UKIP resignation and MPs taking oath

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Here's a recap of today's events as your late team bows out for the night.

UKIP MEP Patrick O'Flynn has stepped down as the party's economics spokesman and apologised to leader Nigel Farage for calling him "snarling, thin-skinned and aggressive".

Mr Farage told the BBC "it takes a big man to apologise" and claimed UKIP was now united around his leadership.

Meanwhile, UKIP deputy chairwoman Suzanne Evans confirmed she will no longer be the party's policy chief, saying: "My contract for that work comes to an end next week."

That's one piece of advice for the prime minister - and his whips - on how to govern with a small majority. It came from Baroness Ann Taylor, a junior whip during the minority government of Labour PM James Callaghan and chief whip under Tony Blair. She was speaking at an event held by the Institute for Government. Lord Gus O'Donnell advised the government to pick their battles and to try and find an alternative to legislation. See more top tips here.

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New Labour MP Sir Keir Starmer tells Newsnight he agrees with comments made by Labour peer Lord Mandelson in a New York Times article, in which he warned Labour leadership contenders against putting party unity ahead of the hard choices he says the party must now make.

The former Director of Public Prosecutions has ruled himself out of the running, despite campaigners calling on him to stand. But then he has only been the MP for Holborn and St Pancras for 11 days.

Quote Message: There's no point in a quick fix which presents itself as unity but isn't unity - and to find ourselves in a position where in 2020 we haven't won an election. We need to have that debate. It needs to be an open debate. We've got to be brave enough to ask difficult questions and to see what answers are coming to us from outside our own party."

There's no point in a quick fix which presents itself as unity but isn't unity - and to find ourselves in a position where in 2020 we haven't won an election. We need to have that debate. It needs to be an open debate. We've got to be brave enough to ask difficult questions and to see what answers are coming to us from outside our own party."

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Matthew Goodwin, author of a book on UKIP, tells BBC Radio 4's the World Tonight that the recent turbulence is really about how the party should tackle the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.

Mr Goodwin, a politics professor at Nottingham University, says some UKIP members think Nigel Farage is "too toxic" and might alienate wavering Eurosceptics. But there's another group, he adds, who believe Mr Farage has mobilised almost four million voters into the Eurosceptic camp. He says:

Quote Message: It's certainly been an eventful week in UKIP- land."

It's certainly been an eventful week in UKIP- land."

Tomorrow's front pages are starting to appear. We begin with the FT.

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Damon Albarn, the former Blur lead singer, has told Channel 4 News that he voted Labour in the election. But that hasn't always been the case. He revealed that when he met Tony Blair he had a "premature insight" into what he called the "dark mechanics of politics". He told Jon Snow that it left him feeling "terrified about Tony Blair". 

Quote Message: I picked up on something kind of odd about him that I didn't understand. Well, I was a bit scared of him actually to be honest with you." from Damon Albarn

I picked up on something kind of odd about him that I didn't understand. Well, I was a bit scared of him actually to be honest with you."

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If the general election has whetted your appetite for politics, you might be interested in attending a briefing from experts on how Parliament works. Parliament's outreach team is holding a free public event on Tuesday 9 June looking at how laws are made - and how you can influence the process. The event will be chaired by Channel Four News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

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The post-mortem on Labour's election defeat continues to divide MPs. The former Labour minister Pat McFadden says the party suffered a "cataclysmic defeat" after fighting on a platform that was "more to the left". He told Radio 4's PM that Labour wins when it operates "big tent politics" and when it appreciates wealth creation as well as "fair wealth distribution". The other ingredient, he said, is a positive, optimistic story. He thought leadership hopeful Liz Kendall understood what was required to win an election.

The former chief secretary to the Treasury has responded to a tweet from his successor, Greg Hands, saying he had inherited £6.35 of credit on a canteen card.

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Veteran Labour MP John McDonnell is asking members of the public to give their views on the priorities for the next party leader.

He is critical of the Labour leadership race, saying it is "a glamour contest between a group of candidates with little ideologically to choose between them".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM, he said Labour's election defeat was being wrongly blamed on Ed Miliband moving to the left. He estimates that the party lost five million votes "while the Blairites were in power" and thinks people "felt deserted by Labour".

