Voters today head to the polls in Labour’s first electoral test since taking power last year.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party faces a twin challenge of local elections across England and a by-election in Runcorn and Helsby, a seat Labour won convincingly in 2024 but that is expected to go down to the wire in a contest with Reform UK.
Polling yesterday suggested Nigel Farage’s party is on course to have two mayors, in Lincolnshire and Hull, with Labour pushed into third place in both.
Bookmakers have also installed Reform as odds-on favourites to seize one of Labour’s safest parliamentary seats in Runcorn and Helsby in a by-election.
Live updates below