#constituency

#constituency

Nadine Dorries, the Conservative former culture secretary, has announced she is standing down as an MP with immediate effect.She made the announcement in a tweet after having reportedly been dropped from Boris Johnson's resignation honours.The move means there will be a byelection in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency, where in 2019 the Conservatives won a 24,000 majority.

Rishi Sunak used a helicopter to travel to his Yorkshire constituency on Thursday, with a stopoff to visit a billionaire family who live only two miles from a large airport.Flight records show the prime minister took off from a private heliport near parliament in London on Thursday afternoon, landing about an hour later, very close to Manchester airport.

T he Prime Minister has been urged to tackle the epidemic of youth crime after two London teenagers were stabbed to death within hours of each other.Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy said children and parents in her constituency were terrified following the killing of 16-year-old Renell Charles in her constituency.

Angela Rayner has pleaded for her soulmate Sam Tarry to remain a Labour MP after he was deselected by the party.Mr Tarry was blocked from running in Ilford South in a ballot last October, as locals chose a council leader to fight the next election in the constituency.He is a close political ally of Ms Rayner, who is deputy Labour leader, and the pair have been romantically linked since her separation from a union boss.

Rishi Sunak's new private heated swimming pool uses so much energy that the local electricity network had to be upgraded to meet its power demands, the Guardian has been told.While many Britons are facing increased electricity bills and are trying to limit their energy usage extra equipment was recently installed in a remote part of North Yorkshire to provide extra capacity from the National Grid to the prime minister's constituency home.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he is in no doubt there will be a by-election in Margaret Ferrier's seat, as he urged the SNP and Conservatives to avoid dither and delay.Speaking during a visit to the former SNP MP's Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat, Sir Keir said he is confident the Commons will back the 30-day suspension from the House she faces following her conviction for breaking Covid restrictions, despite it being pulled on Thursday.

Oliver Dowden proves being ginger is no barrier to becoming Deputy Prime Minister, according to Angela Rayner.Labour deputy leader Ms Rayner joked she hopes to follow Mr Dowden's example and hold the position in the future.Ms Rayner last year wore a Christmas jumper in the House of Commons which featured a picture of a gingerbread person and the words gingers are for life not just for Christmas.

The Conservatives will not return the whip to Julian Knight due to further complaints, after police dropped an investigation into a serious sexual assault allegation against the MP.The Metropolitan Police confirmed their probe is over after the senior Tory said he had been cleared.Mr Knight who was suspended from Tories over the claim always denied the allegation and on Wednesday demanded the immediate return of the party whip.

Jeremy Hunt has declined to comment on government plans to allow oil and gas drilling in his constituency in the heart of the Surrey stockbroker belt, as a judicial review of the decision was heard at the high court.The chancellor of the exchequer previously opposed proposals, approved by the government last year, to sink an exploration well near the village of Dunsfold, Waverley, in the midst of the Surrey Hills.

Tensions have flared within the Labour party as two members of Keir Starmer's shadow ministerial team were pitted against junior leftwing MPs in battles to win the nomination for new parliamentary seats.Gerald Jones, the shadow Welsh minister, won a selection contest for the new seat of Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon on Wednesday against Beth Winter, an MP from the leftwing Socialist Campaign group.

Jeremy Corbyn is set to be blocked from standing as a Labour candidate at the next general election, with Sir Keir Starmer set to bring a motion confirming the move to a meeting of the party's ruling body.The Labour leader will propose a motion that will make clear that the National Executive Committee will not endorse Mr Corbyn at the next election, expected in around 18 months' time.

By David Wallace Lockhart


BBC News political correspondent


The leaders of a local Labour Party have walked out over a "a clique in London" they claim are dictating who is selected to stand as an MP.Nine members of Labour's 13 strong Bolton North East executive say they "lack confidence in the integrity" of the party's selection process.

Labour members should have the final say on whether former leader Jeremy Corbyn stands for the party at the next general election, an ally has said.Former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said Mr Corbyn "should have due process" after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's vow to block his candidacy.

The fall of former Labour MP Jared O'Mara has been just as dramatic as his rise.Six years after being thrust into the political spotlight by ousting former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg from his Sheffield Hallam seat in a major upset at the 2017 general election, O'Mara has been convicted of six counts of fraud.

Dog owners are left powerless and deeply frustrated by a lack of legal consequences for dog-on-dog attacks, the Commons has heard.Conservative Anna Firth told MPs the law should be changed so that the owner responsible in a fatal dog-on-dog attack can be held criminally responsible.The MP for Southend West in Essex put forward a 10-minute rule bill in the House of Commons on Tuesday which she said would implement the change if enacted, and would also require police forces to record dog-on-dog attacks.

MPs and charities have condemned the Home Office for shunting young Afghan refugees around the UK like cattle, as new evidence emerges of children being moved out of London hotels weeks before their GCSEs.The Observer has uncovered a growing number of cases of Afghan families being compulsorily relocated out of London by the Home Office despite being about to start their exams on 15 May.

Carers will be able to take unpaid leave from their employment after a Scottish Liberal Democrat MP's Bill passed in Westminster.North East Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain's Carer's Leave Bill will become law after it passed its final stage in the House of Lords on Friday.It will take effect next year once it is given royal assent.

A potential by-election defeat in Rutherglen and Hamilton West would require soul-searching for Labour ahead of the general election, Jackie Baillie has said.The Scottish Labour deputy leader said her party has confidence there is an appetite for it to take over the constituency as incumbent MP Margaret Ferrier faces being banned from the House of Commons for breaching Covid rules.

The Calder Valley has been revealed as the fastest growing area for small businesses in the UK, according to fresh research.The West Yorkshire area, which was the setting for BBC hit TV show drama Happy Valley, was pinpointed as a hotspot for start-ups by GoDaddy's venture forward research initiative.

A Cabinet minister has acknowledged that no MP would want a large-scale facility to house asylum seekers in their area as the Government reportedly stepped up efforts to find accommodation on ships.Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the Government's Illegal Migration Bill is intended to speed up the system so large-scale accommodation facilities will not be needed in future.

A serious sexual assault allegation against a senior MP is no longer being investigated, police have said.The Metropolitan Police confirmed their probe is over after Julian Knight said he had been cleared.Mr Knight, who was suspended from the Conservative Party over the claim, always denied the allegation and on Tuesday demanded the immediate return of the party whip.

Changing the time shown by all the clocks in your home may seem like a chore when British Summer Time (BST) kicks in on Sunday.But spare a thought for Tjeerd Bakker, who as senior horological conservator at Buckingham Palace is responsible for changing no fewer than 600 of them.There are so many gilded timepieces at the palace that Mr Bakker and his team of heritage experts from the Royal Collection Trust had to start their work on Thursday.

Getting the French government's controversial pension reform bill passed was always going to be a difficult sell, as it was guaranteed to have unions up in arms and generate massive protests.Published: 16 March 2023 10:09 CET But who is the relatively young politician charged with getting it over the Parliamentary finish line who admitted to franceinfo that he's been getting by on three or four hours sleep in recent weeks, and whose home town was briefly blacked out by pension reform protesters?

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails A former Labour MP has been found guilty of making fraudulent expenses claims to fund a cocaine habit while in office.Jared O'Mara was convicted of six counts of fraud after trying to claim around 24,000 of taxpayers' money for his extravagant lifestyle.

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails A former Labour MP has been found guilty of making fraudulent expenses claims to fund a cocaine habit while in office.Jared O'Mara was convicted of six counts of fraud after trying to claim around 24,000 of taxpayers' money for his extravagant lifestyle.