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Ex-Chancellor Lord Howe is not the only peer to have formally retired from the House of Lords, a development we reported earlier. Others to have stepped down are Lord Sheldon, Lord Goodhart, Lord Sandberg, Lord Phillips of Sudbury, Viscount Tenby, Lord Hope of Thornes, Lord Sharman, Lord Evans of Parkside, Lord Ashcroft, Lord Shaw of Northstead, Lord Tombs, Lord Joffe, Lord Lloyd of Berwick and Lord Nickson. Their departures were announced by Baroness D'Souza, the Speaker of the House of Lords, this afternoon.

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Lord Mandelson has already had plenty to say about Labour's current woes and where it goes from here. He has now used an article in the New York Times to warn leadership contenders against putting party unity ahead of the hard choices he says the party must now take. He has also rejected comparisons between the recent election and the 1992 contest, which Labour lost narrowly. Back then, he suggests, "Labour was on an upward trend following a near-death experience" but now "we are headed downward from an unprecedented series of three election victories".

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UKIP deputy chairwoman Suzanne Evans has confirmed she will no longer be the party's policy chief, Press Association reports.

Shetweetedthat she would make a statement later amid media reports that she is to be replaced as the party's policy chief.

Ms Evans, who helped draft the party's election manifesto, earlier said she was "sorry" about Patrick O'Flynn's departure as economics spokesman following an internal party row.

Her statement says:

Quote Message: It has been a great privilege to work with UKIP for the past four months to produce the 2015 general election manifesto. I was delighted with the way it was received, especially by party members and supporters. While my contract for that work comes to an end next week, I remain in my voluntary post as deputy chairman."

It has been a great privilege to work with UKIP for the past four months to produce the 2015 general election manifesto. I was delighted with the way it was received, especially by party members and supporters. While my contract for that work comes to an end next week, I remain in my voluntary post as deputy chairman."

The House of Commons has adjourned for the day. More swearing-in of MPs tomorrow.

Swearing-in of peers is continuing in the House of Lords.

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After a short break, the process of swearing-in - or affirming -  for MPs has started again. There are quite a few newcomers queuing up now.

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More on the "seat wars" between the SNP and Labour.

Labour - the second-largest party in the Commons - is the largest opposition party but the SNP has replaced the Liberal Democrats as the third-largest party group.

SNP MPs want to occupy the front two rows of the opposition benches, as the Lib Dems did in opposition when they were the third largest party.

The Lib Dems vacated those benches when they joined the government benches opposite in coalition with the Conservatives in 2010.

Many Labour MPs took their place - and got quite comfortable.

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You can watch a clip of Nigel Farage's interview with the BBC's Alex Forsyth, in which the UKIP leader says he respects Patrick O'Flynn for apologising to him for calling him "snarling, thin-skinned and aggressive".

The UKIP leader says "it takes a big-hearted, honest man" to apologise as Mr O'Flynn had done.

Quote Message: No longer do I bear any anger about what he has said."

No longer do I bear any anger about what he has said."

Scotland's former first minister Alex Salmond has said the reason for the ongoing battle over seating arrangements in the Commons between Labour and the SNP is because Labour has failed to come to terms with the fact that it lost the election.

The MP for Gordon told the BBC that "every single precedent" shows that his party should occupy the front two rows of the benches traditionally used by the third largest party in Parliament.

Mr Salmond, who was one of the first parliamentarians to take the oath of allegiance today, said:

Quote Message: Everybody knows Labour will have to come to an agreement. All this is a sign of Labour not coming to terms with the fact that they lost all their seats." from Alex Salmond

Everybody knows Labour will have to come to an agreement. All this is a sign of Labour not coming to terms with the fact that they lost all their seats."

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David Cameron has made a lot out of his new "blue collar" vision for British conservatism. Aides were keen to emphasise appointments like Robert Halfon, Sajid Javid, the son of a bus conductor and Greg Clark, the son of a milkman. But there's one MP who trumps them all. Scott Mann is the new Conservative MP for North Cornwall. He's worked as a postman for 20 years - right up to the last week of his own election campaign. 

 "I had to deliver my own leaflets but I also had to deliver leaflets for my opponents too. They all went through the doors. 

 "It's a lot easier to deliver your own leaflets...I found myself delivering Liberal Democrat literature to people who I knew were going to vote Conservative. A lot of people wanted to engage in a political discussion when I was out on a round. 

