but will that work for them or against welsh labour, welsh labour seem to think it will, he has been tories have been using uk ministers to front their push, borisjohnson and rishi sunak have been in the north—east of wales, with a red wall there, fell somewhat in the 2019 general election, they feel as though they could take a few seats there on thursday, what of plaid cymru? they will be pushing the tories hard for second place again, pushing in areas like llanelli, the liberal democrats hold one seat in wales in brecon, that ms is standing down, so they will be fighting hard to hold on to that and be challenging in places like the centre of cardiff. there is a few other sentiments going on in wales, there is party establish the welsh assembly, they are looking to establish the welsh assembly, will that sentiment resonate at all with the welsh public? potentially they could gain some of the regional seats here. but i think really, whether it is independence in plaid cymru or establishing the welsh senedd, will that resonate or will it come down to who has done a betterjob leading c

offer. while the public value of the welsh labour offer-— labour offer.e tighter than perhaps labour had thought? tighter than perhaps labour had thourht? _, tighter than perhaps labour had thourht? , tighter than perhaps labour had thourht? _ , tighter than perhaps labour had thourht? , , �* thought? going by the result we've cat in that so _ thought? going by the result we've cat in that so far, _ thought? going by the result we've cat in that so far, this _ thought? going by the result we've cat in that so far, this is _ thought? going by the result we've cat in that so far, this is looking . cat in that so far, this is looking a lot closer than first anticipated. there was a lot of talk beforehand of sadiq khan sailing through comfortably to serve a second term as london mayor, but that isn't looking like the case going by the results so far with the conservative rival sean bailey closely following behind him. at the moment, sadiq khan has a narrow elite of about 38% , followed by the conservative challenger at 37%, so looking like a two—man race, the

there's been a strong showing for welsh labour in the senedd elections, with mark drakeford expectedn, with mr drakeford's party having won 30 out of 60 seats so far. our correspondent, tomos morgan is in cardiff. mark drakeford mark dra keford was mark drakeford was front and centre of welsh labours campaign this year and it clearly has paid off. they've equalled their best ever tally, just one shy of a majority. the question now for mark drakeford, is how will they rule as a government? will they rule as a minority government or will they seek a less formal coalition such as the confidence and supply deal? will they ask the lib dem member tojoin them in a co—op maybe? forthe dem member tojoin them in a co—op maybe? for the tories, they gain some seats, however they will be disappointed they haven't been able to break the north—eastern red wall, simply dented, just getting one asleep there. for plaid cymru, not a great day, losing formerly debt leanne wood in the rhondda valley i'm not making any ground in the target seats. labour, great day for them are not so great for the tories

welsh labour have been in office even longer than the snp has in scotland.ke other parts of the country, labour. 29 seats back in 2016. they had been in a sort of coalition with the lib dems, very small coalition, it has to be said with their one seat to give them nearly a majority of 30 in the welsh parliament. labour will be hoping to keep as many of these seats as possible. meanwhile, plaid and the conservatives battling it out for second place. a big question what happens to the ukip seat, which you can't see, because they've since splintered off into lots of different seats. but ukip did very well in these elections when they were last contested in wales back in 2016, before the brexit referendum was even contested. political eons ago. and it's hoped, the conservatives then, they will be able to absorb quite a bit of support and swelled their numbers in the welsh parliament. there is a bit of a pro—independence sort of feeling a big shift on constitutional issues in wales, as well. plaid open to take advantage of that, as well. and then, of course, we t

the you can see why welsh labour has done so well-— done so well.ll. the comparison is fascinating. take each of the i fascinating. take each of the biggest opposition group, the welsh conservatives and turning the question the other way round, given the success of borisjohnson in many parts of england, why did the welsh conservatives not make those games that they had made in the general election last time in north east wales and some other parts of wales. what happened to them? i wales and some other parts of wales. what happened to them?— wales and some other parts of wales. what happened to them? i think we've not to -ut what happened to them? i think we've got to put this — what happened to them? i think we've got to put this in _ what happened to them? i think we've got to put this in context _ what happened to them? i think we've got to put this in context for _ what happened to them? i think we've got to put this in context for the i got to put this in context for the welsh conservatives. they may progress and they gained five additional mem

