Labour is poised for a possible leadership contest as soon as this summer ahead of a set of local elections which are expected to be a bruising experience for the party.
If Sir Keir Starmer is forced to stand down – either in the coming weeks, or at another point before the next general election – Angela Rayner is seen as a frontrunner to succeed him.
The former deputy prime minister has made it clear that she is backing Starmer. But she has also worked to bolster her own position within Labour, making high-profile policy interventions where she has generally called for a shift to the left.
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Caption: A group of commuter trains sit in a railway siding in London, U.K. Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg
Photographer: Bloomberg Creative
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Source: Bloomberg Creative Photos
TRAVEL
Train passengers warned of ‘major disruption’
Train services across southern England are being disrupted by a fault with a radio system. National Rail Enquiries said the issue relates to how train drivers and signallers communicate.
It warned passengers that services may be delayed by up to 45 minutes or cancelled, and “major disruption is expected until the end of the day”.
The services affected
The affected operators are CrossCountry, Gatwick Express, Great Western Railway, London Overground, Southern, South Western Railway (SWR) and Thameslink.
Exclusive
4 min read
NEWS
3 min read
A closer look at the detail
The incident was reported shortly before 9am on Thursday.
SWR warned that services across its entire network “may be cancelled, delayed by up to 90 minutes or revised”.
The operator advised passengers to consider using buses “while the fault is being investigated”.
TRAVEL
5 min read
news
Amazon delivers its first package by drone
Caption: Amazon drone delivery
Image: Amazon
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-drone-delivery-photos
The retailer has become the first in the UK to make a delivery by sky, with a pilot scheme running in Darlington, Country Durham. It hopes to slowly expand the option across the country.
Air drop
From tape measures to chocolate bars
Caption: Amazon drone delivery
Image: Amazon
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-drone-delivery-photos
A local farmer let Amazon use his land for test drives, ordering everything he could think of under the designated weight of 5lb (2.2kg) to be delivered.
Exclusive
3 min read
Demand is rising
The certainty is people have never told us they want their stuff slower. This is effectively an autonomous drone that can do what a pilot does in a flight deck. It can do what ground crews do, and it can deliver a package.
David carbon, vice president of amazon prime air
Caption: Amazon drone delivery
Image: Amazon
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-drone-delivery-photos
How does it work?
Parcels are dropped from a height of…
12ft
Amazon is using its most advanced drone, the MK30, to deliver in Darlington.
At the moment, it only works for those with gardens or backyards for the parcels to be dropped off.
170,000
The number of successful flights completed so far – but more testing is needed before they are approved for UK-wide use.
Drone delivery is already available in five US states.
Caption: HARTLEPOOL, ENGLAND – MAY 07: A general view outside a polling station during the local elections on May 07, 2026 in Hartlepool, England. The 2026 UK local elections involve approximately 5,000 seats across 136 local councils in England, taking place alongside major devolved elections for the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd (Welsh Parliament). (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
Photographer: Ian Forsyth
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2026 Getty Images
news
The key battleground seats to look out for
Reform, the Greens and Plaid Cymru are expected to take hundreds of seats off Labour in the biggest test of public opinion since their landslide victory of 2024.
Threats from all sides
LOCAL POLITICS
Main parties predicted to lose across the country
Wales
Reform is expected to lead with Plaid a close second. This could be Labour’s first loss of the Senedd since 1999.
East of England
The Conservatives could lose Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk to Reform.
West Midlands
Pro-Gaza independents and Reform to take red belt seats around Birmingham.
LIVE
1 min read
Labour losses in London
Caption: A Reform UK political sign put up by the householder to show support ahead of local council elections in London, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Photographer: Alastair Grant
Provider: AP
Source: AP
Copyright: Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Reform
The far-right party is tipped to take control of Havering, a Labour seat.
Greens
Labour’s biggest challenger in the capital, it’s going to be close in Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark and Camden.
Caption: Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) arrives with his wife Victoria Starmer (R) to cast their votes at a polling station in Westminster Chapel, central London on May 7, 2026, as polls open for local elections. UK polling stations opened on May 7 in local elections set to heap more pressure on beleaguered Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and showcase the rise of hard-right and left-wing populists. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: JUSTIN TALLIS
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Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or Licensors
Caption: Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey (centre), MP for Epsom and Ewell, Helen Maguire, and MP for Dorking and Horley, Chris Coghlan, surrounded by supporters during a party rally at Redhill Memorial Park in Surrey, on the last day of campaigning ahead of the local elections on Thursday. Picture date: Wednesday May 6, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
Photographer: Andrew Matthews
Provider: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire
Source: PA
Other threats
The Conservatives look set to take Wandsworth, while the Lib Dems have their sights on Merton.
In focus: Manchester
All parties will be playing close attention to England’s second city, where the Greens celebrated taking Gorton and Denton from Labour in the recent by-election.