 "I had a phone call from my boss asking me to come in the day after I'd won the election, which was funny.

Thinking about it, surely being a postman is the ideal job for a prospective parliamentary candidate? Makes canvassing a hell of a lot easier...

You can read more from the Newsnight team here.

BBC political correspondent Robin Brant says senior figures in UKIP think the departure of Patrick O'Flynn is a "bad" development. Mr O'Flynn - UKIP's economics spokesman -  stepped down from his post this afternoon after calling Nigel Farage "snarling, thin-skinned and aggressive".

Speaking on Radio 4's PM, Robin said: "You don't say those things about your leader and expect to stay on in a frontbench job."

He says Mr O'Flynn thought "long and hard" before making his intervention in a newspaper last week. 

Senior figures are now saying that Mr O'Flynn will be hard to replace, Robin adds, because they thought he was doing a good job.

There is an unusual problem when it comes to deciding who will sit on the Scottish Affairs Select Committee in the new Parliament. 

The Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats each have just one MP with a Scottish seat. 

The Tories' sole Scottish representative is Scottish Secretary David Mundell, who will be expected to answer to the committee so clearly cannot serve on it.

Traditionally his opposite number would also not have a committee role so Labour's Ian Murray may also be ruled out.

It would be quite a step for the former Scottish Secretary - Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael - to go on to the committee though he may consider it an important role.  

So the SNP will clearly be represented - but most of the other members will have seats outside Scotland. 

It is an intriguing prospect for a committee which is likely to have an important role as Parliament grapples with the huge constitutional issues on the agenda for the new session.

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That's the queue of MPs depleted for now. The House is suspended until 18:00 BST.

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As rows within his party continue to make headlines, it's the turn of UKIP's only MP, Douglas Carswell, to take the oath.

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Taking the oath in English and Welsh is Plaid Cymru's first female MP - Liz Saville-Roberts.

She has been elected to represent Dwyfor Meirionnydd.

The election night team have been chewing over what lies ahead. Emily Maitlis writes: 

Today, the BBC election night team met for lunch. It’s amazing how many times you can relive the Nuneaton moment without getting bored.

And as we realised May 2015 was finally behind us, and mourned its passing like a parent waving their only child off to a new home, one voice behind me piped up: "Mind you, we’ll be busy next year, Emily. Six elections."

She watched my face as she ticked them off. "London Mayorals, London Assembly, Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament, Northern Irish Assembly, US Elections."

She paused: "And that’s if the EU referendum isn’t brought forward."

So there you have it. The chance of a full seven election programmes next year. We’re up for it. Are you?  

You can read more from the Newsnight team on the Newsnight live page.

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Jim Shannon, the DUP MP for Strangford, takes the oath in English and Ulster-Scots.

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Lord Howe of Aberavon - the former Conservative cabinet minister Geoffrey Howe - has retired from the House of Lords.

Lord Howe held senior government positions including chancellor of the Exchequer and foreign secretary. He became a Conservative peer in 1992.

He retired under the terms of the House of Lords Reform Act 2014.

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Former Health Secretaries have been spilling the beans on what it's like to do the job. The Conservative MP Ken Clarke said it was the toughest job he'd ever had and called the NHS a "gruesome, self-perpetuating bureaucracy". He makes his comments in a new book, published by the Health Foundation think tank, featuring interviews with 10 politicians who've done the job.

Labour's Patricia Hewitt described the job as "unbelievably demanding" while another former Labour Health Secretary, Alan Milburn, said: "The best political trick I ever pulled off was to publish a 10 year plan. Because it basically bought time."

Mr Clarke provided the most colourful accounts, saying the job was a "political deathbed in most western democracies".

Quote Message: You were of course held responsible every time anybody dropped a bedpan."

You were of course held responsible every time anybody dropped a bedpan."

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Spare a thought for the Commons clerks who have the job of helping MPs to swear in. They are patiently guiding new MPs through the process but even old hands need some gentle reminders about what to do.

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The former Bradford MP George Galloway has been referred to police over expenses claims.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority made the referral to the Metropolitan Police after a complaint by his former assistant.

An IPSA spokesman has now confirmed that the matter has been passed to the police.

The former Respect MP lost his Bradford West seat to Labour at the general election. Read more here.

