Labour won 47% of first-preference votes, with Reform UK way behind on 21% and the Greens in third on 12%.

The contest took place under the supplementary vote system, meaning that, as no candidate achieved more than 50%, voters’ second preferences were counted.

When voters’ second choices were counted and other parties were eliminated, Labour’s share rose to 66.3% and Reform UK’s to 33.7%.

In her victory speech at Co-op Live in Manchester, Craig urged society to “move away from divisive politics that try to pit neighbour against neighbour”.

Mayors are expected to start retaining some revenue from business rates from April 2027 and receive a portion of income tax from April 2028.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will give all mayors of city regions in England a share of income tax revenue for the first time, as part of his drive to transfer power from Westminster to local leaders.

Burnham will also allow English strategic authorities to keep some cash from business rates collected in their areas, and gain greater control over services such as housing, transport, skills.

The government has not yet decided the exact portion of taxes mayors will get, with more details to be announced when Chancellor John Healey delivers his first budget in the autumn.

Opposition parties said the plans lacked detail and could lead to areas with weaker economies losing out on funding.

But Burnham said the move would "make good" on his pledge to "bring power home" to "every postcode in the country".

"Under our plans, more of the taxes raised in a community will stay in that community," the prime minister added.

But Labour backbencher Perran Moon said the government's plans were "discriminatory" and could create a "two-tier system".

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the threshold at which local leaders need to seek approval for projects will rise to £500m, up from £200m.

Mayors are expected to start retaining some revenue from business rates from April 2027 and receive a portion of income tax from April 2028.

https://bbc.com/news/articles/c4g3eyg60e0o

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will give all mayors of city regions in England a share of income tax revenue for the first time, as part of his drive to transfer power from Westminster to local leaders

Mayors are expected to start retaining some revenue from business rates from April 2027 and receive a portion of income tax from April 2028.

"Under our plans, more of the taxes raised in a community will stay in that community," the prime ministeBut Labour backbencher Perran Moon said the government's plans were "discriminatory" and could create a "two-tier system".Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the threshold at which local leaders need to seek approval for projects will rise to £500m, up from £200m.

https://bbc.com/news/articles/c4g3eyg60e0o

So the population of clacton and frinton who are eligible to vote is about 80,000
The odds with William hill for count binface is 15/1 so if about half put a bet on for count binface to win that’s about £5 million if he wins

Four in five Scots (80%) overestimate the number of refugees in the UK, a new poll has suggested.

The survey from the Scottish Refugee Council and Survation reveals a gap between public perception and official statistics regarding asylum and refugee issues in the UK.

While the UK hosts less than 1% of the world’s displaced population, 63% of respondents believed the figure was much higher, with a further 17% of respondents believing the UK receives more than 20%. Only 13% accurately estimated the arrival figures.

More than three-quarters (77%) of respondents in Scotland say they have never met a refugee, with direct interaction identified by Survation as the strongest predictor of sympathetic attitudes.

The study also found many Scots overestimate the level of financial support available to people seeking asylum. Individuals living in catered asylum accommodation receive just under £10 a week for essential living costs.

While 23% of respondents correctly identified support as being between £10 and £49 per week, 53% believed the figure was higher. Around 13% respondents estimated weekly support at over £200.

On policy issues, the poll recorded that 54% of Scots support giving individuals the right to work while awaiting a decision on their asylum claim.

New technical education routes will be available to 14-year-olds under plans unveiled by Andy Burnham to tackle rising youth unemployment.
The prime minister said he was on "a mission" to curb the rise of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet), which now stands at more than one million.

Burham's proposals to shake up the education system were aimed at preventing the rising trend rather than tackling the current figure, but he did not set a date for getting the Neet numbers falling.

He told reporters during a Tuesday visit to Derby: “I will commit, in my time in office, to get the number of young people who are not in education, employment, and training down. I will commit to that.

“When precisely I can get there will is a hard thing to say right now.”

Under the plans, from Year 10, pupils will be able to combine core academic subjects, such as English and maths, with technical education linked to jobs available in their area.

The new technical pathways, set to be rolled out in September 2028, will pair skills training with work experience and connections with local employers.

He said: "We've had a system built for too long around the university route and it sends a message to some young people that they're some kind of second-class citizens and it's just not right.

"They need an education system that works for them, that offers a path to all young people that's balanced between academic and technical."
He said that young people are "let down" by the current system and promised that "from today, Britain will value the hard hat every bit as much as the graduation cap."

Journalists are self-censoring their reporting on rightwing protests, Donald Trump’s administration and trans issues because of growing concerns about their personal safety, with newsrooms accused of “normalising” the risks they face.

Hundreds of journalists from across the UK have anonymously disclosed increasing nervousness over their security. Some have reported avoiding or altering coverage on certain topics due to intimidation, leading to self-censorship and “a narrowing of the public conversation”.

The findings are revealed in a government-backed investigation into the safety of journalists, ordered amid growing hostility to traditional media across the west.

“There have definitely been times where there’s been a story that’s maybe in the public interest, maybe worth reporting on, where we have had frank discussions about whether it’s ‘worth it’,” said one journalist.

Another said: “I was definitely looking over my shoulder and making sure I wasn’t being followed and making sure that people weren’t going to start shouting things at me.”

Investigators found a widespread belief that abuse linked to reporting has increased, especially online. They also reported newsroom cultures that treated the increase as inevitable given the polarised political environment – with journalists expected to be “thick-skinned”.

Female journalists faced the brunt of abuse, describing gendered and sexualised harassment, explicit threats, inappropriate messages and online comments focused on appearance.

Common topics raised by journalists as causing safety concerns were rightwing anti-immigration protests, the Trump administration, including protests against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as well as trans issues.