sarah murphy, welsh labour, 12,388. that looks like a labour win, doesn't it? . ., majority. reform uk, changing olitics majority. reform uk, changing politics for— majority. reform uk, changing politics for good, _ majority. reform uk, changing politics for good, 534. - majority. reform uk, changing| politics for good, 534. christine and roach,... speaks welsh. therefore, i give public notice... lesson that i what has gone on there. i was telling you early about all these constituencies, basically, where lots of these old labour seats went to the conservatives at the last election and the great nervousness for labour was that this would repeat itself. well, it doesn't seem to be happening, this is another seat which went conservative in the general, but conservative hopes of taking it have been dashed, and labour have held on. that is a pretty solid majority. ten out of 45% which is basically around the average turnout in wales for these senate elections. it is considerably lower than the uk general election.— considerably lower than the uk general election. l

the welsh labour| very much.on success last week, has been meeting this afternoon to discuss the latest stage _ this afternoon to discuss the latest stage of— this afternoon to discuss the latest stage of unlocking restrictions here — stage of unlocking restrictions here at— stage of unlocking restrictions here. at the moment, two households in wales_ here. at the moment, two households in wales can _ here. at the moment, two households in wales can meet indoors and up to six people _ in wales can meet indoors and up to six people from six households can meet _ six people from six households can meet outdoors. the welsh government, before _ meet outdoors. the welsh government, before the _ meet outdoors. the welsh government, before the election, signalled it wanted — before the election, signalled it wanted to reopen indoor hospitality from next _ wanted to reopen indoor hospitality from next monday, the same as england. — from next monday, the same as england, but lots of pubs and bars and restaurants asking wh

embody a form of englishness, in the way that snp have done in scotland, and to a lesser extent welsh labourhoever is leading them. those are live pictures from _ are live pictures from hartlepool. we are expecting the declaration at some point in the near future. the declaration at some point in the nearfuture. the the declaration at some point in the near future. the first major electoral test that boris johnson has faced since winning the election in 2019 and it doesn't likely to receive an early birds. plenty more news coming up later on. hello there. thursday brought another rash of showers, some significant snow to some parts of scotland. it's still cold air with us for the day ahead, so it will be a chilly start, and there will be further snow showers over the hills of scotland. but as we've gone through the evening and overnight, the showers have tended to fade away. we had a lot of hail and thunder in eastern areas, but under the starry skies once again, because it's cold air, temperatures approach freezing — a little below — and given there is some dampness on the surfaces, it coul

since the senedd's inception just over two decades ago, welsh labour has been in power in some shape voters come may the 6th. and for many, the key question will be, do we want more of the same or is it time for a change? tomos morgan, bbc news, outside the senedd. if you're a star wars fan then you've probably already said may the forth be with you. hundreds of items from the original star wars trilogy — which were owned by the darth vader actor dave prowse — are going under the hammer today. ali vowles has been to find out more. you can see the costume already. it's amazing, it's so imposing. i'm being shown some of the 600 lots that will be sold online in bristol, and what a treasure trove. for daddy dave, my preferred father. much love, carrie fisher. signed photos from the stars, darth vader's helmet used at fan conventions — all are attracting attention. what's happened ? we have broken so many in—house records already. within 24 hours of that catalogue going online, we had over 800 bids. we have had thousands upon thousands of pounds of bids left. interest from all over the wor

but also, welsh labour offering that vision _ also, welsh labour offering that vision for— also, welshng their best ever set of election results twice taking 30 of election results twice taking 30 of the 60 seats in the senedd. and mark of the 60 seats in the senedd. jifuc mark drakeford said they exceeded expectations. tomosjoins us now from cardiff. so far it's been a much better result for labour than what was initially predicted? why has it worked there? i think mark drakeford _ why has it worked there? i think mark drakeford will _ why has it worked there? i think mark drakeford will definitely i why has it worked there? i think| mark drakeford will definitely get some _ mark drakeford will definitely get some plaudits and it is interesting to see _ some plaudits and it is interesting to see what the re—elected member of the senedd _ to see what the re—elected member of the senedd said, he said that mark drakeford — the senedd said, he said that mark drakeford was definitely an asset on that ticket— drakeford was definitely an asset on that ticket and might come across as a bit pr