The Green Party’s Hannah Spencer who overturned a Labour majority to win the Gorton and Denton by-election in Manchester in February (Photo by Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images)
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham (Photo by Paul Ellis – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Reform is also expected to do well in outskirt towns, and pro-Gaza independents could take areas with high Muslim populations. If Andy Burnham manages to hang on to any seats, he will strengthen his position as a leadership challenger to Starmer.
news
Two Brits self-isolating after hantavirus outbreak
Caption: Medics escort a patient, second right, evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship with suspected hantavirus infection, to an ambulance after being flown to Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Photographer: Peter Dejong
Provider: AP
Source: AP
Copyright: Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Three Britons have now left the ship, as one man with symptoms evacuated in the Netherlands and two having flown home before the outbreak was discovered.
Contact tracing effort launched
Two British people who left the MV Hondius and returned to the UK two weeks ago have been told to self-isolate. Their close contacts are being contacted to let them know the risk.
Three people have died so far from the outbreak on the ship.
Caption: Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
Photographer: Misper Apawu
Provider: AP
Source: AP
Copyright: Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Explained
3 min read
Who is still on the ship?
About 150 people are still on board the cruise ship, which is now docked in the Canary Islands, including 18 British passengers and four crew members.
Hantavirus is the same one that claimed the life last year of Betsy Arakawa, wife of actor Gene Hackman (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
Caption: A Bombardier Challenger 605 medical plane allegedly carrying some of the people believed to be infected with hantavirus passengers from the cruise ship MV Hondius, lands at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on May 6, 2026. A plane that left Cape Verde following the evacuation of a cruise ship hit by the hantavirus landed in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 6, while a second flight headed for the Netherlands. (Photo by Lina Selg / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: LINA SELG
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
They are expected to be flown home by chartered plane once it is confirmed they do not have symptoms. They will also be asked to self-isolate to minimise the risk to the public in the UK.
What is hantavirus?
Hantaviruses are a group of 38 viruses carried by rodents such as rats, mice and voles, most of which can cause disease in humans. Symptoms vary from too mild to be noticed, to severe lung and kidney problems and even death.
It is thought it was brought onto the ship by a Dutch couple who visited a landfill site in Argentina.
Rats are a common source of hantavirus (Photo: Denitsa Kireva/ Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Contamination could be caused by the previous presence of a factory, power station, landfill site, a mine or petrol station (Photo: Andrew Newark/Getty Images)
Caption: Martin Anstee one of the suspected hantavirus patients removed from the vessel MV Hondius.
Source: Facebook
Former police officer in stable condition
I’m very pleased he’s now in hospital and receiving the treatment he needs.
PROFESSOR ROBIN MAY, CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER AT UKHSA
Martin Anstee, 56, was evacuated from the ship in the Netherlands yesterday after becoming ill with the virus. He is now in hospital and his condition is being monitored.
Think you know all the signs of heart problems? Some might be myths rather than fact…
These are the beliefs to be wary of, according to Dr Abdul Mozid, a consultant cardiologist at Nuffield Health Leeds Hospital.
‘Getting out of breath is just a sign of getting older’
Caption: Senior man laying down on the sofa, watching tv and holding the remote control.
Photographer: PicTour Studio
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
While ageing can contribute, breathlessness is also a common early warning sign of heart disease.
When the heart cannot pump efficiently, fluid can build up in the lungs, making simple activities difficult.
If it occurs while laying down, or while doing minimal activity, it should never be ignored.
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
‘Sleep has little effect on the heart’
There are ways to get a better night’s sleep (Photo: Maskot/Getty/Digital Vision/Copyright Maskot Bildbyr?)
Poor or fragmented sleep increases stress hormone levels, raises blood pressure, disrupts glucose metabolism and promotes inflammation — all of which contribute to cardiovascular disease.
Good-quality sleep is not a luxury; it is a pillar of cardiovascular health alongside diet and exercise.
‘Exercise gives you a healthy heart’
You can ‘out-exercise’ metabolic stress
A young Indian woman sits on a couch at home, holding her hand over her heart, grimacing as she feels severe pain in her chest – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
This is not true. A poor diet high in saturated fats, refined sugars and salt promotes high cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension, regardless of your activity levels.
Analysis
3 min read
Other heart health myths to ignore
Only “bad” cholesterol matters
While HDL cholesterol may be associated with lower risk in some contexts, it does not provide total immunity to heart problems. Managing LDL levels remains crucial as part of your overall health.
(Photo: Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty).
Midlife depression. Sad upset middle aged woman at home, feeling lonely. Aging anxiety and loneliness concept – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
It’s just anxiety
Women are more likely to present with less “classic” heart attack symptoms, such as fatigue, nausea, jaw pain or back discomfort. If symptoms are new or persistent, cardiac issues must be considered.
