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Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, made a speech without a jacket or tie in an attempt to save his premiership after local election results that were disastrous for his party. He promised to nationalise British Steel, to make ‘an ambitious youth experience scheme’ the heart of a new arrangement with the EU and to offer unemployed young people a job, training or work placement. Even before most local election votes had been counted, he said: ‘I’m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos.’ He told a divided cabinet: ‘The Labour party has a process for challenging a leader and that has not been triggered.’ In a baffling morning-after move, Sir Keir appointed Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, as a special envoy on global finance, and Lady Harman as an adviser on women and girls. Four ministers resigned and more than 90 Labour MPs publicly called on Sir Keir to go. But 112 Labour MPs signed a letter saying: ‘This is no time for a leadership contest.’ Eleven unions affiliated to Labour said: ‘It’s clear that the Prime Minister will not lead Labour into the next election.’ Sir Keir found time to speak with his rival Wes Streeting before the King’s Speech outlining 35 government measures – but no attempt to reform welfare.
Of the 5,036 seats up for election in England, Reform won 1,452 and Labour lost 1,498 from its previous showing, leaving it with 1,068. The Liberal Democrats were up 155 with 844; the Conservatives down 563 with 801; the Greens up 441 with 587. In London, Labour lost 11 of its 21 councils. Westminster city council returned to the Conservatives. In the Welsh Senedd election, Plaid Cymru became the biggest party, with Reform second and Labour third. Labour first minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat; Plaid leader Rhun ap Iorwerth was named as her successor. In Scotland, the SNP won 58 seats in the parliamentary election but 65 were needed for an overall majority. Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, lost his constituency seat but won a regional list seat instead. The Green party said its leader Zack Polanski had ‘taken steps to pay any council tax he may be found to owe’ while living on a houseboat in east London.
Government borrowing costs rose to their highest level since 1998. Eon announced plans to buy the rival energy supplier Ovo. Up to 150 of the 480 former WHSmith shops rebranded as TG Jones are to be closed by Modella Capital, which bought them last year. In the seven days to 10 May, 358 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats, bringing the total to more than 200,000 since 2018. For Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, the Natural History Museum named a parasitic wasp after him.
Abroad
Iran responded through intermediaries to America’s proposals for ending their war; President Donald Trump called its response ‘totally unacceptable’. Defence ministers from more than 40 nations discussed British-led plans to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities cease.
US inflation rose to 3.8 per cent from 3.3 per cent. Mr Trump flew to China to meet Xi Jinping. In talks with Israel, Hamas refused to give up its arms. Israel bombed Lebanon in actions against Hezbollah. Russia held its 9 May victory parade in Red Square without big armaments. A memorial wall built in Pyongyang was calculated by the BBC to bear 2,300 names of North Koreans killed fighting against Ukraine.
Chad launched air strikes on Boko Haram round Lake Chad, killing dozens of Nigerian fishermen. Two women who returned after eight years from Syria to Australia were charged with crimes against humanity. Mexico cancelled plans to end the school year a month early for the World Cup after an outcry from parents.
In South Africa, the constitutional court ruled that parliament had violated the constitution by blocking moves to impeach President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2022; he said: ‘I remain here and am not resigning.’ The town council of Hachirogata in Japan passed a no-confidence motion against the mayor, who has been unconscious since February. British Army medics parachuted onto the Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha to help a British man with suspected hantavirus. MV Hondius, the vessel that left him there in mid-April, reached Tenerife, from which more than 100 people were repatriated by air, 22 to Arrowe Park hospital in Wirral. CSH
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