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Over in the House of Lords peers are also swearing in. As well as the oath or affirmation, peers are required to sign an undertaking to abide by the House of Lords Code of Conduct.

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MPs can swear the oath or make an affirmation in another language if they chose. The Conservative MP for Truro and Falmouth, Sarah Newton, made her oath in English - and then Cornish.

Patrick O'Flynn has gone. His departure from UKIP's top team was inevitable. You can't attack Nigel Farage in such a personal way, via the front page of The Times, and expect to stay in post. But note his statement offered "sincere regret at going public with my frustrations". Going public,not having the frustrations in the first place. 

 I understand Mr O'Flynn thought long and hard about making his intervention last week. It wasn't an off the cuff moment. His contrition is genuine but I don't think he has changed his mind. Some senior figures think his departure is bad for the party. 

Deputy Chairman Suzanne Evans - a prominent figure during the election campaign - said she is "very sorry indeed' to see him go. A senior party figure also told me: "I cant think who else could take his place and do such a good job."

Here are the words MPs are asked to utter as they swear in. They have the choice to "swear by Almighty God" or to "affirm" if they do not wish to take a religious oath.

Oath

I (name of Member) swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.

Affirmation

I (name of Member) do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law.

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One of the House's comedians, Labour MP Stephen Pound, makes his colleagues laugh as he loudly takes the oath and brandishes the Jerusalem Bible.

He requested the Douay Bible but that was unavailable.

There are 646 MPs to be sworn in and it will take about eight hours. The ritual is taken very seriously. Anyone who refuses or forgets to swear in at the start of a new Parliament and tries to carry on regardless faces serious penalties. They can be fined £500 and could lose their seat too.  Find out more...

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Former SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond takes the oath in the Commons.

Mr Salmond is the newly-elected SNP MP for Gordon - having previously represented Banff and Buchan between 1987 and 2010.

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Spotted in the queue: two former party leaders.

Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg chat as they wait to swear in.

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It had to happen to someone. MPs swearing in have to state that they will bear "true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors". The Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said "HAIRS and successors" by mistake.

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MPs are lining up to swear in at the start of the new Parliament. For believers there's a new Testament and King James bible as well as the Koran, the Guru Granth Sahib and the Old Testament in Hebrew and in English. David Cameron chose the King James bible while the Chancellor George Osborne chose the New Testament.   

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Nigel Farage also gives his reaction to Mr O'Flynn's comments that he was "snarling, thin-skinned and aggressive."

Quote Message: "I was initially appalled. I couldn't believe it. We had a conversation this morning and as we spoke the tone got gentler. I understood he made a bad mistake, he understood he made a bad mistake and we move on from here. Bad things have been said but we now have drawn a line on this and it's all behind us... I think UKIP has never been more united around me."

"I was initially appalled. I couldn't believe it. We had a conversation this morning and as we spoke the tone got gentler. I understood he made a bad mistake, he understood he made a bad mistake and we move on from here. Bad things have been said but we now have drawn a line on this and it's all behind us... I think UKIP has never been more united around me."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage responds to Patrick O'Flynn's resignation and apology.

"It takes a big man to apologise," he tells the BBC's Alex Forsyth at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. 

Quote Message: "We have a referendum that is coming. We are the one the party that is united."

"We have a referendum that is coming. We are the one the party that is united."

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The first MP to swear in was the Commons Speaker, John Bercow. He was followed by the Father of the House, Sir Gerald Kaufman - the longest serving MP. Then it was the turn of David Cameron, followed by the Chancellor George Osborne. 

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John Bercow has been formally confirmed as Commons Speaker in a short ceremony in the House of Lords. The ceremony involved some hat doffing and formal language. The Leader of the Lords, Baroness Stowell told the Speaker that Her Majesty the Queen was "fully sensible of your zeal in the public service and of your ample sufficiency to execute the arduous duties".

John Bercow said he was submitting himself with "all humility and gratitude" to Her Majesty's "gracious commands".

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The Treasury Minister David Gauke was upbeat about the UK's inflation rate turning negative - otherwise known as deflation. He said wages were increasing but prices - food and energy - were falling.

He told the BBC's News Channel it wasn't "damaging deflation" and it wasn't likely to be a "permanent feature".

