Politics Live: Monday 18 May

1. John Bercow was re-elected as Commons Speaker unopposed as MPs returned to the Commons
2. David Cameron set out his vision for a truly seven-day-a-week NHS
3. Both Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper claimed key endorsements in the Labour leadership contest

A brief recap and good night from us

Before we close the Politics Live Page for the night, here's a quick look back at what has been happening today:

MPs gathered in the Commons for the first time since the election and unanimously re-elected John Bercow as the Speaker of the House. 

David Cameron used his first major speech since the election to renew his pledge to create a seven-day-a-week NHS.

Candidates for the Labour party leadership continue to gather support and one of them, Yvette Cooper , is saying the party had been seen as "anti-growth".

The Greens joined forces with UKIP to call for changes to the electoral system.

Radical Conservatism

Newsnight

More from Newsnight's reflections on Radical Conservatism. David Skelton, director of the Renewal group, says the party needs to build on its election win to gain support in areas where it's seen as "counter-cultural" to vote Tory. 

He says he'd like to see the party work with "northern coalfields" and reboot its "moral mission" to help people who "have been on low pay for five years".

Columnist Tim Montgomerie said the Conservative manifesto for the general election had been the "most Conservative for a generation". He added that although some on the right of the party did not consider David Cameron to be a "true Conservative", voters were very comfortable with him.

What Tories will do next

Newsnight

Newsnight on BBC Two has been considering why the Conservatives won the election and what they will do now. Steve Hilton, David Cameron's former right-hand man who left Downing Street in 2012, said the Conservatives delivered what they promised in government and produced a "far better" manifesto than in 2010, describing their plans on the NHS, childcare and tax as "modern, progressive and practical". Former Times columnist Tim Montgomerie says anyone expecting real radicalism under a Conservative majority government could be disappointed, arguing that Mr Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne are by instinct "cautious" politicians and their victory owed more to their opponents' weakness and an improving economy than any appetite for far-reaching change. 

Tuesday's Express

Express

Tuesday's Mirror

Daily Mirror

'Drab affair'

Guardian columnist Owen Jones is not impressed with the Labour contest so far, telling the BBC News Channel's newspaper review that it has been a "drab affair". What we have seen to date, he says, is a series of "fairly vacuous platitudes", with little to differentiate the candidates when it comes to policies. But The Sun's Kate McCann says there is a long way to go and it is important that the public get a sense of the personalities of those involved. Both agree that Dan Jarvis' endorsement is good news for Andy Burnham though and that he is assembling a "strong" list of backers. 

Tuesday's i

i

Tuesday's Times

Times

Tomorrow's Mail

Mail

Tuesday's Guardian

Guardian

Burnham's 'basic authenticity'

Dan Jarvis has been explaining to the BBC's World Tonight why he is supporting Andy Burnham. He says he has seen the shadow health secretary "close-up" in his constituency and in Parliament and believes he has a "broad appeal" and the "basic authenticity" needed to re-connect with voters who deserted the party. He says he agrees with some of Yvette Cooper's criticism of Labour's failure to reach out to business. But he also defends Labour's links with the trade unions, saying it is important for working men and women to be able to contribute to the party. 

Tuesday's Telegraph

Telegraph

Call for voting changes

A reminder from earlier that UKIP has joined forces with the Greens and other parties to petition the government to change the voting system.

Reuters

Call for three-year 'check-up'

Labour's leader in the House of Lords, Baroness Jan Royall, says the winner of the party's leadership contest should be "reaffirmed" after three years, reports Allegra Stratton , Newsnight's political editor. 

Prince Charles 'to meet Gerry Adams'

Prince Charles is expected to meet Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams at the start of a royal visit to Ireland on Tuesday.

It is understood that Mr Adams will be among a number of politicians to greet the prince as he begins his four-day visit with the Duchess of Cornwall.

The meeting in Galway would be the first in the Republic of Ireland between the Sinn Féin leadership and a member of the British Royal Family.

Getty Images

'Likeliest to win'

Cooper's 'surprise'

BBC

BBC political correspondent Eleanor Garnier says some people will be surprised by Yvette Cooper's comments on Labour's business record and her apparent intention to "distance" herself from Ed Miliband. 

She is positioning herself in the centre and leaving Andy Burnham to her left. Some will be surprised ...but that's what her team want - to make them think she is not the candidate they were expecting."

Wollaston on seven-day NHS

Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston, chair of the Commons health committee, says she supports the prime minister's vision of a truly seven-day a week NHS but it won't "happen overnight". She says more needs to be done to get doctors working abroad to return to the UK and to enable those who have taken time out to raise a family to get back into work. Pressure needs to be taken off GPs, she adds, by expanding the role of consultant pharmacists and other professionals. But ultimately, she tells the BBC News Channel, the UK needs to train more GPs if it is to meet the demands on the NHS of a growing and ageing population. 