whether are you the english conservative party, the welsh labour party or the scotish national party,arty can change the news agenda. it gets to get to do stuff, it passes legislation, changes people's lives. i think part of the art of being a good journalist is being distracted. it's being interested in things. it's being a bit like the dog going, "squirrel." but the advantage of the governing party has, it can produce squirrels on demand. the problem that the opposition parties have, and this is the interesting thing in political combat, is how they deal with it. the governing party often wants the spotlight to go away and can't make it do so. the opposition often desperately wants the spotlight and it struggles to drag attention to it. and so that i think is the essence of it. we are often easily distracted. i think that is something that has benefits as well as drawbacks. i mention this because i referenced earlier the blow—up borisjohnson doll, which was huge and made a huge impact. it has all the hallmarks of a pr move. katy, i want to know from you is there anything to suggest

to pre—pandemic levels, and that wider impact of covid—19 is the biggest issue facing the new welsh laboured last week. now, the latest figures show over 500,000 people are waiting for their hospital treatment to start. that's equivalent to more than one in six of the welsh population being on a waiting list, and there are significant increases in waiting times for cardiology, neurology and for specialist treatments, such as restorative dentistry. the chances are if you are on a waiting list now, you're going to face a significantly longer wait compared to what you would've done last february. now, to get on top of this, to bring those waiting times down, the welsh nhs is likely to turn to the private sector for some help and may even look to use facilities, hospitals over the border in england too. it is a worrying time for patients and for theirfamilies, but also for staff who are working in the nhs who may feel overwhelmed by the challenge, having just spent a year ferociously tackling the pandemic in wales. here in northern ireland, hospital waiting lists have been described as a natio

completely and the party which wants to shut down the senedd could pick up seats but it will be welsh labour years. given labour's woes elsewhere, what is happening here in wales could be seen as a silver lining, now the party's leader mark drakeford seems to be completing his transformation from anonymous academic few had heard of two years ago to a political pin up, a leader who seems to be on the verge of equalling labour's best performance in wales, we will know the final numbers tomorrow. thank you. the first big result of the day came early this morning when hartlepool elected a conservative mp for the first time in more than six decades, with almost double the number of votes of labour. 0ne shadow minister called the result "absolutely shattering". 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth has been finding out why, after so long, the town has gone blue. as the sun came up on the north—east coast, the news came in. jill mortimer, conservative party candidate, is duly elected. after decades of labour, hartlepool awoke to a tory mp. through this result, the people have spoken. these early

but that is as to nothing, in terms of longevity, in office of course, as welsh labour, who have beent's response to the pandemic. general polling has shown mark drakeford's, the first minister, response has been very popular, but there the issues are also gearing towards constitutional issues. wales and politics are becoming quite unpredictable, as it is for the rest of the uk. more on the elections and results on bbc news throughout thursday night and all of the weekend as well as some of the results will not be with us until next sunday afternoon. the family of a teenaged girl with learning difficulties, who was struck 30 times by a metropolitan police officer, have called for the crown prosecution service to reconsider its decision not to charge him. pc benjamin kemp was sacked yesterday for using excessive force on the youngster, who'd become distressed after running away from a guided walk. the independent office for police conduct said there was no indication racial discrimination had been a factor, something disputed by the family's solicitors. scientists investigating the pla

welsh labour have held power for more than two decades but face significant challenges from the welshnow. yes, labour may have been in charge here in wales for 22 years but they are campaign is focused mostly on the last ia months. mark drakeford's role in reading well through the pandemic. quiet and cautious maybe but it has made him a bit of a political rock star in well circles and he rather than keir starmer has led the charge. the welsh conservatives want people to think back to pre—pandemic and the 2019 general election when several red wool seeds turned blue in north wales. in south and west wales there is a threat from plaid cymru who see the pandemic as a precursor to independence given how many decisions have been made here in wales. forthe decisions have been made here in wales. for the lib dems tomorrow it is a question of survival. they only had one member, can be hold onto their one seat? fair to say it has not delivered much drama over the years. only 12 of the a0 seats have changed hands since 1999 but many are now marginal and so turn out could be key. it has never re

