2018 Lebanese general election, Parties, Kulluna Watani Alliance
The alliance included in addition to Sabaa which is a nationwide Secular Political Party few local political groups, namely Libaladi in Beirut 1 and Lihaqqi in Mount Lebanon 4. Speaking at inauguration event, Charbel Nahas, whose party  joined the Koullouna Watani lists at a later stage, said the purpose of the lists was to provide an alternative to the "corrupted" power in Lebanese politics. Koullouna Watani's electoral lists included 66 candidates running in 9 voting districts with one third of the candidates being from . The nine lists were fielded in Beirut I, Bekaa I, all four electoral districts of Mount Lebanon, North II, North III and South III.


2018 Lebanese general election, Parties, Ramgavar
The Armenian Democratic Liberal Party, or Ramgavar, issued a statement on 18 April 2018 condemning any candidate that opposed the unified Armenian parliamentary bloc. In Beirut I, Ramgavar candidates joined the list of Lebanese Forces, Kataeb and Michel Pharaon. One of its candidates is Dr. Avedis Dakassian, the Chair of the Lebanon Regional Committee of the party. In Metn, a Ramgavar candidate joined the list of Lebanese Forces.


2018 Lebanese general election, Parties, Rifi Bloc
Ashraf Rifi, former Hariri ally, Internal Security Forces chief and Justice Minister, broke ranks with Hariri in 2016. In the 2016 Tripoli municipal election, he defeated Hariri's candidates and won 22 out of 24 seats. He fielded his own lists in the parliamentary election, in a move to challenge Hariri's dominance over Sunni politics. Ahead of the elections he profiled himself as a "hawk", unwilling to enter into talks with Hezbollah.


2018 Lebanese general election, Parties, Rifi Bloc
Rifi fielded lists in three electoral districts; Beirut II, North I and North II. Rifi tried to field a list in Bekaa I together with Kataeb and Lebanese Forces, but the initiative did not bear fruit. Likewise, Lebanese Forces and Rifi discussed a joint list in Bekaa III, but no such list materialized.


2018 Lebanese general election, Parties, Syrian Social Nationalist Party
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon fielded 7 candidates. In Mount Lebanon II (Metn) it joined the list of the Free Patriotic Movement. In Mount Lebanon IV (Aley-Chouf) it joined the list of Talal Arslan. In Bekaa I (Zahle) it joined the list of Nicolas Fattouch. In Bekaa III and South III SSNP candidates were included in the Amal-Hezbollah lists. In North I (Akkar) its candidate was included in the list of 8 March forces. In North III the SSNP entered the list of Boutros Harb and the Marada Movement.


2018 Lebanese general election, Parties, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Tashnag)
On 22 March 2018 the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or Tashnag, announced its candidates in Beirut I and Mount Lebanon II (Metn). The party contested three seats in Beirut I and fielded incumbent parliamentarian Hagop Pakradounian in Metn. In Beirut I the party entered in alliance with FPM, Hunchaks and the Future Movement. In Metn the party entered in an alliance with FPM and SSNP.


2018 Lebanese general election, Parties, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Tashnag)
In Bekaa I (Zahle) Tashnaq opted to support the candidature of Marie-Jeanne Bilezikjian, pharmacist and women's rights activist, on the joint FPM-Future list. The support for Bilezikjian's candidature was part of a wider agreement between Tashnaq and the Future Movement.


2018 Lebanese general election, Candidates
After the deadline on 26 March 2018, the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities announced that 77 lists, with a total of 583 candidates, had been registered. The highest number of lists was in Beirut II, where nine lists were registered. Only two lists were registered in the Zahrani-Tyre electoral district. Notably, the erstwhile 8 March and 14 March blocs, which had dominated the 2009 elections, are no longer functional and parties sought alliances on local dynamics when setting up lists.


2018 Lebanese general election, Candidates
A record number of Lebanese women running for office. In fact, out of the total 976 candidates who originally registered to run, 111 were female candidates – a staggering surge compared to just 12 women in 2009.


2018 Lebanese general election, Results
In a statement issued in the evening of 7 May, Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk promised to release full election result within 36–48 hours. In his statement, he announced "final, yet incomplete" official results, providing the names of elected parliamentarians from 14 out of 15 electoral districts. On 8 May, Machnouk announced the names of the victorious candidates from Akkar.


2018 Lebanese general election, Results
Following the announcement of results, the FPM leader Gebran Bassil stated that FPM would form the largest bloc in parliament (a role previously played by the Future Movement). Bassil stated that FPM would gather up to 30 MPs, including Talal Arslan, Tashnaqs and "businessmen".


2018 Lebanese general election, Reactions, Domestic
Prime Minister Saad Hariri, commenting on the election result the day after the election, admitted that his Future Movement had lost 12 seats, but reaffirmed that "[t]hose who won in parliamentary elections are our partners in the principle of stability" and that he was satisfied with the outcome.


2018 Lebanese general election, Reactions, Domestic
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said the outcome was "a great moral and political victory for Hezbollah, which protects the country" and that "proportionality vote law offered all political factions the opportunity to represent themselves in the elections, mitigated the risks of exclusion from Lebanon’s political structure, and assured all sides that they will have a role in the administration." He further added: "The United States and some Persian Gulf states resorted to smear campaign in a bid to poison public opinion towards Hezbollah. Their efforts, however, ended in failure...


2018 Lebanese general election, Reactions, Domestic
No one in the world can target Hezbollah as it has firm support among various strata of the Lebanese society. Towns and cities in southern Lebanon have served as the resistance front in the face of threats being poised by the Israeli regime and terrorist groups. Enemies' plots to undermine Hezbollah popularity in those regions have yielded nothing... We must avoid any sectarian or inflammatory speech similar to those delivered before the elections if we want to avoid any conflict in the country."


2018 Leeds City Council election
The 2018 Leeds City Council election took place on Thursday 3 May 2018 to elect members of Leeds City Council in England. It was held on the same day as other local elections across England and the rest of the UK.


2018 Leeds City Council election
Following a full boundary review of Leeds' 33 electoral wards by the Local Government Boundary Commission, the all-out election saw all of the council's 99 available council seats contested based on the new ward boundaries. Three of the previous wards were abolished and replaced (City & Hunslet, Headingley, and Hyde Park & Woodhouse for Headingley & Hyde Park, Hunslet & Riverside and Little London & Woodhouse). The last all-out election in Leeds was in 2004 after the previous full ward boundary review in 2003.


2018 Leeds City Council election
With three seats available for each ward, electors were able to cast up to three votes for three different candidates. The first three candidates past the post in each ward won a council seat.


2018 Leeds City Council election
The Labour Party won the election with 61 of the 99 council seats.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Election summary
This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:


2018 Leeds City Council election, Councillors who did not stand for re-election
Incumbent Morley Borough Independent councillor, Robert Finnigan, did not stand in the ward he represented, Morley North. Instead, he stood in the neighbouring ward of Morley South Ward. However, Finnigan was subsequently not elected at the election for the ward.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results
An asterisk (*) denotes an incumbent councillor who stood again at the election, having 21 sitting councillors not stood again for their seats.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results
The percentage vote share (%) is calculated by counting only the highest-scoring candidate for each party and individual independent candidates. For example, the total number of votes cast by electors in the Adel & Wharfedale ward for Barry Anderson (the highest-scoring Conservative candidate), Nigel Gill (Labour), Peter Jackson (Liberal Democrat) and Liddy Swales (sole Green candidate) was 7,980. As Anderson gained 4,856 votes, he took 61.5% of the 7,980 total possible ballots cast, whilst Gill gained 1,556 votes and 19.7% of the total votes cast.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results
The percentage change (±) is the proportion by which the individual party and/or candidate's vote share increased or decreased from the previous council election in 2016.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results
The turnout is the amount of registered electors who voted in the ward at the time of the election. The turnout percentage (%) is the proportion of registered electors in the ward who voted on the day of the election.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Ardsley & Robin Hood
Labour councillor Ben Garner replaced independent Councillor Jack Dunn, who had resigned the Labour Whip and left the Labour Group on the council in January 2018.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Calverley & Farsley
Former Joint Leader of the Council and long-standing Leader of the Conservative Group, Andrew Carter CBE, and his wife, Amanda Carter, were re-elected. Their fellow incumbent, Rod Wood, lost out to Peter Carlill of Labour by 47 votes.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Chapel Allerton
All three incumbent Labour councillors were re-elected, including incumbent Lord Mayor of Leeds Jane Dowson.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Cross Gates & Whinmoor
Jessica Lennox (Labour) defeated independent Janette Walker. Walker had been a Labour councillor since her first election in 2012 and left the Labour Group on the council in early 2017 to run as an independent.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Garforth & Swillington
Both Independent incumbents, Mark Dobson and Sarah Field, were elected to the council alongside fellow independent, Suzanne McCormack, who replaced retiring Labour Councillor Stuart McKenna. Both Dobson and Field had been elected as Labour Councillors but resigned from the Labour Council Group in February 2017 to stand as independents.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Guiseley & Rawdon
All three incumbent Conservative councillors were re-elected, including Lord Mayor of Leeds-elect Graham Latty.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Harewood
The two Conservatives re-standing for election were successful, with fellow Conservative Councillor Rachael Procter, who was deselected, replaced by Samuel Firth.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Headingley & Hyde Park
The three incumbent Labour councillors for Headingley ward stood and won the three council seats to represent the new and enlargened ward of Headingley & Hyde Park.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Hunslet & Riverside
The two incumbent Labour councillors of the previous City & Hunslet ward were re-elected for the new ward alongside Paul Wray. Wray replaced the deselected City & Hunslet Councillor Patrick Davey as the third Labour candidate.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Killingbeck & Seacroft
Three new Labour councillors were elected, defeating the incumbent independent Councillor Catherine Dobson. Elected originally as a Labour councillor, Dobson resigned from the Labour Group in October 2017. The two remaining Labour incumbents, Graham Hyde and Brian Selby, retired at the election and did not restand.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Kippax & Methley
The three incumbent Labour councillors were re-elected, including the current Joint Deputy Leader of the Council, James Lewis, and former Leader of the Council, Keith Wakefield.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Kirkstall
New Labour candidate Hannah Bithell topped the poll, elected alongside incumbent Councillors Fiona Venner and John Illingworth. Bithell replaced the retiring Joint Deputy Leader of the Council, Lucinda Yeadon, as the third Labour candidate.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Little London & Woodhouse
Labour Councillor for Hyde Park & Woodhouse Christine Towler retired whilst her two ward colleagues, Javaid Akhtar and Gerry Harper, stood successfully for the new ward of Little London & Woodhouse, following boundary changes. They were joined by new Labour candidate Kayleigh Brooks.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Moortown
The two Labour councillors re-standing for election were successful. Mohammed Shahzad replaced retiring Councillor Alex Sobel (also MP for Leeds North West) as the third Labour candidate.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Morley North
The Morley Borough Independents won all three available council seats again, with new candidate Andy Hutchinson replacing Robert Finnigan. Finnigan, also the Leader of the MBI Group on the council, chose to stand for Morley South ward instead.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Pudsey
The Conservatives gained two seats whilst Labour Councillor Richard Lewis was re-elected by 75 votes over the third Conservative candidate. Labour Councillor Mick Coulson was the only incumbent to lose their bid for re-election as his fellow Labour colleague Josephine Jarosz retired.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Temple Newsam
All three Labour incumbent councillors won re-election. After the election, Debra Coupar replaced former Kirkstall ward councillor, Lucinda Yeadon, as Joint Deputy Leader of the Council.


