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.
- Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London. has accused property developers of constructing “too many luxury penthouses that only the very wealthiest investors can afford” and insisted the rate of affordable house building has to significantly increase.
- Boris Johnson has unilaterally declared to EU citizens living in the UK that “your rights will be protected whatever happens” after Brexit.
- Labour accused Theresa May of a “great stitch-up” after the government announced that ministers would be given 12 weeks to respond when they are defeated on motions raised by the opposition.
- Conservative rebels have warned the Brexit secretary, David Davis, that they are “deadly serious” about forcing concessions from the government on the EU withdrawal bill.
- Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative rising star who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, has said it would be great to be prime minister, foreign secretary or defence secretary one day.
On Thursdays local council byelections take place. There were six yesterday. Britain Elects has five of the results.
Six council by-elections for seven seats today: four Lab, two Con, one local party. @andrewteale's previews https://t.co/Z1NQssuGQG
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 26, 2017
Labour HOLD (X2) Loughborough Hastings (Charnwood).
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 26, 2017
Loughborough Hastings (Charnwood) result:
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 26, 2017
LAB: 63.1% (+17.7)
CON: 21.3% (-2.1)
UKIP: 8.9% (-8.3)
GRN: 6.8% (-7.3)
Labour HOLD Droylsdon East (Tameside).
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 26, 2017
Droylsden East (Tameside) result:
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 26, 2017
LAB: 60.3% (+8.9)
CON: 32.7% (+23.6)
LDEM: 3.6% (+3.6)
GRN: 3.4% (-2.5)
No UKIP (-33.6) as prev.
Conservative HOLD Ashbourne South (Derbyshire Dales).
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 26, 2017
Ashbourne South (Derbyshire Dales) result:
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 26, 2017
CON: 46.2% (-7.6)
LDEM: 31.2% (+31.2)
LAB: 22.6% (-1.9)
No Grn (-21.7) as prev.
Conservative HOLD East Grinstead Imberhorne (Mid Sussex).
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 26, 2017
East Grinstead Imberhorne (Mid Sussex) result:
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 27, 2017
CON: 58.5% (-2.0)
LDEM: 22.3% (+22.3)
LAB: 11.9% (-8.7)
IND: 7.3% (+7.3)
No UKIP (-18.8).
Conservative GAIN Kings Acre (Herefordshire) from 'It's Our County' Party.
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 26, 2017
Kings Acre (Herefordshire) result:
— Britain Elects (@britainelects) October 26, 2017
CON: 38.5% (+38.5)
IND: 20.6% (+20.6)
IOC: 19.9% (-30.2)
LDEM: 11.5% (-21.9)
LAB: 9.6% (+9.6)
