Elections

Reform UK has received the largest political donation in British history, MPs have voted down assisted dying legislation, and the ground is shifting ahead of both a Westminster by-election and the American midterms. This hub follows the mechanics and drama of electoral politics on both sides of the Atlantic: who funds campaigns, who gets selected to fight for a vacant seat, and how governments quietly time contentious decisions to avoid handing opponents ammunition before voters go to the polls.

Elections shape who holds power and how that power is exercised, which is why the manoeuvring around them, donor influence, candidate selection rows, delayed rulings, party infighting, often reveals as much as the vote itself. In Britain, attention is turning to a closely watched contest for a former Labour leader's seat, with rival parties jostling for position and local issues such as North Sea drilling becoming entangled in the timing of national announcements. In the United States, both major parties are already framing the narrative around the midterms, trading accusations of foul play and reading the runes for who stands to lose ground.

Expect ongoing coverage of campaign finance, candidate controversies, parliamentary votes with electoral consequences, and the wider jostling between parties as they position themselves for the next test at the ballot box.

  • New Producers back vertical micro-drama studio New Short Media

    Producers Alon Shtruzman and Scott Einbinder have launched New Short Media, a studio dedicated to vertical, mobile-first “micro-drama” content, operating alongside their existing 5X Media banner. The move reflects a wider push by established film and TV producers to bring higher production values and recognisable talent into the fast-growing vertical short-form space, which has traditionally…

  • Andy Burnham is Prime Minister. Now what?

    Andy Burnham has unveiled his first cabinet as prime minister, appointing John Healey as chancellor in a surprise move, shifting Ed Miliband to the Foreign Office and keeping Shabana Mahmood as home secretary. The announcement, followed by his first speech outside Downing Street, offers an early signal of the political direction and priorities of his…

  • House Dems hand GOP a win on trans sports as party unity cracks

    Five House Democrats broke with their party to join Republicans in passing an amendment restricting transgender participation in school sports, exposing cracks in Democratic unity on the issue. The vote came during the House’s consideration of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual bill that sets military and national security policy, on…

  • Reporter’s Notebook: House’s final sprint puts SAVE America Act and Iran funding in play

    The US House of Representatives is racing to pass a slate of major bills before its August recess, with lawmakers warning they may not return to Washington in force until after the November election. Among the measures being pushed through in this “final sprint” are the SAVE America Act, which would require photo identification for…

  • New Jersey Dem gov’s blame game backfires after tech company pins noncitizen voter registration on state

    New Jersey’s Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill has faced backlash after blaming a “software error” for the improper registration of thousands of non-citizens to vote, only for the technology vendor involved, IDEMIA, to publicly dispute that account and place responsibility back on the state. The dispute matters because it has triggered a federal investigation into voter…

  • A War Restrained by the People

    The article argues that public opposition is increasingly limiting President Trump’s options in the Iran war. Its author says the conflict began without adequate public preparation and that voters now favour a rapid settlement over further escalation, making domestic opinion a more significant restraint than Congress. Five months into the war, a YouGov poll found…

  • More Americans identify politics as ‘greatest source of risk’ to their safety: Gallup

    The article reports that a growing share of Americans view politics as the greatest threat to their personal safety, according to Gallup. This matters because it reflects heightened public anxiety about political violence and deepening polarisation in the United States. Gallup’s findings place political concerns ahead of other perceived risks, though the article’s accessible text…

  • Fake password-manager alerts could put your vault at risk

    LastPass has warned users about a new phishing campaign that uses lookalike domains and a fake DocuSign page to trick people into downloading malicious software, potentially putting their password vaults at risk. The company has confirmed its own systems were not compromised, but the scam relies on convincing, official-looking emails that prompt recipients to click…

  • Elon Musk hits out after mayoral candidate suspended from working in NHS over ‘offensive’ social media posts about grooming gangs

    Elon Musk has criticised the suspension of a mayoral candidate from their National Health Service role after the individual made social media posts about grooming gangs that were deemed offensive. The billionaire’s intervention has drawn renewed attention to the long-running and highly sensitive debate in Britain over how grooming gang scandals are discussed publicly, and…

  • Fate of massive 20m-high space radar in ministers’ hands

    The UK’s Ministry of Defence has applied to build a large space radar station at Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy, Pembrokeshire, and the decision on whether to approve it will now be made by Welsh government ministers rather than the local council. The Welsh government’s power to “call in” planning applications is used rarely, reserved for…