Local elections in England, and parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales, take place on Thursday. The governing Labour Party is expected to do very badly.

As Reform vows to block solar and windfarms, energy leaders say renewables offer most secure future, insulating UK from hostile forces

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• May elections: What’s at stake across England, Wales and Scotland?

The defining issue of Thursday’s local elections, feedback from doorsteps suggests, will be the UK’s soaring cost of living. But voters should be told about the links between inflation and the affects of fossil fuels and the climate crisis – or the remedies they choose – may make the situation worse, green campaigners have warned.

Ami McCarthy, the head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said: “With people’s bills and prices soaring from yet another fossil fuel crisis, these local elections have a global context – driven by the Iran war.

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© Photograph: Amazing Aerial/Alamy

© Photograph: Amazing Aerial/Alamy

© Photograph: Amazing Aerial/Alamy

Party leader says vote for Labour or Greens in closely run seats will result in Reform victory at local elections

Voters in the home counties will “regret it for a long time” if they do not back the Liberal Democrats and wake up to a Reform-led council, Ed Davey has said.

The Lib Dems leader has identified five councils – East Surrey, West Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex and Huntingdonshire – where his party could win overall control, as well as swathes of the former “blue wall” where Davey said it was a “straight fight” between his party and Reform at the English local elections.

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© Photograph: Nick Warren/PA

© Photograph: Nick Warren/PA

© Photograph: Nick Warren/PA

IPOH, May 5 — Perak Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Sandrea Ng Shy Ching met the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday to present the latest developments regarding the relocation of three elephants from Zoo Taiping & Night Safari to Tennoji Zoo in Japan.

Ng said the meeting, held at the Prime Minister’s Office, discussed several key matters, with particular emphasis on the welfare of the three elephants, namely Dara, Amoi and Kelat (DAK), as well as the importance of maintaining good diplomatic relations and honouring existing commitments and agreements.

“The public’s concern over this issue is greatly appreciated, and at the same time it is important for us to look at it comprehensively, based on facts and current developments.

“Emphasis was also placed on ensuring all relevant parties adopt a careful approach in every action, with priority given to animal welfare and continuous monitoring to ensure their condition remains at a good level,” she said in a Facebook post yesterday.

She said any further developments would be shared from time to time by the relevant authorities.

The Prime Minister, in a Facebook post yesterday, stressed that the welfare of the three Malaysian elephants must be prioritised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES).

Anwar said any decision and action must be carried out based on facts while taking into account the best welfare of the elephants.

Prior to that, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup said that DAK should be brought back to Malaysia from Japan if the implementation of the existing agreement is found to be no longer aligned with conservation principles, wildlife welfare and current sensitivities. — Bernama

Councillors in Leicestershire support move in efforts to reduce flooding as Reform faces divisions on nature policy

A Reform UK council has backed the release of wild beavers into the countryside, despite the party’s opposition to rewilding.

The Reform-led Leicestershire county council has backed the release of the rodents as part of efforts to reduce flooding.

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© Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

© Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

With voter loyalty a distant memory, the Lib Dems’ cost of living policies and criticism of Trump could gain them ground

It has been an election buildup dominated by the rise of Reform UK and the Greens, and the contrasting woes of Labour and the Tories. But there is a chance that on 8 May the Liberal Democrats, largely ignored in recent weeks, could wake up as the biggest party in English local government.

This is just one of several paradoxes for the party’s leader, Ed Davey, and his team. They are fifth in many national polls, with a rating barely changed from 2024. But Lib Dem bosses are sanguine, convinced that UK politics is now so different, so atomised, to make headline polling almost irrelevant.

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© Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

© Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

© Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Campaigners saying public spaces protection orders also being used to criminalise wide range of everyday activities

One in five local councils have banned swearing under new “busybody” orders, up from one in 20 councils in 2022.

A new report by the Campaign for Freedom in Everyday Life has found that public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) – originally intended to tackle serious anti-social behaviour – are being used by councils in England and Wales to criminalise a wide range of everyday activities, including standing in groups, shouting and picking up stones.

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© Photograph: Canterbury City Council PSPO

© Photograph: Canterbury City Council PSPO

© Photograph: Canterbury City Council PSPO

Hope Not Hate campaign identifies election hopefuls calling for a ‘white Britain’ and complaining of ‘kowtowing to the black community’

A Reform UK candidate who called for a “white Britain” and said Keir Starmer should be shot is among a number of contenders fuelling doubts about the party’s claim to have tightened up its vetting.

The past comments of Linda McFarlane and other political hopefuls have been unearthed ahead of the 7 May elections, including one who complained about “constant kowtowing to the black community” and others who endorsed the far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

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© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

© Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

All signs point to a record-low performance for Labour in May in what will be a moment of high jeopardy for Keir Starmer

Labour is on track for its worst local election performance next Thursday, data analysed by the Guardian shows, in a blow that will pile further pressure on Keir Starmer’s leadership.

Barring a drastic change in fortunes, Labour’s vote-share could fall to historic lows across elections for councils in England and devolved parliaments in Wales and Scotland on 7 May, with big gains for Reform, the Greens and nationalist parties, according to recent polling.

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© Composite: Guardian Design/PA

© Composite: Guardian Design/PA

© Composite: Guardian Design/PA

Council proposal to use glyphosate to tidy up pavements criticised over potential harm to humans and wildlife

Cornwall is famed for its glorious gardens and verdant landscapes but a bitter row has broken out over a plan to tackle a less glamorous type of vegetation – roadside weeds.

The unitary authority has announced plans to use the controversial herbicide glyphosate to tidy up pavements and kerbsides, after largely phasing out its use over the last decade amid concerns about potential harm to humans and the peninsula’s rich ecosystems.

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© Photograph: Karen Robinson/The Guardian

© Photograph: Karen Robinson/The Guardian

© Photograph: Karen Robinson/The Guardian

Housing secretary also targets Reform as May elections loom, saying Farage more interested in Trump than own constituency

The Greens have welcomed activists kicked out of Labour for antisemitic views and people should be “very careful” who they vote for next month, one of Keir Starmer’s most senior ministers has said in a notable stepping-up of attacks on Zack Polanski’s party.

In a double-pronged attack on the two parties expected to make big gains in the elections on 7 May, Steve Reed also accused Nigel Farage of being more interested in talking to Donald Trump then representing his Clacton constituency.

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© Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

© Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

© Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

Some fear a fragmented field of hopefuls from Labour, the Conservatives, Greens, Reform and independents could leave city ungovernable

Paul Tilsley was 23 when he was first elected for the Liberal party in Birmingham’s council elections in 1968. At that time, the UK had an unpopular Labour government facing an economic crisis, tensions around immigration and US pressure to back military action abroad.

Such a backdrop may seem familiar, but this May the local elections in Birmingham could not be more different. Tilsley, now a Liberal Democrat, faces a fragmented field with candidates from Labour, the Conservatives, the Greens, Reform UK and independents all competing for his seat and no party expected to win an overall majority on the council.

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© Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Guardian

© Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Guardian

© Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Guardian