they've been in office since the welsh parliament was created, back in 1999, over 20 years.lition 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 think, of everything that is going on in england. and if we think a bit about what is going o

all 60 seats in the welsh parliament are being contested.ll 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 changed hands since 1999. but t

so, there are votes for both the scottish and welsh parliaments.or mayors in 13 of the biggest city areas, some council elections and the london assembly. there are also 39 police and crime commissioners up for election in england and wales. finally, there's a by—election in hartlepool — which could tell us how labour is doing in what was once its heartland. the only place in the uk without any elections tomorrow is northern ireland. let's join our political editor laura kuenssberg. as you suggested it is almost like an encyclopaedia of elections. there are small contests for the tiniest of parish councils, big contests that raise constitutional questions, particularly in scotland but also in wales, and for the main party leaders there are big pressures. can the tories show they are keeping up the tories show they are keeping up the momentum when they flip so many seats from red to blue in the general election? can keir starmer in his first test at the polls as labour leader show he is helping to undo the damage of years past? there is so much at s

electing a new scottish parliament, with 129 members, and in wales they're electing a new senedd or welsh parliamentth 60 members. in england, votes have been cast for 13 city and regional mayors, thousands of seats on 143 councils, and for 25 members of the london assembly. there are 39 police and crime commissioners are being elected in england and wales. and in addition to all that there's also been a parliamentary by—election in hartlepool, where labour is fighting to hold on to the seat. the only part of the uk without any elections is northern ireland. we'll be asking what's at stake in all these contests, but first, this report by our political correspondent ben wright. for all party leaders, these elections are a test. for borisjohnson, who voted in london this morning, they're one measure of how voters rate his handling of covid, which halted last year's poll and still shapes this. for labour's leader, sir keir starmer, these elections are a chance to prove he's taken the party forward since its general election drubbing. and for scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, the parliamentary

in wales, labour has held firm in elections for the welsh parliament.argest party — overtaking plaid cymru. this is the situation at the moment, with more than half of the 60 constituency and regional results declared. 0ur wales correspondent hywel griffith reports. for over two decades, through every political storm, labour has held on to power in wales. with every election cycle, its numbers have only moved a little. right now, it looks like a party on the up. in a seat labour lost five years ago, it's taking back control. in llanelli, it's turned the majority into a healthy lead. but celebrations may be understated, like the party leader, but there's no doubt he's delivered. i started this campaign answering questions as to why this was going to be labour's worst ever result, a poll prediction of 22 seats. the campaign never felt like that to me. we've had a fantastic and energetic campaign with hundreds of people involved and real enthusiasm on the doorstep. covid dominated the campaign. it changed voting, too, slowing down the count. the final resu

there are votes for both the scottish and welsh parliaments.re are elections for mayors in 13 of the biggest city areas, some council elections and the london assembly. there are also 39 police and crime commissioners up for election in england and wales. finally, there's a by—election in hartlepool which could tell us how labour is doing in what was once its heartland. the only place in the uk without any elections tomorrow is northern ireland. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. watch the stunts. you might think it's a general election. it's not quite yet, but tomorrow there is a huge sweep of ballots and everyone in great britain has the first chance to have a say since his victory in 2019. these are a very important set of elections and the choice, i think, is clear between, you know, the labour opposition who seem absolutely determined to continue to play political games and government that is getting on with our agenda, getting on with people's priorities. but it's the first time that keir starmer faces the electorate as the la

let's look now at the situation in wales, where questions concerning the power of the welsh parliamentcalls to say that was it, i wasn't going to pull through. the advice they got from italy was suggesting that if people had not come out of a coma within two weeks, if they did come out, they were going to have major failures of organs, and i took two and a half weeks. but yeah, it wasn't looking good. my heart had stopped twice. they had to perform cpr on me. my kidneys had failed. i was on dialysis. he made a miraculous recovery after his eight weeks in hospital, but it took him the best part of last year before feeling normal once again. for the rest of that year, i thought i was going to die every day. so every twinge i had, every day i got up and didn't feel myself, i thought, this is going to be my last day. it makes you appreciate the very simple things. the two things i did not have in hospital that i wanted was fresh air and someone to give me a cwtch. back working from home now and spending time with the family, has his experience of covid impacted how he will vote on may the