2018 Leeds City Council election, Ward results, Wetherby
New Conservative candidate and Mayor of Wetherby Norma Harrington topped the poll, elected with the two Conservative incumbents who were re-standing for election. Harrington was chosen as the third Conservative candidate instead of current Councillor John Procter (also MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber).


2018 Leeds and Grenville United Counties municipal elections
Elections were held in Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario on October 22, 2018 in conjunction with municipal elections across the province.


2018 Leeds and Grenville United Counties municipal elections, Leeds and Grenville United Counties Council
The Council consists of the mayors and reeves of the constituent municipalities.


2018 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes federal by-election
A by-election was held in the federal riding of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes in Ontario on December 3, 2018, following the sudden death of incumbent Conservative MP Gord Brown on May 2, 2018.


2018 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes federal by-election
The seat was retained for the Conservatives by riding association president Michael Barrett.


2018 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes federal by-election, Background, Constituency
Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes is a rural riding in Eastern Ontario. It consists of the entirety of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.


2018 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes federal by-election, Background, Representation
The riding was created in 1976. The MP since 2004 was Gord Brown who gained the seat from Liberal MP Joe Jordan at the 2004 federal election. Brown was re-ected in 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2015. The seat became vacant when Brown died of a sudden heart attack in his Parliament Hill office in Ottawa.


2018 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes federal by-election, Campaign
Colin Brown, Brown's nephew, announced his candidacy for the Conservative nomination and was quickly endorsed by Premier of Ontario Doug Ford. In addition, Edwardsburgh/Cardinal town councillor and federal riding association president Michael Barrett, government-relations specialist Stephanie Mitton, and Anne Johnston, a former aide to Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes MPP Steve Clark also ran for the Conservative nomination. Former Canadian Senator and interim Leader of the Opposition in the Ontario Legislature Bob Runciman was rumoured to be interested in seeking the Conservative nomination for the by-election but decided against it after his wife encountered some health issues. Barrett won the nomination at a local party convention at the Brockville Memorial Centre on August 11 in a contest that ran to a fourth ballot.


2018 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes federal by-election, Campaign
2015 Liberal candidate Mary Jean McFall – a lawyer, former Brockville city councillor and immediate former Chief of Staff to Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay – won the Liberal nomination for this by-election unopposed.


2018 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes federal by-election, Campaign
Michelle Taylor was the NDP candidate; Taylor ran for the Ontario NDP in Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes in the 2018 provincial election.


2018 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes federal by-election, Campaign
Lorraine Rekmans, the Green candidate for this riding in 2015, ran again for the party.


2018 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes federal by-election, Campaign
The Speaker's warrant regarding the vacancy was received on May 3, 2018; under the Parliament of Canada Act the writ for a by-election had to be dropped no later than October 30, 2018, 180 days after the Chief Electoral Officer was officially notified of the vacancy via a warrant issued by the Speaker. On October 28, 2018, the writ was dropped for a by-election for December 3, 2018.


2018 Leende Open
The 2018 Dynamic Billiard Leende Open, was the fourth Euro Tour 9-Ball pool event in 2018. The event was won by America's Shane Van Boening who defeated Estonia's Eklent Kaçi  9–8 in the final. Unlike other Euro Tour events, the field was open to other nations outside of Europe. Van Boening became only the second American after Johnny Archer at the 2000 Portugal Open and 2000 Italian Open to win a Euro Tour event. In making the final, Eklent had been in the semi-final or better of the last 5 Euro Tour events.


2018 Leende Open
Ruslan Tschinachow was the defending champion, but did not reach the knockout stages of the event. A women's event held in Braga at the same time as the event was held in Braga, Portugal. The event was won by Kristina Tkach defeating Marharyta Fefilava in the final 7–0.


2018 Leende Open, Tournament format
The event saw a total of 159 players compete, in a double-elimination knockout tournament, until the last 32 stage; where the tournament was contested as single elimination.


2018 Leende Open, Tournament format, Prize fund
The tournament prize fund was similar to that of other Euro Tour events, with €4,500 for the winner of the event.


2018 Legends Tour
The 2018 Legends Tour is a series of professional golf tour events for women aged 45 and older sanctioned by the Legends Tour. Based in the United States, it is an offshoot of the main U.S.-based women's tour, the LPGA Tour. The tour was founded in 2001, and is intended to allow women to prolong their competitive golf careers on the model of the successful Champions Tour for men.


2018 Legends Tour, Schedule and results
The table below shows the schedule of events for the 2018 Legends Tour season. The number in brackets after each winner's name is the number of Legends Tour events she had won up to and including that tournament.


2018 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team
The 2018 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team represents Lehigh University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Mountain Hawks are led by 13th-year head coach Andy Coen and play their home games at Goodman Stadium. They are a member of the Patriot League. They finished the season 3–8, 2–4 in Patriot League play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place.


2018 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team, Previous season
The Mountain Hawks finished the 2017 season 5–7, 5–1 in Patriot League play to finish in a tie for the Patriot League championship with Colgate. Due to their head-to-head win over Colgate, Lehigh received the Patriot League's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost to Stony Brook in the first round.


2018 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team, Preseason, Preseason coaches poll
The Patriot League released their preseason coaches poll on July 26, 2018, with the Mountain Hawks predicted to finish in second place.


2018 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team, Preseason, Preseason All-Patriot League team
The Mountain Hawks placed three players on the preseason all-Patriot League team.


2018 Leicester explosion
The 2018 Leicester explosion occurred shortly after 19:00 GMT on 25 February 2018, in Hinckley Road, Leicester.


2018 Leicester explosion
The explosion destroyed the Żabka convenience store and the two-storey flat above it, killing five people and injuring five others, two seriously.


2018 Leicester explosion
Leicestershire Police declared it a major incident, closing off Carlisle Street and parts of Hinckley Road in the immediate aftermath.


2018 Leicester explosion
The fire, which triggered the explosion, was set intentionally in order to facilitate a fraudulent insurance claim.


2018 Leicester explosion
Aram Kurd, Hawkar Hassan and Arkan Ali, who are Iraqi Kurds, were convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and sentenced to life imprisonment.


2018 Leicester explosion
Viktorija Ijevleva, girlfriend of Arkan Ali and also involved in the planning of the insurance fraud, died in the explosion.


2018 Leicester explosion, Background
Aram Kurd took over the lease of the Żabka convenience store, Hinckley Road and opened the shop in December 2017.


2018 Leicester explosion, Background
Kurd planned, along with Hawkar Hassan and Arkan Ali to insure the shop, contents and business, set fire to the premises and submit a fraudulent insurance claim totalling around £300,000.


2018 Leicester explosion, Background
In early February 2018, assisted by Ali and Viktorija Ijevleva, Kurd obtained an insurance policy for the business and premises.


2018 Leicester explosion, Background
On 24 February, Hassan, Ali and Ijevleva purchased 26 litres of petrol which they took to the shop in Hinckley Road. It was claimed, in the sentencing remarks of Mr Justice Holgate, that around 45 litres of petrol, several litres of barbecue fluid and four litres of white spirit were purchased in total.


2018 Leicester explosion, Background
On the day of the explosion Ijevleva was working in the store; Kurd, Hassan and Ali met in a coffee bar where it was decided that Ijevleva should perish in the fire.


