On Saturday, London’s Labour Party mayor Sadiq Khan won a record third term at City Hall, further embarrassing the Conservatives ahead of a general election. Khan won approximately 44% of the vote, more than 11 percentage points ahead of Conservative Party candidate Susan Hall.

He has the largest U.K. political mandate.

On Friday, there was wild speculation that the vote would be closer than expected, but Khan’s victory demonstrated a swing from Conservative to Labour compared to the 2021 mayoral election, which used a different electoral method.

Khan, who replaced Boris Johnson as London mayor in 2016 and has broad policing and financial powers, has become increasingly unpopular in recent years, especially in the suburbs, where he did worse than in the inner city.

His admirers believe he expanded house building, provided free school meals for young children, controlled transport prices, and supported London’s diverse groups. Critics believe he has caused a crime rise, is anti-car, and has unnecessarily allowed weekend pro-Palestinian marches.

Khan remarked during the final result announcement, “We faced a campaign of non-stop negativity, but I couldn’t be more proud that we answered the fearmongering with facts, hate with hope, and attempts to divide with efforts to unite.” Count Binface, a colorful British election candidate, stood behind him with a rubbish can on his head.

Sadiq Khan pushes diversity

Sadiq Khan said, “We ran a campaign that was in keeping with the spirit and values of this great city, a city that regards our diversity not as a weakness, but as an almighty strength, and one that rejects right hard-wing populism and looks forward, not back

Also re-elected Saturday were Liverpool, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire Labour mayors. Labour did best in the West Midlands, a major U.K. bellwether where the Conservative incumbent lost.

After taking over English councils for the first time in decades, Labour scored its latest achievements. The party also won a special election for a member in Parliament, which would be one of the Conservatives’ greatest losses ever.

The Conservatives lost the municipal elections, but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appears to be safe from further dissent.

The Conservative mayor of Tees Valley in northeast England was reelected, albeit with a low vote share, easing Sunak’s concerns. In the West Midlands, Sunak hoped Andy Street would hold on, but Labour’s Richard Parker won by barely 2,000 votes.

Labour lost votes in Muslim parts of England due to the party leadership’s pro-Israel attitude during the Gaza war.

Upcoming UK Election

Keir Starmer acknowledged that the party has had challenges with Muslim voters, but the findings were generally encouraging for the frontrunner for prime minister in the upcoming general election.

Sunak can call the next election, which he says will be in the second part of 2024. Keir Starmer advised him to act now.

“We’re fed up with your division, chaos, and failure,” he stated Saturday. “If you leave your country in a worse state than when you found it, 14 years later, you do not deserve to be in government.”

Thursday’s elections in huge portions of England were vital because voters chose who would manage rubbish collection, road maintenance, and local crime prevention. However, a national election is focusing attention on them.

The results demonstrate that Sunak has not benefited the Conservative brand after Boris Johnson and Liz Truss damaged it, according to University of Strathclyde political scholar John Curtice.

“That in a sense is the big takeaway,” he told BBC radio.

Sunak became PM in October 2022 after Truss’s brief term. She resigned after 49 days after a budget of unfunded tax cuts shook financial markets and raised homeowner borrowing costs.

Following her predecessor Johnson’s expulsion for lying to Parliament about Downing Street coronavirus lockdown breaches, her chaotic and traumatic leadership aggravated the Conservatives’ problems.

By late afternoon Saturday, with most of the 2,661 local election seats tabulated, the Conservatives had lost half of their 1,000 seats, while Labour had gained 200 despite Gaza-related losses.

The Greens and centrist Liberal Democrats also gained. Reform U.K., which is aiming to defeat the Conservatives from the right, also did well in the special parliamentary election in Blackpool South, where it was less than 200 votes from second place.

Source: The Associated Press

Washington — On Friday, “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill visited the White House with President Joe Biden, leaving with a pair of the president’s aviator sunglasses and a newfound respect for the job.

“I love the merch,” he added, removing his glasses briefly at the White House daily press briefing following his meeting with Biden. Hamill, 72, famous for playing Luke Skywalker, joked with reporters that he’d answer a few questions as long as they weren’t about “Star Wars.”

AP – VOR News Image

‘Star Wars’ Actor Mark Hamill Drops By White House For A Visit With ‘Joe-Bi-Wan Kenobi’

“I was honored to be asked to come to the White House to meet the president,” he told reporters. He’d been to the White House previously, during the Carter and Obama administrations, but he’d never seen the Oval Office, which he described as impressive. According to Hamill, Biden displayed photographs and other memorabilia from the Oval Office.

Hamill claimed Biden told him to call him “Joe,” to which Hamill responded with an alternative suggestion: “Can I call you Joe-bi-Wan Kenobi?”

“He liked that,” said Hamill, who also portrayed the Joker in “Batman: The Animated Series.”

