The Conservatives have won the Hartlepool by-election by nearly 7,000 votes, taking the seat which has been held by Labour since it was drawn up in 1974. Jill Mortimer's election for the Conservatives was confirmed as, outside, a 30ft inflatable of her party leader, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been erected. The result leaves his Labour counterpart Sir Keir Starmer with a "tricky explaining job" and will make it hard for him to show progress, says our political correspondent Chris Mason.
Counting is yet to start in Wales, where polling stations saw long queues, as 16 and 17-year-olds voted in the Senedd election for the first time. Meanwhile, in Scotland, a record number of people had cast their ballots before polls opened - with more than a million having registered to vote by post. The election will not only decide who forms the next Scottish government but could impact the UK by influencing whether there is another Scottish independence referendum. BBC Scotland editor Sarah Smith says opinion polls suggest another term for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and "the question is more what size of majority she will have".

It was the biggest day of polling since the 2019 general election but it will be a while before all the results are in. Here's why.

Public health experts have recommended a version of the Indian Covid variant found in the UK be declared a "variant of concern", the BBC has been told. It's believed more than 500 cases of the variant known as B.1.617.2 have been detected across England, which would represent a sharp rise from the 202 recorded in the UK by Public Health England (PHE) as of 28 April. PHE scientists think it spreads at least as quickly as the version of the Kent variant which is currently dominant in the UK. But a source tells us there's no evidence B.1.617.2 is resistant to vaccines. A spokesman for PHE said it would not comment on leaked data.

While many people are desperate for a foreign holiday, industry figures warn jetting overseas could prove costly this year. With so many restrictions on international travel, airlines have significantly reduced the number of flights they operate. And uncertainty makes it hard for them to plan to bring planes back into service, says Booking.com's Glenn Fogel. As a result, he says, holiday prices are "already going up". Aviation analyst John Grant, from travel data provider OAG, says when restrictions are eased "the airline algorithms will detect an uptick in demand and move prices up accordingly".

There are some fishy puns on front pages, as the papers sum up how French trawlermen blocked St Helier harbour in Jersey. "Smash and crab," is the Metro's effort, as it pictures the moment a pleasure boat owner says his craft was rammed. "Take sprat!" offers the Sun, saying two Royal Navy warships "saw off" the flotilla. The Daily Star adopts the malapropisms of Officer Crabtree, the gendarme from sitcom Allo Allo: "Good moaning, we've sent them packing with their tails between their logs..." The Daily Mail says after "Le grand surrender", skippers threatened to disrupt UK-French trade by blockading Calais.

In a little over a fortnight, Eurovision returns. And despite host country the Netherlands struggling against a third wave of coronavirus, thousands of screaming fans will be in attendance. Here's why. Singer Rag 'n' Bone man is back with a new album - and a new face tattoo. He tells us all about both. And it's Friday, so why not take our quiz of the week's news?

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