2018 Leicester explosion, Background
Upon their return to the store, Kurd went inside and distracted Ijevleva while Ali set the fire in the basement; Hassan remained outside waiting to drive Ali away from the scene. Kurd made his way to a rear extension of the shop in advance of the explosion, leaving Ijevleva by the till. Ali left the premises via a back alleyway and he and Hassan fled. The explosion took place just after 7.01pm. Kurd escaped through the back yard of the premises.


2018 Leicester explosion, Background
The explosion caused a "pancake collapse", whereby the ground, first and second floors fell into the basement. Neighbours spoke of their homes shaking due to the force of the blast and compared it to an earthquake, or a bomb.


2018 Leicester explosion, Background
In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, Kurd presented himself to the emergency services, and passers-by who tried to assist, as a victim of the blast who was lucky to be alive. The following day he gave a series of media interviews feigning concern for the victims while claiming to have been trapped under the rubble himself.


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Arrests and charges
Within days of the explosion Kurd, Hassan and Ali were arrested and on 3 March were charged with manslaughter and arson.


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Arrests and charges
On 31 August, the trio were charged with murder; the Crown Prosecution Service later stated: "At an early stage there was sufficient evidence that Kurd, Ali and Hassan were responsible for the explosion and therefore the deaths of the victims, so they were initially charged with arson and manslaughter. As the investigation progressed, it became clear that their intention was to kill".


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Arrests and charges
In October, they were charged with fraudulently trying to benefit from an insurance scam.


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Trial
Kurd, Hassan and Ali stood trial at Leicester Crown Court beginning in November 2018. The trial lasted for five weeks. They were each assisted by a Kurdish interpreter throughout and they pleaded not guilty to all charges.


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Trial
Both Hassan and Ali took the stand in their defence. Hassan maintained throughout examination that he knew nothing about either the insurance scam or the setting of the fire. He claimed not to have seen the explosion, despite his close proximity to the scene at the relevant time.


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Trial
Ali also maintained his innocence throughout examination; despite CCTV images showing that the car in which he was a passenger was close by after the blast, he claimed not to have seen or heard the explosion. When asked about the plan to kill Ijevleva he stated: “It’s not possible. Who would accept to do a horrific thing like this?”. Both claimed they only became aware of the explosion the following day.


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Trial
During the trial, Prosecutor David Herbert QC told the court that Viktorija Ijevleva had helped obtain insurance for the shop, but was left to die because "she knew too much" about the scam. The court also heard that, while on remand, Kurd told a fellow inmate that he didn't want to split the proceeds with Ijevleva and he thought the insurance firm would pay out more if people died. It was further claimed that both Kurd and Ali were aware that the Ragoobeer family were in residence at the time they set the fire and that, due to the quantity of petrol and accelerants used, they must have known that the occupants would die.


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Convictions and sentencing
On 28 December 2018, Kurd, Ali and Hassan were unanimously convicted of five counts of murder. They were also convicted of fraudulently conspiring with Viktorija Ijevleva to make a financial gain by dishonestly pursuing an insurance claim in respect of the fire.


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Convictions and sentencing
On 18 January 2019 Kurd, Ali and Hassan were sentenced to life imprisonment. Ali and Kurd must serve at least 38 years and Hassan at least 33 years. Kurd and Ali also received a 7-year concurrent sentence for conspiracy to commit fraud, Hassan received 4 years for the same.


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Convictions and sentencing
Speaking at the sentencing hearing, Leah Reek’s mother stated: “Seeing the men on trial showing no remorse truly broke our hearts – they seem to have no value for human life".


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Convictions and sentencing
"None of the defendants has shown the slightest bit of remorse for their wicked crimes. They were exceptionally callous and deceitful. They pretended to be concerned about the victims and even to grieve for Ms Ijevleva. Kurd had his prepared story ready for the media and the police. Ali and Hassan pretended to comfort and help the mother of Ms Ijevleva. In truth all three were only concerned to try and save their own skins. They repeatedly lied both inside and outside court". "I am sure that it was during that meeting (of 24 February 2018) that all three agreed that Ms Ijevleva should die in the fire, so that she would not receive any of the insurance monies";


2018 Leicester explosion, Investigation and legal proceedings, Convictions and sentencing
Commenting after the trial, Craig Kelly, Lecturer in Criminology at Birmingham City University, told the BBC: "As far as we are aware, this is the first mass murder in the UK which was caused by an explosive device specifically for monetary gain."


2018 Leicester explosion, The Ragoobeer family & Leah Reek
Jose Ragoobeer lived with his family in the flat above the Zabka convenience store, he was at work at the time of the incident. His wife, Mary Ragoobar,* their sons Scott (15), Sean (17) and Shane Ragoobeer*(18) and Leah Reek (18), Shane's girlfriend, were in the flat above the shop at the time of the explosion. Scott was the only survivor.


2018 Leicester explosion, The Ragoobeer family & Leah Reek
Jose and Mary were married for 22 years and were originally from Mauritius. Their sons attended English Martyrs Catholic School in Leicester. Leah worked as a volunteer at a hospice and was due to start an Adult Nursing course at University, she hoped to become a palliative nurse.


2018 Leicester explosion, The Ragoobeer family & Leah Reek
The Ragoobeer family funeral was held at Leicester Cathedral on 20 April 2019; hundreds of people attended and family members travelled from Mauritius for the service. Jose Ragoobeer spoke of how powerless he felt at seeing the devastation that the explosion that killed his family caused.


2018 Leicester explosion, The Ragoobeer family & Leah Reek
(*Note: surname is spelt Ragoobar for Mary, but Ragoobeer for her sons and husband


2018 Leicester helicopter crash
An AgustaWestland AW169 helicopter crashed shortly after take-off from King Power Stadium, home ground of Leicester City F.C. in Leicester, England on 27 October 2018. All people on board—the pilot and four passengers, including club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha—were killed in the crash. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch attributed the crash to a loss of yaw control owing to a failure of the tail rotor control linkage.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, History of the flight
Vichai frequently travelled to and from Leicester City's matches at the King Power Stadium in the helicopter, with the Leicester Mercury describing it as "a familiar sight for Foxes fans." On 27 October, the helicopter departed Fairoaks Airport in Surrey with the pilot and his girlfriend on board. It stopped at London Heliport to collect three additional passengers — Srivaddhanaprabha and two members of his staff — before departing at 14:43 BST (13:43 UTC).


