Both the main parties, at least on a rhetorical level, are committed to levelling up. But @AlexNorrisNN, Labour's shadow levelling up minister, thinks his party has a stronger claim to being the true heir of aspirant regional equity. From The New Statesman Spotlight newstatesman.com/spotlight/regi…

One interesting nugget from last week’s local elections was Labour’s progress with Leave voters. There are two possible interpretations. Freddie Hayward explains: newstatesman.com/politics/uk-po…

‘Unenthusiastic Conservatives will return to the polls in autumn 2024, preventing a Tory wipeout in the Blue Wall. But if the party fails to recognise the danger and change, it is only a matter of time before that fate will befall it.’ 🖊️ David Gauke newstatesman.com/comment/2023/0…

The last time Tories lost middle-class bastions like Tunbridge Wells, they were wiped out, writes Fergus Butler-Gallie. newstatesman.com/politics/2023/…

For the first time ever, a combined authority will have similar autonomy to a government department when it comes to spending, writes Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands. From The New Statesman Spotlight newstatesman.com/spotlight/regi…

Keir Starmer can credibly claim he is on a path to No 10, but it is uncertain whether his party can win a majority. The New Statesman View on Labour. newstatesman.com/new-statesman-…

The “coalition of chaos” attack line won’t work but Labour still faces big questions over its plans for government, writes Andrew Marr. newstatesman.com/politics/uk-po…

The National Conservatism movement offers nothing but the redundant fusion of economic liberalism and social authoritarianism, writes Adrian Pabst. newstatesman.com/quickfire/2023…

Our LE2023 ward-by-ward analysis, with all the data now in. Do these numbers put Labour on course for a majority? Yes. Read: sotn.newstatesman.com/2023/05/labour…

Labour is on course for a majority at the general election, according to Ben Walker (@bwalker.uk)'s ward-by-ward analysis of the 2023 local elections. Here's why 👇 sotn.newstatesman.com/2023/05/labour…

Keir Starmer relished Rishi Sunak’s electoral woes during today's #PMQs, writes Rachel Wearmouth. newstatesman.com/politics/uk-po…

Labour’s five national missions don’t quite have the same ring as “40 more hospitals” or “20,000 more police officers”, writes Freddie Hayward. newstatesman.com/politics/uk-po…

There’s a conventional view that proportional representation would be a way to lock the Tories out of government forever. Yet this is not guaranteed, writes Joxley. newstatesman.com/quickfire/2023…

Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, has said that focusing on the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund amounted to a “comms cock-up”. From The New Statesman Spotlight newstatesman.com/spotlight/regi…

While no good usually comes of a King Charles sidelining MPs, picking a fight with the monarch would be another vote loser for my fellow Conservatives at a time when they really don’t need it, writes William Atkinson. newstatesman.com/comment/2023/0…

At Reform UK’s spring rally an incoherent politics of despair was on full display, writes Freddie Hayward. newstatesman.com/politics/2023/…

Kemi Badenoch's face-down with the ERG may make her more popular with those who have grown weary of the group’s bluster, writes @zoe_grunewald. newstatesman.com/politics/morni…

“Midway through Widdecombe’s speech an early medieval historian next to me muttered about Magna Carta. He was there because his 14-year-old son was given a detention for calling a non-binary substitute teacher “sir”.” I went to a Reform UK rally 👇 newstatesman.com/politics/uk-po…

The civil service is at war with the government, if the annual conference of its union, the FDA, is anything to go by, writes @zoe_grunewald. newstatesman.com/politics/uk-po…

The local election results suggest cities can safely stick to their plans to lower traffic and emissions. India Bourke for The New Statesman Spotlight. newstatesman.com/spotlight/clim…