AP – VOR News Image

‘Star Wars’ Actor Mark Hamill Drops By White House For A Visit With ‘Joe-Bi-Wan Kenobi’

Both Mark and the White House were hazy about the cause for his visit. But Mark, a Democrat and Biden supporter with a sizable social media following, has been posting about the president’s reelection campaign this week.

“May 1 Not Quench Your Thirst For Biden’s Re-election!” he tweeted on May 1.

On Friday, he wrote, “May 3 be absurd that the guy who tried to steal a fair election is allowed to run again,” referring to Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

May 4 is unofficially known as “Star Wars” Day, partly due to the famous Jedi line “May the Force Be With You.” The pun is “May 4 be with you.”

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‘Star Wars’ Actor Mark Hamill Drops By White House For A Visit With ‘Joe-Bi-Wan Kenobi’

Mark also provided his voice for “Air Alert,” a downloadable program linked to Ukraine’s air defense system. His voice warns citizens to take cover if Russia launches another aerial strike on Ukraine.

SOURCE – (AP)

Israel and Iran have engaged in open conflict. Ukrainian drones have routinely targeted Russian oil refineries. And OPEC continues to restrict oil production.

These frightening occurrences sparked concerns about $4 gas, harming the US economy and exacerbating inflation.

However, this has not occurred, at least yet. Gas prices in the United States have stopped growing and dropped temporarily recently.

The national average was $3.66 per gallon on Monday, down from $3.68 a week ago, according to AAA.

There is growing anticipation that gas prices will peak in the spring, if not the entire year.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, predicts that drivers will find relief at the pump in the coming weeks.

“I’m hoping the worst is behind us,” De Haan told CNN. Unless something drastic happens, there are increasing odds the national average has hit the projected spring peak.”

Tom Kloza, worldwide head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, believes gas prices will fall in the coming weeks.

“Most of the worries from the year’s first half have been resolved. “I think we’re safe until hurricane season,” Kloza remarked.

‘Could have been far worse.’

Of course, none of this implies that gas costs are cheap. They were lower in April 2021 and spring 2020, when Covid-19 kept many Americans off the roadways.

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The Worst Could Be Over For Gas Prices This Spring

Nonetheless, a springtime peak of less than $3.70 a gallon would be a win for consumers, considering the real risk of significantly higher gas costs.

“It could have been much worse,” said Andy Lipow, owner of the consultancy firm Lipow Oil Associates.

According to AAA, drivers in just seven US states pay $4 or more per gallon for gas. All those states are in the Western part of the country, followed by California, where the average is $5.40 per gallon, up from $4.88 last year.

The national average is nowhere near the record increase above $5 per gallon in June 2022.

“It seems evident that this will not be a record-setting year. “Filling your tank will feel much more normal this year,” said De Haan.

Economic and political ramifications.

Officials in Washington would most certainly breathe a sigh of relief.

Rising gasoline costs earlier this year led to lower-than-expected inflation readings, casting uncertainty on when the Federal Reserve will be able to decrease interest rates.

A rise in petrol prices is the last thing President Joe Biden wants as he works to persuade voters of his economic message before November. According to a new CNN poll, Biden’s support rating for the economy is 34%, and for inflation, it is even lower (29%).

The Biden administration backed off plans to buy crude oil for the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an emergency oil stockpile, earlier this month, adding to White House concerns over petrol costs.

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Some economists expect gas prices to rise further.

Lipow believes the national average will reach $3.75 per gallon this year.

Still, that would be lower than last year’s top of $3.88 per gallon in September.

“I’m not expecting a spike in gasoline prices,” Lipow added.

There are several reasons why gas prices are now holding steady.

First, oil prices have stopped rising. On April 12, US crude oil nearly reached $88 per barrel as investors braced for Iran’s reprisal against Israel over a suspected attack on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria.

However, oil prices fell when Israel and its allies effectively averted the reprisal. For now, fears of a larger confrontation in the Middle East have subsided, albeit this might alter quickly. US crude fell below $83 a barrel on Monday.

There are other seasonal aspects to consider.

The transition to more expensive summer-grade gasoline at US refineries is now complete. Similarly, the reopening of refineries that had been closed for normal maintenance has aided gasoline supplies.

Record-breaking US crude output continues to increase the oil supply. All of that US oil, headed by the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico, is countering OPEC+’s production cuts, which Saudi Arabia and Russia lead.

Meanwhile, gasoline demand has remained relatively low despite other indications that American consumers are spending rapidly.

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The Worst Could Be Over For Gas Prices This Spring

The hurricane season looms.

Gas prices are at risk of reaching a double peak. That’s what happened last year, when gas prices peaked in April, fell, and then returned late in the summer as excessive heat hampered US refineries.

“Weather can wreak havoc,” said Kloza, an OPIS analyst.

A major hurricane that destroys oil facilities along the US Gulf Coast is the greater risk.

Forecasters warn that the hurricane season (which normally begins on June 1) will be extremely active. Colorado State University predicts more hurricanes and named storms than ever before.

“Hurricane season is the next major hurdle,” Kloza stated.

SOURCE – (CNN)