Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to "carry the can" if Labour fares badly in tomorrow's elections, after a string of polls suggested the party could lose further ground in the Red Wall.
The opposition leader had hoped to prove that he is righting the ship after Jeremy Corbyn's tenure, but the critical Leave-voting seat of Hartlepool could turn Tory for the first time in more than 50 years.
Sir Keir will bear some responsibility for the fact that Labour's candidate Paul Williams, a former Remainer, was picked from a 'longlist' of one.
The party's Corbynite wing are already asking what it means for his leadership.
The Hartlepool by-election will be the first time that Boris Johnson’s Conservatives will come up against a Labour Party led by Sir Keir at the ballot box in a parliamentary election too.
The Chopper's Politics podcast looks at what is at stake.
Meanwhile, Gordon Brown has said inequality will "last until doomsday" under the SNP because Nicola Sturgeon is obsessed with waging "a war against the Union" rather than improving the lives of ordinary Scots.
The former Labour Prime Minister said nationalists would not tackle the "crime" of child poverty because in reality they spend "all their waking hours trying to change our borders".
It comes as the Scottish Tories' manifesto came out on top in a 'blind test' of voters who were presented with key policies without being told which party they belonged to.
'At least the Nazis kept the lights on' says UK to France
Britain has attacked France for "unacceptable" threats to cut off Jersey's electricity supplies in a row over Brexit fishing rights with government sources warning that not even the Channel Island's Nazi occupiers sank so low. Annick Giradin, the French maritime minister, said on Tuesday that Paris could shut down three undersea cables that provide Jersey with 95pc of its electricity if the dispute over fishing licences in its waters were not resolved. Read how there appears to be little the UK Government could do and why the dispute is focused on Jersey.
Life inside the real North Korea revealed in new book
Few people can claim to have heard the chilling sound of a North Korean ballistic missile flying overhead, but on September 15, 2017, Lindsey Miller, a musical director living in Pyongyang, recalls being jolted from her bed by a peculiar rumbling. The unfamiliar sound was the test of a Hwasong-12 intermediate range ballistic missile – designed to deliver nuclear warheads. The anecdote features in her new book, North Korea – Like Nowhere Else, a rare photo exploration of the reclusive state.
At a glance: Coronavirus evening briefing
G7 meeting hit by Covid | India's entire delegation to the G7 summit in London is self-isolating after two of its members tested positive for Covid-19. There are strict security measures in place at the Lancaster House summit and Boris Johnson has defended the continuation of in-person meetings - the first among G7 foreign ministers for more than two years. Our liveblog has the latest Covid updates.
- Fatalities | Almost a third of recent Covid deaths not caused by virus
- Surges | As India suffers, other Asian countries are also seeing spikes
- City kept open | Madrid's anti-lockdown leader wins re-election
- Forged | Fake Covid vaccine cards sold online for as little as £5
- Impact | Eerie photos of empty hotel pools bare scars of lockdown
Also in the news: Today's other headlines
- Nick Kamen | Levi's model and Madonna collaborator dies aged 59
- Dalian Atkinson trial | 'Frightened' officer told Pc girlfriend to run
- Peloton safety fears | Treadmills recalled following death of child
- Duchess of Sussex | Palace aide gave advice on letter, court hears
- Nonuplets | Woman 'pregnant with seven' gives birth to nine
Around the world: Trump's Facebook ban upheld
Donald Trump's ban from Facebook has been confirmed after the company's independent Oversight Board upheld a suspension after January's riots in Washington DC. The Oversight Board, an independent group funded by the social network, said the company was right to suspend the former President. Read on for details. Meanwhile, Ambrose Evans Pritchard examines President Joe Biden's $6 trillion spending plans and analyses how America has always had a socialist soul.
Wednesday interview
'TV is too London-centric – we want to change that'
Could two upstarts from Newcastle make it in TV today? Ant and Dec think not – so they're working with the Prince's Trust to fix it
Comment and analysis
- Ben Habib | Britain should get used to hostile tactics from the EU
- Madeline Grant | There's nothing immoral about foreign holidays
- Ella Whelan | Meghan's fun-free book may put children off reading
- Rebecca Reid | BBC's new Britney Spears documentary is grubby
- Oliver Brown | Golf won't forgive spurning Ryder Cup for Saudi cash
Editor's choice
- Family first | Have modern parents sacrificed too much by prioritising their children?
- Danny Boy | How a young British soldier was 'framed for human rights abuses' in Iraq
- Uh oh, Crocs are back | Why the ugly clogs' resurgence is a trend to embrace with caution
Business and money briefing
Geopolitical risks | Western governments should consider stockpiling critical battery metals such as cobalt and lithium, the International Energy Agency said, in a stark warning about the green-energy shift.
- End of an era | Last Debenhams stores to close next week
- Cryptocurrency | Dogecoin price hits new high
- On top of markets | Live stocks and shares updates 24 hours a day
Sport briefing
Lions squad | Who would make the cut if you were in charge of the Lions' tour to South Africa? Have your say here while Gavin Mairs outlines who he would make captain and why Danny Care would be on the plane. Also, take a look at the best XV who never played for the Lions.
- Angel Di Maria's brain explosion | How PSG midfielder lost his rag
- 'Token black guy' | Jens Lehmann sacked overWhatsApp message
- Golf split | Saudi 'Super League' bids $100m for Asian Tour
Three things for tonight
- Watch | The Battle for Britney: Fans, Cash and a Conservatorship
- Football | Chelsea vs Real Madrid, Champions League semi-final
- Skincare | Six essential products every woman over 50 needs
And finally... for this evening's downtime
Spice up your life… again | It is the comeback nobody saw coming. Nearly 25 years after Spice World, the most successful girl band in history may return to the big screen with a sequel. Alice Vincent thinks it will be the naughty antidote to a po-faced cinema scene.
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