Quote Message: I think we can be pretty positive about this."

I think we can be pretty positive about this."

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The UKIP MEP Patrick O'Flynn has stepped down as the party's economics spokesman. He has apologised to party leader Nigel Farage for calling him "snarling, thin-skinned and aggressive". The BBC's Norman Smith says Mr O'Flynn now thinks those remarks were inappropriate. Norman says it also reveals that UKIP's "travails and turmoils" continue.

In just over half an hour, MPs new and old will begin the "swearing in" ceremony, which requires them to take oath or solemn affirmation of Parliamentary service in order to formally take their seats.

As there are 650 of them, it usually lasts a few days and is due to finish on 26 May - the day before the formal start of the parliamentary session and State Opening.

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UK political parties saw their coffers boosted by almost £14.4m in donations during the general election campaign. The Conservatives and Labour were almost neck and neck, according to official declarations published by the elections watchdog, the Electoral Commission.

Between 30 March and polling day on 7 May, the Conservatives reported £6,100,588 in donations, to Labour's £5,957,862.

Meanwhile:

• UKIP registered £1,684,728
• Liberal Democrats £601,000
•  Green Party £18,400
• SNP £10,000

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In an historic and symbolic moment, Prince Charles and Gerry Adams shake hands and exchange a few words, at a reception in Galway. Read more here.

In a short while, Prince Charles and Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams will meet in Galway, as part of the prince's historic visit to the Irish Republic. It will be the first meeting in the Republic between the Sinn Féin leadership and a member of the British Royal Family.

We don't know what form the meeting will take - whether it will be "a brush past" or something more formal, says BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell.

As ever, we'll be sure to bring you live updates.

Just to be clear, the fact that there've been falls in the prices of essentials - food, non-alcoholic drinks and transport - actually increases our standard of living in the short term.

Because we have no choice but to eat, when food prices fall, our money goes further - and we are better off.

So this kind of deflation may in fact be stimulating consumer spending and economic activity."Robert's full blog post.

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Michael Gove - who was appointed justice secretary in David Cameron's recent cabinet reshuffle - has been sworn into his new office of lord chancellor, at a ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Nick Clegg has called for unity in the party during the upcoming Lib Dem leadership campaign saying that "my successor deserves our undivided loyalty and support". 

Addressing activists at a London event for new party members last night, Mr Clegg said: "There's going to be a leadership contest now, people will have opinions this way and that but it's incredibly important once that leadership election is complete that we really come together." Read more here.

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Election night was replete with big names falling foul of the democratic process, from Ed Balls to Jim Murphy to Charles Kennedy. Such defeats inevitably grabbed the headlines, but nothing signifies defeat in an election more completely than the loss of a deposit, that £500 candidates have to pay just to enter the contest and which is forfeited if you fall below 5% of the vote.

On an individual level, this is the punitive cherry on top of a disappointing electoral cake. For a party, however, it is the clearest indicator of structural weakness. Following the election, much focus fell on the fact that the Lib Dems lost 341 deposits, costing the party a total of £170,500. 

However, this was eclipsed by the performance of the Green Party, which lost 442 deposits from their 573 candidates at a cost of £221,000. This is not an insignificant sum of money for the party. Indeed, looking at their last available accounts (for 2013), that would constitute a quarter of their annual income.

Read more here (see post 11.57)

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The SNP's Mhairi Black has revealed that her last job before toppling Labour's shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander to win her seat was at a chip shop. 

The 20-year-old politics student is the youngest MP in the House of Commons. 

She told ITV's Lorraine she still had one more exam to go before graduation: 

Quote Message: "I had a really bizarre moment because I finally had time just to sit and (be) quiet in the library that is in the Commons, and I was sitting going, 'I'm studying for a politics exam in the House of Commons library'. It's nuts but it's good. Things have almost been timed to perfection because I've got one exam left and then that's me done (with) uni and then we can start throwing ourselves into it and start delivering things."

"I had a really bizarre moment because I finally had time just to sit and (be) quiet in the library that is in the Commons, and I was sitting going, 'I'm studying for a politics exam in the House of Commons library'. It's nuts but it's good. Things have almost been timed to perfection because I've got one exam left and then that's me done (with) uni and then we can start throwing ourselves into it and start delivering things."

Labour's former Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has launched her bid to replace Boris Johnson as the next mayor of London.