BBC

Running for office

PA

It's quite hard to walk 10 feet in Portcullis House, the big new-ish office building that has become the centre of much parliamentary life, without running into an MP running for some office or other, writes BBC Parliamentary Correspondent Mark D'Arcy.  

He says the winners of the races to lead the various committees in the Commons will be those who are "most successful in attracting votes across the political divide".

Hodge's footsteps

Jarvis backs Burnham

PA

Labour MP Dan Jarvis has come out in favour of Andy Burnham in the contest to lead the party.In an article in the Daily Mirror, he says Burnham "has the strength, experience and character needed to bring our party together and restore Labour’s connection with the British people".

The shadow justice minister and former army officer writes: 

He is a decent man with a story that will resonate with people right across our country. His journey from humble roots to serving around the Cabinet table speaks to the sense of ambition Labour should have for every child growing up in Britain today."

What now for Scottish Labour?

BBC Scotland's political editor Brian Taylor says  Labour's decline in Scotland has been slow and steady and that their revival, if there is to be one, will not be instantaneous.

Cooper's attack on Miliband

Here's a bit more from Yvette Cooper's interview in the Financial Times in which she has criticised Ed Miliband's stance on business.

The shadow home secretary who is standing in the contest to be the next leader of the Labour Party said that under its former leader the party sounded "anti-business, anti-growth and ultimately anti-worker."

The wife of Ed Balls, the former shadow chancellor, has claimed that Labour needs to "reset our relationship with business around a shared vision for building an economy that faces the future".

She added that "Labour has to show we want to build business up not knock them down".

She also argues that Labour should drop its opposition to the recent reduction in corporation tax. 

'A row as good as a rest'

UUP leader meets PM

The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)  Mike Nesbitt has met the Prime Minister  in London at the start of the new Parliament. 

He says he urged David Cameron that the government must not collapse the Northern Ireland Executive over welfare reform difficulties.

 A spokesman for Downing Street described the meeting as routine and private.  

Yvette sets out stall in FT interview

PA

Prospective leader of the Labour Party, Yvette Cooper, has given an interview to the Financial Times and said that her party needs to re-set its relationship with business.

She says Labour and business should unite around a "shared vision" of creating the jobs and economic growth of the future and that although people knew Labour wanted to stop exploitation in the workplace, they weren't convinced of the party's commitment to creating more jobs and stronger growth.

Ms Cooper says she will set up a Business Advisory Group if she becomes Labour Leader, which will include businesses that don’t support the party.

'Like Hogwarts'

New MPs coming to Westminster have a lot to get used to. David Cornock, BBC Wales Parliamentary correspondent, has been speaking to some of the new intake from Wales , including one who says the House of Commons is "like Hogwarts".

The psychology of being an MP

MPs need to attend to key psychological factors in a changed and yet unchanging institution, says Cranfield University's Dr Richard Kwiatkowski.

In his piece on the politicshome website he points out how newly-elected or  re-elected MPs may be feeling emotionally as election fever subsides.

Labour leader in Scotland

Now that Jim Murphy has said he is standing down as the leader of the Labour party in Scotland, who are the people most likely to take on the role?

Glenn Campbell, political correspondent at BBC Scotland, takes a look. 

Getty images

Human Rights Act

Writing in the Spectator , associate editor and Conservative supporter Toby Young sounds a note of caution about Tory proposals to repeal the Human Rights Act. 

The party's  manifesto  says: "The next Conservative government will scrap the Human Rights Act, and introduce a British Bill of Rights."

Toby Young says he's "nervous about the rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights becoming less sacrosanct,  particularly Article 10, which deals with freedom of expression".

Round-up

Time for a quick look back at the main political stories of the day:

David Cameron re-pledges to boost NHS funding and create a "seven-day" health service, in his first major post-election speech.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey says his union is not considering ending its ties with the Labour Party, after yesterday suggesting it might.

John Bercow has been re-elected as Speaker of the House of Commons as MPs returned to Parliament for the first time after the election.

 Angela Eagle has joined the race to become Labour's deputy leader.  

The chairman of JCB says the UK should not fear an exit from the European Union.

People smugglers

European Union defence and foreign ministers have approved plans to establish an EU naval force to combat people smugglers operating from Libya. 

The EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said the aim of the operation was to disrupt the business model of smugglers and traffickers' networks in the Mediterranean. The EU is expected to seek United Nations support for the mission.

AFP

Union influence

Norman Smith

Assistant political editor

The unions have "influence" over Labour, rather than power: 

It's not a straightforward 'pay the cash to get the policies' - it's more about influence. But there is no doubt that the influence is significant."