that again is a huge boost to welsh labour, they never thought they would lose the seat, let's be cleare in sight. labour on 10,200. i time plaid cymru are nowhere in sight. labouron10,200. iwant time plaid cymru are nowhere in sight. labour on 10,200. i want to look at the show because you will see what i mean by the difference. a9% to labour, nearly half the vote, 17 to plaid cymru, 12 the conservatives and 11 independence. if you look at the side abolished the welsh assembly, they are on a 7% which is actually more than they have been getting elsewhere. let's look at blaenau gwent�*s change. the big difference here is plaid cymru's big difference here is plaid cymru's big performance to get close to the winning post last time that has just gone away this time in a 19% down. the conservatives up by six and independence by 11. a big swing of 1a% from plaid cymru to labour. i would like to bring john curtis back. that actually is another interesting one because not only does itjust solidify interesting one because not only does it just solidify the welsh labour performance, although the

the welsh labour leader, mark drakeford, has had _ welsh labour leader, mark drakeford, has had his—on began? the key battleground to watch out for is the north-east — battleground to watch out for is the north—east of wales, that is where the conservatives made a number of gains _ the conservatives made a number of gains from _ the conservatives made a number of gains from labour at the 2019 general— gains from labour at the 2019 general election on a uk level. also, _ general election on a uk level. also, a — general election on a uk level. also, a couple of seats in the south where _ also, a couple of seats in the south where the _ also, a couple of seats in the south where the tories have increased support — where the tories have increased support in— where the tories have increased support in recent years. there are a couple _ support in recent years. there are a couple of— support in recent years. there are a couple of seats where plaid cymru and labour— couple of seats where plaid cymru and labourand couple of seats where plaid cymru and labour and are couple of seats where pl

might struggle after carwyn— welsh labour might struggle after carwynjones stepped welsh labour mightkwards, that might go towards people saying they have not taken a bite out _ people saying they have not taken a bite out of— people saying they have not taken a bite out of the votes we have been losing _ bite out of the votes we have been losing to _ bite out of the votes we have been losing to the conservatives and we have created a problem in our heartland _ have created a problem in our heartland —— if, in london, the liberal— heartland —— if, in london, the liberal democrats and the greens enjoyed _ liberal democrats and the greens enjoyed a — liberal democrats and the greens enjoyed a revival. it is hard to predict — enjoyed a revival. it is hard to predict without those results. we have labour people saying, we need to understand why people vote tory, and neither— to understand why people vote tory, and neither of them seem willing to entertain— and neither of them seem willing to entertain is— and neither of them seem willing to entertain is that people can go outside. — enter

welsh labour clearly think it will work for him, he has been front and centre of their campaign.heir campaign. but conversely on the tories�* side, they have been using more uk ministers for their campaign, borisjohnson has been to the north—east of wales, and today rishi sunak has been in the north—east of wales, that belt, five or six labour seats, hoping to overturn them, the tories. so really i think the story in wales will be labour obviously being in power here since the senedd first started, doesn't look like they will have the same number of seats, according to the polls is five years ago, potentially losing a couple of seats, i suppose, potentially losing a couple of seats, isuppose, how potentially losing a couple of seats, i suppose, how many, potentially losing a couple of seats, isuppose, how many, and if they lose constituency seats, can they lose constituency seats, can they pick up in the regional vote? talking about plaid cymru as well, they will be battling hard for second place with the tory party, looking to take areas like llanelli, but looking to hold on to

since the senedd's inception just over two decades ago, welsh labour has been in power in some shape for a change? tomos morgan, bbc news, outside the senedd. i'm joined now by mandy rhodes, the editor of holyrood magazine and managing director of holyrood communications. i wonder how confident the snp actually are of getting the majority that they say will give them the right to call for another referendum. i right to call for another referendum.— right to call for another referendum. ~ :, , .~' right to call for another referendum. ~ :, , a :, , referendum. i think as nick was sa in: referendum. i think as nick was saying earlier. _ referendum. i think as nick was saying earlier, it _ referendum. i think as nick was saying earlier, it is _ referendum. i think as nick was saying earlier, it is very - referendum. i think as nick was j saying earlier, it is very unusual to get a majority in parliament, which is not designed to get that. they would be foolish to be confident about it. i think we will not know until thursday, really. but not know untilthursday, really. but if the not kn

