Top story: Lib Dems profit from Brexit backlash
Hello, Warren Murray here. Where did the week go?
Voters have punished the two main parties over Brexit as the Tories and Labour both suffered losses in the English local council elections. The Conservatives had been expecting a tough night amid frustration at Theresa May’s failure to take Britain out of the EU as planned. But Labour also struggled, losing seats amid confusion among voters over the party’s stance on Brexit.
In contrast the Liberal Democrats were on course for a strong performance, with predictions the party could make as many as 500 gains, while the Greens and Ukip were also picking up seats.
Counting continues – you can keep up with the latest at our live blog, and here is our interactive presentation of all the latest results. In Northern Ireland, a total of 819 local council candidates stood for election across 11 council areas. Councils are due to begin the count this morning and it will take until sometime Saturday before the final picture is known.
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Wookie road to success – Peter Mayhew, the actor behind the beloved Star Wars character Chewbacca, has died aged 74. The British-born Mayhew was working as a hospital orderly in 1977 when he was talent-scouted by George Lucas for his 7ft 3in stature to take one of the starring roles in the Star Wars films. Mayhew’s health had declined in recent years, culminating in spinal surgery in July 2018. He gradually relinquished the role of Chewbacca from The Force Awakens onwards, handing over to basketball player Joonas Suotamo.
Mayhew’s family said on Thursday that despite being heavily costumed his dedication to the role “showed in every frame of the films from his knock kneed running, firing his bowcaster from the hip, his bright blue eyes, down to each subtle movement of his head and mouth”. Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) paid tribute, saying Mayhew was “the gentlest of giants”, “a big man with an even bigger heart who never failed to make me smile”.
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Drugs block spread of HIV – Antiretroviral therapy (ART) can completely suppress the virus that causes Aids so that it does not spread from one male sexual partner to another, a major study has found. The success of ART means that if everyone with HIV were fully treated, there would be no further infections. Earlier studies also showed the treatment protects heterosexual couples where one partner has HIV. “This has incredible impact on the lives of people living with HIV and is a powerful message to address HIV-related stigma,” said Dr Michael Brady from the Terrence Higgins Trust. Experts and campaigners say the challenge now is early diagnosis so those carrying the virus are quickly put on the drugs. “If we don’t reduce late diagnosis, there will always be those who are not aware of their HIV status,” said Deborah Gold, CEO of the National Aids Trust.
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Upside of immigration – Almost half of Britons think immigrants are either positive or neutral for the country, while British people as a whole are more persuaded of the benefits of immigration than any other major European nation, according to a global survey. The YouGov–Cambridge Globalism survey found that in all, only 37% of Britons feel the costs of immigration outweigh the benefits. The survey also found Britons trust social media platforms less than any other major nation and favour stronger regulation of the likes of Facebook and Twitter. Just two sources of information were trusted by a majority of Britons: national TV news channels (61%) and local news outlets (54%). That news comes as Facebook announces it has banned far-right figures including Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos, as well as accounts related to Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam group, who has posted antisemitic material.
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EU falls out of love with itself – Europeans have lost their “libido” for each other while Britain always “reviled” its EU bride and rejection inevitably followed, Jean-Claude Juncker has said. The president of the European commission gave the whimsical assessment in German newspaper Handelsblatt. Juncker cited Brexit to show it was unfair to blame every failure in European democracy on Brussels: “The fact that the government and the opposition there only started to talk to each other three years after the Brexit referendum is hardly a sign of strength for the British democracy.” On a commonplace Brexiter gripe about the EU, Juncker defended his record as he prepares to leave in November: “I have ensured that the commission no longer gets involved in every tiny detail of citizens’ lives. I am both surprised and disappointed that no one has noticed this.”
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Gold hits bottom – A solid-gold toilet is set to be installed this autumn in Blenheim Palace, one of the UK’s grandest country houses. And visitors will be able to use it. The 18-carat artwork, America by Maurizio Cattelan, made headlines in the US after the Guggenheim offered it to Donald Trump instead of the Van Gogh painting he requested. “Despite being born with a silver spoon in my mouth I have never had a s.h.i.t on a golden toilet, so I look forward to it,” said Edward Spencer-Churchill, the current Duke of Marlborough’s half-brother and founder of the Blenheim Art Foundation. “It will be an installed, working, usable toilet.” Please use the brush.