MacIntosh in Scottish Labour leader bid

The new old Speaker

John Bercow has been re-elected as Commons' Speaker. The full story is here.

BBC

Trident inquiry call

Creagh was 'never unsmiling'

Yvette Cooper's bid

Ross Hawkins

Political correspondent

Yvette Cooper's campaign team have released a list of MPs backing her in her bid for the Labour leadership. 

A source said they had more than the 35 required to guarantee a place on the ballot paper, although they are not saying exactly how many have offered their support. 

Former ministers Chris Bryant, David Hanson and John Healey are among the named MPs. 

Hazel Blears' former special adviser Paul Richards and activist Luke Akehurst will also work on the campaign, said the source, alongside regional organisers Shelia Murphy and Caroline Badley.

BBC

Row over Commons' seats

The SNP have accused Labour of refusing to come to an agreement about seating arrangements in the Commons.

During the election of the Speaker, the SNP sat in some of the former Lib Dem seats but some Labour MPs, including Dennis Skinner, continue to occupy seats which the SNP had sought to reserve. 

Labour is not commenting, but the SNP's Pete Wishart MP accused the party of not recognising the nationalists as the third largest party:

The sensible way forward is for the SNP to sit where the Liberals sat. For some reason the Labour Party is not willing to reach agreement. There is a free-for-all and no sign of agreement."

Where do doctors come from?

Over at the Newsnight live page , producer Ed Brown looks at where the 5,000 extra GPs being promised by the government might come from...

Bercow 'dragged' to his seat

BBC

A quick look back now at how in a traditional ceremony, Mr Bercow was "dragged" from his seat between Tories Charles Walker and Julian Lewis (two key allies) to the Speaker's chair, after the motion to re-appoint him was passed unopposed. 

Scotland Bill

Cohen's Labour advice

New angles

BBC

Did you spot anything out of the ordinary in today's Commons coverage? Two new cameras to the left and right of the Speaker's chair will give television viewers a new perspective on proceedings.  

BBC

Peers process

BBC

Members of the House of Lords line up to take the oath or solemn affirmation of parliamentary service

You'll find more from the House of Lords over at BBC Westminster Live. 

Small parties

Angus Robertson, the SNP's group leader in Westminster, thanked Mr Bercow for treating the smaller parties fairly in the last parliament when his party had just six MPs compared with the 56 today. 

He said the SNP would "look forward to making Scotland's voice heard". Mr Robertson also joked: 

"We still, however, support the fair treatment of smaller parties - smaller parties like the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, and the other really small parties who only have one member like the Scottish Conservative Party, the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrats."

Angus Robertson

'Seven-day NHS'

Chris Cook

Newsnight Policy Editor

Over on the Newsnight Live Page, policy editor Chris Cook says there is strong support from the "NHS machinery" for the move towards a "seven-day NHS".

He also reminds us that the ambition is not new.

Meanwhile...

Over in the House of Lords, peers are taking the oath. For live updates click here .

'One nation'

'Guarantor of fairness'

BBC

Nigel Dodds, the leader of the DUP at Westminster, follows and yep, you guessed it, he too pays tribute to the new Speaker and Sir Gerald.

He says Mr Bercow has been "the guarantor of fairness" in the House of Commons, upheld the rights of backbenchers and ensured that the voice of smaller parties is heard "loud and clear".

Following congratulations from some of the other smaller parties, the Speaker nearly forgets to call the Liberal Democrat, Alistair Carmichael, who says he is certain John Bercow will serve the house well in the role he is taking.  

SNP: We'll play our part

BBC

"We look forward to making Scotland's voice heard," says Angus Robertson, the Westminster leader of the SNP. The party now has 56 MPs, making it the third largest in the House.

Mr Robertson echoes the tributes to Sir Gerald and Mr Bercow - and adds that the party will "play its full and fair part".

Political swipe

Harman: I'm the mother of the House

BBC

Harriet Harman follows David Cameron in congratulating Sir Gerald Kaufman on his new role as Father of the House -  but says there is also a Mother of the House: "It is myself, and together we're going to do good parenting," she adds to laughter from MPs.

'He is a giant'

He may be small in stature, but make no mistake, in this office he is a giant. And of all the Speakers since I was elected he is the best. When you want to speak up for your constituents - whether you are a government backbencher or on the opposition benches - he will make sure your voice and your case is heard."

Harriet HarmanActing leader of the Labour Party

'One nation Parliament'

Addressing acting Labour leader Harriet Harman, David Cameron says there seems to be a common pattern: "A man comes along and does the job and makes a terrible mess of it and she comes along and has to sort it all out". He wonders why she's not made Labour leader permanently.

