Politics

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has admitted the local election results were “not good” for the Conservatives, but insists Rishi Sunak is “starting to deliver in a quiet way for the British people”. Her party lost more than a thousand seats after voters went to the polls across England, seeing Labour take over as the largest

Tory Cabinet member Penny Mordaunt emerged as one of the stars of the coronation as she carried an enormous sword and then presented another to the King during the ceremony. In her role as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council, Ms Mordaunt carried the 17th-century Sword of State

If there is a key takeaway from this year’s local elections, it’s that it has been a punishing night for the Tories, with more than 1,000 council seat losses. In his first electoral test as prime minister, Rishi Sunak saw the Conservatives lose control of 50 councils – a result party chairman Greg Hands said

Labour would fall short of an overall majority in parliament, a vote share projection shows following local elections in England. Based on analysis of change in vote share across 1,500 wards Labour is the most popular party with 36%, with the Conservative share 29%, Lib Dems with 18% and others standing at 17%. See full

The Conservatives have lost control of three councils, while Labour gained two in early local election results. Labour candidate Chris Cooke also won the race to become mayor of Middlesbrough – taking the role from an independent incumbent. Sir Keir Starmer’s party has taken Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent from no overall control, and the Tories have

Polls have closed in this year’s crunch local elections – with results expected to start rolling in from midnight. Voters are deciding who runs services in 230 (out of 317) local authorities in England, with around 8,000 councillors’ seats up for grabs. Mayors are also being chosen in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough in what

Sir Keir Starmer was wooing Sue Gray to become his chief of staff for at least four months before announcing her appointment, Sky News has discovered. The Labour leader has repeatedly refused to disclose when the first contact between the pair took place. But Sky News understands his first discussion with the top civil servant

Understanding the context of four years ago, when most of these seats were last contested, should help us to follow the council results as they are declared.  The Conservatives were unpopular, suffered a serious loss of councils and more than 1,300 seats. It wasn’t Labour that inflicted such terrible losses – in fact, Labour lost

Voters in parts of England are heading to the polls to cast their ballots for councillors and mayors in this year’s local elections. Elections are being held in 230 of England’s 317 councils, within district, borough, county borough and unitary authority councils, along with four mayoral elections in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough. There are

There are three ways to judge how well the political parties do on election night. First, by the number of council seats gained, secondly by the number of councils won and lost and thirdly by looking at vote shares – the proportion of people who vote for each of the main parties. None of them

Sir Keir Starmer could have “serious questions to answer” if he was talking to Sue Gray while she was advising the MPs investigating partygate, a senior minister has told Sky News. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was speaking as the cabinet office is set to publish an “update into the circumstances leading to the resignation of

Labour says there is an emerging “pattern of behaviour” after a company partially owned by the prime minister’s wife was revealed to have received taxpayer cash. It comes after it was revealed that Akshata Murty held shares in a childcare company which stands to benefit from policy announced in the budget. Ms Murty, who is

School logos should not be compulsory on uniforms, the Welsh government has said. The government in Cardiff has published new guidance following a public consultation to find how best to support families during the cost of living crisis. The Welsh government’s education minister Jeremy Miles has said schools in Wales should “review” their uniform policies

Liz Truss is disputing a bill she has been asked to pay relating to a country house which she had use of as foreign secretary. The bill is reportedly for £12,000 but the former prime minister’s spokesman claims the actual figure is lower. The invoice, first reported in The Mail on Sunday, covers the period

Striking rail staff should want to stand in solidarity with fellow Ukrainian workers rather than “cynically target” the Eurovision Song Contest, which the UK is hosting on behalf of the war-torn nation, the transport secretary has said. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Mark Harper argued the stricken country’s train network has

Sir Keir Starmer has denied that a Labour attack advert aimed at Rishi Sunak is racist. A series of recent ads, which have been described as “gutter politics” and criticised by some of Labour’s own MPs, have targeted the prime minister personally. In an interview with Sky News, Sophy Ridge questioned the party leader about

Labour will perform strongest in the Midlands and north of England next week, according to an exclusive new local election projection for Sky News, which suggests the “Red wall” is starting to abandon the Conservatives. The Tories are also likely to struggle in key bellwether seats elsewhere in England – although the pollster did not

Richard Sharp has resigned as chairman of the BBC in the wake of a report into his appointment following a cronyism row. Mr Sharp said the report found he had breached the government’s code for the public appointments but said it was “inadvertent”. The matter has been a “distraction” for the BBC and he has

More than 3,000 people eligible to come to the UK are trapped in Afghanistan, the government has admitted. In 2021, the UK organised a hurried evacuation to get vulnerable Afghans and British citizens out of the country after the Taliban seized control of Kabul. But responding to a damning report from the Commons’ defence committee

Labour insiders have expressed concern about Tory plans to ramp up attacks on Sir Keir Starmer’s tenure as director of public prosecutions, Sky News can reveal. The Labour leader has repeatedly referenced his time leading the Crown Prosecution Service between 2008 and 2013 as a core part of his political pitch to voters. At PMQs