Politics Live
5:00pm – That’s all for this week. Don’t fight because of the football. Have a splendid weekend!
4:30pm – There’s a football match going on in London today, in case you haven’t heard.
England and Scotland are the oldest of foes. Scotland’s first minister will certainly be hoping the bragging rights go back north of the border.
Even the weather in London is Scottish today 😉
Wishing the very best of luck to Steve and all of @ScotlandNT – here’s hoping we can raise the 🏴 over Wembley tonight. #ENGSCO #SCO pic.twitter.com/ybKY75yxx6
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 18, 2021
2:45pm – This is well worth a read after last night’s by-election result.
Crumbling in the Blue Wall: Why the south could be a headache for the Tories
1:30pm – Peter Salty Fleet.
“Enjoy the constituency I hope it makes you very happy. Dear lord, what a sad little life” https://t.co/VUNDeWhktR
— Hannah Rose Woods (@hannahrosewoods) June 18, 2021
12:42pm – PM’s reaction to the Conservatives losing Chesham & Amersham last night:
Boris Johnson says the Amersham and Chesham by-election result is "peculiar" and "a bit bizarre."
Doesn't agree the party is irrelevant in the South – saying he won London twice, was elected in Henley, and the party made gains in Basildon, Maidstone and Basingstoke.
— Jonathan Reilly (@thejonnyreilly) June 18, 2021
11:17am – The PM: “A gaffe machine”. Grab the popcorn…
7/ Pundits: not doing ANeil 'a huge campaign blunder'
Me: why the fu*k wd be put a gaffe machine clueless about policy & government up to be grilled for ages, upside=0 for what?! This is not a hard decision…
Pundits don't understand comms, power or management. Tune out!— Dominic Cummings (@Dominic2306) June 18, 2021
11:08am – Politics really is a bizarre place at times. Part sleep deprivation, part hysteria.
"Do you know what happens when a really powerful orange force goes against a blue wall?"
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey celebrates his party's historic win in Chesham and Amershamhttps://t.co/HQIsg7dJwp pic.twitter.com/f9XKMcmhEl
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) June 18, 2021
11:04am – It’s a fool’s game to predict results in politics. Just ask Jim Pickard.
penance pic.twitter.com/RSVx3hqQW0
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) June 18, 2021
seeing lots of excited speculation today but I’ll eat my hat if the Lib Dems win here – one of the most true blue seats in the country https://t.co/x6FqaLEv2C
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) June 17, 2021
10:52am – Big trade union news.
Howard Beckett had pulled out of the race to become the next Unite general secretary, Sky News understands
— Tom Rayner (@RaynerSkyNews) June 18, 2021
10:30am – ICYMI: Northern Irish politics has been thrown into chaos with a civil war erupting within the DUP. It ended with Edwin Poots resigning as leader after less than 21 days in the role.
Edwin Poots has resigned as DUP leader after just 21 days in the job. https://t.co/IFsqCsOuvE
It came after he agreed a deal with Sinn Fein and the Westminster government to ensure Paul Givan became Northern Ireland's first minister
@nicholaswatt has more 👇
#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/AxgmrTYBgJ— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) June 17, 2021
9:16am – Sarah Green is now an MP!
The Liberal Democrat candidate for Chesham & Amersham pulled off a stunning upset last night, with a gargantuan swing of 25.2% from the Conservatives, who’d held the seat since its formation in 1974.
Simply stunning.
People in Chesham and Amersham will never be taken for granted again. We have sent a message to the whole country tonight.
Thank you to @LibDems activists who made this possible. I can't wait to get started!
— Sarah Green (@SarahGreenLD) June 18, 2021
8:30am – So what’s in the news this morning?
- Lib Dems reverse Tory hold over Chesham & Amersham seat
- All adults able to book vaccine
- Edwin Poots resigns after just 21 days as DUP leader
8:00am – Welcome back to another day of Politics Live!
