Starmer and Badenoch congratulate Trump on ‘historic election victory’ – UK politics live

Both PM and leader of the opposition offer congratulations with more full-throated support from Tory rightwingers such as Truss and Braverman

Another Labour politician who has criticised Donald Trump strongly in the past is Emily Thornberry, shadow foreign secretary when Jeremy Corbyn was Labour leader and now chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee. In an interview on the Today programme this morning she said Trump’s victory (or apparent victory – he still has not officially hit 270 electoral college votes) was “disappointing”, and that it made the world “unpredictable”.

When it was put to her that she described him as a “racist, sexual predator” when he visited the UK during his first term as president, she replied:

Well, he is. But he is the president of the United States, and we need to work with him.

I know that many Londoners will be anxious about the outcome of the US presidential election. Many will be fearful about what it will mean for democracy and for women’s rights, or how the result impacts the situation in the Middle East or the fate of Ukraine. Others will be worried about the future of NATO or tackling the climate crisis …

The lesson of today is that progress is not inevitable. But asserting our progressive values is more important than ever - re-committing to building a world where racism and hatred is rejected, the fundamental rights of women and girls are upheld, and where we continue to tackle the crisis of climate change head on.

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Orbán, Zelenskyy, Macron and European leaders respond to Trump’s win

Public congratulations but private foreboding as heads of state, ministers and diplomats express hopes for cooperation and peace

Western leaders raced to respond to the return of Donald Trump to the White House with a powerful mandate to put his policy of “America first” into action once again. But many of the public congratulations could do little to disguise the private foreboding of what the next four years will augur for European security, populism and the world economy.

Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister and the European leader closest to Trump, was one of the first to hail his ally’s victory. He posted on social media: “The biggest comeback in US political history! Congratulations to President @realDonaldTrump on his enormous win. A much-needed victory for the world!”

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Trump win is a victory for Netanyahu, but Israeli PM may not get it all his way

US president-elect has indicated he wants an end to war in Gaza and his position on conflict with Iran remains unclear

The US election result is highly consequential for the Middle East and is first and foremost a win for Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not try to hide his preference for a Trump victory.

The Biden administration had put off imposing any meaningful pressure on the Israeli prime minister until after the election, despite its growing frustration with him on multiple issues: the obstruction of aid into Gaza, his campaign against the UN, his obstruction of a hostage-for-peace deal, and his government’s support for violent West Bank settlers.

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Trump tariffs would halve UK growth and push up prices, says thinktank

NIESR warns British economy would be one of the worst affected by protectionist policies

UK growth is likely to be halved by Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential race if goes on to impose the swingeing new tariffs he has threatened, a leading thinktank has warned.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the protectionist measures planned by the Republican challenger for the White House would result in weaker activity, rising inflation and higher interest rates from the Bank of England.

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Inflation pain helped secure Trump win but his policies mean higher prices

Markets expect his policy package to harm trade and growth but reduce business taxes

Higher share prices. A stronger dollar. A less rapid pace of interest rate cuts. The financial market reaction to Donald Trump’s return to the White House was swift and predictable.

The man who will become his country’s 47th president has made no secret of what he plans to do: cut taxes, impose heavy tariffs on imported goods, place curbs on migration, and slash red tape.

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Donald Trump elected US president in stunning political resurrection

Former president defeats Kamala Harris as voters send Republican back to White House for second term

Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States in a stunning political resurrection that sent shockwaves through America and around the world.

Trump becomes the first convicted criminal to win the White House. At 78 he is also the oldest person ever elected to the office.

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Wall Street and bitcoin soar to record highs as Trump wins US election

Dollar up and renewable energy stocks down, while shares in president-elect’s media business rise by more than a third

Wall Street and bitcoin rallied to fresh record highs and the dollar soared after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, while renewable energy stocks fell.

Trump was declared the winner on Wednesday morning after securing the 270 electoral votes needed to take the presidency.

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US elections live: Harris makes unexpected stop at DNC headquarters as millions of Americans cast their votes

Harris thanks Democratic staffers in Washington DC and says ‘we have so much work to do’ during phone-banking session

Dispatch from Grand Rapids, Michigan: They just showed a video here of Donald Trump shaving the head of Vince McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, during a wrestling event. It happened in 2007.

Needless to say, Trump hasn’t arrived yet.

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Donald Trump says ‘we made history’ as he closes in on victory with win in Pennsylvania – as it happened

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The state of American democracy and the economy were the top issues on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election, according to an NBC News exit poll.

The poll’s preliminary results show 35% of voters said democracy mattered most to their vote, while 31% said the economy.

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A polarized America goes to the polls: ‘I’m in a house divided’

In the seven swing states that could decide whether Harris or Trump wins the election, voters feel fought over

America had previously always been “somebody else’s country,” said Christopher La Rose, a health researcher, as he waited just before 7am in Pine Lake, a village that’s too small for postal delivery just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

But that changed recently for La Rose, who is of Guyanese descent, when he became an American citizen. He had the jitters on Monday night, before using his first-ever vote in a US election to back Kamala Harris.

