Politics

Sir Keir Starmer has said the Labour conference this week was a turning point for the party and it now has a “credible programme” to win the next general election. The Labour leader, speaking the morning after his 90-minute keynote speech, said if voters do not want to support the plans put forward at conference

The government’s coronavirus furlough scheme ends today after supporting millions of workers during the pandemic. Ministers say the wages of more than 11 million jobs were subsidised for at least some of the scheme’s duration, at a cost of about £70bn. There is now uncertainty over the almost one million people still thought to be

Sir Keir Starmer batted away hecklers during a mammoth speech in which he used his personal experiences to show off his human side as he announced a key climate change policy. Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, introduced Sir Keir before his conference speech by thanking the Labour leader for helping prosecute his

Sir Keir Starmer will tell Labour members on Wednesday that under his leadership, the party will be “back in business”. In his keynote speech at midday, marking the end of the party’s five-day conference in Brighton, Sir Keir will say that with him at the helm, Labour is committed to both “the good society” and

Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly refused to say if he is moving Labour away from the left to the centre of British politics, but insisted: “You can’t lose four elections and not change”. On the eve of his first in-person Labour conference speech as party leader, Sir Keir said he was focussed on turning Labour

Sir Keir Starmer is being warned that his party’s Brighton conference is “falling apart” following the dramatic resignation of a shadow minister. The Labour leader has been rocked by Andy McDonald’s decision to quit as shadow secretary of state for employment rights and protections midway through the party’s gathering on the South Coast. Mr McDonald’s

A Labour MP has dramatically quit the shadow cabinet mid-way through the party’s Brighton conference with an attack on Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and policies. Andy McDonald, who had been shadow secretary of state for employment rights and protections, said his position as a member of Sir Keir’s top team had become “untenable”. The 63-year-old,

Greetings from the Labour Party conference in Brighton. With a backdrop of chaos at petrol stations affecting jobs, livelihoods and getting food on to supermarket shelves in many parts of the country, Labour have been having rows about party rule changes, and whether it’s acceptable to call political opponents “scum”. After a weekend of internal

Sir Keir Starmer has seen his reform of Labour’s rulebook approved by the party’s conference in Brighton despite another day of opponents continuing their fight against the changes. In a vote at the Labour gathering in Brighton, Sir Keir’s overhaul of how the party elects future leaders was passed by 53.67% to 46.33%. But the

Angela Rayner has declined to apologise for calling the Conservatives “scum”, saying she was using “street language” to convey her “anger and frustration” at the actions of the government. Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sunday on Sky News, Labour’s deputy leader said the comments were made “post-watershed…with a group of activists at an event last

Ex-trade union leader Len McCluskey believes Labour faces an “almost impossible” challenge to win the next general election as he spoke of his pessimism that Sir Keir Starmer could even force a hung parliament in 2024. Speaking at a fringe event at Labour’s conference, the former Unite general secretary accused Sir Keir of a “poor”

Labour’s conference is opening in Brighton after Sir Keir Starmer was forced into a humiliating retreat over his attempt to re-write the party’s rulebook. He had to put his reforms on hold after a backlash from unions and party activists, in what left-wing MPs said was an own goal that had weakened his authority. The

Will Britain elect a prime minister people see as weak? This unfortunate question is one Sir Keir Starmer must confront on the eve of his first in-person party conference as Labour leader, however personally painful he finds it. Can he reverse voters’ first impressions of him by taking on his party in Brighton then imprinting

Dealing with David Cameron’s multiple texts, WhatsApp messages, emails and phone calls “did not take up a very significant part” of the Treasury’s time, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has told MPs investigating the Greensill lobbying scandal. Earlier this year, ex-prime minister Mr Cameron was revealed to have bombarded government ministers and officials – as well as

Sir Keir Starmer must use the Labour conference to show the nation he “has what it takes” to be prime minister, the leader of the GMB Union has said. Gary Smith, who took over as general secretary earlier this year, told Sky News the Labour leader was “decent” and “committed”. But he warned the party

The government is preparing for the “worst-case scenario” of gas costs continuing to stay high beyond a “short spike”, a minister has told Sky News. Speaking to Kay Burley, Paul Scully said high wholesale gas costs were placing “pressure” on the energy price cap. Asked what the worst-case scenario was for a rise in the

Boris Johnson has said France should get over its anger at a partnership between the UK, US and Australia that saw the latter pull out of a major contract with Paris for submarines. “What I want to say about that is I just think it’s time for some of our dearest friends around the world

Joe Biden does not “fully appreciate” the details of the row surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol, a minister has suggested. Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News, Environment Secretary George Eustice said the row over post-Brexit arrangements between the UK and EU was “very complicated” and “I’m not sure he does fully appreciate all of

Members of a coronavirus campaign group will be able to attend the Conservative Party conference after initially having their application rejected. COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, made up of 4,000 people who have lost a loved one to the virus, hit out after being told its members would not be allowed into next month’s event

US President Joe Biden will welcome Boris Johnson to the White House later. The prime minister will travel from the UN General Assembly in New York to Washington for the Oval Office meeting which would, in all likelihood, have happened well before now had it not been for the pandemic. It has been just three