Mr Cameron goes on to welcome all new MPs and praises the diversity of the new House, with its greater numbers of female and ethnic minority MPs. But we have more to do, he adds.

In his final remarks, he reiterates his promise for this to be a "one nation government" and says he hopes it will be a "one nation Parliament", too.

'My old seat'

'No ambush'

Cameron congratulates Bercow

BBC

David Cameron, who is struggling with a croaky voice, congratulates John Bercow on his re-election on behalf of the whole House.

He says it is a tribute to the "inclusive way" he has upheld the office, "always putting backbenchers first".

He adds: "I'm sure you'll do that in this parliament,just as you did in the last."

Mr Cameron also extends his congratulations to Sir Gerald Kaufman on his new role as Father of the House.

Bercow: It's the greatest honour

BBC

"I would like to thank the House for again bestowing upon me the greatest honour that it can confer upon any member. I am intensely conscious of the responsibilities into which I again enter and I shall do my best to discharge those responsibilities efficiently, effectively and fairly."

'Depressing'

Lib Dems

'Dragged'

BBC

John Bercow is 'dragged' by the collar to the Speaker's chair, as is tradition

Bercow re-elected Speaker

The question is put to the House - and Mr Bercow's is re-elected as Speaker unopposed. He's now "reluctantly" taken to the chair to hold it as Speaker-elect - as is tradition.

Knowledge

Over now to Conservative backbencher Jacob Rees Mogg, who is giving the House the low down on constitutional procedure. He sets out why he thinks John Bercow should be re-elected, as he praises his six years at the helm, including the work he has undertaken to modernise parliament.

Mr Bercow has "a phenomenal knowledge" of MPs, he says, joking that the newcomers to the House will soon find out he probably not only knows their date of birth but also their weight. Cue laughs around the chamber.

Electoral dig

Bercow seeks re-election

BBC

MPs are back in the Commons chamber, and Father of the House Sir Gerald Kaufman opens the floor to the current Speaker, John Bercow - who congratulates Sir Gerald on his new role.

Mr Bercow says it has been "an honour" to serve as Speaker for the past six years and he would like to continue "for a little longer" if the House so agrees.

"If there are five words I would like carved on my political tombstone," he says, it would be, "He was the backbenchers' champion".

"On this basis I submit myself to the House."

Mind your head

Safety in numbers...?

Time for ceremony

BBC

Chancellor George Osborne (left) and Prime Minister David Cameron at the ceremony

Cleaning up?

'Awkward conversation'

What is happening?

Black Rod passes on the message to MPs, a delegation of whom begin to make their way to the "other place" as it is called, led by the Father of the House. Most stay behind on the green benches. On arrival, the Royal Commission will instruct them to elect a new Speaker. And this is the first job of the House: it has to be completed before any of them can be sworn in to the new parliament. Five years ago John Bercow was elected unopposed. Let’s see what happens today.

Knock-knock

BBC

And they're off. Over in the House of Lords, the Royal Commission has entered the chamber and instructed the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod - the Queen's messenger in Parliament - to go to the House of Commons to summon MPs.

As is customary, the door is slammed in his face - and he must knock three times to be allowed to enter. It signifies the right of the Commons to withhold access to the Queen's messenger.

Almost a scuffle

Standing room only now

BBC

Father of the House

BBC

As is customary, the Father of the House - the longest serving MP - presides over the election of the Speaker. And who is that? It's now Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman, who was first elected in 1970.

His predecessor as Father of the House was Conservative Sir Peter Tapsell, who stood down at the 2015 general election.

Cheers for Cameron

Commons' seats for the SNP

It's looking pretty full already

BBC

The election of the Speaker will be underway shortly

A view from inside the chamber

Quote of the day?

"I was absolutely wrong about everything," says TV's Michael Portillo, who predicted that Ed Miliband would win the election. 

Laughing off

PA

UKIP's Nigel Farage and the party's only MP, Douglas Carswell share a joke together after a week of bitter infighting over who should lead the party.

Most recently Carswell wrote a piece in the Times urging Mr Farage to "take a break".

'Chronic shortage of GPs'

Responding to Mr Cameron's speech earlier, Dr Mark Porter from the British Medical Association (BMA) said: "Crucially, the £8bn promised by the prime minister is the bare minimum needed for the NHS to simply stand still and will not pay for extra services. 

"The real question for the government is how they plan to deliver additional care when the NHS is facing a funding gap of £30 billion and there is a chronic shortage of GPs and hospital doctors, especially in acute and emergency medicine, where access to 24-hour care is vital."

Without the answer to these questions this announcement is empty headline-grabbing and shows that, even after polling day, politicians are still avoiding the difficult questions and continuing to play games with the NHS."