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, History of the flight
It arrived at the Leicester City Football Club Training Ground on Belvoir Drive, 1.5 miles (2 km) south of the King Power Stadium at 15:58 BST (14:58 UTC). All on board disembarked and traveled by car to the stadium for Leicester's game against West Ham United. The pilot and his girlfriend returned after the football match concluded and then, as was usual, flew the helicopter to the stadium to collect Srivaddhanaprabha and his two staff members. The helicopter was seen preparing to lift off from the pitch live on BT Sport, during a post-match broadcast. By this point, the coach carrying the West Ham team had departed, but some Leicester City staff and players were still in the stadium, while there remained fans of both clubs in areas outside.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Accident
With Vichai, the pilot and three other people on board, the helicopter took off from within the stadium at approximately 20:37 BST (19:37 UTC). As the pilot turned the helicopter towards its en-route heading, the tail rotor control linkage broke, sending the helicopter into an uncontrollable spin. One witness described the aircraft falling "like a stone to the floor". It struck the ground in stadium Car Park E, about 200 metres (220 yd) from the stadium, and burst into flames. Two police officers and club staff leaving the stadium attempted to rescue those in the helicopter but had to retreat due to the heat and flames. Investigators ruled out a suggestion of a collision with a police drone as a possible cause.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Accident
The following day, Leicestershire Police confirmed that everybody on board had been killed in the crash and subsequent fire, and named the five fatalities. They were three Thais: club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and two members of his staff – Kaveporn Punpare and Nusara Suknamai, British pilot Eric Swaffer, and his Polish girlfriend, Izabela Roza Lechowicz. A small memorial has been erected at East Sheen Cemetery for these two pilots. There were no casualties elsewhere.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Accident
Two police officers, Michael Hooper and Stephen Quartermain, suffered burns and smoke inhalation attempting to rescue the occupants, and subsequently were nominated for a national police bravery award as well as receiving Queen's Gallantry Medals.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was an AgustaWestland AW169 helicopter, registration G-VSKP, c/n 69018, manufactured in 2016. It seated 10 people and weighed roughly 4,500 kilograms (9,900 lb). It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210A engines. The aircraft was owned by Foxborough and operated by Amadeus Aviation. This was the first crash and hull loss involving the AW169.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Investigation
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) opened an investigation into the accident. Italy's Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo, representing the state of the manufacturer of the helicopter, and Canada's Transportation Safety Board, representing the state of the manufacturer of the helicopter's engines, provided assistance. Accredited representatives from Poland's State Commission on Aircraft Accidents Investigation and Thailand's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee also provided assistance. The aircraft's Digital Flight Data Recorder was recovered on 28 October, having been severely damaged in the fire. It was transported to the AAIB's base at Farnborough, Hampshire, for downloading of data contained therein. The wreckage of the helicopter was transported to Farnborough on 2 November.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Investigation
A coroner's court was created to investigate the official cause of death for the passengers and crew of the helicopter. The investigation reported in the court revealed that there was minimal opportunity for any individuals who survived the initial crash to escape, or anyone to help those trapped.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Investigation
On 7 November, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an Airworthiness Directive, demanding checks of the tails of all AgustaWestland AW169  and AgustaWestland AW189 helicopters, as a precautionary measure. On 14 November, the AAIB released a Special Bulletin, outlining the progress of the investigation. A loss of yaw control was revealed as the cause of the aircraft crashing, with the reasons for the loss of yaw control not yet determined. On 30 November, the EASA issued an Emergency Alert Service Bulletin requiring periodic inspection of part of the tail rotor system. This was made mandatory by an Airworthiness Directive issued the same day.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Investigation
On 6 December 2018, the AAIB published a second Special Bulletin. Investigators revealed that loss of control of the helicopter resulted from the tail rotor actuator control shaft (which controls the pitch of the tail rotor blades) becoming disconnected from the actuator lever mechanism that transmits the pilots' pedal inputs to control the helicopter's yaw. They have also revealed evidence of the normally stationary control shaft being spun by the tail rotor which caused the castellated nut holding the actuator lever in place to friction weld to its carrier, shear off its split pin and rotate off the threaded shaft.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Investigation
The locking nut and pin carrier were found loose in the tail rotor fairing and were bonded together. A duplex bearing that was designed to allow the control shaft to remain stationary (with the rest of the tail rotor assembly rotating around it) was found to only allow a few degrees of rotation, with the races blocked up by a mix of burnt grease and metallic particles. Work continues to identify the cause of the damage observed to the duplex bearing and to establish its contribution to the failure sequence.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Responses
Fans began to lay flowers and football shirts outside the ground the next morning. Shirts and scarves were also seen from other teams including West Ham United, Leicester City's opponent in the match prior to the crash. On 30 October, Leicester City opened a book of condolence, with an online version also available. In the immediate aftermath of the accident, some buildings were floodlit in blue as a tribute to the victims, including England's national stadium, Wembley.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Responses
The Leicester City Foxes Foundation Charity was renamed The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Foundation in honour of the deceased chairman and owner.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Responses
On 10 November Leicester City fans took part in a '5,000-1' walk in united remembrance of the helicopter crash victims. Thousands of fans took part in the memorial walk before Leicester City played Burnley at home. The initial appeal was for 5,000 fans to take part, though reports suggested the number was about 10,000.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Responses, Football
The 2018–19 FA Women's Championship match between Leicester City and Manchester United, scheduled for the day after the crash, was postponed out of respect for the victims. The women's reserve league match against Derby County was also postponed. Leicester City's 2018–19 EFL Cup fixture against Southampton, which had been scheduled to take place at the King Power Stadium on 30 October 2018, and the 2018–19 Premier League International Cup fixture between Leicester City U-23s and Feyenoord Academy, were also subsequently postponed. The 2018–19 Belgian First Division B fixture between Oud-Heverlee Leuven, the second club owned by Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, and Lommel, originally scheduled for 31 October, was also postponed.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Responses, Football
At the other Premier League football fixtures on Sunday, players wore black armbands, both for the crash victims and for Remembrance Day, though a few days earlier than Remembrance armbands are usually worn.


2018 Leicester helicopter crash, Responses, Football
The NFL London series match between the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars taking place at Wembley stadium the next day included a pre-game tribute in memory of both the Leicester crash and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting which occurred on the same day.


2018 Leinster Senior Football Championship
The 2018 Leinster Senior Football Championship was the 2018 installment of the annual Leinster Senior Football Championship organised by Leinster GAA.


2018 Leinster Senior Football Championship
Dublin, the defending champions, won their eighth consecutive championship title, defeating Laois in the final.


2018 Leinster Senior Football Championship, Teams
The Leinster championship is contested by 11 of the 12 counties in the Irish province of Leinster. Kilkenny is the only county to not compete.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
The 2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship is the 2018 installment of the annual Leinster Senior Hurling Championship organised by Leinster GAA.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Galway won a second consecutive title and third ever by defeating Kilkenny in the final.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
A new provincial hurling championship featuring five-team round-robin groups in both Leinster and Munster and the new Joe McDonagh Cup was introduced in 2018 for an initial three-year period. The proposal was carried by a narrow margin with 62% voting in favour (a majority of at least 60% was required) at the GAA's Special Congress on 30 September 2017. The top two teams in each provincial group would contest the provincial final, with the provincial winners advancing to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the losing provincial finalists advancing to the two quarter-finals.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
An amendment to the motion from Laois, Offaly and Meath was carried by 87%. The third-placed teams in Leinster and Munster would compete in All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals against the two Joe McDonagh Cup finalists, with the Joe McDonagh Cup teams having home advantage.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
If a non-Munster team were to win the Joe McDonagh Cup, the bottom team in the Leinster championship would be relegated to the following year's Joe McDonagh Cup and would be replaced in the following year's Leinster championship by the Joe McDonagh Cup winners. If a Munster team were to win the Joe McDonagh Cup, they would play off against the team who finished bottom in the Munster championship for the right to play in the following year's Munster championship, thereby ensuring that only Munster teams compete in the Munster championship.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, Format
The restructure of hurling involved the reduction of the Leinster championship from nine teams to five while the Munster championship continued with the previous five Munster teams (Kerry previously competed in the qualifier group of the Leinster championship). A six-team Joe McDonagh Cup was created, consisting of all four teams from the 2017 Leinster qualifier group plus Antrim and Carlow, the 2017 Christy Ring Cup finalists.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, Teams
The Leinster championship was contested by four counties from the Irish province of Leinster, as well as one county from the Irish province of Connacht, where the sport is only capable of supporting one county team at this level.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, Final
The winners advanced to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the losers advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Final
The 2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Final, the deciding game of the 2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, was a hurling match played on 1 July 2018 at Croke Park, Dublin. It was contested by Kilkenny and defending champions Galway. The first game ended in a draw with Galway winning the replay a week later. The Galway captain was David Burke and Cathal Mannion was named as the man of the match for the replay.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Final, Build-Up
Tickets for the final went on sale on 15 June and ranged in price from €35 to €40 in the stand and €25 in hill 16.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Final, Build-Up
The drawn match and replay were shown live on RTÉ One as part of The Sunday Game Live.


2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Final, Build-Up
The final of the 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup took place before the drawn final at Croke Park and was won by Carlow.


2018 Leitrim Senior Football Championship
The 2018 Leitrim Senior Football Championship was the 112th edition of Leitrim GAA's premier gaelic football tournament for senior clubs in County Leitrim, Ireland. The tournament consists of 12 teams, with the winner going on to represent Leitrim in the Connacht Senior Club Football Championship. The championship starts with a group stage and then progresses to a knock out stage.


2018 Leitrim Senior Football Championship
Mohill were the defending champions after they defeated Glencar–Manorhamilton in the previous years final. However the successful defence of their title was scuppered in the final when losing to rivals Aughawillan.


2018 Leitrim Senior Football Championship
Aughnasheelin made their return to the senior grade after 8 seasons in the Intermediate grade by winning the 2017 Leitrim Intermediate Football Championship.


2018 Leitrim Senior Football Championship
On 14 October 2018 Aughawillan claimed their 12th S.F.C. crown and first since 2016 when defeating the defending champions Mohill in the final by 0-14 to 1-9 at Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada.


2018 Leitrim Senior Football Championship
Bornacoola were relegated to the 2019 I.F.C. after losing the relegation final to St. Patrick's Dromahair. Their 21 years in the top-flight of Leitrim club football spanned back to 1998.


2018 Leitrim Senior Football Championship, Team changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2017 championship season.


2018 Leitrim Senior Football Championship, Group Stage
All 12 teams enter the competition at this stage. The top 4 teams in both groups proceed to the Quarter-Finals. The 5th and 6th placed teams in each group will enter a Relegation Playoff.


2018 Lennox and Addington County municipal elections
Elections were held in Lennox and Addington County, Ontario on October 22, 2018 in conjunction with municipal elections across the province.


2018 Lennox and Addington County municipal elections, Lennox and Addington County Council
The County Council consists of the three municipal reeves, mayor of Greater Napanee and the three deputy reeves and the Deputy Reeve of Greater Napanee.


2018 Letran Knights men's basketball team
The 2018 Letran Knights men's basketball team represented Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the 94th season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the Philippines. The men's basketball tournament for the school year 2018-19 began on July 7, 2018, and the host school for the season was the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA.


2018 Letran Knights men's basketball team
The Knights finished the double round-robin eliminations at third place with 13 wins against 5 losses. They went on to the Final Four for the first time in three years since winning their 17th championship in the 91st season, but eliminated by the second-seed Lyceum Pirates, who had a twice-to-beat advantage over them.


2018 Letran Knights men's basketball team
Outgoing Knight and team captain Bong Quinto was named one of the Mythical Five members and Larry Muyang bagged the Rookie of the Year award.


2018 Letran Knights men's basketball team, Coaching staff
Coach Jeff Napa went on his third year as the head coach of the Knights. He was joined on the sidelines with Leo Pujante, Jay Agleron, Chico Manabat, and Letran Squires head coach RJ Guevarra.


2018 Letran Knights men's basketball team, Coaching staff
This season also saw the San Miguel Corporation as the primary sponsor of the Letran sports program. Letran officials then appointed San Miguel Corporation sports director and Letran alumnus Alfrancis Chua as Special Assistant to the Rector for Sports Development.