jason matthew mcclellan, welsh labour. 10,426. cheering and applause. is bring in bridget philipsen, shadow treasury secretary, labour mp in sunderland. thank you for coming in sunderland. thank you for coming in tojoin us. disappointing news for you in sheffield, but i imagine even more disappointing in north—east wales, an area where you have been so strong in the past to lose out narrowly to the conservatives.— lose out narrowly to the conservatives. , :, ,.. , conservatives. there is no escaping the fact this — conservatives. there is no escaping the fact this has _ conservatives. there is no escaping the fact this has been _ conservatives. there is no escaping the fact this has been a _ conservatives. there is no escaping the fact this has been a very - the fact this has been a very difficult set of elections. the message we are getting from voters is absolutely clear, that we have got to change. we have started the process of change under keir starmer�*s leadership. we have got a long way to go in winning back trust. we have to increase the pace an

welsh labour have held power for more than two decades — but face significant challenges from the welsht hywel griffith has more. labour may have been in charge for 22 years, but their campaign is focused on the last 1a months. the role in leading wells through the pandemic quiet and cautious, but the recognition has made him a bit of a political rock star, certainly he rather than keir starmer has led the charge in wales. while conservatives want people to think back to pre—pandemic times and not 2019 general election when several seats turn blue in north wales, it is inside west wells that they see the pandemic is potentially a precursor to independence, given how many decisions have been made here in wales about people state. for the lib dems tomorrow, it's a question of survival, they only had one member and can they hold onto their one seat was make at this stage, it has not delivered much drama over the years, only 12 of the a0 constituency seats have changed hands since 1999. but many are marginal and hands since 1999. but many are marginaland turn hands since 1999. but many are

kate dearden, welsh labour. 3576. when wigley evans, the welsh independence party. 157. and at westminster at one stage. let's look at that. conservative, russell george, 12,013. the liberal democrats in third place on 4207. labour in fourth on 3500. that is ourfirst on 4207. labour in fourth on 3500. that is our first welsh result. i want to look at the share very quickly. 48% of the conservatives. i think this will confirm when we see the difference that the tories have put on 6%. plaid have put on 8%. the lib dems with a sharp full to 11% in what was a stronghold for them at one point. labour up 8%. that could be the mark drakeford effect. what is the swing? the swing is conservative to plaid cymru reflecting that plaid went up 8%. my colleague is keeping an eye on all of these results in cardiff and what did you make of that? a very strong conservative performance.— conservative performance. that's ri . ht. conservative performance. that's right. interesting _ conservative performance. that's right. interesting to _ conservative performance. that's right. interesting

whether are you with the english conservative party, the welsh labour party of the scotish national partytly after being a good journalist is being distracted. it's being interested in things. it's being a bit like the dog grown old, squirrel. at the dog grown old, squirrel. at the advantage of the governing party it can produce squirrels on demand. the problem and the opposition parties have in this is the interesting thing into political comeback and how they deal with it. the governing party often wants the spotlight to go away and can't make it do so. the opposition often desperately wants the spotlight and it struggles to drag attention to it. and said that i think is the effort to eat my essence. we often often easily distracted. i think that is something that has benefits as well as drawbacks. i something that has benefits as well as drawbacks.— well as drawbacks. i mention this because _ well as drawbacks. i mention this because i _ well as drawbacks. i mention this because i referenced - this because i referenced earlier the blow—up boris johnson dall. which was huge and made a h

to account and having moved _ welsh labour to account and having moved its _ welsh labour to account had from the prime minister and keir starmer also. just a silly prime minister to say in response to ed davey, the liberal democrat leader, that he would be hoarding a public enquiry into the end of the session. —— just to say that the prime minister said in response. he also said they would be bringing forward proposals on aduu be bringing forward proposals on adult social care later this year after being criticised for not having brought that forward by a keir starmer, despite boris johnson�*s promise of course when he stood on the steps of downing street. the labour leader also talking about the voter id bill potentially, saying that they will not back those plans are being put forward by the comment. much more of course from westminster in the coming hours. first, let�*s catch up with the weather. hello again. in any of that may sunshine it should feel pleasant enough outside today. the winds are not too strong for most of us, but it is a day of sunshine and showers. a promising s