there'll be votes for the scottish and welsh parliaments, local governments in england and mayors ofndon. almost 50 million people will be eligible to cast a ballot in what is a bumper set of polls including some delayed because of the pandemic. 0ur political correspondent helen catt reports. coronavirus has made today's collections a little different. polling stations have been set “p polling stations have been set up with safety measures, that means cleaning and screens and 1—way systems. there will be a clean pencil for each voter, 1—way systems. there will be a clean pencilfor each voter, or you can bring your own, and you will be asked to wear a face covering inside. there may also be limits on how many people can go in at once. the outbreak of the pandemic delayed elections which word due to take place last years of this year, there are a bumper set of polls across most of the country. in scotland, voters will elect a 129 members of the scottish parliament. in wales, all 60 senned set up for election. in england, 4006 and 50 council seats are up. there are also elections for th

as well as local elections in england and votes to the welsh parliament, there are also votes to thee on that, here's our scotland editor sarah smith. in this unusual, socially distanced election it's not the pandemic that dominates the debate, but instead it's the question of scottish independence. that's tricky for scottish labour who know they need to rebuild a lot of support before they can really challenge the snp. if you want to help build a credible alternative to nicola sturgeon and the snp you need to support me in this election campaign. help me do it. but you don't expect to win this election campaign? you don't expect to be first minister yourself next week? iam many things, i doubt i am superman. given where we were ten weeks ago in the polls and where we need to get to i do not think it is possible, but that is up to the people of scotland. stirling castle gives our backdrop to what has been described as the most important election since the devolved parliament was set up, and that's because if the snp win an overall majority they will claim that's an electoral mandate

year, as well as education and the future of the nhs, welsh independence and abolishing the welsh parliament some of the themes being passed around by the parties standing in this election. cut towards the ball! but which issues have caught the minds of the cardiff harlequins senior men's rugby team, back at training after four and a half months of enforced winter break? things like health, social care, housing, those are the important things, i think overlooked sometimes in these discussions, so yeah, those core things really, for me. i feel like this year, university students have been left behind, sort of, not concentrated enough on, sort of, our mental health. i think we need to make our own decisions, so for me, i believe firmly in independence and that's the way we need to go. it's one that has to look quite broad. i think we've got a lot of problems at the moment in society. i think we need to look at a broad spectrum. since the senedd's inception just over two decades ago, welsh labour has been in power in some shape or form but now, there's more choice than ever for welsh voters com

but before then of course, on thursday, we have the small matter of the welsh parliament elections, and vote have on the future road map of unlocking restrictions in wales? tomos morgan, bbc news, cardiff. the restriction on the number of mourners who can attend funerals is being lifted in england from may the 17th. from then, attendances will be determined by how many mourners can be safely accommodated while maintaining social distancing both indoors and outside. the move has been welcomed by the national association of funeral directors. in two weeks, eating out will become eating in, as the vast majority of pubs and restaurants in england open their doors to serve us food inside. but aside from getting covid—safe, they've got another major worry on their plates — staffing. after thousands of workers left the sector during lockdown, the industry says it's in crisis. some hospitality businesses are warning they might not be able to open this month if they can't get the people they need. our consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith reports. high pressure. long hours. late into the

members of the welsh parliament have returned to work after the senedd election, with labour winningaid 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

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

one held over as a result of the first year of the pandemic — elections in the scottish and welsh parliaments be the first big electoral test we have seen for keir starmer, and only the second time voters have had a chance to cast their verdict on borisjohnson since the general election of 2019. seems a long time ago, doesn't it? let's have a quick look and think about the some of issues that might be at play in those elections. of course, conservatives have been pointing out and saying that issues of sleaze that have been dominating westminster over the last two weeks really aren't making much of an impact on voters on the doorstep, and some of the polling that we have seen would seem to bear that out. you won't be surprised to see coronavirus at the very top of voters' priority list at the moment. though of course some of this polling will have been done since some of those issues have come to the fore. but if we think about keir starmer in particular, this is the first time that he has been put in front of the voters for theirjudgment and how can we think about how well or badly he might b

