'Terrible' night for Tories as Labour makes early gains in local elections

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [The Independent]( May 05, 2023 [View online](   [Morning Headlines]( 1 / [‘Terrible’ night for Tories as Labour takes key councils in local elections]( The Tories suffered a “terrible” night in Rishi Sunak’s first electoral test as prime minister, with Labour making significant early gains. [Labour]( is on course to win the next general election after taking control of a series of key councils, Shabana Mahmood has said. The party’s national campaign coordinator said the local poll had been a “disaster for Rishi Sunak and the Tories” so far. And she said the results show Labour is “on course for a majority government”. The Liberal Democrats also hailed a “groundbreaking” set of results, which leader Sir Ed Davey said show people are “sick to the back teeth” of the Conservative government. Mr Davey said the party was “exceeding all expectations”. Meanwhile, veterans minister Johnny Mercer said it was a “terrible night” for the Conservatives. And transport minister Huw Merriman said the Tories had a “difficult night”, which “may get more difficult”.   2 / [King Charles’s coronation snub for Princess Diana’s brother]( Exclusive: Earl Spencer not invited to ceremony at Westminster Abbey, where he pledged at sister’s funeral to look after her sons 3 / [Madeleine McCann’s sister speaks publicly for first time since her disappearance 16 years ago]( Parents Gerry and Kate McCann said public support had helped them as they said Madeleine was ‘still very much missed’ 4 / [Matt Hancock was paid £10,000 fee for Good Morning Britain TV interview]( MP told Good Morning Britain his I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! appearance was not ‘primarily’ for the money 5 / [Mapped: Measles cases in your area as infection rates surge]( Most of the cases have been in London, though they have cropped up in other regions THE BIG QUESTION [What makes Queen Camilla tick?]( It is 3 June 2019 – the first day of president Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK. Despite public protest, the government has laid on a welcome guaranteed to stroke the ego of a man with a weakness for pomp and ceremony: a royal reception. As his helicopter Marine One touches down on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, [Prince Charles]( and the [Duchess of Cornwall]( stride out to greet the president and first lady with practised geniality. But it is later, when they move to Clarence House for a photo call, that [Camilla](, not Trump, steals the show. In footage that will later go viral, as Prince Charles ushers the Trumps through for tea, a grinning Duchess turns and gives a quick, conspiratorial wink. If heavy is the head that wears the crown, then the woman Charles has loved for five decades should help lighten the load. On Saturday, in a ceremony following her husband’s coronation, the former Duchess of Cornwall will be crowned Queen Camilla, the silver Queen Mary crown (its controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond removed) placed on her head by the Archbishop of Canterbury. For a woman once so vilified, it seemed unthinkable that she would ever marry Charles, let alone become Queen. It’s an extraordinary turn in a partnership that now looks set to shape the future of the British monarchy. [For the full story click here]( £99 £20 for 1 year ✓ Full access to Premium news analysis ✓ Advert-free reading across web and app ✓ The Independent Daily Edition newspaper ✓ Puzzles, virtual event tickets and more [SUBSCRIBE NOW](   WATCH /[Ed Sheeran’s statement after Marvin Gaye copyright trial win]( NUMBER OF THE DAY £10,000 – [Matt Hancock]( received £10,000 for a television appearance in which he said he did not “primarily” go on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! for the money. Read more here]( QUOTE OF THE DAY “ After 20 years with no new Alzheimer's drugs, we now have two potential new drugs in just 12 months.” – Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research at the Alzheimer’s [Society]( in the UK. [Read more here](   OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT LIKE [King Charles does not want ‘abhorrent’ pledge of allegiance during coronation, friend reveals]( [A day-by-day guide to the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla]( [Ryanair trolls newlyweds over window seat complaint: ‘Can’t read the fine print’](   Articles available exclusively to subscribers [Mary Dejevsky]( - [The coronation tells us a lot about the state of the nation — and it’s not all good news](   OTHER NEWSLETTERS YOU MIGHT LIKE [The Race Report]( The Race Report Fortnightly Written by Nadine White [Join now]( [The View from Westminster ]( The View from Westminster Every weekday Written by John Rentoul [Join now]( If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. 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