Politics

Former COVID vaccines minister and chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has announced he will not be standing at the next general election. The Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010 quoted his “most famous constituent” as he wrote: “Go to your bosom; knock there and ask your heart what it doth know.” He said: “The time is right

After a disastrous set of local election results, Rishi Sunak remains in Downing Street, but his party is moving on. Over the weekend, former homer secretary Suella Braverman made her pitch to the party in a rather personal attack on the prime minister. On Wednesday, Robert Jenrick made his. But where the former immigration minister

Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke has defected to the Labour Party. The Dover MP said the change in the Tory Party since she entered parliament in 2019 “has been dramatic and cannot be ignored”. She hit out at the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government”, adding that Labour “looks to the future –

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed the name of the contractor running the Ministry of Defence’s payroll system that was hacked by China. Mr Shapps told parliament that SSCL (Shared Services Connected Ltd) is the contractor and their work is being reviewed across government following the cyber attack – which China has denied. Politics Live:

Humza Yousaf has formally tendered his resignation as Scotland’s first minister to the King. It now paves the way for MSPs to vote on who should take his place, with new SNP leader John Swinney expected to win Holyrood’s backing. The vote is expected to take place at the Scottish parliament later on Tuesday. Image:

The Chinese state has hacked the Ministry of Defence, Sky News understands. MPs will be told on Tuesday of a massive data breach involving the MoD, targeting service personnel. It is understood investigations have not shown any data has been taken. The government will not name the country involved, but Sky News understands this to

John Swinney has won the SNP leadership contest and is set to be named as Scotland’s new first minister, replacing Humza Yousaf. Mr Swinney could become Scotland’s seventh first minister as early as Tuesday. He is expected to give a speech later on Monday. The former deputy first minister, who served under close ally Nicola

Graeme McCormick has pulled out of the race to become SNP leader and endorsed rival John Swinney as Scotland’s next first minister. Mr McCormick’s decision not to pursue a leadership bid leaves Mr Swinney as the only official candidate after Humza Yousaf announced he is stepping down. In a statement shared with Sky News, he

It was a wafer-thin victory, but a huge win. The symbolism of Labour taking the West Midlands mayor, a jewel in the Tory crown, could be felt in the room as Labour activists gathered in Birmingham to celebrate the win with their new mayor Richard Parker and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. There are moments

Tory incumbent Andy Street has suffered a shock defeat to Labour in the West Midlands mayoral election after a partial recount was ordered. Labour’s candidate, Richard Parker, beat Mr Street by just 1,508 votes – 0.25% – to deliver a major blow to Rishi Sunak in the key electoral battleground after a hammering in the

Boris Johnson has paid tribute to the villagers who Sky News revealed turned him away from his local polling station when he tried to vote without a valid photo ID – under rules he introduced. The former prime minister has said he had attempted to cast his ballot using a magazine sleeve with his name

We went into this set of local and mayoral elections with two big questions: Is Labour on course for a majority and how bad is it going to be for Rishi Sunak?  On the Sunak question, it’s a very clear-cut story. The Tories are having as bad a night as their worst nightmare. There is

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has renewed his demand for Rishi Sunak to go to the polls after the prime minister suffered a by-election drubbing and bruising council losses across England. But while Mr Sunak said the the grim early results were “disappointing” for the Conservatives, he insisted he was focused completely on the job

Vote counting is under way after polls closed in local elections taking place across England and Wales. More than 2,600 council seats across 107 councils are up for grabs in England, alongside 11 mayoral elections, a parliamentary seat and police and crime commissioners throughout England and Wales. Polls opened at 7am and closed at 10pm.

John Swinney has announced his bid to take over from Humza Yousaf as SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister. The Perthshire North MSP has spent a year on the backbenches after he stepped down as deputy first minister when Nicola Sturgeon resigned in 2023. Announcing his intention to run for first minister during a visit

The Scottish government has survived a vote of no confidence at Holyrood. Scottish Labour pressed ahead with its motion despite Humza Yousaf announcing earlier this week his intention to stand down as SNP leader and first minister. It failed by 58 votes to 70. The Scottish Greens voted against the motion, with party co-leader Patrick

The Tory mayor of the West Midlands is sending voters an endorsement from Boris Johnson which urges people to “forget about the government”, Sky News can reveal. Andy Street’s campaign website makes no mention of Rishi Sunak on its homepage and is coloured in green rather than Conservative blue, suggesting the mayor is trying to

The UK has sent the first failed asylum seeker to Rwanda – under a voluntary scheme. The scheme is for those who have gone through the asylum process and had permission rejected, rather than for migrants who have illegally entered Britain by crossing the Channel on small boats. The migrant was sent on a commercial

Ireland’s prime minister has insisted the UK must respect an existing arrangement between the two countries to take back asylum seekers. Simon Harris told Sky News the UK must honour a deal that has been in place since 2020 as a row escalates over the Irish government’s new plans to return to the UK asylum

The next leader of the SNP could be “crowned… with no contest”, the Scottish Conservatives have claimed, after Humza Yousaf stepped down from the role on Monday. Mr Yousaf – who has been leader and first minister of Scotland for just over a year – announced his resignation after his decision last week to cut