2018 Letran Knights men's basketball team, NCAA Season 94 games results
Elimination games were played in a double round-robin format. All games were aired on ABS-CBN Sports and Action & iWantTFC.


2018 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger
The 2018 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger was a professional tennis tournament played on hard court. It was the 25th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Binghamton, United States between 23 and 29 July 2018.


2018 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2018 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry into the singles main draw using a protected ranking:


2018 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry into the singles main draw as a special exempt:


2018 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger – Doubles
Denis Kudla and Daniel Nguyen were the defending champions but chose not to defend their title.


2018 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger – Doubles
Gerard Granollers and Marcel Granollers won the title after defeating Alejandro Gómez and Caio Silva 7–6(7–2), 6–4 in the final.


2018 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger – Singles
Cameron Norrie was the defending champion but chose not to defend his title.


2018 Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger – Singles
Jay Clarke won the title after defeating Jordan Thompson 6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–5), 6–4 in the final.


2018 Lewisham East by-election
A by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of Lewisham East on 14 June 2018, following the resignation of Labour MP Heidi Alexander. It was the second by-election held during the 57th UK Parliament, which was elected in June 2017.


2018 Lewisham East by-election
The election was won by Janet Daby of the Labour Party with 50.2% of the vote, on a significantly reduced majority for her party.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Background
On 8 May 2018, the incumbent Labour MP Heidi Alexander announced her appointment as London Deputy Mayor for Transport, a role that required her to stand down from the House of Commons. On 9 May she was appointed Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, an office of profit under the Crown, which legally formalised her resignation from Parliament. She served as the MP for Lewisham East for eight years, having first been elected at the 2010 general election. She served in Labour's Shadow Cabinet until 2016, and was an active campaigner for the United Kingdom to remain in the single market after Brexit. She had been critical of Labour's leadership, describing it as "dysfunctional".


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Background
The Lewisham East constituency had been represented by MPs from the Labour Party since 1992, and was considered a safe seat for the party. The constituency was within the London Borough of Lewisham, in which the Labour Party won every single seat at the local elections in 2018. The seat had an active branch of Momentum, a left-wing pressure group dedicated to supporting the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Lewisham London Borough Council administered the by-election.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Background
In the 2016 referendum, the Borough of Lewisham, of which the constituency is a part, voted to remain in the European Union. Through demographic modelling, the Remain vote in the Lewisham East constituency was estimated as 66% by Number Cruncher Politics and as 65% by Chris Hanretty at Royal Holloway.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Candidates
The Labour Party selected Lewisham deputy mayor nominee Janet Daby as its candidate. She had a background in social care and managed a food poverty charity. The Conservative Party selected Ross Archer, who contested the borough mayoralty in May 2018. His campaign was focused on housing, education, policing and the zoning of Grove Park railway station. The Liberal Democrats announced their candidate as Lucy Salek, a humanitarian worker and consultant who had stood in Lewisham Council elections, and contested Southend West in the 2017 general election. They intended to use the by-election to "send a message to the Labour leadership about Brexit", with party leader Vince Cable aiming to "cut the majority substantially".


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Candidates
The Green Party's candidate was secondary school teacher and clean air campaigner Rosamund Kissi-Debrah. She stood on a platform of reducing air pollution, improving local schools and for British people to "have a final say on Europe". The UK Independence Party (UKIP) announced on 14 May that London Assembly Member David Kurten would stand as its candidate. He pledged to campaign for "full Brexit" and for a "tough stance on policing and crime". For Britain announced on 12 May that party leader Anne Marie Waters would stand.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Candidates
In the 2015 general election Waters stood as the UKIP candidate for Lewisham East and polled in third place. The Women's Equality Party announced on 17 May its intention to stand Mandu Reid, a Lewisham resident and founder of The Cup Effect, a women's menstrual health NGO. Democrats and Veterans announced that Massimo DiMambro, who was the UKIP candidate in Lewisham Deptford in the 2015 general election, would be their candidate. The Official Monster Raving Loony Party announced that its leader, Howling Laud Hope, would be its candidate.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Candidates, Labour Party selection process
The Labour selection was reported in the media as revealing splits in the Labour Party. This was the first by-election contested by the party since Jennie Formby took over as general secretary, which led to speculation that centrist candidates might be excluded. The Lewisham East Labour Left caucus group called for a socialist MP who would "campaign for...a left-wing government with Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister". On 10 May 2018, Ian McKenzie, chair of the Constituency Labour Party (CLP), emailed members concerned that the National Executive Committee (NEC) was rushing the selection to prevent them having their say.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Candidates, Labour Party selection process
Potential left-wing candidates included Sakina Sheikh, GMB trade union organiser Nadine Houghton, and NEC member Claudia Webbe. Other potential candidates were Joe Dromey (son of Labour MPs Harriet Harman and Jack Dromey), and Kevin Bonavia. UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah was also considered a potential candidate, especially in the event of an all-woman and entirely black and minority ethnic shortlist, but ruled herself out on 13 May, citing an "unexpected situation" in her family. Members who declared that they would stand included Sheikh, Bonavia, and Brenda Dacres.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Candidates, Labour Party selection process
On 14 May the NEC announced a shortlist of Webbe, Dacres, Lewisham councillor Janet Daby and Sheikh, all women from ethnic minorities. McKenzie was said to be delighted by the inclusion of Dacres and Daby. Sheikh received the endorsement of Momentum, whilst Webbe was endorsed by the trade unions Unite and the Communication Workers Union. Daby received the support of Unison. Dacres withdrew on 18 May and endorsed Daby, citing "recently diagnosed health reasons". The remaining candidates expressed differing views over Brexit, with Daby pledging to fight for the UK to remain in the customs union and the single market, whilst Sheikh and Webbe expressed their opposition to a second referendum or continued membership of the single market.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Candidates, Labour Party selection process
Sheikh was temporarily withdrawn from the ballot prior to the selection meeting, following accusations that she had supported a rival political organisation, but was reinstated minutes later. Daby went on to be selected by local members on 19 May, receiving 63% of the vote in the first round, with Sheikh receiving 29% and Webbe 8%.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Campaign
On 22 May, McKenzie, credited with having secured the Labour candidature for Daby which he claimed had "humiliated" Momentum and Unite, was suspended as chair of the CLP and is facing possible disciplinary action over tweets from 2015 and 2016 about Emily Thornberry and ISIS. These were uncovered by left-wing writer Owen Jones, who McKenzie had suggested should keep away from the constituency.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Campaign
The Liberal Democrats announced their opposition to plans by Lewisham Council to seize the land of Millwall FC's youth academy for redevelopment. Party leader Vince Cable visited the academy in late May; the party's candidate, Lucy Salek, announced that the land should be used for social housing if the redevelopment plans went ahead.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Campaign
A UKIP leaflet titled 'Stop the Khanage', which blamed the high levels of knife crime in London on the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, was criticised by Vicky Foxcroft, the MP for the neighbouring constituency of Lewisham Deptford, and Mandu Reid, the WEP candidate in the by-election.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Campaign
On 11 June 2018, three days before the by-election, a vote estimate by the Liberal Democrats on the basis of canvassing data suggested that the party would finish second with 25% of the vote, with Labour on 49% and the Conservatives on 16%.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Campaign
On 12 June 2018, police shut down a by-election hustings in Catford, leading to one arrest, after it was disrupted by anti-racism protesters led by Stand Up to Racism and Lewisham Anti- Racist Action Group. The protesters intended to target Anne Marie Waters, who did not attend the event on police advice. Daby and Archer were also absent from the hustings, citing other engagements; Daby had previously refused to share a platform with Waters. The protest was criticised by Salek and Reid. Prior to the event, Foxcroft and Damien Egan, the Mayor of Lewisham, had called for Waters to be No Platformed at the hustings.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Result
The result was the largest swing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats since 2004. The Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said: "This result sends a message to the Labour leadership that it cannot take pro-European voters for granted." The Guardian and Evening Standard reported the result as a "surge" for the Liberal Democrats, which was widely reported as being related to the party's opposition to Brexit. After being elected, Daby reaffirmed her opposition to a "hard" Brexit.


2018 Lewisham East by-election, Previous result
Heidi Alexander was re-elected to a third term of office in 2017, with an increased majority of 21,123 (44.8%) over the Conservative candidate.


2018 Lewisham London Borough Council election
Elections for Lewisham London Borough Council were held on 3 May 2018, the same day as for other London Boroughs. All 54 seats were up for election. The Labour Party won all 54 seats in a landslide victory, winning 60% of the popular vote. The Green Party lost their sole council seat, leaving the party without representation on Lewisham Borough Council for the first time in 16 years.


2018 Lewisham London Borough Council election, Results by ward, Brockley
John Coughlin was the sole Opposition councillor (2014-2018) and subsequently lost his seat.


2018 Lewisham London Borough Council election, Results by ward, Catford South
In June 2019, Smith left the Labour in opposition to Jeremy Corbyn, the then Leader of the party. He now sits as an Independent.


2018 Lewisham London Borough Council election, 2018-2022 by-elections
The by-election was called following the resignation of Councillor Alex Feis-Bryce.


2018 Lewisham London Borough Council election, 2018-2022 by-elections
The by-election was called following the resignation of Councillor Janet Daby.


