |
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In 2025, an almost 20-year council tax freeze ended in Scotland, opening the floodgates for local authorities to send rates soaring. Voters, who are heading to the polls in the parliamentary election today, are fed up with waiting for “long overdue” reforms. Alex Marsh explores the issue that could threaten the SNP’s tight grip on power. Continue reading ➤ |
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From an X Factor backing singer to playing a crack-cocaine-smoking prisoner, the Green Party leader has flirted with many different roles |
When he appeared in B-movies as a drug-taking struggling artist or as a back-up choir singer in The X Factor, few could have predicted that fledgling entertainer Zack Polanski would later have ambitions to become prime minister, writes Neil Johnston. He also briefly joined the Liberal Democrats, before defecting to the Greens fewer than two years after boasting about being a member. As voters go to the polls today, the 43-year-old leader faces growing scrutiny over less trivial elements of his unusual CV, including falsely claiming to be a Red Cross spokesman and his controversial stint as a hypnotherapist. Continue reading ➤ |
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Allister Heath The far Left has embraced a specific, modernised hate ideology with an eliminationist agenda that targets the state of Israel Continue reading ➤
Michael Deacon It’s time to stop blaming boomers for Britain’s woes Continue reading ➤
Isabel Oakeshott Working from home has been exposed as a massive con Continue reading ➤ |
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The note was allegedly found by the disgraced financier’s cellmate |
More damning claims have come to light about the state of the Civil Service after The Telegraph exposed a work-from-home scandal gripping Whitehall, writes Noah Eastwood. Whistleblowers told us that some civil servants were claiming up to 50 days’ holiday a year by “abusing flexi time”. Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, who vowed to tackle this when in government, said our findings were “very dispiriting for hard-working people... when they see time-wasters taking advantage”. For subscribers only ➤ |
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Annabel Fenwick Elliot has set her sights on a family move to the US |
I’ve lived in Iceland, Mauritius and Italy, writes Annabel Fenwick Elliott. Now, I’m embarking on another overseas move with my family, to the US. Trump’s America is the unrivalled land of opportunity, and laying down roots in Britain is no longer an option for me. Continue reading ➤ |
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The Spice Girls have a dilemma: this year marks the girl group’s 30th anniversary, yet its five members can’t commit to a reunion tour. Enter the “Abba Voyage option”, to launch a money-making, long-running show that turns Posh, Baby, Sporty, Scary and Ginger into holograms. James Hall digs into the rumours swirling around a potential Spice Girls virtual extravaganza. Continue reading ➤ |
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‘Pro-Palestine marches are supporting the killers of my boy, my son, my future,’ writes Michael Marlowe |
After my 24-year-old son, Jake, saw convoys patrolling British streets threatening Jewish women in 2021, he left for Israel, writes Michael Marlowe. He died a hero on Oct 7, murdered while shepherding fellow Jews to safety. Now, having been forced to witness London’s hate marches and having seen hostility against Jews run riot, I worry that we’re losing the battle against anti-Semitism that Jake recognised five years ago. Continue reading ➤ |
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Personal trainer Edwina Jenner, 50, reveals the seven key exercises to strengthen, sculpt and define your arms |
In an age where people are “cheating” themselves skinny with jabs, visibly toned triceps and biceps have become a must-have status symbol – a sign of effort and self-care, writes personal trainer Edwina Jenner. This 30-minute routine will have you looking and feeling stronger in weeks and can be done from the comfort of your own home.
Continue reading ➤
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Every week, Sarah Knapton, our Science Editor, and Joe Pinkstone, our Science Correspondent, demystify your supernatural experiences. From ghoulish encounters to bizarre coincidences, there’s always a scientific explanation, and nothing is as strange as it seems.
Today, our duo investigate a peculiar sighting of lights in the sky...
“It was roughly 2006. A friend and I were driving in Durham when we saw four lights in a line in the distance.
“As we continued driving, they became more obvious, to the point where we got out of the car to look. They slowly moved directly overhead in the same line and were very high up but silent.
“Over the next ten minutes, they stayed directly overhead but moved into a square shape, then back to a perfect line and then to a diamond shape. It was so odd that another driver pulled over to watch as well.
“We called Night Owls, a local radio talk show, to see if anyone else in the North East saw them, but the host tried to make us out to be one of his UFO/ghost people.
“Either way, it was a very strange sight, and due to the perfect motion of the lights, I struggle to think that they were weather balloons. Your help would be great!”
– Phil
Sarah and Joe answer:
Ah, Night Owls! For anyone unaware of Alan Robson’s late-night cult radio show on Metro Radio, it was a North East institution, in which insomniacs phoned in with a host of strange tales.
Phil’s story of strange lights, moving in formation, sounds like prime fodder for the programme, but unlike most of the eccentric callers, his account is firmly grounded in truth.
In fact, there were multiple sightings of strange lights over Durham in 2006 and the surrounding years.
Read the full answer ➤
Plus, send in your questions for Sarah and Joe ➤ |
DoppeldotterWhile Orlando Bird, our loyal reader correspondent, is away, Joe Burgis is on hand to share an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Joe writes...
More often than not, surprises in food are unwelcome (excessive spice, a rogue hair), but there is at least one exception: an egg with two yolks. I defy anyone not to feel a rush of gratitude as that bonus second sun slips into the frying pan.
Thinking they were rare, I was struck by Sue Tester’s letter: “Each of the six large white eggs I cooked last week was a double-yolker. Is this unusual? I understand that most people choose brown eggs, but I can only say that I wish I had bought more than half a dozen of my last white batch.”
By Peter Roberts’s experience: “A few years ago, I bought half a dozen free-range eggs from our local butcher-cum-deli. The owner assured me they would all be double-yolkers, and they were. How could he be so sure?”
However, Janet Cowan dispelled some of the intrigue, writing: “Around this time of year, and into early summer, I regularly get double-yolked eggs. I purchase them from Sainsbury’s – always extra large. Delicious!”
Susan Edleston added: “Here in Frankfurt, at our local Friday market in Sachsenhausen, we have an excellent egg stand that sells double-yolked eggs, known in Germany as Doppeldotter. Our weekend breakfasts would not be the same without them.”
How, then, is all this double-yolkery possible? Ramesh Nayak offered an explanation: “If eggs are placed over a bright light in a darkened room, an experienced operator can easily see two shadows, indicating a double yolk. The procedure is called ‘candling’. Easy peasy – but time-consuming for the seller who guarantees a double-yolked egg.” Do you have a reliable supplier of double-yolkers? Send your responses here and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of this newsletter.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. |
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Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was FOOTBRAKE. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. |
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.
Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback here. |
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