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Polling has opened in two crunch by-elections taking place today in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth.

Voters in the constituencies will have until 10pm to decide who they want to represent them in parliament, following the resignations of Conservative MPs Nadine Dorries and Chris Pincher.

Ms Dorries, a key ally of Boris Johnson, officially quit her Mid Bedfordshire seat in August – 81 days after she announced her intention to leave the Commons with “immediate effect” after she was refused a seat in the House of Lords.

Mr Pincher stood down after being found to have drunkenly groped two men in an “egregious case of sexual misconduct” at London’s exclusive Carlton Club last year.

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The Conservatives will be seeking to hold onto the constituencies, while opposition parties will be hoping to swing the votes in their favour.

Mid Bedfordshire has been controlled by the Tories since 1931, with Ms Dorries winning the seat five times since being elected in 2005. At the last election in 2019 she won with a sizeable majority of 24,000 over second-placed Labour.

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Mr Pincher, who had represented his constituency in Staffordshire since 2010, has an equally comfortable majority of around 19,000.

Read More:
Biscuits, buttocks and shock results: Why by-elections are rarely boring

The results are expected in the early hours of Friday morning, and Sky News will bring you the news, analysis and reaction on a special programme from midnight, as well as online in the Politics Hub.

Anyone who is over 18 and registered to vote in the constituencies can cast a ballot.

New rules on Voter ID introduced earlier this year mean identification is required in order to vote.

Who is standing?

The 13 candidates standing in the Mid Bedfordshire by-election are:

– Festus Akinbusoye, The Conservative Party

– Sid Cordle, Christian Peoples Alliance

– Dave Holland, Reform UK

– Emma Holland-Lindsay, Liberal Democrats

– Ann Kelly, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party

– Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India

– Gareth Mackey, Independent

– Chris Rooney, Mainstream

– Cade Sibley, Green Party

– Alistair Strathern, Labour Party

– Alberto George Thomas, Heritage Party

– Alan Victor, True & Fair Party

– Antonio Daniel Vintello, English Democrats “Putting England First”

The nine candidates vying for the Tamworth seat are:

– Robert Bilcliff, UKIP

– Andrew Cooper, The Conservative Party

– Ian Cooper, Reform UK

– Sarah Edwards, Labour

– Howling Laud Hope, Official Monster Raving Loony Party

– Dr Sue Howarth, Green Party

– Peter Longman, Independent

– Ashlea Simon, Britain First

– Sunny Virk, Liberal Democrats

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UK health officials push back on US president’s claim paracetamol is linked to autism

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UK health officials push back on US president's claim paracetamol is linked to autism

UK health experts and officials have pushed back on Donald Trump’s claim that paracetamol is linked to autism, saying there is “no evidence” for it.

The US president said on Monday that there had been a “meteoric rise” in cases of autism and suggested that the use of Tylenol – an American-branded version of paracetamol – during pregnancy is a potential cause.

His claims have been widely corrected by officials, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who said that “I trust doctors over President Trump, frankly, on this”.

Read more: What is autism?

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Trump links autism with paracetamol

Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, Mr Streeting said: “I’ve just got to be really clear about this: there is no evidence to link the use of paracetamol by pregnant women to autism in their children. None.”

The health secretary then referenced a major study in Sweden last year that involved 2.4 million children, adding it “did not uphold those claims”.

He added: “I would just say to people watching, don’t pay any attention whatsoever to what Donald Trump says about medicine.

“In fact, don’t take even take my word for it, as a politician – listen to British doctors, British scientists, the NHS.”

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Trump’s ‘not so careful’ autism claims

WHO says links ‘inconsistent’

Patient safety minister Dr Zubir Ahmed MP echoed this on social media, saying: “For the avoidance of any doubt, Paracetamol remains the safest painkiller to take during pregnancy.”

Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, also said that “there is no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children”.

She added that paracetamol “remains the recommended pain relief option for pregnant women when used as directed,” and that the MHRA’s advice “is based on rigorous assessment of the best available scientific evidence”.

The British officials were supported by the European Medicines Agency, which said there was no new evidence that would mean its recommendations for the use of paracetamol during pregnancy would change.

Tarik Jasarevic, a World Health Organisation spokesperson, added at a press briefing that the links between the use of the drug and autism “remains inconsistent”.

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Paracetamol & autism: Evidence examined

Trump: Tylenol ‘not good’ for pregnant women

During a press conference with US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, Mr Trump urged pregnant women to stop taking Tylenol.

After saying that Mr Kennedy Jr “wants to be very careful with what he says,” the US president added: “Taking Tylenol is not good. All right. I’ll say it. It’s not good.

“For this reason, they are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary. That’s, for instance, in cases of extremely high fever, that you feel you can’t tough it out. You can’t do it. I guess there’s that.”

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Mr Trump then said key vaccinations for newborn babies should be delayed, that combined measles, mumps and rubella jabs should be given separately, and suggested that they are linked to autism.

“They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies, it’s a disgrace,” he added. “I don’t see it. I think it’s very bad.”

Mr Jasarevic pushed strongly back on that claim, saying: “We know that vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines, as I
said, save countless lives.

“So this is something that science has proven, and these things should not be really questioned.”

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Kazakhstan launches Evo stablecoin with Solana and Mastercard

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Kazakhstan launches Evo stablecoin with Solana and Mastercard

Kazakhstan launches Evo stablecoin with Solana and Mastercard

The new Solana-based Evo stablecoin pegged to Kazakhstan’s national currency, the tenge, aims to bridge the crypto market with traditional finance.

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JPMorgan CEO: Fed cuts not assured, stablecoins no threat to banks

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JPMorgan CEO: Fed cuts not assured, stablecoins no threat to banks

JPMorgan CEO: Fed cuts not assured, stablecoins no threat to banks

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says the Federal Reserve won’t cut rates until inflation cools, and adds he is “not particularly worried” about stablecoins.

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