Latest editorial
Tory defector Mark Reckless became the right-wing UK Independence Party’s second elected MP yesterday after he topped the poll in the Rochester and Strood by-election.
Mr Reckless, one of two Tories to defect to Ukip, regained his Kent seat with a majority of 2,920 — a far narrower margin than the party had predicted.
However the result was a further blow to the Tories and Prime Minister David Cameron in particular, who visited the constituency five times during the course of the campaign.
By-election poll puts Starmer's future on a knife-edge
Every Starmer boast about removing asylum-seekers probably wins Reform another seat while Labour loses more voters to Lib Dems, Greens and nationalists than to the far right — the disaster facing Labour is the leadership’s fault, writes DIANE ABBOTT MP
With Reform UK surging and Labour determined not to offer anything different from the status quo, a clear opportunity opens for the left, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE