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Leaving the eight-hour count in Runcorn and Helsby this morning, Labour campaigners were utterly dejected, not least at having lost by only six votes, the closest result in any by-election ever.

From 23:10 BST on Thursday, Laura Kuenssberg will host an Elections 2025 Special on BBC One, with political editor Chris Mason and correspondent Damian Grammaticas reporting from the count in Runcorn and Helsby.

So far this year, 884 measles cases have been reported nationwide, “the second-highest annual case count in 25 years,” according to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Because of Head Start, she said, her daughter can count in English and Spanish, excitedly sings songs like “Happy Birthday” and interacts with other kids.

But somehow, the writer-director, who grew up in agriculture villages like the ones in her film, makes that coincidence count in terms of small-town authenticity — of course, everyone’s connected — and the dramatic stakes that go with impulses and shortcuts.