A rumoured challenge to Ed Davey's leadership has fallen flat, with most Lib Dem MPs rallying behind him in a meeting on Tuesday night “MP after MP stood up to support Ed," an attendee told PolHome A lack of obvious successor and potential snap election are also seen as complicating factors when it comes to questions about a Lib Dem leadership change However, Davey remains under pressure to raise his game amid ongoing internal frustrations with the party's performance, report @zoenora6 & @harriet_symonds politicshome.com/news/articl…

Prosper UK is on a mission to pull politics – and the Conservative Party – in a centre-right direction. Will it succeed? ⏪ politicshome.com/news/articl…

Inside Prosper UK's Mission To Pull The Tories Towards The Centre By @noahvickers14 In a hotel bar in Newbury, confusion reigns. Seven men have gathered in the bar’s function room to talk about how they can play their part in a new political movement. The trouble is, several of those attending aren’t entirely sure what this movement is, or what its actual objectives are. It’s called Prosper UK and it has so far attracted almost 30,000 supporters across the country. Co-chaired by former West Midlands mayor Sir Andy Street and the ex-leader of the Scottish Conservatives Baroness (Ruth) Davidson, Prosper styles itself as a “modern, forward-looking centre-right movement with the ideas, energy and reach to shape the country’s next chapter”. politicshome.com/news/articl…

Senior London Conservatives have called for a “conversation” about scrapping Sadiq Khan’s free school meal programme if the party wins the mayoral election in 2028 Emma Best, deputy leader of City Hall Tories, said the party needs to discuss the future of the scheme. "Half a billion pounds is being spent on free school meals. Nothing’s free – those are taxpayer-funded meals," she said at their Birmingham conference Shadow minister and London MP Gareth Bacon agreed, telling PoliticsHome: "At a time when he can’t police the streets properly, that seems like the wrong priority to me" Tory London mayoral hopefuls James Cleverly and Festus Akinbusoye declined to comment. Andrew Boff said the scheme should be more limited, while Alex Challoner, who is also seeking the nomination, said he'd scrap it altogether @noahvickers14 reports politicshome.com/news/articl…

Lib Dems go soul searching While Ed Davey's position as leader is secure, he is under pressure to provide a clearer answer to the question that dominated the party's conference: what, and who, are the Lib Dems for? @zoenora6 & @noahvickers14 report from Brighton politicshome.com/news/articl…