This was an expectations defying win for Labour in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election over the SNP, after winning the seat with a 602 majority. It is a huge boost both for PM Sir Keir Starmer - who did not campaign in Hamilton - after a brutal 11 months and for Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar ahead of next year's Holyrood

Zia Yusuf resigned as chairman of Reform UK after 11 months in the job, delivering a blow to its leader, Nigel Farage, who has promised to build and professionalize the insurgent party in a quest for power at the next general election.

The resignation of Zia Yusuf as Reform UK's chairman matters because he was a central character in the stand out trend in British politics since the general election – the rise and rise Nigel Farage's party.