Dr Porter

Vote reform petition

Precious national institution - Cameron

Here's a bit more from the Cameron speech earlier when he was pressed to explain where the extra doctors for seven-day working would be found given existing problems in recruiting GPs:

There's a five-year plan, there's a five-year funding plan, and there's a strong track record from the last five years. All these things give me the confidence to say this will work. This will be the first of many speeches that I'll be making and many interventions I want to make, to make sure we really drive improvement in the most precious national institution we have in our country."

Field: No union funding

Union boss dismisses disaffiliation

Unite boss Len McCluskey has denied his union is considering disaffiliating from the Labour party.

He said: "Some of the stuff the media writes is frankly daft.

"This idea that we're considering disaffiliating from the Labour Party is nonsense, we're not considering that at all."

Job losses

Good Samaritans: Politically balanced?

Trident safety

PA

In other news the Ministry of Defence has begun an investigation into claims by a seaman, who published 30 alleged safety and security lapses on board Trident nuclear submarines.

Asked if the prime minister was concerned about the safety of the Trident nuclear submarines Mr Cameron's official spokesman said: "As with all defence equipment, they only operate where we believe the right standards are in place." 

Read more

Greens join voting reform campaign

Getty Images

Natalie Bennett, the leader of the Green Party, and Amelia Womack, the party's deputy leader, have joined campaigners and politicians this morning to deliver a petition calling for reform of the electoral system.

Over one million people voted for the Green Party at the general election, which saw Green MP Caroline Lucas re-elected with an increased majority in Brighton Pavilion.

Whitehall savings

On savings, the prime minister's official spokesman said the government would continue to make difficult decisions to make savings in Whitehall but he refused to confirm speculation in the Financial Times of 100,000 job losses being prepared in Whitehall.

He said savings could be made by better procurement and IT services.

Speaker election

BBC

On the issue of the Speaker of the House of Commons, the prime minister's official spokesman declined to say if David Cameron would support the re-election of John Bercow as Speaker. He said: "It is a matter for the House."

PM's view on the fall of Ramadi

Reuters

On Iraq, the Prime Minister's official spokesman indicated there would be no change in policy or extra support for the Iraqi govt following the fall of Ramadi. He said: "The approach we have in partnership with the international community is the one that we are going to continue with."

But he admitted the situation in Ramadi "points to the challenges the Iraqi government is facing". 

Full story here.

Cameron's flu

'Pull out the stops'

Backing Burnham?

Carswell pleased to meet Green leader

'Great desire' to change voting system

BBC

UKIP's Nigel Farage said that the desire for change the voting system was "very great". He said that for 15 years he had wanted a change in the electoral system.

Critiquing the recent election, he said: "We've just been through the most negative election campaign. We were stuck in a well of negativity with 'who would form a coalition with who'."

On the forthcoming EU referendum, he added:

I love Europe it's just the European Union I have a problem with."

PM's message

Cameron saves voice

David Cameron brings a swift end to the questions, saying he needs to save what remains of his voice for the Commons later, where the Speaker election takes place.

Recruitment of GPs

"We have got 1,000 more GPs then when I became prime minister," says Mr Cameron when faced with a question from the BBC's Hugh Pym about the struggle GP practices have found in recruiting new doctors.

"I am very confident that we can achieve this, given our track record" he adds.

Cameron flu

BBC

As he began taking questions David Cameron apologises for a slightly "croaky voice", revealing that he had a touch of flu over the weekend, giving him first-hand evidence that this year's flu jab, which he had, wasn't totally successful.

'Take the pressure off'

"There is no need to have further reorganisation," says Cameron when asked a question about top-down reorganisation of the health service.

Then asked about the seven-day NHS Mr Cameron says: "It will take pressure off some parts of the system." 

"Huge amounts of taxpayers money has been put into the Cat scanners and MRI scanners, doesn't make sense that they are working at the weekends too?" he adds.

Weekends' higher mortality

David Cameron said the NHS needed to be "treating the whole person not just the individual ailment".

He also called it "shocking" that mortality rates for patients admitted to hospital on a Sunday are higher than those admitted on a Wednesday:

Diseases don't work 9 to 5 and neither should we."

No apology for anger - Cameron

David Cameron said that improvements had been made in the NHS and the figures showed that "more people are hearing those magic words 'all clear'."

He added: "We [The Conservatives] are the ones that had to clear up the appalling mess at Mid-Staffordshire."

He said that he wanted to put "quality, safety and compassion" at the heart of the NHS. "I don't apologise for getting angry about this... my commitment to the NHS runs through every sinew of my body."

Cameron ' lot of rubbish' spoken about NHS

BBC

David Cameron says "a lot of rubbish" was talked about the Tories' plans for the NHS during the election campaign:

They said we have cut the NHS... we haven't and we won't. They said we had privatised the NHS, and it's simply not true."

