SHE’S been on the Scottish Parliament campaign trail for weeks while running her own push for Westminster. Going by last week’s Holyrood election results, the odds are in SNP candidate Anum Qaisar-Javed’s favour ahead of this week’s Airdrie and Shotts by-election. The vacancy opened up when the SNP’s Neil Gray resigned from the seat to stand in for the Scottish Parliament. He was successful, as was every other SNP constituency candidate in North Lanarkshire. The local authority area, once solidly Labour red, is once again completely yellow – voters elected five separate SNP MSPs, including Clare Adamson, Jamie Hepburn, Fulton MacGregor and Stephanie Callaghan.
Unmesh Desai has been re-elected as London Assembly member for City and East.
- Credit: City Hall
Unmesh Desai has outlined his top priorities after he was comfortably re-elected to the London Assembly for the City and East constituency.
The Labour candidate was a runaway winner for the seat, which covers Newham, Barking and Dagenham, and Tower Hamlets boroughs.
He was first elected to represent the area in 2016 and spent 20 years as a Newham councillor.
Mr Desai received 125,025 votes this time around, just less than 80,000 ahead of second-placed Nick Vandyke for the Conservatives (46,718).
His majority was slightly reduced on 2016, when he triumphed by around 90,000 votes.
• Liz Webster (Liberal Democrats): 35013 The total number of valid first and second preference votes cast for the remaining candidates is: • Jonathon Seed (Conservative): 100,003 • Liz Webster (Liberal Democrats): 58,074 Terence Herbert, Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner Area Returning Officer, said: “The election count for the Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner has been completed today at Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre in Salisbury, and Jonathon Seed, the Conservative Party candidate, has been declared as the winner. “The result of this election marks the culmination of a long and busy weekend for our hard working staff, who have managed a COVID-secure election across 348 polling stations in Wiltshire, and counts for 98 Wiltshire Council unitary divisions; 63 city, town and parish elections; and the PCC election.
BBC News
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image captionJonathon Seed was convicted of drink-driving in 1993 which disqualifies him from becoming a police and crime commissioner
A new police and crime commissioner (PCC) election will cost more than £1m and will be funded by central government, Wiltshire Council has said.
Conservative candidate Jonathon Seed gained the most votes in the Wiltshire PCC on Monday, but due to a historical conviction is ineligible to serve.
Returning officer Terence Herbert is now seeking legal advice and will set out the process for a fresh election.
The BBC has asked Wiltshire Council and the Conservative Party for comment.
11 May 2021
Amid allegations of voter fraud in last week’s elections, Boris Johnson’s government will reportedly roll out a series of electoral reforms, including requiring voter ID, in the Queen’s Speech on Tuesday.
The Queen’s Speech, which outlines the government’s legislative priorities for the year, will reportedly include mandated voter ID for general elections as well as limits on the number of postal (mail-in) ballots individuals can collect on the behalf of voters, according to
The Guardian.
The recently re-elected Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan came out against the proposed reforms on Monday, telling LBC Radio: “Boris Johnson is borrowing policies from the U.S. It’s a backwards step.”