Today is the day in Northern Ireland, as voters head to the polls. Aside from the symbolic (but in practical terms unimportant) question of whether the DUP or Sinn Fein tops the poll, we (think we) know the story – those two will be the largest parties and forming a government will be very difficult. But it will be fascinating in any case. I've posted a preview here.
I also joined Keiran Pedley and Adam Drummond to record Polling Matters, to discuss the by-elections and Labour (including targeting Remain/Leave voters and potential future leaders) plus UKIP and Northern Ireland:
Yesterday we also got the first poll since the by-elections (YouGov/Times), and it was virtually the same as last week, with the Tories leading 42-25.
A potentially important even in Labour’s leadership struggle will be the leadership election for the Unite union. George Eaton reports that, if branch nominations are a reliable indicator, Len McCluskey could be set to hold off moderate challenger Gerard Coyne.
Polls opened at 7am across Northern Ireland and close at 10pm. Sometime thereafter we’ll get LucidTalk’s on-the-day poll (not an exit poll, but the closest thing we’ll get). Counting begins tomorrow. There are also four local by-elections today, with two Conservative defences, one Labour and one Lib Dem.
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