2018 Lewisham train strandings
The Lewisham train strandings occurred on 2 March 2018 in the area of Lewisham, St. John's and New Cross stations during snowy and cold weather. Eleven trains were involved. Passengers abandoned five of the trains due to issues including a lack of communication, heating and toilets. No injuries were reported. Network Rail and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch conducted investigations into the incident.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, Huntingdon
In June 2005, a passenger train became stranded near Huntingdon for two hours. Conditions quickly became uncomfortable for the passengers on board. The Rail Safety and Standards Board subsequently conducted research into conditions on a stranded train with inoperable air conditioning. It concluded that conditions would become uncomfortable after 40–50 minutes, and intolerable after 70–90 minutes. Opening doors on the train would mean that conditions would be tolerable for up to five hours.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, Aviemore
On 31 March 2010, a passenger train became stranded in snow between Carrbridge and Slochd, Highland. More than 100 passengers had to be rescued.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, Foxton
In October 2010, a passenger train operated by First Capital Connect (FCC) became stranded at Foxton. The incident occurred at 16:44 hours. Conditions on board rapidly deteriorated, with temperatures reaching 37 °C (99 °F). Some passengers abandoned the train after 60 minutes, others broke windows after 2 hours. Passengers were rescued by using another service train drawing up alongside the broken down train, but it could only take 100 of the 375 passengers. A second train rescued the remaining passengers at 20:20.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, Orpington
In November 2010, a Southeastern passenger train became stranded near Orpington. Passengers remained on the train overnight.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, Kentish Town
On 26 May 2011, a passenger train formed of two Class 377 electric multiple units operated by FCC experienced pantograph damage and broke down between Dock Junction and Kentish Town whilst operating a service from Brighton to Bedford. The train was carrying 472 passengers. It took three hours for the failed train to be rescued. Absence of power meant that throughout this time, air conditioning and toilets on the train were inoperative. After 45 minutes the public address system failed, which prevented the driver from keeping the passengers informed of the situation.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, Kentish Town
They then resorted to breaking windows and forcing doors open in an effort to alleviate their discomfort. The lack of communication caused some passengers to abandon the train and start walking along the track towards nearby Kentish Town station. When the train was eventually moved, and having been authorised to do so, the driver overrode a number of safety systems, leading to the train being moved with at least two doors open whilst passengers were on board.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, Kentish Town
FCC policy at the time was that an evacuation of a train should be considered after 60 minutes and must have commenced within 90 minutes of a stranding. A Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) investigation found that FCC had failed to implement lessons learned from earlier train strandings. FCC were prosecuted by the Office of Rail and Road for offences under Section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and fined £75,000.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, South Croydon
On 4 June 2011, a passenger train was brought to a halt near South Croydon by the emergency braking system following activation of the passenger communication device. Some passengers abandoned the train after 30 minutes. One of them suffered severe burns when she came into contact with the third rail.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, Peckham Rye
On 7 November 2017, a Class 378 electric multiple unit became stranded 30 metres (98 ft) short of Peckham Rye station due to a fault causing the brakes to lock on. About 80 of the 450 passengers were evacuated with the third rail still live. No injuries occurred.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, Dorset – Hampshire border
On 1 March 2018, three passenger trains operated by South Western Railway (SWR) became stranded at Beaulieu Road, Hinton Admiral and New Milton in Dorset and Hampshire in snowy weather. Weather conditions hampered evacuation of the trains, which was not accomplished until the following morning. Passengers spent up to 14 hours on the stranded trains. Complaints were made of a lack of communication from SWR, a lack of heating and toilet facilities. A train operated by CrossCountry was also stranded in the area. Passengers praised the way CrossCountry staff dealt with the situation.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Previous strandings, Haltwhistle
On 1 March 2018, a passenger train became stranded in snow near Haltwhistle, Northumberland. Passengers had to be rescued.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident
On 2 March 2018, eleven passenger trains operated by Southeastern became stranded in the Lewisham, St Johns and New Cross area in weather conditions of snow and freezing rain. Due to a lack of communication with passengers, a lack of heating and lack of toilets, passengers abandoned five of the nine trains. The eleven trains involved comprised at least 22 electric multiple units. Two of the units had no toilets, and five of the remaining twenty-plus were operating with toilets that were not in service. Four people were treated for minor injuries.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Train 2M48 came to a stand after passing Lewisham station, unable to draw power as the third rail was affected by freezing rain. The train comprised two Class 465 and one Class 466 electric multiple units and was operating the 15:56 Charing Cross to Dartford service which had departed 67 minutes late and was running 80 minutes late when it came to a stand. The units involved were 465 003, 465 164 and 466 024.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Train 2M50 came to a stand approaching Lewisham due to 2M48 being at a stand ahead. The train comprised two Class 376 electric multiple units, which did not have onboard toilets. It was operating the 16:26 Charing Cross to Dartford service which had departed 47 minutes late and was running 54 minutes late when it came to a stand. The units involved were 376 002 and 376 035.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Train 2S54 came to a stand opposite St Johns station. It comprised  three Class 465 units and was operating the 17:06 Charing Cross to Orpington service which had departed 17 minutes late and was running 17 minutes late when it came to a stand. The train came to a stand with its rear carriages blocking Tanners Hill Junction.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Train 2R46 came to a stand between New Cross and St Johns. Train 2V07 came to a stand at St. Johns.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Train 2H50 came to a stand near New Cross. The train comprised two Class 465 and one Class 466 units and was operating the 17:30 Charing Cross to Tunbridge Wells service which had departed on time and was running 1 minute early when it came to a stand.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Train 2H00 came to a stand approaching Tanners Hill Junction, which was blocked by train 2S54.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Train 2S56 came to a stand west of New Cross. The train comprised two Class 465 units and was operating the 17:36 Charing Cross to Slade Green service which had departed one minute late and was running to time when it came to a stand.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Train 2H02 came to a stand approaching the flyover at St Johns.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Network Rail called out a Mobile Operations Manager (MOM) to de-ice the third rail and get 2M48 moving again. It was planned to terminate the train at Blackheath. Until 2M48 had been moved, other trains were unable to proceed, including 2M50, which was being held at a signal in sight of Lewisham station.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
The MOM arrived on site. An emergency power isolation was made to the up and down North Kent Lines to enable the third rail to be de-iced.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Train 2K43 became stranded at Lewisham station due to the emergency power isolation.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
The MOM reported that passengers had abandoned 2M50 and walking along the track to Lewisham station. An emergency power isolation was made covering all lines between North Kent East Junction and School Junction, Blackheath Junction to Nunhead, Courthill Junction and Tanners Hill. 2M50 had been at a stand for 67 minutes.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Some passengers abandoned 2S56, which had been at a stand for 72 minutes.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Some passengers abandoned 2M48, which had been at a stand for 92 minutes.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
More passengers abandoned 2S56. Not reported until 19:40 as the driver was dealing with a passenger who had been taken ill.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
Some passengers abandoned 2H50, which had been at a stand for 109 minutes.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, The incident, Timeline
More passengers abandoned 2M48, which had been at a stand for 168 minutes.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Criticism
There was widespread criticism of the incident and the way it was handled. Southeastern also issued its own criticism of passengers who abandoned trains, describing them as "trespassers". Rail Magazine criticised Southeastern for swearing in a tweet responding to a query from a passenger on one of the stranded trains.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Criticism
Passengers on board 2M50, which had no toilets and had been held within sight of Lewisham station, complained of the conditions on board. People were wetting and soiling themselves as there was no other option. They also complained that the train was being held in sight of the station and wondered why it could not be cleared into the platform. An investigation by Rail revealed that the driver had asked for such permission, but that the power had been switched off before this could be authorised and arranged.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Criticism
Other passengers complained of a lack of heating and lighting when the power had been cut off. One passenger wrote a detailed account of being stranded on 2M50, describing how conditions deteriorated on board the packed train, and criticising Southeastern for not following Rail Delivery Group guidance in respect of stranded trains, which states that evacuation of a stranded train should be commenced after an hour and completed within two hours.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Investigations, Network Rail and Southeastern
Network Rail and Southeastern commissioned consultants Arthur D Little and Southwood Rail Consulting to conduct an investigation into the incident. The report, released on 23 August, was highly critical of Southeastern and Network Rail finding that the rail industry's inadequate procedures were not fully followed, and that communication between the various parties involved did not adequately support effective management of the incident. Seventeen recommendations were made.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Investigations, Rail Accident Investigation Branch
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) opened an investigation into the incident. It published its final report on 25 March 2019. Five recommendations were made and two learning points were identified.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Investigations, Rail Accident Investigation Branch
The report found that neither train 2M48 been declared as failed, nor had train 2M50 had been declared as stranded. Train 2M48 had difficulty in starting from Lewisham because no de-icing fluid had been applied to the conductor rail since 22:34 on 1 March. De-icing fluid had an effective time of twelve hours. Due to the emergency timetable that had been implemented and late running trains, no train had passed over that section of line for about 90 minutes. No supplementary treatment of the conductor rail had been carried out.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Investigations, Rail Accident Investigation Branch
The signalling manager at London Bridge Control Centre was not sure that he had the authority to allow train 2M50 to pass signal L445 at danger under permissive working to allow it into the platform at Lewisham when he did have such authority. The decision to allow train 2M50 past signal L253 prevented it from being re-routed once train 2M48 experienced difficulty in starting from Lewisham. The management of the incident by Southeastern was not effective. Passenger communications via Twitter showed that the situation was rapidly deteriorating. There was no strategy to avoid trains being stranded between stations, whereas on the London Underground network, the policy is to hold trains at stations when there is disruption.