the outcome of the welsh parliament elections should be completed by the end of friday. me on saturday, while declarations for police and crime commissioners may not happen until monday. covid has not affected one recent election day tradition, and expect social media to be full of canine companions as people head to the polls. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. and we will have full coverage of all those election results, including the hartlepool by—election result, expected early tomorrow morning on bbc news, and in—depth analysis of all the results on a special programme with huw edwards and kirsty wark. that's from nine o'clock tomorrow on the bbc news channel. our top story this lunchtime: troubled waters: escalating tension between britain and france over post—brexit fishing rights off jersey. coming up, a court waives british citizenship application fees for the family of a woman caught up in the windrush scandal. coming up on the bbc news channel, manchester united are in semifinals action against roma for the europa league. it's the first of four matches they're

place last year because of the pandemic, 129 members of the scottish parliament in holyrood up for election, 60 members of the welshive 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 power since 99, over 20 years, trying their best to keep as many of the 29 seats, almost the majority they currently have put the conservatives had a very good 2019 election performance, trying to expand their numbers and let's think about england, what victory for sir keir starmer, his first test before the voters, that might look like. we could compare him to other leaders of the opposition in their first years, the increase in seats they had, tony blair very good performance in his first election 95, 32%, william hague 23 and a half percent, all of them have done reasonably well apart from jeremy corbyn who went backwards. work your stomach pits on that list will be a reasonably good indication of how good a nightie and the labour party have had but the labour party nervous about the apparent vaccine pulls down bounced tha

we have 143 list councils, the scottish and welsh parliaments, 13 mayors, including london, and there'sliamentary election for mp in northeast england. this is a real test of boris johnson's leadership. we have seen the last few weeks these allegations of cronyism, who pay for his apartment in downing street. we will see how that comes through. polls are suggesting that johnson's conservatives are doing well, and that is probably due to this vaccine program. that could lead to some -- guy: ok, i think we may have just lost emily. shame. she's going to do some great work over than a few days, and bring us the results of these elections. the bit i am really interested in at the moment it is what i -- is what is going to be going on in scotland. we need to figure out basically whether the markets are pricing in the risk of the u.k. breaking up. joining us to give us a sense of positioning is julian howard, gam lead investment director of multi-asset solutions. thanks for taking the time to join us. we have a key vote coming up in scotland. if the snp do well, there's a strong possibility t

amongst the races, local councils for scottish and welsh parliaments and the mayor of london.ys the cost of recruiting drivers will have an impact on earnings in the second quarter. that is one more in front the company's goal to turn off a by the end of the year. uber expects incentives to get drivers back on the road will reduce the rate the company takes from fares about 20%. the lecture home market in new york showing early signs of recovery. prices in manhattan's most expensive districts rose 5.0% in the year through march. the first annual increase since last april. rents in central london's best area felt 40% in the same period. global news, 24 hours a day, on air and at quicktake by bloomberg, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. this is "bloomberg." ♪ >> has this date is coming out, we are also seeing strength in india that is even more ominous than the south africa one so the question will be, how will that fair with boosters? unless people think we're going to be stuck in the battle for a long time, we are going to be stuck

there is of course the issue in wales where they may will demand more devolved powers for the welsh parliament and today. i do significant set of elections yesterday and today. i do think it has been a _ yesterday and today. i do think it has been a convulsion _ yesterday and today. i do think it has been a convulsion and - yesterday and today. i do think it | has been a convulsion and without elections for westminster and without westminster being the focus, we have heard from such a stellar people around the country, we heard from andy street and andy burnham and nicola sturgeon and mark drakeford, and i said 48 hours ago that scotland is a very different country, well actually the vote would say that difference has increased, but when you hear these voices around england, wales and scotland, you realise that there is not a single voice for the uk and i never will be again, there are strong voices everywhere, with the mayors coming forward, and i think that no matter what happens, you talk about wales, no matter what happens in scotland, we heard the call from gordon brown for this, they wil