UKIP duo

Angela Eagle runs for deputy leader

Cameron speech set to start

David Cameron is speaking in Birmingham today to underline government plans to expand seven-day services in the NHS in England.

He is speaking from a GP surgery that offers weekend and late night appointments. In his speech which is due to start any moment now he is expected to say that health funding will increase by at least £8bn over this Parliament so that the government can deliver a ‘truly seven-day NHS".

Full story here .

Labour 'would struggle without unions'

As speculation grows as to whether Labour might lose its support of the unions, the general secretary of the GMB union, Paul Kenny, has said that under the current financial rules for political parties, Labour would struggle without union backing:

The Conservatives are able to call on, you know, tens of millions of pounds. And effectively if you took away the support from the affiliated unions financially, then it would be difficult to see how the Labour Party would fight a national election."

Harman attempts to calm tensions

Following the Labour Party row at the weekend which saw Scottish leader Jim Murphy announce his resignation and attack union Unite boss Len McCluskey in the process, Harriet Harman has tried to calm tensions.

Speaking after her speech earlier, she said:

I don't think there is going to be a break between Unite or any of the unions that are affiliated to the Labour Party. We have had a lot of soul searching to do across all parts of our party and we will have robust discussions. But, no, I don't think there is going to be a disaffiliation."

Tory mayoral contender

YouTube

A contender to be Conservative candidate for London mayor has launched his campaign with a YouTube cartoon in which he introduces himself as "gay, ex-alcoholic and dyslexic". 

Entrepreneur Ivan Massow said he was also spending "significant" amounts of money on Facebook and Twitter advertising as he seeks to use social media to boost his bid to replace Boris Johnson in next year's election. 

In the video, a cartoon Massow says:

I'm Ivan and I want to be your mayor of London... I'm gay, I'm an ex-alcoholic, I'm dyslexic, I'm adopted, I'm an activist, I'm a businessman, I'm a disruptor, I'm a doer. I'm not your typical 'politician' politician."

'Never forget the voters'

Reuters

UKIP MP Douglas Carswell has some advice for the other 649 MPs returning to Westminster today. Be nice to everyone, be contactable and read the standing orders of the House, he counsels, in an article for the Telegraph.

And always remember your voters, he says. "Never forget – today or any day – who sent you here. The voter has put you where you are – they are your boss."

Mr Carswell became UKIP's first elected MP in October last year, after a by-election prompted by his defection from the Conservative Party. He was re-elected in Clacton at the general election, with a reduced majority.

Prescott on Guardian article

Harman's view

Where will the £8bn go?

BBC

As mentioned earlier, David Cameron is to use his first major post-election speech later to renew his vow to boost NHS funding and create a "seven-day" health service.

He will commit to a pre-election pledge to increase budgets by at least £8bn a year by 2020.

But Professor Chris Ham, chief executive of health think-tank the King's Fund, said the £8bn would be needed to keep existing services running, "it won't fund all the new commitments we have heard of during the election campaign, including seven-day working".

Challenges ahead

This leadership election process will re-engage Labour in areas and communities where we have little support, says Harriet Harman. It will be very challenging, she concedes, but adds that the party must face that challenge.

Harman: Union links won't break

Harriet Harman predicts that there won’t be a break between the unions and the Labour Party. It comes after Union union general secretary Len McCluskey  said the union's affiliation to the party could be reconsidered.

'Dark days for Labour'

BBC

These are dark days for the Labour Party. We are all still bruised by our failure on 7 May and we are still coping with the aftermath. But we will move on and move forwards."

Harriet HarmanActing Labour leader

Effective opposition

Harriet Harman pledges that Labour will use its setback to build membership, claiming there are "thousands of people who are so motivated by the disappointment of defeat, they want to get involved, want to do more".

"We can't be the government we wanted to be. We applied but we didn't get that job," she says. But the acting leader adds that the party has a different role to play - as an effective opposition that holds the government to account.

"That task of opposition is for all of us - including and particularly the leadership candidates. Our leadership candidates will be dissecting our defeat and setting out a vision for the future.  But I want to see them showing that they can successfully challenge the government now. That is, after all, what they are going to have to do if they win.  So let's see them do it."

Beyond McCluskey

Victoria Derbyshire

BBC

Asked about Len McCluskey on the Victoria Derbyshire programme, chair of Liz Kendall's leadership campaign, Toby Perkins MP, says he will be looking to persuade each party member individually, "rather than worry about having a gun held to the head of the Labour Party by a couple of people who maybe haven't always got things right in the past".