since the senedd“s inception just over two decades ago, welsh labour has been in power in some shape from an island threatened by rising flood waters in kenya. the baringo giraffe — also known as the rothschild giraffe — is close to extinction, with fewer than two thousand left in the wild. emmanuel igunza reports. it's an audacious rescue mission. the baringo giraffe is being carefully ferried to a new home in a custom—made barge. she's one ofjust 3,000 baringo giraffes that remain in the world. the local community decided to act when a herd became trapped on a disappearing island. decades of rising water in lake baringo meant the island was getting smaller every year. the food availability on the island is highly fluctuating and insufficient, so it is justifying in supporting the need for the translocation of the giraffe to the mainland. he speaks his own language. the team has been using satellite images to plan the move. the digital africa platform contains data that until recently was only available to a handful of people. now the team can see changes in water levels and vegetati

arguably the - question any welsh election isn't if labour can hold onto power but how will they go aboutars in power but never an overall majority of the 60 seats. behind me, last time around, they took 29 seats. i think the expectation within the party is that numbers will go down a few but hopefully, they say, they've managed to avoid going down to the low 20s. 0f they say, they've managed to avoid going down to the low 20s. of course it means they'll have to strike a deal of some sort with the other parties. what about those other parties? in the race for second place the welsh conservatives feeling pretty boys and confident about some of the labour held seats in north—east wales. for plaid cymru arguably harderfor them in north—east wales. for plaid cymru arguably harder for them to in north—east wales. for plaid cymru arguably harderfor them to break through during the pandemic because a lot of their arguments have been pretty similar to labour. however, the leader adam price might be in a position of power. he has ruled out being a junior partner in coalition with labour but he has

since the senedd's inception just over two decades ago, welsh labour has been in power in some shape ns, one set of those english council elections, they didn't take place last year because of the pandemic, 129 members of the scottish parliament in holyrood up for election, 60 members of the welsh senate up for really important, huge powers of the devolved powers, that those parliaments have, and 39 police and crime commissioners up for election. in england, london assembly has 25 seats, the london mayoral seat as well, lucky us but notjust the london mayoral seat, 13 directly elected mayors across england as well. let's think about what victory might look like in different places. loads of attention on scottish parliament, the snp 61 seats, they need 65 to get a majority, that's what they want and if they don't get it they will argue, the scottish greens take them over the line for a pro—independence majority, that will give them a reason to have another referendum, the other party is trying to stop them achieving that. in wales, the labour party trying to hang on, they've been in po

the welsh assembly has traditionally been governed by the labour party, which is opposed to independencelabour councillor in caernarfon. >> i want to see wales have more self-determination, and that means more powers towards our country. however, going as far as independence, i think is a step in the wrong direction. we are at the moment having nearly 20 billion pounds by the westminster government to control and to run our services. without that, i think wales would be in danger. >> reporter: polls suggest that labour will be the biggest party after the election, but may have to share power with the welsh nationalists. the british government likes to boast that the united kingdom is the most successful political and economic union the world has er seen, but a new study by public policy experts at cambridge university warns that boris johnson is widely perceived as a prime minister who only speaks for england. >> this present crisis is, i think, a lot more serious than the british state seems to realize. >> reporter: historian owain jones believes that english brexeers, who triggered bri

saying is not all schools are teaching our rounded black history in their schools, i can point to welsh labour of this positive news, our vaccination programme is accelerating at pace. over 72% of all adults have now been given their first dose and 43% of all adults have the protection of two doses. this weekend we reach the milestone of 60 million vaccines administered across the united kingdom. this weekend public health england also published new research showing that the effectiveness against symptomatic disease from the variant first discovered in india is similar after two doses when compared to the p 117 similar after two doses when compared to the p117 variant dominant in our country. that, as with other variants, are expected against hospitalisation and death. this is encouraging data. it reinforces once again the importance of our vaccination programme in giving us a path out of this pandemic, as well as showing just how important it is that everyone comes forward for both injections when the call comes through. it is the progress made by the british people in following the rules and