Ms Jowell said she would focus on providing affordable housing, transport and "opening up opportunities" for everyone in the city.

The former Labour MP, who stood down at this year's general election, said she wanted "a London where everyone shares in our city's success - young and old; low and middle income as well as the better off". Read more here.

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Boris Johnson signs off his Twitter chat with some sound advice for a GCSE student.

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Boris Johnson cheers up a London cabbie on #AskBoris by pledging to take rickshaws - the pedal powered machines that ferry tourists around the West End - off the streets.

London Mayor Boris Johnson is fielding questions from Twitter users at the moment using the hashtag #AskBoris. Student travel discounts, homelessness and the living wage are among the subjects up for discussion so far - as well as more pressing matters such as: "Which side of Waterloo bridge do you prefer, Houses of Parliament side or St Paul's side?"

Shadow chancellor Chris Leslie has commented on the inflation figures:

Quote Message: Any relief for households is welcome, but this month’s figures reflect global trends and doesn’t change the reality that many are still struggling to pay the bills. The Government must clearly guard against the risk that business investment might be deferred. We need stronger action now to raise productivity to deliver sustainable growth and rising living standards.”

Any relief for households is welcome, but this month’s figures reflect global trends and doesn’t change the reality that many are still struggling to pay the bills. The Government must clearly guard against the risk that business investment might be deferred. We need stronger action now to raise productivity to deliver sustainable growth and rising living standards.”

A speaker at the Church of Scotland's ruling General Assembly has called on the UK government to stop using hunger as a "punishment". 

Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Convener of the Kirk's Church and Society Council also said the Government's characterisation of those on benefits as "skivers" was "rubbish". 

She said families, young people and those with mental health problems were being disproportionately penalised by welfare changes and called for the suspension of sanctions for people with children or those suffering from mental ill health. 

 Rev Foster-Fulton was presenting a report to the General Assembly, which called for tax reform as one measure to tackle poverty in Scotland.

Left wing Labour MP John McDonnell has called his party's leadership contest “a glamour contest between a group of candidates with little ideologically to choose between them”. The Hayes and Harlington MP attempted to launch his own leadership bids in 2007 and 2010 but failed to gain enough nominations to get on the ballot. This time he has launched a website - Radical Labour - to transform the contest "into a real debate about the future of socialism, our party and our country".

Reacting to UK inflation turning negative in April, Samuel Tombs, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, says: "The UK has finally joined other advanced economies in seeing a beneficial period of deflation." He adds:

Quote Message: Looking ahead, though, the UK's deflation is likely to last for one month only. CPI inflation should return to positive territory in May, as the effect of the shifting timing of Easter ceases to depress it and as the negative contribution from energy and food prices starts to fade."

Looking ahead, though, the UK's deflation is likely to last for one month only. CPI inflation should return to positive territory in May, as the effect of the shifting timing of Easter ceases to depress it and as the negative contribution from energy and food prices starts to fade."

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Michael Fabricant, the Conservative MP who was diagnosed with two types of skin cancer, advises men to check their torso regularly for signs of the disease, in the Daily Mail.

The 64-year-old MP was lucky - his malignant melanoma was caught before it had spread and he received treatment to remove it. He is awaiting the results of a biopsy on a suspected basal cell carcinoma, a less dangerous form of the disease, and will have check-ups every three months, the newspaper reports.

He plans to wear Factor 30 sunblock in future but adds: 

Quote Message: I will go on holiday and I will sit in the sun, I'll be sensible now but I'm not going to get paranoid and hide in the shadows."

I will go on holiday and I will sit in the sun, I'll be sensible now but I'm not going to get paranoid and hide in the shadows."

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Remember David Cameron's former director of strategy, Steve Hilton? He was known for his "blue skies thinking" and a driving forced behind David Cameron's "Big Society project".

Well, he's back in the UK to promote a new book of his - and he's been speaking to BBC business editor Kamal Ahmed.

He said large banks that require a state bailout should have their pay capped, so they are paid no more than top civil servants who receive £100,000 to £200,000 a year.

More here.

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In other news, Deutsche Bank has set up a "working group" to review whether to move parts of its British divisions to Germany if the UK leaves the EU. A spokesman for the bank told the BBC the working group has been established, but it is "early days and no decisions have been made". David Cameron has pledged to hold an in/out referendum on the EU by 2017. Deutsche Bank employs 9,000 people in the UK.

