Boost for Rishi Sunak before local elections as poll suggests Tories could win two key mayoral contests – UK politics live

Polling puts Ben Houchen on course to win in Tees Valley with Andy Street just ahead of Labour’s Richard Parker in West Midlands

Good morning. With just two days left before the local elections in England, which could see the Consevatives lose half their seats, according to at last one projection, Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak have both had bits of good news to celebrate in the last 24 hours.

For Starmer, the ongoing SNP meltdown is a big bonus. There are no elections in Scotland this week, but one of the big obstacles to Labour’s recovery at Westminster has been the SNP’s dominance in Scottish politics over the last decade, and that is withering. The SNP is now looking for a candidate to replace Humza Yousaf as first minister and the former deputy first miniser John Swinney seems to be favourite.