Politics

Defence minister Ben Wallace says he will stand down at the next election. Mr Wallace, the longest-serving Conservative defence secretary, said in an interview with The Times: “I’m not standing next time.” He added that he will not be resigning “prematurely” and forcing a by-election. Mr Wallace also confirmed he would leave the cabinet at

Ben Wallace – the longest-serving Conservative defence secretary – is considering leaving government in an anticipated autumn reshuffle, Sky News understands. It follows a failed UK bid to make Mr Wallace, 53, the next head of NATO and as the prime minister reportedly prepares to refresh his top team ahead of next year’s election. The

MPs should “focus on serving their constituency” rather than on second jobs, Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson has said, in reaction to reports from Sky News. Research by our Westminster Accounts project today revealed MPs earned an average £233 per hour for roles outside of parliament – 17 times higher than the national average and over

The government has “no strategy” to tackle the threat from China and has left the UK “severely handicapped” due to its “short-termist approach”, a new report has claimed. The Intelligence and Security Committee has published its work on the threat the country poses, saying China has managed to “successfully penetrate every sector of the UK’s

A powerful group of northern Tory MPs are being scrutinised by the parliamentary expenses watchdog after a Sky News investigation into the way they use public money. The investigation found nearly two dozen MPs received political donations from a private donor to help them with campaigning – weeks after they joined the Northern Research Group

Thousands of children with special educational needs or disabilities are missing out on the education they are entitled to because of huge delays in the system designed to support them. A record half a million pupils now have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) – a legal document setting out a child or young

Boris Johnson ally Nadine Dorries is facing a potential investigation over alleged “communications” she made to civil servants regarding her thwarted peerage. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said he had referred the messages Ms Dorries allegedly sent to senior civil servants to Tory chief whip Simon Hart and Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle. He said he had

Theresa May has attacked the government’s Illegal Migration Bill, saying it would “enable more slave drivers to… make money out of human misery” and “consign more people to slavery”. The former prime minister, who has long campaigned on tackling modern slavery in the UK, said ministers wanted to use the new legislation to “stop the

Rishi Sunak has hinted there will be no tax cuts on offer from the government before the next general election, as his party faces three by-elections next week. A number of Conservative backbenchers have been pushing the prime minister for reductions to a range of levies, including corporation tax, income tax and fuel duty. But

Rishi Sunak will call on the UK’s NATO allies to commit to spending a minimum of 2% of their GDP on defence as he attends an alliance summit in Lithuania. The prime minister will argue the commitment will be crucial to NATO’s ability to deter and defend against the kind of tactics Russian President Vladimir

A Cabinet minister has suggested the BBC presenter who has been suspended for allegedly paying for sexually explicit images of a teenager should only be named once a “full” investigation has taken place. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk agreed there was a “public interest” in the broadcaster being named but said it would not be appropriate

She could be the most powerful woman in Britain if the election goes her way. Joining Sophy Ridge on the podcast is the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, who explains more about her vision for Britain, and why she’s not a big fan of Just Stop Oil. For the government, financial secretary to the Treasury, Victoria