2018 Lewisham train strandings, Response
Network Rail and Southeastern issued a joint statement following the release of the RAIB's final report. Amongst measures introduced following the incident were better training for staff, the installation of heated conductor rails in some locations, introduction of more efficient de-icer for the conductor rails, improved radios for staff, the introduction of ice breaking shoes on some electric multiple units.


2018 Lexington, Kentucky mayoral election
The 2018 Lexington, Kentucky mayoral election was held on May 22, 2018 and November 6, 2018 to elect the mayor of Lexington, Kentucky. It saw the election of Linda Gorton.


2018 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election
A leadership election was held on 20 September 2018 to elect the next president of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan for a new 3-year term. Incumbent president Shinzo Abe was running for re-election after a rule change in 2017 that allowed him to run for a third term.


2018 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election
Abe's victory effectively hands him three more years as prime minister, giving him the chance of breaking the record for the nation's longest-serving prime ministership held by Taro Katsura, a revered politician who served three times between 1901 and 1913. Abe stayed in office through 21 November 2019, which equals 2,886 days marked by Katsura. He also served the longest uninterrupted term by 24 August 2020, ahead of Eisaku Satō's 2,797 days. He resigned on 28 August 2020 due to health concerns.


2018 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election, Background, Scandals
In March 2018, it was revealed that the Finance Ministry (with finance minister Tarō Asō at its head) had falsified documents presented to the parliament in relation to the Moritomo Gakuen scandal, to remove 14 passages implicating Abe. It has been suggested that the scandal could cost Abe his seat as the Liberal Democratic Party's leader. A Kyodo poll showed the Japanese government popularity's has fallen as low as 30% from 44% in February.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills
Leadership spills of the federal parliamentary leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia were held on 21 and 24 August 2018 and were called by the incumbent leader of the party, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills
Turnbull called the first spill in a regularly scheduled party room meeting of the Liberal Party on 21 August, amid media reports that Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton was considering a challenge. Dutton submitted himself as a candidate for the leadership, but was defeated by Turnbull, who won the ballot 48 votes to 35. Dutton then immediately resigned from the ministry.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills
Dutton requested a second spill motion two days later. Turnbull refused to call the spill without first receiving a list of signatures representing the majority of his Party room, and referred Dutton to the Attorney General's office to test his eligibility to sit in Parliament. He declared that if Dutton had the numbers to carry a spill motion, he would take it as a vote of no confidence and not stand to contest the leadership. Dutton secured the numbers for a spill and Turnbull did not re-contest the leadership, opening the way for supporters Scott Morrison and Julie Bishop to stand against Dutton.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills
Dutton, Treasurer Morrison and Foreign Minister Bishop contested the ballot. Bishop was eliminated in the first round of voting, and in the second round Morrison defeated Dutton by 45 votes to 40, thereby becoming the leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister of Australia. A ballot for the deputy leadership of the party also occurred and was won by Josh Frydenberg, who was subsequently appointed Treasurer in the Morrison Government.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
The Liberal-National Coalition won office under the leadership of Tony Abbott in the 2013 Australian federal election. The Abbott Government was brought down by an internal party room challenge, launched by Malcolm Turnbull in September 2015, in which Turnbull won 54 votes of the Liberal Party room to 44 and the Turnbull Government became the executive government of Australia.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
Turnbull cited Newspoll results and "economic leadership" as reasons for mounting his challenge against Abbott. Under the slogan "jobs and growth," Turnbull led the Coalition to the 2016 election in which their majority in the House of Representatives was reduced to one seat.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
Turnbull's ousting of Abbott had divided the Liberal Party rank and file and tensions continued in the parliamentary Party. The Government reached the 30-consecutive-Newspoll-losses benchmark Turnbull had used to unseat Abbott, in April 2018. The government suffered by-election losses in July 2018. Dissent from conservative MPs over issues such as energy prices and immigration levels grew during Turnbull's final months. On 21 August, Turnbull announced a leadership spill ahead of his 39th consecutive Newspoll loss.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
Leadership spills have become a common feature of Australian federal politics in the twenty-first century. As of 2021, no prime minister has served a full term between federal elections since Liberal Prime Minister John Howard's final term ended in 2007.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
Turnbull had served as a Minister in the Howard Government and first led the Coalition in Opposition upon challenging his predecessor Brendan Nelson for the role of Opposition Leader in a 2008 spill. After extended poor Newspoll results against the Rudd Government, he lost the leadership in the wake of the Utegate affair and a Party dispute over climate policy.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
Tony Abbott defeated Turnbull for the Leadership in a 2009 spill, and led the party to a narrow loss in the 2010 election and to government in the 2013 election. Abbott included Turnbull in his Cabinet, from where Turnbull launched his leadership challenge in September 2015, becoming the first Liberal since William McMahon to assume the Prime Ministership by challenging an incumbent.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
As of January 2018, voters were split in polls for preferred leader of the Liberal party between Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton each had around 5% support. In April 2018, Dutton outlined his desire to lead the Liberal party in the future, and Morrison also revealed prime ministerial ambitions.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
Peter Dutton had served as Minister during the Howard Government in 2004 and to the Cabinet in the Abbott Government in 2013


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
Given the poor performance by the Liberal National Party of Queensland (the Queensland branch of the Liberal Party) in the Longman by-election on 28 July 2018, Dutton, who holds the neighbouring seat of Dickson, was viewed as a leader who could strengthen support for the Coalition in regional Queensland.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
Dutton had also been seen as a leading figure among the conservative wing of the Liberal Party, which had clashed with Turnbull and his more moderate supporters over the National Energy Guarantee (NEG), particularly with targets to reduce carbon emissions in compliance with the Paris Agreement, among other issues in mid-2018. Conservative supporters of Dutton included Tony Abbott, who was ousted by Turnbull as party leader and Prime Minister in September 2015.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
In the days prior to the leadership spills, Turnbull was forced to make concessions on the NEG in an attempt to satisfy the more conservative members of his party, most notably abandoning the emissions reduction targets, despite the possibility of winning votes for the NEG from Labor. Tony Abbott characterised Turnbull's concessions on the NEG as a "conversion of convenience".


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
On 19 August 2018, Dutton declared that he supported Malcolm Turnbull and the policies of the government. However, support had been growing for a conservative Liberal Party member, often Dutton specifically, to challenge Turnbull since 2017, especially when Turnbull performed poorly against the Labor Party in opinion polls. In the weeks leading up to the poll, Dutton made contradictory remarks regarding his intentions.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
He refused to rule out his interest in becoming Prime Minister during a Hack interview, and claimed that he would resign from cabinet if he ever found himself unable to agree with a government policy during a 2GB interview. The day before this, The Daily Telegraph had published an exclusive story stating that Dutton would challenge for the prime ministership.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
A poll commissioned by GetUp! on the Monday prior to the spill found that nearly half the Australian electorate would be less likely to vote for the Coalition if Dutton became Prime Minister. On the same day, Network Ten reported that Dutton might be ineligible under Section 44 of the Australian constitution, due to an "indirect pecuniary interest", similar to Bob Day's case. That evening, Luke Howarth told Craig Laundy that he planned to ask Turnbull to step down from the leadership the following day.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Background
In the hours leading up to the spill itself, newspapers reported speculation that Greg Hunt might challenge Julie Bishop for the Deputy Leadership of the Liberal Party in the event that Dutton won the vote. However, due to Dutton failing to gain the support of the party, Bishop was the sole contender for the Deputy Leadership.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August)
A regularly scheduled Liberal party room meeting was held at 9:00 am AEST on 21 August. Shortly after it began, Turnbull declared the party leadership vacant, forcing a leadership spill be held, likely acknowledging the speculation that Dutton had intended to challenge Turnbull for the leadership. Dutton nominated for the ballot. The position of deputy party leader, held by Julie Bishop, was also declared vacant.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August)
Shortly after the secret ballot, party whip Nola Marino announced that Turnbull had won the challenge, with 48 members of the federal Liberal Party caucus voting for him, while 35 voted for Dutton. Bishop retained her role as deputy leader unopposed. Senator Arthur Sinodinos was absent for the vote due to illness.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August)
Jonathon Duniam refused to announce who he voted for, and conflicting media reports attributed him as voting for either Turnbull (Fairfax) or Dutton (News Corp). There were also conflicting reports on Ian Goodenough's vote. News Corp included Duniam and Goodenough as voters for Dutton, whereas The Sydney Morning Herald's list included Sussan Ley and Craig Kelly as Dutton voters. Kelly confirmed that he had voted for Dutton.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Peter Dutton
Despite initial conflicting reports over whether he would retain a cabinet position, Dutton resigned from his role as Minister for Home Affairs and became a backbencher. Treasurer Scott Morrison was later announced as the acting Home Affairs Minister.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Peter Dutton
On 22 August, Dutton spent several interviews discussing his policies if he were to be elected leader of the Coalition, including scrapping the GST on electricity, which Treasurer Scott Morrison described as "an absolute budget blower".