so across the united kingdom we have elections for the scottish and welsh parliaments we've had london assembly elections we've had an election for the london mayor that's one of 13 merril actual merrill elections around 143. english councils comprising of roughly 5000 councillor seats up for grabs 39 police and crime commissioners and one election a by election for a westminster m.p. that's for the hot little constituency where i am the count for that is going on in the leisure sense of behind me seeing cars driving up unloading bags of ballot papers from the boots and taking them into be counted why does all of this matter world is the 1st chance really to take the political temperature of the country since the conservatives and boris johnson won that thumping 80 seat majority back in 2019 it's also a chance to have a look at the support for independence movements in scotland and in wales and it's a chance to see whether labor the main opposition party in the u.k. is as politically unappealing to the electorate under its new leadership of kiss starmer as it was under its old leadersh

the outcome of the welsh parliament elections should be completed by the end of friday. t, english councils and london could come on saturday, while declarations for police and crime commissioners may not happen until monday. covid has not affected one recent election day tradition, and expect social media to be full of canine companions as people head to the polls. ben wright, bbc news, westminster. and we will have full coverage of all those election results over next few days as they come in here on bbc news, starting with the hartlepool by—election result expected in the early hours of tomorrow. and then we'll have in—depth analysis of all the results on a special programme with huw edwards and kirsty wark. that's from nine o'clock tomorrow morning on bbc two and the bbc news channel. more on that story that has been dominating here today, the french fishermen who have been off the coast ofjersey, protesting about fishing rights or otherwise. they have now left the area but we know there have been some discussions. let's find out what we can from our correspondent in

some of that vote will go for the abolish the welsh parliament party which looks like it will pick— parliamente likely fallout from that is— in 2016. and the likely fallout from that is that labour, who are already starting _ that is that labour, who are already starting off— that is that labour, who are already starting off a little short of what is required for an overall majority may end — is required for an overall majority may end up — is required for an overall majority may end up more shard for what they need for— may end up more shard for what they need for an— may end up more shard for what they need for an overall majority, but that is— need for an overall majority, but that is not— need for an overall majority, but that is not to say that power in any sense _ that is not to say that power in any sense will— that is not to say that power in any sense will go to the conservatives but rather — sense will go to the conservatives but rather labour may well find itself _ but rather labour may well find itself having to come to some accommodation with plaid cymru in order— accommodation wi

all 129 members of the scottish parliament in holyrood up for election, all 60 members of the welsh seneddwers 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 mayoralty as well, lucky us, but notjust the london mayoralty but 13 directly elected mayors across england as well. now, let's have a think about what victory might look like in the different places. obviously loads of attention going to be on the scottish parliament. snp currently have 61 seats, they need 65 seats to get a majority, that's what they really, really want. if they don't get it, they'll argue that if the scottish greens take them over the line for a pro—independence majority, that that would give them a reason, a mandate, to have another referendum. the other parties trying to stop them achieving that. in wales, labourjust trying to hang on, really. they've been in power since 1999, over 20 years, in wales, trying their best to keep as many of the 29 seats, almo

in all 129 seats in scottish parliament, the welsh parliament, dozens of councils in england and 13 directly, schools, leisure centres, churches, even a car are being used for people to cast their ballots. about 48 million people in england, wales and scotland are eligible to vote, and polls will stay open until ten o'clock this evening. parliamentary elections are taking place in scotland and wales. in england, there are votes for several regional and city mayors, including london's. and more than four and a half thousand counsellors will be elected. there was also off parliamentary by election in hartlepool, which will get a new mp. polling stations have been scrubbed and readied for socially distance voting. this is a particularly big crop of elections because last year's crop of elections because last yea r�*s contests were crop of elections because last year's contests were postponed from the pandemic. as well as plastic screens and hand sanitisers, voters are also being asked to bring along their own pen or pencil if they can. covid had changed the way that this year's elections are be

all 60 seats at the senedd or welsh parliament are in contention.fter devolved issues such as education, health and transport. if you are in england, scotland or wales you can find out what elections are in your area by entering your postcode into the tool on our website or the bbc app. now back to ben in the studio. thanks very much indeed, clive. other news, now. the entire indian delegation to the g7 meetings in london is self—isolating after two members tested positive for covid—19. the news came as foreign ministers re—convened for the last day of the talks, which had been hailed as a return to face—to—face diplomacy. in the past few minutes, the prime minister borisjohnson has arrived at summit — and the labour leader sir kier starmer says the two covid cases show questions should be asked about the summit, as our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports. i had a very good meeting... this is the indian foreign minister, subrahmanyamjaishankar, meeting his american counterpart in london on monday, using his invitation to this week's g7 me