since the senedd's inception just over two decades ago, welsh labour has been in power in some shape an, bbc news, outside the senedd. it's been just over a year since mick cullen, otherwise known as "speedo mick", walked from lands end tojohn o'groats injust a pair of swimming trunks — raising more than half a million pounds for disadvantaged children along the way. spent so much —— we spent so much of hisjourney with him. it spent so much —— we spent so much of his journey with him. it was quite a journey. it's been a tough 12 months for us all, but for mick, navigating life in lockdown has proved his most challenging journey yet. he's been speaking to breakfast�*s jayne mccubbin about his struggles with his mental health, and the long road to recovery. i stopped connecting to people. i started throwing myself off whatsapp groups, my family, and disconnecting myself, just getting more and more isolated and more and more depressed. you will know michael cullen as speedo mick. you will know the pants, the smile, the laugh, but now, he wants to share his struggle. the last time i saw y

it follows the snp's fourth scottish parliament election win in a row and labour's win in the welsh parliamentnicola sturgeon said there could be "no democraticjustification" for blocking an independence vote and vowed to push ahead with her plans for a second referendum after the covid crisis is over. our scotland editor sarah smith reports. across scotland, victorious snp candidates are celebrating increasing their vote and winning a remarkable fourth term in government. kaukab stewart became the first woman of colour elected to the scottish parliament. whilst i may be the first, i will not be the last. and with a pro—independence majority in that parliament, nicola sturgeon says westminster cannot stand in the way of another referendum. all of this risks treating voters in scotland and our entire democratic process as if they simply don't matter, like they are just a sideshow. voters are not a sideshow. when the tories held on to aberdeenshire west, the snp�*s hopes for an outright majority were extinguished. scottish conservatives campaigned saying a vote for them would stop another indepe

members of the welsh parliament have returned to work after the senedd election, with labour winning id cymru ms elinjones fought off a challenge from the conservative russell george to continue as presiding officer or llywydd. this senedd election is a neighbourly election. the members for montgomeryshire and for ceredigion. i guess in olden times, we would've sorted that out as a dual at dawn on the mountains of plynlimon but this feels far safer and we will both live to tell the tale, russell. at holyrood, two members of the scottish parliament have been sworn in. karen adam, the new snp msp for banffshire and buchan coast, made her affirmation in sign language. before becoming the first sikh to take the oath, pam gosal of the scottish conservatives spoke the words of the mool mantar, the sikh statement of belief, in punjabi. speaks punjabi. and britain's newest mp took her seat in the commons after the hartlepool by—election. jill mortimer won the constituency for the conservatives. it had been labourfor almost 50 years, and the defeat prompted a shadow cabinet reshuffle. i swear

in wales, after 22 years in government, labour is hoping to hold on to its position as the largest party. all 60 seats in the welshirst time 16 and 17—year—olds will be able to vote. 0ur wales correspondent, hywel griffith is at the senned for us tonight. as you say, labour has been in power here for over two decades, but it is the last 12 months that has been the focus of the campaign and mark drakeford's role in leading wales through a pandemic. as unlikely as it seems, the trust and recognition that has made him has made him a bit of a political rock star. people wanting autographs as he is campaigning. but does that translate into keeping seats? well the welsh tories hope not and want people to think back before the pandemic and the last general election when some red wall seats in north wales turned blue n south and west wales, plaid cymru will push labour hard and will see pandemic as a precursor to potential independence. as for the liberal democrats, tomorrow is a storaway of survival —— story of survival. this stage it has not delivered much political drama and in fact only 12 constituency seats have ever

labour. the lib dems have three seats. the final results for all 129 seats at holyrood are expected tomorrow. there have been a handful of results in welshthe senedd. the conservatives have two seats — including gaining the vale of clwyd. labour has one seat. the full results are expected this evening. in other news, thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation has recommended that people under the age of a0 should be offered an alternative vaccine to the astrazeneca jab after concerns about blood clots. the age threshold is being raised as a precautionary measure. we'll find out in the next half hour how international travel will restart for england. holidays abroad are currently banned, but a traffic light system of rules will take effect on 17th may — with countries classed as green, amber or red. the transport secretary grant shapps is due to give a news conference at five o'clock. stay with us on the bbc news channel for coverage of that story shortly. police searching for the killer ofjulia james, the police community support officer who was found dead near her home in kent 10 days ago, have released a photograph of a man the

