Rishi Sunak is facing his first test at the ballot box this year as voters head to the polls for the West Lancashire by-election.
The outcome could reflect how the public feels about the prime minister and Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer ahead of the next general election and local elections in May.
The seat is up for grabs after veteran Labour MP Rosie Cooper resigned in November to become chairwoman of the Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.
The MP was the victim of a plot to kill her by an alleged member of the banned neo-Nazi group National Action and admitted the stress of what happened had “taken its toll”.
Ms Cooper, 72, has held the constituency since 2005, securing more than 52% of the vote and a majority of 8,336 at the last election.
West Lancashire has been a Labour stronghold since 1992 when Colin Pickthall took the seat from Tory MP Ken Hind, who had held it since 1983.
Although winning with an increased majority in 2015 and 2017, Ms Cooper saw her majority drop in 2019.
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Labour will be hoping to build on their current majority, having being buoyed by two recent by-election victories.
The victory came just two weeks after a successful result in Chester, when Samantha Dixon held the seat for Labourwith an increased majority of some 11,000 over the Tories.
Image: Roise Cooper resigned as an MP to take a role in the NHS. Pic: Twitter
If Labour increase their majority, it could indicate it has a chance of regaining Red Wall seats in the north and Midlands that deserted the party at the last election.
West Lancashire separates Liverpool, a historically Labour-supporting area, and the Conservative-held seats of South Ribble, Southport and Bolton West.
The constituency has a mix of rural and urban areas while its largest town, Skelmersdale, has relatively high levels of deprivation compared to the neighbouring towns of Aughton and Ormskirk, which are considered relatively wealthy.
With locals having different priorities, candidates have a difficult task of trying to appeal to them all.
The by-election comes as Labour continues to enjoy a 20-point lead in the national polls.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak’s approval ratings have dropped following a tumultuous 100 days in officethat has seenrows over propriety and standards continue and strikes across many public sectors.
The candidates standing in today’s by-election are:
• Jo Barton (Liberal Democrat) • Peter Cranie (Green Party) • Ashley Dalton (Labour) • Howling Laud Hope (Official Monster Raving Loony Party) • Mike Prendergast (Conservative and Unionist) • Jonathan Stanley Kay (Reform UK)
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
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Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
Image: US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indianand Israelirepresentatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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6:50
Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.
The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.
The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.