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US elections 2024: 10 key House races to watch

Democrats only need to flip a handful of seats to get back control of the lower chamber – here’s what to keep an eye on

Much attention has been paid to the historic race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, but the results of down-ballot elections will determine whether the new president will actually be able to implement a legislative agenda next year.

With Republicans defending a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, Democrats only need to flip a handful of seats to wrest back control of the lower chamber, and both parties are going all out to win.

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Trump and Harris scramble to win votes in key states in final day of campaigning

Ex-president hurtles through four rallies across three states as vice-president puts focus on Pennsylvania

Donald Trump began hurtling through four Maga rallies across three battleground states – and delivered a dark and dystopian speech about the supposed “migrant invasion” of murderers and drug dealers – while Kamala Harris put all her last chips on Pennsylvania in a frantic final day of campaigning from both candidates.

With the polls showing the contest essentially deadlocked between two vastly different political visions, both the ex-president and the vice-president were scrambling on Monday to drive home their message. Though early voting has smashed records across the country, there is still everything to play for in cajoling undecided and unengaged voters to the polls on election day.

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When do polls close?

How the electoral college works

Where is abortion on the ballot?

Senate and House races to watch

Lessons from the key swing states

Trump v Harris on key issues

What’s at stake in this election

What to know about the US election

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US elections live updates: Harris and Trump make final pitches in crucial state of Pennsylvania

Judge rejects legal challenge against Musk’s $1m giveaways; Harris vows to be ‘a president for all Americans’

Here is a look back at some of the more memorable pictures of the 2024 US presidential campaign:

In an interview with NBC News, Donald Trump did not rule out banning certain vaccines if he was elected to a second presidential term.

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First Thing: Trump election subversion efforts better organized than in 2020, experts warn

From seeding doubt about voter fraud to using legal means, the efforts stand in contrast to last election’s more haphazard efforts. Plus, authorities seize massive amounts of fentanyl in California

Good morning.

Experts are preparing for Donald Trump to stage an aggressive attempt to challenge the election results if he appears to be losing Tuesday’s vote, warning that such efforts will be far more organized than his attempt at overturning the result following the 2020 race.

Just how close could the vote be? Analysts are predicting the closest election since 2000, when George W Bush won by 537 votes, and warning of the threat of civil unrest and political violence.

Where will Trump and Harris be on the final day of campaigning? Harris will be in three cities in Pennsylvania; Trump will make appearances in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

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Is Trump actually a fascist – and why does the answer matter?

Given the comparisons to Hitler and Mussolini, experts say it’s important to remember that fascism is a process

While Democratic strategists debate whether or not their attack ads labeling Donald Trump a fascist have been effective, experts and academics told the Guardian his campaign and the Republican party he now heads have clear autocratic sympathies and political qualities that are firmly in line with fascism movements historically.

Put together, that makes any Trump victory this week and his return to the White House for a second presidential term a clear threat to US democracy, they added.

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Trump donor fined for pollution leads a fight to end methane emission penalties

Detailed plans from 30 oil and gas producers come amid historic levels of potent planet-heating emissions

A powerful US oil and gas industry lobby group has drawn up detailed plans to kill off penalties for emitting methane, a potent planet-heating gas that’s increasing at the fastest rate in decades, with this effort led by a major donor to Donald Trump whose company has just been fined for methane pollution.

Leaked internal documents from the American Exploration & Production Council (AXPC), a group of 30 oil and gas producers, outline a push to repeal a fee levied on methane emissions should the former US president win this week’s election and Republicans gain control of Congress.

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Candidates make final push in battleground states after Iowa poll shows Trump trailing Harris – US election live updates

Kamala Harris to visit Michigan as Donald Trump heads to Pennsylvania as election nears final hours

We have already covered the presidential nominees’ schedules but what are their running mates up to?

Tim Walz will be in North Carolina this evening. The Queen City News says details are limited but according to a press release, Walz will hold an event in Gastonia to encourage voters to cast their ballots. Earlier in the day, former president Bill Clinton will hold a campaign rally at a church in Charlotte at 10am, it says.

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RFK Jr says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water

Kennedy, who Trump promised to let lead health programs, makes claims against fluoride, which strengthens teeth

Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that the former president would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear-and-tear, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

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Trump and Harris agree on a bleak view of the US – if the other one wins

The ex-president and vice-president converge on a unifying message: if I lose, the country will not be the same

In a speech filled with promises, falsehoods, insults and jokes delivered by Donald Trump to a packed Wisconsin arena six days before the presidential election, one line stood out: “November 5 will be the most important day in the history of our country.”

Hyperbole? Undoubtedly, and exactly the sort that the former president has used repeatedly in the past months, as he plots a return to the White House that Joe Biden ousted him from four years ago. Did it ring true to his supporters? For many, the answer was yes.

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