Reacting to the latest figures, George Osborne says "the strong combination" of rising wages and falling prices is "good news" for families and shows that the government's economic plan is working.

This isn't damaging, he adds, insisting the government remains "vigilant" to any risks that might arise.

The CPI rate of inflation is the lowest on record and comes after two previous months of zero inflation.

Estimates of past CPI rates suggest it was last negative in March 1960, when Harold Macmillan was prime minister and Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House, according to the Press Association.

The rate of Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation was unchanged at 0.9%, the ONS said. 

Inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to -0.1% in April, from 0% in March, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics.

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Yvette Cooper is trying to signal that she will represent a clear break with the Ed Miliband years, and she hopes it will resonate with Labour voters. She says Labour now needs to become the pro-business party and be comfortable about wealth creation. But more than that, there's a sense she's trying to position herself as the modernising candidate – or the “stop Andy Burnham candidate”. Because there are three women in the race to the  right of Mr Burnham, politically, and if any of them are going to have a realistic chance of winning they will have to coalesce around one figure, otherwise they'll split their vote three ways.

Ian Birrell, journalist and former speechwriter to David Cameron, said there was an opportunity now, with "a virtually irrelevant opposition" for a couple of years, for David Cameron to "really define both himself and the Conservative Party as a much more modern, progressive and liberal force".

He says the Tories still have work to do to detoxify the brand and prove that they are a party for the whole country.

Does the Conservatives' election victory present an opportunity for the party to reinvent itself? That was the subject under discussion on Today just now.

Conservative Women blog editor Kathy Gyngell points out that the David Cameron's Conservatives have "a fragile majority" of 12 MPs and "a huge task ahead" to deliver their manifesto policies, which included a promise to balance the books and not raise taxes.

"By golly he's tied his hands up," she said, adding: "So, he's got a real challenge on without any room to manoeuvre on anything too dramatic."

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What developed, according to The Times's Ann Treneman, was a "battle of the buttocks".

But as Independent diarist Andy McSmith notes: "Skinner is not easily put off. Spotting that a tiny fragment of very end of the bench was not filled, he planted himself there, defying the SNP to push him off. Soon politeness prevailed and they moved up."

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There's not much by way of domestic political stories on the front pages this morning. However, if you flick through to the inner pages you'll find some sketches capturing yesterday's first sitting of the Commons in the new Parliament.

There was a bit of a battle over seating positions, as Michael Deacon, in The Telegraph, observes: "An SNP raiding party arrived three whole hours early to commandeer the front opposition bench normally occupied by Labour veterans such as Dennis Skinner."

"Scots Nationalists were on a sunlounger-bagging operation, a landgrab of the green benches. Pict invasion!", writes the Daily Mail's Quentin Letts.

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MPs new and old will begin their "swearing in" ceremony today, which requires them to take oath or solemn affirmation of parliamentary service in order to formally take their seats. As there are 650 of them, it usually lasts a few days and is due to finish on 26 May - the day before the formal start of the parliamentary session and State Opening.

Peers began the process of swearing in its members yesterday - and it will continue today, from about 14.30 BST.

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

Mr Adams will be among a number of politicians to greet the prince as he begins his four-day visit.

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

Party chairman Declan Kearney said it was to promote "reconciliation and healing".

Read more

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Wondering how the process for becoming a new MP works? Well, Parliament loves its traditions. So, new and returning MPs begin as they are supposed to go on - with a ritual that dates back at least 400 years.

Before anyone can take part in a debate, vote or even sit down on the iconic green benches, they have to "swear in" with an oath of allegiance to the Crown.

They even risk not being paid if they don't take the oath in their first six months in the job.

Non-believers can make a "solemn affirmation" that leaves out any mention of God.

It takes about eight hours for everyone to file past the despatch box to take their oath and shake hands with the Speaker.

Equality has its limits here: they line up in order of seniority.

Read Susan Hulme's full explanation of the process

Hello and welcome to Tuesday's rolling political coverage. We've got a decently busy day ahead, with inflation (or is that deflation) figures at 9:30am, Prince Charles meeting Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams - and the start of the two or three day process of swearing in new MPs.