Game on: All eyes on Makerfield by-election

Tony Blair’s lengthy – and excoriating – 5,600-word essay on the future of the Labour Party and Britain has set Westminster alight this week. The former prime minister's critique has sparked a lively debate, and triggered robust responses from Labour leadership hopefuls Andy Burn ...  Show more

In a dramatic week at Westminster, Wes Streeting has quit as health secretary and ex-deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has said her wrangling with HMRC is finally over – but neither has launched a leadership challenge. Instead, all eyes are now on Greater Manchester mayor Andy ...  Show more

Nigel Farage is throwing the kitchen sink at Labour and he’s not being subtle about it. As Reform UK ramps up its local election efforts, Farage is fielding candidates in councils up and down the country. But the real showdown is in Runcorn and Helsby, where Reform is plotting ...

With the general election in sight, has Nigel Farage made a campaign misstep? His claim that the west provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been met with international indignation – but will it have any on his polling?

And as we enter the final 10 days of camp ...

The US government has shut down after Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on a spending deal before the October 1 deadline, and Sir Keir Starmer has tried to revive his floundering premiership by urging his Labour party to launch a “patriotic” fight against Nigel Farage’s R ...  Show more

Nigel Farage and Richard Tice have been playing good cop bad cop today in Merthyr Tydfil, not launching Reform UK's manifesto, but the party's "contract". The pitch contains some dramatic pledges and mathematical gymnastics.Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by Rachel Cun ...  Show more