‘Heart disease is an older person problem’
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in women, yet risk is often underestimated. Symptoms may be subtle and attributed to life stage or stress.
Recognising these unique risk enhancers is vital to earlier diagnosis and prevention.
The older couple has a conflict. Upset mature woman, quarrel with her husband. Relationship crisis – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
Caption: BERLIN, GERMANY – AUGUST 13: Symbolic photo on the topic of problems in a relationship. An older woman and an older man are sitting at home on August 13, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
Photographer: Thomas Trutschel
Provider: Photothek via Getty Images
Source: Photothek
HEALTH
The potential cause of common type of stroke uncovered
Caption: Closeup of elderly Asian man visiting neurologist explaining stroke risk using artery model ??? discussing brain health and blood pressure
Photographer: PonyWang
Provider: Getty Images
Source: E+
Researchers have pinpointed the potential cause of a type of stroke suffered by about 35,000 people in the UK every year.
The discovery could explain why widely used treatments don’t work, and could pave the way for new options.
What does the study say?
Lacunar strokes – triggered by damage to tiny blood vessels – are caused by the widening of arteries in the brain, researchers say.
This is unlike ischaemic strokes, which are caused by a blocked blood vessel.
This could explain why usual treatments, such as anti-platelet drugs, which stop blood clots from forming in the arteries, do not work.
Lacunar strokes can lead to problems with thinking, memory, movement and dementia.
Divorce Diaries
5 min read
New treatments are needed
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the UK Dementia Research Institute tested and tracked 229 people who had a lacunar or mild non-lacunar stroke. Patients with widened arteries were four times more likely to have a lacunar stroke.
Scientists argue that ‘holistic’ approach is needed to brain disease prevention and treatment as the world faces a dramatic rise in cases of stroke, dementia and other conditions. (Photo credit: FRED TANNEAU/AFP/Getty Images)
A retired infection control nurse says it isn’t possible to “hand wash” your way out of the quad-demic.
She says hospitals need better ventilation and mask wearing to tackle the crisis (Photo: Jeff Moore/PA Wire)
This explains why conventional blood-thinners don’t work and highlights the need for new therapies to target the underlying microvascular damage.
Stroke research ‘chronically underfunded’
Stroke research is chronically underfunded, with less than 1% of total UK research funding spent on the condition…Yet these findings illustrate the value of research and the potential it has to change the lives of stroke patients.
MAEVA MAY, STROKE ASSOCIATION
Caption: Embryologist performing embryo cleaning under microscope in Petri plate after IVF next day in real laboratory
Photographer: Natalia Lebedinskaia
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Source: Moment RF
Copyright: www.natasha-lebedinskaya.ru
Why eating eggs five times a week could
cut Alzheimer’s risk
People who eat eggs more regularly could have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests.
Caption: A detail of cracked egg falling into the pan as woman holds egg shells in both hands.
Photographer: SimpleImages
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
What does the study show?
Having eggs at least five times a week suggests a…
27%
lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s, compared with those who rarely or never eat them.
The research followed nearly 40,000 adults aged 65 and over for an average of 15 years.
980,000
People are estimated to be living with dementia in the UK, with Alzheimer’s the most common cause.
This is forecast to rise to 1.4m by 2040 as the population ages.
What’s so special about eggs?
Photographer: Andrew Brookes
Provider: Getty Images/Image Source
Source: Image Source
Copyright: Copyright Andrew Brookes
A no-brainer
Eggs contain choline, which the body uses to make acetylcholine, a chemical involved in memory and learning.
Nutritious and delicious
Eggs contain lutein and zeaxanthin, the yellow-orange pigments in food which could act as antioxidants.
(Photo: Laurie Ambrose/Getty).
Caption: Eggs are seen in a carton on Monday, April 13, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Photographer: Jenny Kane
Provider: AP
Source: AP
Egg-ceptional
They also provide some omega-3 fatty acids, which have been linked with cognitive function.
Alzheimer’s can be seen on brain scans (Photo: Tek Image/Getty)
HEALTH
The at-home test that can predict Alzheimer’s risk
Scientists have developed an at-home test which can predict a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study led by the University of Exeter.
It involves a finger-prick blood test and an online brain assessment to help identify people at the highest risk.
How does the test work?
Caption: Cropped shot of young woman using blood test kit at home while doing health check and consultation online. Home finger-prick blood test.
Photographer: Oscar Wong
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Blood test
Finger-prick blood tests look for biomarkers, p-tau217 and GFAP, which have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Online brain tests
Scientists look at the blood test alongside computerised cognitive testing to identify risk.
