Politics

The UK government will not intervene to stop a pilot drug consumption room in Scotland, Alister Jack has said. The Scottish secretary said ministers at Holyrood now have “no more excuses” to act after he made the commitment in the House of Commons. SNP MPs had pressed the Westminster government to outline its position after

From the pensions triple lock to the cost of mortgages, Brexit to tuition fees: many of the biggest political questions of recent years have been framed as a contest between the often-conflicting interests of younger and older voters. The intergenerational friction has come to the fore this week amid the debate about the pensions triple

The Conservatives reportedly dropped two potential candidates to become MPs after MI5 warned that they could be spies for China. The security service contacted the Tory Party last year and in 2021 advising the pair should not be included on the central list of candidates, according to The Times. The newspaper reported the pair had

A lack of cyber security experts in Whitehall should “send a chill down the government’s spine”, according to a new report. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said there was a “digital skills shortage” across departments, with just 4.5% of the civil service made up of tech professionals – compared to between 8% and 12% in

The level of illness among the UK population is costing lives and harming the economy, a report has warned – after the number of people off work due to long-term sickness hit another record high. More than 2.6 million people now do not have jobs because of their health, according to latest employment data from

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Steve Barclay will today meet health experts as they seek to “mitigate winter pressures” hitting the NHS this year. The pair will hold a roundtable with clinical leaders in Downing Street, aiming to “improve performance and drive forward planning” to ease the impact on the health service in

Angela Rayner wasn’t wearing her trademark chunky boots when she addressed the TUC conference in Liverpool But she put the boot into Labour’s trade union critics in a powerful speech, ending with a call for the unions to “come together, stand together and campaign side by side”. No stilettos, either, just a pair of smart

Downing Street has said it remains “committed” to the pensions triple lock amid a debate about its cost to the public purse. The triple lock is a government promise to raise publicly funded pensions by the level of average earnings, inflation or 2.5% – whichever is the highest. It means the state pension could rise

Angela Rayner declared the battle to win over voters at the next general election is “getting started” as she revealed Labour’s vision to boost workers’ rights. In a speech at the TUC conference in Liverpool, Labour’s deputy leader gave a “cast iron commitment” to push through an employment rights bill in the party’s first 100

Rishi Sunak has refused to say whether he was personally warned about potential health risks for asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm after bacteria was discovered on the barge. All 39 asylum seekers were removed from the vessel, which is currently docked in Portland, Dorset, on Friday after Legionella bacteria was found in the vessel’s

Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel has accused her former department of being “evasive” and “secretive” over how long it plans to use a former RAF base to house asylum seekers. In a letter to her successor Suella Braverman and the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, earlier on Monday, Dame Priti wrote that the “lack of

Ministers are injecting £250m into the NHS ahead of winter as they try to get a grip on record waiting times for treatment. The funding for 30 NHS organisations across England will create 900 new beds in urgent and emergency care services to avoid patients needing to be admitted and occupying hospital spaces. However, a

Rishi Sunak still has confidence in the home secretary and her department despite the ongoing controversy around the Bibby Stockholm, Downing Street has said. The prime minister’s official spokesman defended the Home Office’s response to the discovery of Legionella on the barge last week, but said lessons would be learned following the incident. Asylum seekers

The government has defended its immigration strategy after deaths in the English Channel prompted renewed criticism of the “stop the boats” pledge – including from Tory MPs. At least six people died after a small boat crossing from France to the UK capsized and sank, in what has been described as an “appalling and preventable”

The deaths of six people after a migrant boat capsized in the English Channel has been described as an “appalling and preventable tragedy”. Campaigners are urging the government to create more safe routes to the UK, with the Refugee Council warning “more people will die” unless urgent action is taken. Meanwhile, MPs from across the

Jeremy Hunt’s younger brother has died from an ‘aggressive’ form of cancer aged 53. Charlie Hunt, a father-of-three, died peacefully on August 2, his family said in a statement to the Daily Telegraph. The chancellor spoke last month about how the disease had hit his family, with his sibling having been diagnosed with sarcoma in

The next general election is only 17 months away at most. It is already seen as a “change election” – meaning that, on the basis of opinion polls and recent political contests, the party in power is likely to switch. Conventional wisdom is that the Conservatives will most likely be out after 14 years continuously

Asylum seekers are being removed from the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset after Legionella bacteria was found in the water. All of those on board are likely to be taken to new accommodation as a precautionary measure. Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick is understood to be chairing meetings about the situation. Legionella bacteria, which is commonly

The discovery of Legionella on board the Bibby Stockholm is the latest embarrassing setback in a plan beset with controversy and delay from the very start. Thankfully, no one on board has developed any symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially serious form of pneumonia spread by infected water droplets. The Home Office insist the 39

The number of people who have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the past five years is now likely to have passed 100,000. Government figures show that since 2018, when records began, 99,960 people have made the perilous journey from France to the UK as of Tuesday. With more than 40 people believed