Sadiq Khan bags record third term as London mayor – POLITICO

Hall was selected ahead of more high-profile Tory candidates including former London Minister Paul Scully. Scully told the BBC Saturday his party had run an “incredibly underwhelming campaign” in the capital, and accused the Conservatives of focusing too heavily on Khan as an individual. During the campaign, Hall took aim at Khan over his controversial … Read more

Sssh, don’t mention you’re a Tory! Candidates hide their stripes in UK local elections – POLITICO

Challenged to express enthusiasm for Sunak, Street recently told the Sunday Times: “He is the prime minister. I am supportive to the party. But he and I have fallen out over a number of issues.” Street’s Labour rival, Richard Parker, has accused him of being a Tory “when it suits him.” A Conservative MP in … Read more

With Bill 20, Danielle Smith sows fear and loathing (and confusion) in Alberta councils, big and small

It’s hard to get 260 Alberta municipal governments to agree on much, which is why their blanket organization seldom has anything provocative to say. What advocacy points can members as disparate as Calgary, Lethbridge, the town of Two Hills and the villages of Czar, Barons and Bawlf agree on? Safer fare, typically — suggestions that … Read more

Turkey’s Erdoğan suffers blow in crucial mayoral elections as secular opposition surges – POLITICO

In his victory speech delivered late Sunday, Imamoğlu said the local election results would have big implications for the country’s political future. “Turkey will blossom into a new era in democracy as of tomorrow. March 31, 2024 is the day when democratic erosion ends and democracy begins to recover,” he told a big crowd in … Read more

In this corner of Europe, no one cares about the EU election – POLITICO

The last time he voted in an election of any kind was “maybe” 20 years ago. Like most people in Luník IX, an impoverished Roma neighborhood on the outskirts of Slovakia’s second-largest city, Košice, he was not planning to vote in the upcoming European election. It doesn’t make sense for him to vote, because the … Read more

Britain’s Conservatives go full Trump in London – POLITICO

With the party staring down the barrel of defeat in the general election due later this year, could the Tories be stealing from the Trump playbook to turn their dismal poll ratings around? Featuring heavy overtones of a Batman movie, the video posted to X (formally Twitter) is composed of clips shot in moody black … Read more

At least 40 killed in ‘bloody terrorist attack’ at concert hall – POLITICO

At least 40 people were killed and more than 100 wounded when gunmen opened fire on concert-goers at a Moscow music venue on Friday night, Russian state media reported citing the country’s intelligence service. The attack began when at least least three assailants dressed in camouflage opened fire and tossed an incendiary device or grenade … Read more

Vaughan Gething — meet Europe’s first Black head of government – POLITICO

Gething also inherits rows over the lowering of many road speed limits from 30 to 20 mph, the performance of the NHS, and protests against subsidy reforms that will require farmers to hand back some land to nature. Planned reforms would also raise the number of members of the Welsh parliament, the Senedd, from 60 … Read more

Erdoğan says upcoming Turkish local election will be his last – POLITICO

The founder and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdoğan has been Turkey’s president since 2014 following a decade as the country’s prime minister. Erdoğan said that the outcome of the local election will have a significant impact on his plans for political succession. “The result that comes out of this election will … Read more

UK’s Tories tear themselves apart over Islamophobia – POLITICO

Indeed, Anderson — elected in 2019 after defecting from Labour — may be tapping into wider Tory sentiment. An Opinium poll of Conservative Party members released Wednesday by the advocacy group Hope not Hate found that more than half (58 percent) believe Islam is a “threat to the British way of life.” A further 40 … Read more