Today in Focus podcast: Is non-disclosure out of control?
Zelda Perkins worked for Harvey Weinstein in her early 20s. She signed a non-disclosure agreement when she left his company, but 20 years later decided to break it when allegations about the film producer’s behaviour became public. She has subsequently questioned the widespread use of NDAs. Plus: Dan Sabbagh on Gavin Williamson’s short-lived cabinet career.
Lunchtime read: The Soviet block reimagined
Today we offer you a lunchtime look at Soviet-era buildings in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The project by two Italian photographers, Roberto Conte and Stefano Perego, shows how eastern characteristics inherited from Persian and Islamic architecture crept into typically brutal, monolithic USSR designs.
Sport
Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang drove Arsenal to a 3-1 victory in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Valencia, while Pedro’s precious away goal gave Chelsea the upper hand in a 1-1 draw away at Eintracht Frankfurt. Eoin Morgan has accused Alex Hales of showing a “complete disregard” for team culture in a withering assessment of the opening batsman over his 21-day ban for recreational drug use, but the England captain is excited to be able to unleash Jofra Archer in the one-off ODI against Ireland.
Caster Semenya has made a last-minute decision to run in the 800m in Doha on Friday, which will be the last time she can compete in her favourite event without taking medication. The Dutchman Jesper Asselman was victorious on a sodden stage one of the Tour de Yorkshire, as Chris Froome and the renamed Team Sky were given a frosty reception in Doncaster. Underdogs David Gilbert and Gary Wilson rose to the occasion to give their established opponents plenty to think about on the opening day of the World Championship semi-finals at the Crucible. And West Ham Women must be able to handle the occasion of Saturday’s FA Cup final – and a crowd of more than 50,000 – if they are to shock Manchester City, writes Eni Aluko.
Business
Benchmarks in Asia have been mixed with thin trading after a discouraging day on Wall Street. News reports highlighting obstacles in the way of a China-US trade deal weighed on sentiment. Markets in Japan and mainland China were closed. On Thursday, losses by energy, technology and communications stocks handed Wall Street its second straight loss. The pound is worth $1.303 and €1.166 while the FTSE looks like opening a shade higher.
The papers
The fallout from the sacking of defence secretary Gavin Williamson and a coroner’s ruling that a burglar was lawfully killed take the top spot on most front pages. The Telegraph pursues the US angle on Huawei, saying Mike Pompeo will warn Theresa May about the security risks posed by the Chinese vendor next week “as the scandal turns to farce”. The Independent says Williamson has been denied the opportunity to see the dossier of evidence against him, while the i says “May faces new enemy within” alongside an Instagram picture of the former minister and some hounds.
The Times says Williamson will “exact his revenge” against the PM next week with a personal statement in the Commons and suggests the sacking, so close to local elections, was not a good idea. That story runs across the top, but the splash is a report on the return of police stop and search powers in London cutting the murder rate by a quarter. The Guardian focuses on the local election and the possibility of an Aids breakthrough with news that drugs successfully stopped HIV being passed on.
The Mirror, Sun and Metro all splash on the ruling that a homeowner lawfully killed an intruder, using variations of the warning he issued (my knife is “bigger than yours and if you don’t leave my house you will be sorry”). The Daily Mail points out that the burglary victims have had to move house despite the vindication. “Sentenced to a life in hiding” is the headline. The Express says “pensioner perks must stay” because that demographic contributes £160bn to the economy. The FT splashes on the failure of Barclays investor Edward Bramson to get a spot on the bank’s board.
• This article was amended on 3 May 2019. An earlier version said tonight’s race would be the last time Caster Semenya could compete in her favourite event. The text now makes clear Semenya can still compete in the 800m if she takes medication to reduce endogenous testosterone levels.
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