Politics

As with most political scandals, the heat in the Angela Rayner housing row is less about the (alleged) crime and more about the (alleged) cover-up. Or, to put it another way, this is all about how honest and transparent the Labour deputy leader has been in responding to allegations about her living arrangements a decade

Soul searching about the UK’s role in the world has broken out again following the publication of a pamphlet by senior diplomats including Mark Sedwill, a former Cabinet Secretary and National Security Adviser. The World in 2040: Renewing The UK’s Approach To International Affairs is being denounced for suggesting the Foreign Office should change its

We may have been in Easter recess the past couple of weeks, but on both sides of the party divide, there were those who did not get a rest from politics. MP William Wragg undoubtedly had a dysfunctional week as the man at the centre of the Westminster honeytrap scandal. He resigned the Conservative party

A libel case against Science Secretary Michelle Donelan has now cost the tax-payer £34,000. It was revealed last month that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) had paid out £15,000 in damages to an academic whom the minister had falsely accused of supporting Hamas in a letter she posted on X. But the

Rishi Sunak and other high-profile Conservatives could keep their seats because of voter ID confusion in the next general election, a new poll suggests. The government passed legislation in 2022 requiring Britons to show photo ID despite warnings it would prevent thousands from voting. The new rules came into force last year – with a

It was the picture that launched warnings of the “death” of a popular trainer: the prime minister in a box-fresh pair of Adidas Sambas, paired with suit trousers and a white shirt.  He was accused of “ruining” an “eternally cool sneaker” by GQ, while other magazines rushed to offer lists of alternative trainers after Rishi

William Wragg, who shared other politicians’ personal numbers as part of a parliamentary sexting scam, can no longer sit as a Tory MP after he “voluntarily” gave up the Conservative whip. Mr Wragg yesterday resigned as vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers and also stepped down from his role heading the Commons’ Public

Home Office asylum decisions are being overturned by more than half of applicants, as Sky News reveals a convicted sex offender was awarded refugee status after a judge ruled he would be at risk of “mob violence” in Afghanistan. The man, who was convicted of “outraging public decency and exposure” in 2017, was placed on

Labour will pursue tax avoiders to fund its commitments on schools and the NHS after the government adopted its plan to raise revenue by abolishing the non-dom tax status. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to announce the party’s plans to raise £5bn a year by the end of the next parliament to fund its

The UK has a “duty” to support Israel “in her hour of need” despite the killing of three British aid workers in Gaza, a government minister has said. A row has been raging over whether the UK should continue to sell arms to the country after the incident last week, with questions over whether Israel

Angela Rayner has “played by the rules” when it comes to her tax affairs, her shadow cabinet colleague has said, amid further claims around her former living arrangements. Labour’s deputy leader has come under the spotlight in recent weeks over the sale of an ex-council house she previously owned in Stockport, having been accused of

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner is facing fresh questions over her tax affairs – and there’s a feeling in Westminster that they will not be the last. It’s the same allegation that keeps popping up around whether she paid enough tax on the sale of her home in Stockport in 2015. She had bought her

The UK is “shocked by the bloodshed” but continues to stand by “Israel’s right to defend its security”, Rishi Sunak has said, six months on from the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Commemorating the victims of 7 October, the prime minister called Hamas’s strike as “the most appalling attack” and “the worst loss of Jewish

A Conservative MP has said he was targeted in the parliamentary honeytrap sexting scam and was the politician that first alerted police and Commons authorities. Dr Luke Evans, the MP for Bosworth, in Leicestershire, said that he was approached in March by two different numbers on WhatsApp “who purported to know me”. In a video

MP safety has long been a concern in Westminster but the issue is back under the spotlight after conservative MP William Wragg was this week caught up in a “phishing” scandal. The parliament security team insist it takes online safety and security extremely seriously, but MPs are facing cyber attacks that have become more sophisticated

The chancellor has praised Tory MP William Wragg for offering a “courageous and fulsome” apology after admitting to The Times that he had shared MPs’ personal phone numbers with someone he met on a dating app. Jeremy Hunt said the news had been a “great cause for concern”. Speaking to reporters in Guildford, he said:

“Why do politicians never answer the question?” It’s something Beth Rigby, Jess Philips and Ruth Davidson get asked all the time – so this week, they’ve dedicated the whole episode to answering your questions. From why backbenchers ask seemingly pointless questions at PMQs to the importance of Instagram for the next general election – and

Civil servants overseeing arms exports to Israel have requested to “cease work immediately” over fears they could be complicit in war crimes in Gaza. Officials in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) have raised concerns with senior civil servants that they may be liable if it is deemed Israel has broken international law. Politics

Tens of thousands of people are facing crippling tax demands from HMRC for tax their employers failed to pay. It’s an injustice that has been compared with the Horizon scandal. At least 23 victims have taken – or attempted to take – their own lives. For the first time, two of those who tried to

Labour could be swept into power with a landslide of more than 400 seats at the next general election, according to the latest YouGov mega poll. The survey of 18,000 people predicts Sir Keir Starmer’s party will gain a parliamentary majority of 154 – almost double what the Conservatives achieved with Boris Johnson in 2019.