'We must let the public in'

In a message to the party, Harriet Harman urges the party, when electing its new top team, to "have the public in the forefront of our minds"

"We must let the public in. Into our minds and into the process as we make the decisions about who is our next leader and how we go forward.  So we are going to start that with how we do the leadership elections. "

Anyone can pay £3 to become a registered Labour supporter and vote for next leader, Ms Harman announces. She also calls for tough, televised hustings.

We will allow people who are not party members or who are not affiliated supporters through a trade union or Labour linked organisation like the Fabian society to have a vote. Anyone – providing they are on the electoral register – can become a registered supporter, pay £3 and have a vote to decide our next leader."

'A forensic examination'

Looking to the future, Ms Harman counsels: "We need a forensic, honest examination of what happened which looks at and understands the results, looks at the statistics and the all the science, and hears from our party, our candidates who won and who lost but above all, the public."

She says the party's defeat is an opportunity for a more fundamental debate about its future than when Gordon Brown succeeded Tony Blair, and Ed Miliband took over after Brown.

No more labels?

Harriet Harman is continuing to draw comparisons with 1992. We need to be honest and make the right decision to win the next election in 2020, she insists.

I remind you of all this, not to say we should be New Labour, Old Labour, Blairite, Brownite, Blue Labour or even Pink Labour. These labels are unhelpful in what is a different era."

Harriet HarmanActing Labour leader

Harman: Loss was a 'body blow'

BBC

Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman is recalling the shock and pain of election night, when the party realised it was going to lose the eleciton.

We thought we had a fighting chance of forming the next government but the exit poll was a body blow which none of us will ever forget."

Harriet HarmanActing Labour leader

It took me back to 1992, she says, recalling how the Conservatives won an unexpected victory after the polls wrongly predicted the outcome.  

A different link?

BBC Radio 5 Live

On Labour's links with the union, Barry Sheerman MP says trade unions have changed dramatically and are much smaller than they used to be. He also notes the low membership numbers of political parties.

Hopefully now without blood on the floor we're building a new start for the Labour Party... but we've got to do it on the basis of reality, perhaps forging some different relationships - not getting rid of the link with the trade unions but a different link."

'Darkest of dark places'

Norman Smith

Assistant political editor

There is a real debate opening up in Labour circles about the party’s ties with trade unions. It’s an argument that’s been a long time coming but one which no-one has wanted to have. John Cruddas has said those going for the leadership have to be ready to go to "the darkest places" – and its links with the trade unions are the darkest of the dark places for the party.

The unions are interwoven with the very existence of the Labour Party. But they are no longer the force they once were, they have been in long-term decline since a peak in membership the 1970s. So there are profound questions opening up about whether the party is being damaged by its relationship with the unions. But interestingly it's not the Blairites starting this debate- it’s the trade unions themselves.

UKIP on JCB boss's EU comments

Roger Helmer, MEP and UKIP Industry spokesman on  Lord Bamford's remarks about a UK exit from the EU .

This blows out of the water the commonly held assertion that the UK needs to be in the EU to trade internationally when quite the contrary is true. As an example of a big player and a globally trading UK business, JCB demonstrates that we should be looking beyond the limiting, outmoded Eurocentric model and freeing ourselves from regulation to do business around the world. He is absolutely right to remind everyone that the UK is the sixth largest global economy and can exist, indeed thrive, beyond the shackles of Brussels and must seek to do so in order to be future proof and to prosper."

Roger HelmerUKIP member of the European Parliament

Sheerman: We need variety

BBC Radio 5 Live

Mick Whelan, general secretary of union Aslef, and Labour MP Barry Sheerman are on 5 Live, talking about the next Labour leader.

Who do you want to see get the job, Mr Whelan is asked. He declines to offer a personal opinion and says the union is yet to to sit down and discuss its preferred candidate.

Mr Sheerman, Huddersfield MP, says he wants all those who have put their name forward to get the required nominations (35 votes a piece) "so we get a pretty good variety and can see what they're like under fire".

'Talk about how Britain can thrive'

BBC

The in/out referendum on the EU may not be planned until 2017 but the campaigning for and against a British exit seem to be under way already.

Over at CapX, Conservative MEP Dan Hannan has compiled a list of nine ways he thinks eurosceptics can win the argument for leaving the union. He recommends being optimistic, internationalist and business-friendly.

"So, my fellow eurosceptics, don’t whine about being overrun by foreigners, or about the referendum being rigged, or about media bias. Talk, rather, about how Britain can thrive as a merchant and maritime power, playing its full part in world affairs while living under its own laws," he writes.

Daily break

Speaker election later

House of Commons

Parliament

AP

For the first time since the general election, MPs will gather in the House of Commons later to elect a Speaker.