for the scottish parliament, for that welsh parliament, for that welsh parliament and for some of theman extremely busy afternoon ahead and if you want election results, you are going to get them by the dozen, frankly. so it will be a battle keeping up with them. stand by, that is all coming up. before that, it's ben come up with the news. here's the summary of the latest bbc news and of the conservatives have taken the parliamentary seat of hartlepool in what has been described by labour as a shattering result. the new mp isjill mortimer who was the first tory in 56 years to represent the former labour stronghold. 0ur political correspondent helen kat has this report. i do political correspondent helen kat has this report.— political correspondent helen kat has this report. i do hereby declare that gillian mortimer— has this report. i do hereby declare that gillian mortimer commonly - has this report. i do hereby declare - that gillian mortimer commonly known asjill moore turner is duly elected. as jill moore turner is duly elected. ., ., ., after decades of voting labour, today hartl

ballots will be cast for the scottish and welsh parliaments, english councils, mayors and police and want to be clear how close you are willing to lash yourself to the snp, all independence party together to get what you want. idem; independence party together to get what you want-— what you want. very clearly, i hope there's going _ what you want. very clearly, i hope there's going to _ what you want. very clearly, i hope there's going to be _ what you want. very clearly, i hope there's going to be a _ there's going to be a pro—independence majority in the new session— pro—independence majority in the new session of— pro—independence majority in the new session of the scottish parliament. a lot of— session of the scottish parliament. a lot of the — session of the scottish parliament. a lot of the debate has been dominated by the question. it should take up— dominated by the question. it should take up very little time. i can accept — take up very little time. i can accept perfectly willingly that if the anti—independence parties have a majority— the anti—independence parties have a

voters are deciding the make up of the scottish and welsh parliaments, as well as 143 councils. 13 mayorswales, all 60 senedd seats are up for election. in england, voters will choose around 4,650 councillors, 13 mayors and 25 members of the london assembly. there are also elections for 39 police and crime commissioners across england and wales, and there is a by—election to pick the new mp for hartlepool. the polls will be open, as usual, until ten o'clock tonight. anyone self—isolating because of coronavirus can nominate someone else to cast their vote. applications for an emergency proxy, as it's known, can be made until 5pm. and if you have a completed postal vote, which didn't make it to the post box, you can hand it in at your local polling station until 10pm. when it comes to counting the results, that's going to take longer than usual too. different counts are taking place over several days, from tonight until monday. helen catt, bbc news. a toast to the bottle of wine that is literally, out of this world! it is a french wine that spent more than a year orbiting the earth and is n

senedd, the welsh parliament, local authority results across england, 143 councils, 4500r is. the list goes on, but it is a brilliant test, a fantastic test of public opinion before the next election. when i spoke about english local authorities, this will underline the challenge for labour, they took a very heavy blow in hartlepool, but looking at harlow in essex, the conservatives have gained that from labour, in northumberland in the north—east, where we saw chris, the conservatives have gained control of northumberland from no overall control, they had done the same in many tonight bedworth in the midlands, the same in dudley, a very important battleground in the midlands. these local authorities are very telling —— they have done the same in nuneaton and bedworth in the same in nuneaton and bedworth in the midlands. look at the difference between this and last time, you will see the conservatives have gained 12 seats, labour down 11. can we look at those figures for a second? we will see a pattern in a lot of these seats were very big ukip vote or brexit party vote w

wales after matching its best—ever senedd election result by taking 30 of the 60 seats in the welsh parliamentexceeded expectations" after ending friday just one seat short of a majority. counting will continue today. our wales correspondent tomos morgan reports. after 22 years after 22 yea rs in after 22 years in charge, mark drakeford's welsh labour was dra keford's welsh labour was predicted drakeford's welsh labour was predicted to be on the defensive in this election. but they have to fight the polls and pundits holding onto 27 constituency seats, the same result as 2016. t onto 27 constituency seats, the same result as 2016-_ result as 2016. i will do whatever i can do to make — result as 2016. i will do whatever i can do to make sure _ result as 2016. i will do whatever i can do to make sure that - result as 2016. i will do whatever i can do to make sure that wales i result as 2016. i will do whatever i l can do to make sure that wales has the government it needs — stable and progressive. find the government it needs - stable and progressive-— progressive. and like in england, it a - ear