Students are offered free laptops as an incentive for joining universities (Photo: PA)
Caption: File photo dated 18/05/17 of an elderly man holding a walking stick. Drugs that are said to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease “make no meaningful difference to patients” while increasing the risk of swelling and bleeding in the brain, according to a new review. The effects of the medicines on those with early-stage Alzheimer’s and dementia were “either absent or consistently small”, researchers said. Issue date: Thursday April 16, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire
Photographer: Joe Giddens
Provider: Joe Giddens/PA Wire
Source: PA
Prioritise patients
The test results can be used to prioritise high-risk people for further testing and treatment.
At-home tests to ‘revolutionise’ diagnosis
Finger prick blood tests could revolutionise dementia diagnosis – they offer a low cost, scalable way to identify people who may be at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and who should be offered further checks.
DR SHEONA SCALES, ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH UK
Scientists have long been trying to understand the root cause of Alzheimer’s (Photo: Andrew Brookes/Getty Images)
Rayner’s speeches, and her track record in government before she quit the Cabinet last year after a row over her taxes, set out the broad direction in which she would take the country if she got to No 10.
Taxes
Although she served in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, Rayner has usually been associated with the “soft left” rather than Corbyn’s hard-left wing which backs sharply higher taxes across the board.
In a speech last month to the Good Growth Foundation, she talked about “stopping the extraction and hoarding of wealth and power” in a suggestion she may be open to targeted tax increases on the richest individuals and big businesses.
And in a memo to the Chancellor last year, she proposed a number of specific measures including higher taxes on banks, a limit on the amount that savers can put into their tax-free pension, and higher tax on dividends.
While her allies have emphasised that these ideas were tied to the fiscal situation at the time, it is a further sign that Rayner would seek to extract more revenue from wealthier groups.
Welfare and public spending
Rayner has let it be known that she opposed the failed attempt to cut spending on disability benefits last year.
In March, she used a speech to Mainstream, a Labour faction closely associated with Andy Burnham, to call for “a renewed, relentless focus on tackling the cost of living crisis” – adding that the Government should be “bringing down the price of your food, your energy, your water, not being ripped off”.
That may be seen as a hint than Rayner would be more open than Rachel Reeves to the idea of directly intervening to control prices, particularly for as long as the effects of the US/Israeli war with Iran continue to push up the cost of living.
More broadly, she has talked about the importance of “investment in public services and infrastructure”, including green energy, suggesting she would continue and extend the current Government’s policy of borrowing money for long-term projects.
Employment rights
The policy of which Rayner is proudest is her Employment Rights Act. She told Mainstream: “For millions of workers after decades of low pay and insecurity, we chose stronger rights and security.”
At key moments, Starmer has agreed to compromise on the act, including by removing the protection against unfair dismissal for new employees.
As prime minister, Rayner could push to go further and fulfil all the manifesto promises Labour made at the last election – as well as continuing to raise the minimum wage, which she has said is essential to provide an income which it is possible to live on.
Housing and local government
In her 14 months as housing secretary, Rayner passed the Renters’ Rights Act which has now come into force and makes it much harder for landlords to evict tenants.
She boasted to the Good Growth Foundation that her plans to build more homes would help to boost the economy, and added: “I was proud of our record investment in social and affordable housebuilding, which will create good quality jobs right across the country, provide secure homes and lower housing costs.”
Her comments imply that in the event of a shortfall in Labour’s ambitious targets for new housing, she would look to make up the gap by building more social homes – using a £39bn pot promised by the Treasury – rather than leaving it to the market.
Rayner has also made it clear she is passionate about giving more power to local councils. She told Mainstream: “Devolving power brings it closer to local people and business, and gives us joined-up solutions to complicated problems.”
Immigration
While she has never dissented from the Government’s overall aim of reducing net migration, Rayner has called for a less tough system for those already living in the UK.
She publicly denounced Shabana Mahmood’s plan to make it harder for immigrants who arrived here in the past few years to get the permanent right to remain.
Her position suggests that she would make cutting numbers less of a priority if she were running No 10.
Foreign affairs and defence
Rayner has never had a political job with directly responsibility for foreign policy or defence, although she did make some overseas trips when she was Starmer’s deputy.
She has not joined the calls for the UK Government to take a more assertive stance towards Donald Trump; it is unknown how she would seek to build a rapport with the unpredictable US President.
While most of the soft left is keen for closer ties to the EU, Rayner’s track record is one of scepticism towards the anti-Brexit movement so she may resist calls to go much further on the “reset” with Brussels.
Unintended consequences
Opponents of Rayner say the greatest danger she poses is not through any one of her policies, but the risk of a markets meltdown prompted by traders who do not believe she can control the public finances.
She has held meetings this year with City figures to discuss UK economic policy and subtly reassure them she has a grasp of the importance of a balanced budget.
But if her enemies were right, the biggest effect of a Rayner premiership on the general public would be to push up inflation and the cost of borrowing in a Liz Truss-style crisis.