Amid much pageantry, MPs will be summoned by the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod to the House of Lords to hear a Royal Commission which will order them to elect a Speaker.

John Bercow  is set to be a reappointed, although he is not popular among many Conservative MPs. On the final day of the last parliament the government bid to change the rules on electing Commons speakers (to make it a private ballot) - seen by Labour as an attempt to oust Mr Bercow, but it was defeated by the House.

The makeup of the House will be substantially different to the last parliament, with the Conservatives forming a majority bloc on the green benches, the Liberal Democrats out of government and reduced to 8 MPs and a significantly larger presence of SNP MPs.

Abbott's special advice

GP hamster wheels

Hunt to outline GP plans

Today Programme

BBC Radio 4

As the interview draws to a close, the health secretary tells Today he'll be making a speech on a new deal for general practice "in about a month's time" - and says he'd be "delighted" to come back on the programme and talk about "specifics".  

£8bn NHS funding 'a minimum'

Today Programme

BBC Radio 4

But where will the extra NHS money come from? Jeremy Hunt says David Cameron has promised "a minimum" of £8bn extra for the health service. And he's keen to point out that David Cameron's first major speech since the election is on the NHS.

"The NHS being there for you when we need it is a central part of what a Conservative government will deliver," he pledges.

After further questioning, he clarifies that the promised 5,000 extra GPs will be full time, but adds that this figure is an estimate of what is needed, "it could be more, it could be less".

JCB boss: UK shouldn't fear Brexit

The chairman of construction equipment firm JCB has said the UK should not fear an exit from the European Union. "We are the fifth or sixth largest economy in the world. We could exist on our own - peacefully and sensibly," Lord Bamford told BBC Midlands Today.

Lord Bamford said an exit would enable the UK to "negotiate as our country rather than being one of 28 nations". Prime Minister David Cameron has promised an in-out referendum on the UK's EU membership by the end of 2017.

Read more

Hunt on NHS changes

Today Programme

BBC Radio 4

The biggest change in the next five years in the NHS in England "will be the care you get outside hospital", Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says as he sets out the thinking behind plans for a seven-day-a-week health service,

Jeremy Hunt interview

Today Programme

BBC Radio 4

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt - who retained his job in the PM's recent cabinet reshuffle - is on Today, where he is being pressed over the government's plan for 7-day-a-week GP access. Specifically, he is asked how it will deliver on its promise of an extra 5,000 GPs.

Mr Hunt says the government increased the number of GPs by 5% in the last parliament - and says they can do it again. He also stresses the need to "reinvent" general practice, including by making it a more attractive career, to retain more GPs in the profession. We also need to look at locum contracts, he says, adding that GPs need to feel that they are valued and "part of the future".

Hustings for Labour leader race?

Norman Smith

Assistant political editor

Getty Images

In her speech later Harriet Harman will say she also wants to hold hustings for the leadership in some of the marginal constituencies that Labour failed to win in the election. She is encouraging non Labour Party members to attend the hustings and is in discussions with the broadcasters about televising them. Ms Harman will say the last Labour leadership contest was too much "within Labour's comfort zone". She said this time the candidates must be "stress tested" by the public.    

Harman on the unions

Labour's acting leader Harriet Harman will today say the party's next leader will "not be the choice of the unions." Ms Harman will claim the changed leadership rules introduced by Ed Miliband will ensure that the winning candidate is not selected by the unions but is "the choice of the Labour Party".  Her comments come amid mounting controversy over the Labour Union link - after the leader of Unite Len McCluskey suggested his union could end its support for Labour unless it came up with "the correct leader".  Ms Harman will say that unlike when Ed Miliband was elected as leader the unions will no longer be able to send out ballot papers to their members. Last time many of the unions included material encouraging their members to back Ed Miliband. 

Last time the unions communicated directly with many of their members, sending them ballot papers with accompanying material only mentioning one candidate. There will be none of that this time. The Electoral Reform Society will send out individual ballot papers to each member of the electorate."

Harriet HarmanActing Labour leader

Harman warns over unions

Unite funding cut

Unite to debate Labour link

Norman Smith

Assistant political editor

Sources at the union Unite have confirmed it will debate ending its historic link with the Labour Party at its conference in July. Sources say they expect motions to be tabled by both English and Scottish branches called for an end to the link. The conference is the policy-making body of the union and were it to vote to end the link that would sever the union's ties with Labour. The Unite union has already reduced its affiliation fees paid to the Labour party by around half. Meanwhile the GMB union say they have not cut their affiliation fees despite threatening to reduce them by around 90%.

Good morning

Hello and welcome to what promises to be a busy political day, with a David Cameron speech on a seven day NHS, more debate about Labour's relations with unions - and MPs are back in the Commons for the first time later, for the election of the Speaker.