I’m not writing my usual blog today but here, as an alternative, is the Politics Live readers’ edition. It is a place for you to discuss today’s politics, and to share links to breaking news and to the most interesting stories and blogs on the web.
Feel free to express your views robustly, but please treat others with respect and don’t resort to abuse. Guardian comment pages are supposed to be a haven from the Twitter/social media rant-orama, not an extension of it.
You can read all today’s Guardian politics stories here.
And here are some of the main ones on our site this morning.
- Boris Johnson has floated the idea of a 22-mile bridge across the Channel to enhance transport links with France after Brexit.
- Labour will call a halt to the “outsourcing racket” exposed by Carillion’s collapse, by tearing up procurement rules to make the public sector the default choice for providing government services, Jeremy Corbyn has revealed.
- Prison chiefs have been summoned next week to explain to MPs their “abject failure” over living conditions in Liverpool prison, which have been described by inspectors as the worst they can recall.
- Ukip has descended into virtual civil war after its embattled leader, Henry Bolton, accused members of plotting “an organised coup” against him after he was seen having dinner with his former girlfriend, who has been suspended from the party for racism.
- Britain has suffered another Brexit blow after the EU decided to relocate a key satellite monitoring centre from the UK to Spain.
On Thursdays local council byelections take place. There were four yesterday. Britain Elects has the results.
Four council by-elections tonight: one Con defence, one Lab, one LDem and one free-for-all.@andrewteale's previews: https://t.co/Bfzkvk9lqt
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) January 18, 2018
Downhall & Rawreth (Rochford) result:
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) January 18, 2018
LDEM: 77.0% (+16.6)
CON: 23.0% (+6.4)
Liberal Democrat HOLD.
No Labour (-7.9) and 'Rochford District Residents' (-15.2) as prev.
Conservative GAIN Hulton (Bolton) from Labour.
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) January 18, 2018
Hulton (Bolton) result:
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) January 19, 2018
CON: 49.4% (+16.7)
LAB: 40.1% (+3.0)
UKIP: 6.5% (-18.0)
LDEM: 2.3% (-0.2)
GRN: 1.8% (-1.5)
Throop & Muscliff (Bournemouth) result:
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) January 19, 2018
IND (Wilson): 31.3% (+31.3)
CON: 30.0% (+8.2)
LAB: 23.6% (+15.8)
IND (Lucas): 6.9% (+6.9)
LDEM: 6.3% (+6.3)
GRN: 1.9% (-5.0)
Independent GAIN from Independent.
No other Ind(s) (-52.0) and UKIP (-11.5) as prev.