all 60 seats at the senedd, or welsh parliament, are in contention.deo has been watched 1.5 million times on twitter — she says these gaps are completely impassable for most wheelchair users and visually impaired people with dogs. siobhan meade is a blind journalist and disability campaigner. she's calling for bars and restaurants to consider access for disabled people when they set out tables and chairs on the pavement. over the last month or so, when we see those restrictions have lifted somewhat in terms of restaurants being able to offer people outside seating, so for someone who is totally blind like me, who works with a guide dog, i have noticed so many times now where i have to literally battle my way through, and understandably, we are all wanting to go out and socialise with our friends and family, but it is just about asking for space, just to be aware that we need to be able to navigate safely through familiar streets. our disability correspondent nikki foxjoins me now. katie's video shows brilliantly how difficult it is for her, how much h

in wales, there are questions over independence and whether there'll even be a welsh parliament in thear, scott howell became the first coronavirus patient that needed intensive care treatment and the royal gwent hospital in newport, south wales. my wife had two calls to say that was it, i wasn't going to pull through. the advice they got from italy was suggesting that if people had not come out of a coma within two weeks, if they did come out, they were going to have major failures of organs, and i took two and a half weeks. but yeah, it wasn't looking good. my heart had stopped twice. they had to perform cpr on me. my kidneys had failed. i was on dialysis. he made a miraculous recovery after his eight weeks in hospital, but it took him the best part of last year before feeling normal once again. for the rest of that year, i thought i was going to die every day. so every twinge i had, every day i got up and didn't feel myself, i thought, this is going to be my last day. it makes you appreciate the very simple things. the two things i did not have in hospital that i wanted was fresh ai

power after matching its best ever senedd election results with exactly half of 60 seats in the welsh parliamentnd that's my point about what has happened over the last four defeats in general elections, whether it's in hartlepool, or other places as well, where people do not now see labour as answering those concerns. . now see labour as answering those concerns. , , .,, , . now see labour as answering those concerns. , , , . ., concerns. there is the prospect of some relief _ concerns. there is the prospect of some relief later _ concerns. there is the prospect of some relief later for _ concerns. there is the prospect of some relief later for keir - concerns. there is the prospect of some relief later for keir starmer| some relief later for keir starmer with results of the london, greater manchester and bristol mayoralty elections expected to go his way. let's take a look at labour's prospects. the party's suffered a bitterly disappointing by—election defeat in hartlepool and lost a large number of council seats in england. sir keir starmer has promised to lead a fightback and set out a "bold

this is the final result, labour with 30 seats matching their best performance in the welsh parliamentng on one. as you are aware the welsh parliament is a mixture of first past the post seats and also list seats, proportional representation top up seats and that is how it breaks down so that labour got 27 constituency or first past the post seats and three on the list. the stronger you do in constituencies that you are seats you are likely to pick up. conservatives got eight and eight and plaid cymru got five and eight and plaid cymru got five and eight and the lib dems got one on the list as well. just to show you also some of the seats that changed hands and knees if you like the most eye—catching. the conservative game in the vale of clwyd, a lot of the conjecture had been with the conservatives be able to take their seats that they had won in a general election from labour. they did get the fluid. the performance not as strong as people had anticipated but vale of clwyd was a conservative game by a narrow margin as you can see, 366. but gareth davies is the new ms there. let me ta

cast a ballot today in a mammoth set of elections for local councillors, mayors, scottish parliament, and welsh

we're just three days away from the local elections, and the scottish parliament and welsh electionsthe elections are in your area, that information is on the bbc website. our correspondent lewis goodall has been taking a look at what's happening and where. there is a bumper crop of elections coming up on may 6th in england, scotland and wales. in fact, they are the biggest set of elections, the biggest test — democratic test — for the three major parties this side of the next general election. so let's have a look at some of the contests that are taking place across the country. well, for a start, we've got 143 different english councils up for election, 5,000 seats up for election in some places. a third of the chamber in some places, half the chamber in some places, all of the chamber in some places. two thirds of the chamber, of course, because some of those seats are holdovers from councillors which should have been elected, but weren't because of the pandemic. 129 msps in the scottish parliament in holyrood up for election. all 60 members of the welsh senedd up for election. we

