Local elections 2024: Polls open for London mayoral and council contests throughout England as Tories brace for losses

Kate Forbes has introduced she won’t stand to switch Humza Yousaf as Scottish first minister and SNP chief, clearing the best way for early favorite John Swinney to take the reins.

Ms Forbes, the previous finance secretary, had been tipped as a possible alternative for Mr Yousaf, who resigned earlier this week as he confronted no confidence motions in his management and authorities.

Mr Swinney, the previous deputy first minister, confirmed he would run earlier on Thursday, saying that he needed Ms Forbes to develop into a “significant part” of his potential future authorities.

Ms Forbes thanked SNP members who had reached out and urged her to face, recognising some could also be upset.

“To those people I say this – you can be certain that delivering on the priorities for which we have, together, advocated in recent years has been at the heart of today’s decision,” she mentioned.

“It is now clear from this morning’s statement that in John Swinney we have someone who not only understands that need for reform, but has now committed to delivering it.

“I look forward to playing my role in making that happen.”

A Conservative MP has mentioned his dyspraxia induced him to misplace his picture ID, forcing him to rearrange an emergency proxy vote for Thursday’s native elections.

Tom Hunt, who represents Ipswich, warned individuals “persecuting” him on-line to be “very careful with their words”, saying it’s “well known that sadly we are slightly more prone to lose things”.

It is probably not the final election many are calling for, however right now, a sequence of council elections will take place throughout greater than 100 native authorities in England.

They would be the final native elections earlier than the Rishi Sunak calls the nationwide vote – with the outcomes doubtlessly confirming which manner the nation will go later this yr.

Downing Street has mentioned it can “look into” together with veterans’ ID playing cards on the listing of legitimate voter ID following stories of a former serviceman being turned away from a polling station.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman mentioned: “This ID card was introduced very, very recently.

“I think it’s something that we will want to look into. There’s already a very wide range of acceptable documents including a free voter authority certificate which is accepted at all polling stations so anyone who is eligible to vote can continue to do so.

“But we will certainly look into the question of the veteran ID card which was introduced earlier this year.”

The spokesman mentioned Downing Street had no issues about voter ID extra typically, including: “We don’t want to see anyone turned away from polling stations, we want everyone to be able to vote.

“Experience from the last local elections was that 99.75% of people were able to cast their vote successfully.”

The proven fact that I’d genuinely be an enchancment on the final 14 years of Tory authorities says all the pieces it’s essential to know,” Count Binface tells the Independent.

Support for the Conservatives is now decrease than it was below failed prime minister Liz Truss, regardless of Rishi Sunak’s hopes of the “greatest comeback in political history”.

Despite a flurry of presidency bulletins in recent days, on all the pieces from Rwanda flights to defence spending and welfare, a brand new ballot has the social gathering on simply 18 per cent. Under Ms Truss it was 19 per cent.

Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin has extra:

Keir Starmer arrives at polling station to forged vote in native and London Mayoral election.

It comes as The Independent can reveal that the Tories additionally claimed that they’ve reported a Labour council group to Thames Valley Police in Milton Keynes, a hotly contested bellweather seat forward of the native elections there.