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Peter Dutton
Doubts surrounding Dutton's eligibility to be elected to parliament continued to be discussed, on the grounds of section 44(v) of the Australian Constitution. The section prohibits those with a pecuniary interest in an agreement with the Commonwealth from running for office. The family trust of which Dutton is a beneficiary-operated child care centre that received over $5.6 million in funding from the Commonwealth Government. A similar scenario with a Commonwealth-funded building company saw Senator Bob Day effectively disqualified by the High Court in 2017. Although Dutton had received legal advice stating that he was not in breach of the constitution, Attorney-General Christian Porter referred the matter to the Solicitor-General of Australia.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Malcolm Turnbull
Although Turnbull won the leadership ballot, the revelation that 35 of his party colleagues did not support his leadership was widely regarded as cause for concern, especially since Turnbull had been governing with a narrow one-seat parliamentary majority since the 2016 election, and given his predecessor Tony Abbott also won a spill motion before ultimately losing another leadership spill to Turnbull himself.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Malcolm Turnbull
Following the party room meeting, several government ministers reaffirmed their support for Turnbull, including Veterans' Affairs Minister Darren Chester. Chester and fellow Nationals MP Kevin Hogan stated that if Dutton became prime minister, they would leave the Coalition and join the crossbench, which would rid a Dutton government of its narrow parliamentary majority.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Malcolm Turnbull
After the first spill, there was a suggestion that Turnbull could call the next Australian federal election to stop a further leadership challenge, but this was discounted by Australian Broadcasting Corporation election analyst Antony Green as "far-fetched".


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Tony Abbott
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott was criticised for his role in fostering disunity within the Liberal Party and the Coalition. National Party MP Damian Drum called on Abbott to resign, while Queensland Liberal MP Warren Entsch reportedly criticised Abbott directly at the party meeting.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Resignations
As well as Dutton, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister James McGrath, Minister for International Development and the Pacific Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Minister for Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Angus Taylor, Assistant Minister for Science, Jobs and Innovation Zed Seselja, Minister for Human Services Michael Keenan, Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge, Minister for Health Greg Hunt, and Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo offered their resignations in response to Turnbull retaining the leadership. At first, only Dutton's resignation was accepted. By 23 August, the resignations of Fierravanti-Wells, McGrath, Seselja, and Sukkar had also been accepted, and those former ministers joined Dutton on the backbench.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Continuing business of Parliament
During question time on 21 August, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten moved to suspend standing orders in order to move a motion of no confidence in the House of Representatives against Turnbull. Leave was granted by the government but the no confidence motion failed with 76 votes against and 67 in favour. All Coalition MPs, the Centre Alliance's Rebekha Sharkie, and Independent Cathy McGowan voted against, while all present Labor MPs, the Australian Greens' Adam Bandt, and Independent Andrew Wilkie voted in favour.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Continuing business of Parliament
The second stage of the Coalition's corporate tax cut package was rejected by the Senate.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Continuing business of Parliament
Labor and the Greens failed to stop an expansion of the Cashless Welfare Card trial.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Continuing business of Parliament
Kelly O'Dwyer cancelled a meeting of state and territory ministers for Women.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Continuing business of Parliament
Labor attempted to move a motion to refer Peter Dutton's eligibility as an MP to the High Court, in a similar manner to referrals made during the recent parliamentary citizenship crisis in which several members of parliament resigned after discovering their dual citizenship status, violating section 44 of the Constitution of Australia. The motion failed 69 votes to 68.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Continuing business of Parliament
On 23 August, Senate Opposition Leader Penny Wong moved a motion of no confidence in the Senate, which failed with 35 votes against and 31 in favour. All present Coalition Senators, both One Nation Senators, the Australian Conservatives' Cory Bernardi, the Liberal Democratic Party's David Leyonhjelm, the Katter's Australian Party's Fraser Anning, the Justice Party's Derryn Hinch, and Independent Tim Storer voted against, while all present Labor and Greens Senators voted in favour, and both Centre Alliance Senators abstained.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Continuing business of Parliament
With up to 13 Ministers having resigned amidst the crisis, the government moved to adjourn the lower house of Parliament on 23 August, shortly before Question Time was scheduled to begin. The adjournment motion was controversial and vigorously opposed by Labor, whose leader Bill Shorten labelled it "the ultimate admission of surrender of a bankrupt government." The adjournment motion passed by 70 votes to 68.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Continuing business of Parliament
Simon Birmingham acted as the Leader of the Government in the Senate for Question time on 23 August. He, Nigel Scullion, Marise Payne and Bridget McKenzie took on questions related to portfolios of multiple former ministers.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, First spill (21 August), Aftermath, Continuing business of Parliament
Also on 23 August, the Senate voted to investigate Peter Dutton's handling of two visa decisions relating to au pairs.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August)
On the morning of Thursday, 23 August, Dutton challenged Turnbull's leadership a second time. Initially, Turnbull refused to call a spill, but later that morning key Turnbull supporters withdrew their support, most notably Mathias Cormann, Michaelia Cash and Mitch Fifield, who tendered their resignations and claimed that Turnbull lacked the support of the majority of the party room. Several other ministers also confirmed their resignations.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August)
At 12 noon AEST on 23 August, following the resignation of a significant portion of the front bench, the Government won a vote in the House of Representatives to adjourn Parliament, with 70 votes to 68. Parliament had been scheduled to adjourn later that day, with the next sitting day to be held on 10 September.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August)
One hour later, Turnbull addressed the media and said that he would call a party room meeting if he sighted a petition signed by a majority of party members (i.e., 43 members) calling for a spill. Turnbull suggested that the party room meeting could be called for 12 noon the next day, on 24 August, once he had seen both the petition and an advice from the Solicitor-General on Dutton's eligibility.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August)
He said that in the event of a second spill, he would resign rather than take part in any ensuing leadership ballot, as he would consider such the petition to be a sign that he no longer had the support of the party room. The Solicitor-General's advice, released publicly a few hours before the party room meeting, found that Dutton was "not incapable" of sitting as a member of parliament, but that there is still "some risk" the High Court might find he has a conflict of interest, which could disqualify him from sitting in parliament. In relation to the request for a petition, Eric Abetz, a Dutton supporter, claimed that in the past a party room meeting could be called with only two signatures.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August), Petition
The petition signed by 43 Liberal Party members calling for a spill was delivered to Turnbull on Friday, 24 August. The signatories, in order of signing, were:


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August), Petition
Andrew Hastie, Tony Pasin, Sussan Ley, Craig Kelly, Michael Sukkar, Kevin Andrews, Tony Abbott, Ian Goodenough, Nicolle Flint, Peter Dutton, Amanda Stoker, Jonathon Duniam, David Bushby, James Paterson, Eric Abetz, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, James McGrath, Jim Molan, Slade Brockman, Dean Smith, Jane Hume, Mitch Fifield, John McVeigh, David Fawcett, Mathias Cormann, Michaelia Cash, Karen Andrews, Greg Hunt, Steven Ciobo, Angus Taylor, Alan Tudge, Michael Keenan, Andrew Wallace, Scott Buchholz, Jason Wood, Ross Vasta, Luke Howarth, Rick Wilson, Ted O'Brien, Zed Seselja, Andrew Laming, Ben Morton, Warren Entsch


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August), Petition
The petition was annotated by three petitioners. Karen Andrews wrote beside her name "because this has to be resolved", while Scott Buchholz wrote "I support the office of the Prime Minister" and Warren Entsch wrote "for Brendan Nelson" referring to the former Liberal leader who was defeated by Malcolm Turnbull in a leadership spill in 2008. While the second party room meeting was intended to occur at 12 noon AEST, there was a delay of twenty minutes as the signatures on the petition were verified by the party whip's office. Arthur Sinodinos, who was absent from the first spill due to illness, returned to Parliament to participate in the second spill and walked into the meeting alongside Turnbull.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August), Result
It was reported that Turnbull had decided not to contest the ballot, and that Scott Morrison and Julie Bishop would also be running in the challenge alongside Dutton. The West Australian ran an editorial saying that Turnbull should stand aside for Morrison. Morrison was widely seen as a compromise candidate, who was agreeable to both the moderate supporters of Turnbull and Bishop and conservatives concerned about Dutton's electability.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August), Result
The initial motion to declare the leadership positions vacant, held at approximately 12:20 pm Canberra time, was successfully passed 45 votes to 40. As previously mentioned, Turnbull had indicated that he would consider a second spill motion as a vote of no confidence in his leadership, and he did not contest the subsequent leadership election.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August), Result
The leadership spill was contested by Scott Morrison, Julie Bishop and Peter Dutton. Bishop with 11 votes was eliminated in the first round, while Morrison received 36 votes and Dutton 38 votes. The second round was between Dutton and Morrison and resulted in a victory for Morrison, 45 votes to 40. Morrison became party leader and subsequently prime minister. Moderate MPs were privately urged against voting for Bishop, as there was concern that Cormann had arranged for some WA-based Liberals to initially vote for her, then let Morrison's voters flow to Dutton in the second round, giving him enough support to defeat Bishop. Cormann has denied doing so.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August), Result
Bishop did not contest the deputy leadership spill, which occurred after the leadership spill. Josh Frydenberg won a majority in the first round with 46 votes, while Steven Ciobo received 20 and Greg Hunt received 16.


2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Second spill (24 August), Aftermath
As the leader of the Liberal Party and subsequently of the Coalition, Scott Morrison was invited to form a government and was sworn in as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia, a few hours after the leadership spill. On the same day Josh Frydenberg, elected as the party's deputy leader, was sworn in as Treasurer.