Politics

Rishi Sunak hasn’t had many wins in his short premiership. But one he could legitimately claim was being a prime minister who improved Britain’s standing in the world – drawing a line under the bumpy Brexit years and provocative style of his predecessors Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. He was the prime minister who delivered

Former health secretary Matt Hancock played a key role in the UK’s response to the COVID pandemic – and his decisions will now be scrutinised during the official inquiry. Mr Hancock was a familiar face at the regular press conferences that took place during that period, giving updates to the public about social distancing measures,

Government officials have discussed legal ways they could block any export of the Elgin marbles, Sky News understands, as Downing Street cancelled a meeting between the prime minister and his Greek counterpart. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was due to meet Rishi Sunak in London on Tuesday morning, but Number 10 cancelled on Monday evening

A new pay offer has been made to NHS consultants which could end long-running strike action in England. The British Medical Association (BMA) said it would see most senior doctors get an extra 4.95% “investment in pay” for this financial year, on top of the 6% annual rise already awarded. Politics Live: Sadiq Khan tells

James Cleverly will announce he is still reviewing measures to reduce legal migration on Monday, as the government fights to convince its own backbenchers it can exercise control over UK borders. Next month Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will then set out the results of the review alongside details of the new treaty with Rwanda and

Reform UK leader Richard Tice has denied reports that Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson was offered money to defect to his party.  Mr Tice told Sky News that “no money or cash has been offered to any Tory MP whatsoever”. He added: “This is about Lee Anderson using the threat of defecting to Reform to

If the Conservatives thought the autumn statement would bring the party a much needed boost – announcing cuts to national insurance and business taxes – some very big numbers were lurking just around the corner that would ruin the party. The very next day, the Office for National Statistics released figures that showed net migration

Pensioners have started receiving payments of up to £600 to help them with the cost of living throughout the winter. The government says around 11.5 million pensioners will be receiving the winter fuel payments for the second year running. The winter fuel payments come on top of the additional £300 provided per household through the

Boris Johnson has heaped further pressure on Rishi Sunak over the UK’s “all-time high” net migration figures, as he suggested “demographic change” had led to “race riots” in Dublin. The former prime minister criticised net migration numbers released this week as “way too big” and suggested imposing a minimum income of £40,000 for those who

Nicola Sturgeon is among senior figures accused of “misfeasance” in former first minister Alex Salmond’s fresh legal action against the Scottish government. Mr Salmond took the government to court in 2019 and was awarded £512,000 over its mishandling of harassment complaints against him. The former SNP leader – who was first minister between 2007 and

It is more bad news for the government on migration. There are lots of headline figures coming out from the Office for National Statistics, but the most important one is this: net migration to the UK in the year to December 2022 has been revised up to 745,000. That is a huge number: higher than

James Cleverly has admitted to calling a Labour MP “s***” – but denied describing Stockton-on-Tees as a “s***hole”, a source has said. The home secretary came under scrutiny for his language after this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions, with claims he made the rude remark about the northern town following a question from Stockton North MP

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has insisted his tax cuts are about “long-term growth” for the economy, calling it “silly” to think they were instead about the timing of the next election. The Conservative Party has been told to be ready for a general election from 1 January, a senior government source told Sky News’s political editor

Jeremy Hunt has acknowledged it will “take time” to bring taxes down, but he had “made a start” with his autumn statement. The chancellor admitted the tax take – the total the government collects – stood at £45bn, outstripping the benefits of the cuts announced in the fiscal event. The headline-grabbing announcement in Mr Hunt’s

There is “no doubt” the Falkland Islands are British, Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson has said, after Argentina’s new president vowed to “get them back”. Javier Milei, who was elected in Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday, has said Buenos Aires had “non-negotiable” sovereignty over the Falklands, known as Islas Malvinas by Argentines. He said his government would

Professor Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, will be the latest high-profile figure to reveal his first-hand experience of the COVID pandemic when he gives evidence to the inquiry later today. Sir Chris became a household name alongside the chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, when the pair appeared alongside politicians at the daily

Boris Johnson was left “bamboozled” by the science around COVID, according to the government’s then chief scientific adviser. Extracts from Sir Patrick Vallance’s diaries were shown to the official inquiry into the handling of the pandemic on Monday, with several references to the prime minister’s difficulty in getting to grips with the data he was

Ofsted is seen as “not fit for purpose” and schools should “self-evaluate their progress” instead, an inquiry has said. The Beyond Ofsted inquiry into the education inspectorate for England said it found Ofsted has a “detrimental impact” that is perceived by some as “toxic” – and called for “transformational change”. The inquiry chairman, Lord Jim

An MP found guilty of racial abuse has announced he will stand down at the next election. Bob Stewart, who has represented the London constituency of Beckenham since 2010, revealed his decision in a brief statement on X, formerly Twitter, which made no reference to the recent court case. Following his conviction, the 74-year-old surrendered

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says “everything is on the table” when it comes to tax cuts in this week’s autumn statement. Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Mr Hunt said his speech on Wednesday would focus on growth, and pledged to “remove the barriers that stop businesses growing”. Politics live: Chancellor facing questions