Coffee House

Labour has won the Blackpool by-election as the Tory party also performed badly in local election results overnight, losing 280 seats so far. Here are the results: Labour: 736 seats (+115) Tories: 283 seats (-280) Liberal Democrats: 242 seats (+43) Green: 77 seats (+35) Reform: 0 seats Some Tories will be breathing a sigh of relief not to have beaten into third place in Blackpool by Richard Tice's party. Ben Houchen's re-election for a third term as Tees Valley mayor will also have calmed some nerves. But there are few other glimmers of hope. Keir Starmer has won key bellwether councils, such as Redditch, Thurrock and Hartlepool suggesting that Labour is on course for a general election win, even if there are signs that his position on Gaza cost his party seats.

Last week I stood here to announce the ending of the cooperation agreement between the SNP and the Greens: the Bute House Agreement, and that the SNP would seek to govern as a minority government. I made that decision as leader of the SNP because I believed the Bute House Agreement was the right one for the party I lead, and I still do believe that to be the case. But most importantly, I believe it was the right decision for the country. My hope was to continue working with the Greens, in a less formal arrangement as the SNP moved into a new phase of minority government. Unfortunately, in ending the Bute House Agreement in the manner that I did, I clearly underestimated the level of hurt and upset I caused Green colleagues.

Tonight saw the second reading of the Sunak administration's flagship Tobacco and Vapes Bill. As expected the government easily won the vote by 383 votes to 67, thanks to Labour's support of the legislation. However some 59 Tories chose to cast a vote of protest against plans to introduce a generational ban on smoking, with dozens more abstaining. Below you can find a full list of those who voted against Sunak's smoking ban by their various party affiliation.

The Princess of Wales this evening revealed that she has been diagnosed with cancer, and that she is being treated with chemotherapy. Read her full video message here: I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you personally for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I have been recovering from surgery. It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I've had a fantastic medical team who have taken great care of me, for which I am so grateful. In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time, it was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.

It's not looking good for Lindsay Hoyle, with MPs continuing to sign Will Wragg’s Early Day Motion of no-confidence in the Speaker. The current number now stands at 93 signatories – more than one in eight MPs who sit in the House of 650 Members. Among them are 47 Tories, 42 SNP, three Plaid Cymru and one independent.

The Rwanda Bill tomorrow gets its Third Reading in the House of Commons. But before that comes the committee stage, with MPs on the right of the Conservative MPs putting down amendments to the Bill. Some are warning that unless the Bill is amended to make it tougher today then they will either abstain or even vote against it tomorrow night. If Rishi Sunak and the Whips' Office were to lose such a vote on a major piece of legislation at Third Reading – at a time when they still boast a working majority of 54 – then it would constitute a major crisis for the government. Below are a list of MPs who have publicly said that they are prepared to vote against the Rwanda Bill tomorrow: Simon Clarke – 'I am minded as things stand today to vote against.

Fourteen months after Liz Truss left Downing Street, her list of resignation honours has today finally been finally published. It contains eleven names, three of whom receive peerages and will take up seats in the House of Lords. Four of the recipients are, like Truss, sitting Conservative MPs in the House of Commons. Here is the full list of those who have received gongs: Peerages: Matthew Elliott  Political Strategist and formerly Chief Executive of Vote Leave. Jon Moynihan  Formerly CEO and Executive Chairman of PA Consulting Group. Formerly Chairman of Vote  Leave. Ruth Porter  Deputy Chief of Staff to the former Prime Minister in 2022.

Tonight, 125 MPs voted in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza, by way of an amendment to the King’s Speech. Here is the full list of the 56 Labour MPs who disagree with Keir Starmer, and backed a ceasefire. The ten that have ‘left the frontbench’ are italicised.

Keir Starmer continues to face significant pressure to call for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict over Gaza. A third of all Labour MPs have either said they want a ceasefire or signed a Commons motion calling for one, out of a current total of 198 Labour members in the Commons. Below is The Spectator's list of names gathered from parliamentary records and online statements, including 15 frontbenchers.

Thank you, Akshata, for that introduction, and thank you for always being there for me. My wife: truly the best long-term decision for a brighter future, I ever made. I have been blessed in my life. I have a wonderful wife and two daughters who make me proud every single day. And I was also lucky enough to grow up in the most loving of homes. My Dad was a GP and my Mum a pharmacist… you did need a smaller mention than last summer I know. In so many ways, I wouldn’t be standing here before you today without them. They were – and are – my inspiration. Thank you, Mum, thank you Dad. Like so many of us in this hall, they understood the importance of community… and made sure that I did too. They didn’t believe community was some extension of government.

And just like that it’s day three of the Conservative party conference in Manchester! With one full day left, there’s plenty to get stuck into. Today’s highlights include speeches by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Suella Braverman. Over on the fringe circuit there’s a range of interesting events and The Spectator hosts its last six conference events.

It’s day two of the Conservative party conference in Manchester and attendees are shaking off last night’s merriment to get stuck into today’s agenda. Today’s highlights include speeches by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, while over on the fringe circuit there’s a range of interesting events covering themes from education, Ukraine and China. The Spectator kicks off its jam-packed programme of conference panel events.

It’s the first day of the annual Conservative party conference in Manchester. Grant Shapps, who is making his first major speech since being promoted to Defence Secretary, is the headline act on the main stage.

The Conservative party conference in Manchester is something of a political version of the Edinburgh festival: you go for the fringes, not the main events, and there’s no end of variety. The Spectator is hosting a packed and entertaining schedule of fringe events – and a famously un-crashable party. All our events are free but require access to the secure zone. G&T will be served at every event, even the morning ones. Be sure to arrive early to get a seat! Our full programme and details are available below: Tuesday 3 October Will the public ever get on board with net zero? 2pm – 3pm Why did Rishi Sunak U-turn on the 2030 petrol car-sale ban?

Labour leader Keir Starmer’s reshuffle has now finished. Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner has been moved from her current berth, shadowing the Cabinet Office to Levelling Up – marking something of a promotion for Rayner. Lisa Nandy, however, has been given a large demotion from shadow Levelling Up minister to shadow cabinet minister for international development.

Nigel Farage's bank account with Coutts was closed earlier this year. Here is the bank's dossier, obtained by Farage using a subject access request, that reveals why: Item 1: Personal data extracted from minutes from Wealth Reputational Risk Committee on 17th November 2022 Content • Seeking approval to continue the relationship with Nigel Farage (NF) subject to annual reviews. • Referred to NF’s controversial profile in public life and politics, reflected in the adverse press outlined in the paper presented. • Despite the adverse press, from a legal perspective NF has not been formally charged of any wrongdoing, and is not subject to any regulatory censure.  • NF is already a Coutts customer which he had made public knowledge.