welsh senedd. the results across the country will show what impact keir starmer�*s leadership of labour is having. snp overall majority and possibly a mandate, the party says, for another independence referendum. our correspondent lewis goodall has this assessment of all thursday's votes. we've got a mammoth set of elections on may 6th. let's have a look at the different contests that are happening in different parts of the country. well, for a start, to look at england first, lots of elections taking place in england this time around, 143 councils, 5000 seats, two lots of elections because, of course, one set of those english council elections didn't take place last year as a result of the pandemic. all 129 members of the scottish parliament in holyrood up for election, all 60 members of the welsh senedd up for election. really, really important, those elections, given the huge powers that those devolved authorities, those parliaments have. all 39 police and crime commissioners up for election as well in england, important for policing in those areas. london assembly, 25 seats. the london mayoral

referendum and we have a clear reminder here that plaid cymru are able to do better in welsh elections, the laboure of votes? the answer is if you look at the percentage of votes, what strikes you isjust percentage of votes, what strikes you is just simply how evenly divided scotland is, so that hasn't changed. the scotland is now divided down the middle on the constitutional question whereas you only have to go back for years, there was a pro—unionist majority. to give you an idea of how neither side really at the end of the day can claim that this provides a mandate for their point of view on the constituency vote, 50.4% of the vote went to the three unionist parties but on that list about 50.1% of the vote went to the pro—independence parties. the reason we have a pro—independence majority in the scottish parliament is to do with the way the electoral system operates but, hey guys, those are the rules and that's the way it played out. borisjohnson benefited in the 2019 general election from the rules of the truth is now unionist nor nationalists can come away from the election in scotland confi

meanwhile, labour will remain in power in wales for another five years after matching its best—ever senedd election result, winning half of the 60 seats in the welsh. i think the difference between wales and england is that people in wales can see the record of a labour government. they can see what we have achieved together over the period of devolution, and they know that, if we say something in our manifesto, then they can have confidence that it will be delivered. after two decades in government, many within labour expected their grip on power in wales to loosen. instead, the pandemic has flipped convention on its head, and it's the incumbents who have come out stronger. especially in places like porthcawl. 18 months ago, voters in this constituency kicked out their labour mp but, in this election, they stuck with the party, and that seems to be largely down to trust in its leader. mark drakeford has done very well this year, you know, with this pandemic and everything else he's had to deal with. well, he's come across clearly and said what we want to hear, and what we were going to do. i think people have thought he has handled it very well t

welsh parliament, the senedd. there are 60 seats up for grabs here. you can see how the map looked after the last election, down the spine of the country is the green, that's plaid cymru. labour we are going to be looking at very carefully. llanelli, delyn, very finely balanced margins there. so, they should be very exciting contests. this is 0utside source live from the bbc newsroom. 0ur lead story is... donald trump spanned from facebook and instagram has been upheld by an oversight board. parents of 29 students abducted in march from couegein students abducted in march from college in nigeria say they have been released. they said that police were taking them back to the northwest of the city and that a ransom had been paid for their release. here in the uk, the latest figures published by the office for national statistics show that the uk has recorded its lowest weekly number of deaths involving coronavirus since last september. but ministers say they are already looking ahead to the autumn when the nhs will be ready to give boosterjabs to those over fifty. and in some parts of wales, as our health editor hugh pym reports, people over eighteen are already being offered a

labour did buck the trend in manchester for example, in liverpool, in bristol. local authorities as well like salford and in preston, what was different... 0rwales, my welsh ancestorslass amenities in the north. and labour did better. salford's mayor said they offered radical policies. mark drakeford they offered radical policies. mark dra keford after they offered radical policies. mark drakeford after 2019 election, he warned the labour leadership not to go away from radical policies that can inspire people. so these are not are all big lefty figures, they are authentic centre—left agendas. but they are big labourfigures associated with challenging the conservatives and having eye—catching policies and a vision. because that is where i think the labour leadership nationally has clearly failed. i think across the party there is a consensus that no one knows what keir starmer stands for. people do not andy burnham stands for, they do know what what mark drakeford wales stands for and we do know what he saw mayoral candidates in local authorities. labour has to love you cannot get people to vote for labourjust labour has to love you cannot get people to vote for lab