in the welsh parliament election, labour has lost the vale of clwyd to the conservatives but held on xtremely _ for independence? i am extremely happy and extremely confident i for independence? i am extremely| happy and extremely confident that we are on track in the snp for a fourth consecutive election victory. and to have the ability to form a government again, that is an extraordinary achievement for any political party. extraordinary achievement for any political party-— political party. north and south of the border. _ political party. north and south of the border, the _ political party. north and south of the border, the final— political party. north and south of the border, the final shape i political party. north and south of the border, the final shape of- the border, the final shape of things will only be clear over the weekend. what happens in scotland could take some of the wind out of boris johnson's could take some of the wind out of borisjohnson's balloons. damian grammaticas, bbc news. in other news this evening, portugal, gibraltar and israel are among 12 countries

more than 100 councils are being contested in england, and the members of the welsh and scottish parliamentsr us. good evening. yes, hi there, jane. arguably the vote here to the parliament could be the most consequential of the night on thursday. a critical moment, perhaps, for the union between scotland and the rest of the uk. nicola sturgeon and the snp believe a majority of seats, 65, in the parliament would be a mandate for a second independence referendum. our political correspondent nick eardley is here. let's talk about that drive for a second referendum first. is the snp confident has the votes to do that? i think there are a lot of nerves in the party about that. a summary the chance to put a bet on this, don't take it. it really is on a knife edge. the system here is complicated, nobody can be sure exactly how it will play out. tactical voting plays a big part in scottish elections, i've spoken to a lot of candidates today who are talking about lots of different places and things playing into it. there are some in the snp who think it is within reach, there are some in the opposit

every seat is up for grabs in the scottish and welsh parliaments, and there's a by—election in hartlepoolof council seats in england are being contested, as well as elections for a number of mayors. our political correspondent helen catt has the details. coronavirus has made today's elections a little different. polling stations have been set up with safety measures. that means cleaning and screens, and one—way systems. there'll be a clean pencil for each voter — or you can bring your own — and you'll be asked to wear a face covering inside. there may also be limits on how many people can go in at once. the outbreak of the pandemic delayed elections, which were due to take place last year. so this year, there are a bumper set of polls across most of the country. in scotland, voters will elect the 129 members of the scottish parliament. in wales, all 60 senedd seats are up for election. in england, voters will choose around 4,650, 13 mayors and 25 members of the london assembly. there are also elections for 39 police and crime commissioners across england and wales, and there is a by—elect

every seat is up for grabs in the scottish parliament and welsh senedd — and there's a by—election inr a number of mayors. 0ur political correspondent helen catt has the details. coronavirus has made today's elections a little different. polling stations have been set up with safety measures. that means cleaning and screens, and one—way systems. there'll be a clean pencil for each voter — or you can bring your own — and you'll be asked to wear a face covering inside. there may also be limits on how many people can go in at once. the outbreak of the pandemic delayed elections, which were due to take place last year. so this year, there are a bumper set of polls across most of the country. in scotland, voters will elect the 129 members of the scottish parliament. in wales, all 60 senedd seats are up for election. in england, voters will choose around 4,650 councillors, 13 mayors and 25 members of the london assembly. there are also elections for 39 police and crime commissioners across england and wales, and there is a by—election to pick the new mp for hartlepool. the polls will be ope

and conservative members of the scottish parliament and welsh senedd _ the scottish parliament and welshs — bunkers solution in the face of setbacks as to which they could dissolve — setbacks as to which they could dissolve the electorate and call another — dissolve the electorate and call another one. we got on with our work taking _ another one. we got on with our work taking forward our programme of change _ taking forward our programme of change and regeneration, filled with obligation towards those who we serve _ obligation towards those who we serve, who have every right to hold us to _ serve, who have every right to hold us to account. we will get on with safeguarding the health of the nation, — safeguarding the health of the nation, pressing on full tilt with our vaccination programme until the 'ob our vaccination programme until the job is— our vaccination programme until the job is done — our vaccination programme until the job is done and our people are as safe as _ job is done and our people are as safe as a — job is done and our people are as safe as a science can make them.