Politics

Voters across Northern Ireland will head to the ballot box for local elections this Thursday. On 18 May, people across the country will get the opportunity to decide who is responsible for local issues, from leisure services to bin collections. Local elections are often used by voters to voice their opinion on national political parties,

The leader of Plaid Cymru, Adam Price, is to step down after a damning report into the party’s culture. Mr Price and the party’s chair Marc Jones were forced to apologise after the report – commissioned by the party’s ruling committee – found that the party had “failed to implement a zero-tolerance approach to sexual

Former Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has launched legal action against Matt Hancock after joining actor Laurence Fox’s Reclaim Party. Mr Bridgen was expelled from the Conservative Party after claiming the COVID-19 vaccine was “the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”. Former health secretary Mr Hancock, who was suspended from the Tories for appearing on

Rishi Sunak travelled to Southampton using a taxpayer-funded helicopter, Downing Street has admitted, despite the journey taking just over an hour on the train. The prime minister was visiting the city to attend a GP surgery and pharmacy to promote the government’s latest intervention to reduce the strain on GP practices. According to rail schedules,

Sir Keir Starmer has refused seven times to rule out doing a deal with the Liberal Democrats after the next election if Labour finds itself the biggest party at Westminster but short of an overall majority. Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, Sir Keir declined to say whether he would do a deal

The once “untouchable” SNP is enduring humiliation amid its biggest crisis in decades. The governing party of Scotland has been tearing itself apart in recent months as its finances come under the spotlight. Polls have plummeted, arrests have been made, suspects detained, and a luxury motorhome seized as a long-running police investigation picks up pace.

Labour’s new council leaders have pledged to deliver emergency cost of living plans within 100 days of taking office. The party has 22 new council leaders as a result of last week’s local elections, which saw Labour triumph in Tory heartlands including Medway, Swindon and East Staffordshire. On Tuesday, the new council leaders will meet

Metropolitan Police bosses are to be questioned by the London Assembly over the force’s treatment of protesters during this weekend’s coronation celebrations. A total of 64 people were arrested – including 13 people to “prevent a breach of the peace” and a man with an unused megaphone, who police said could “scare the horses”. Four

The government has announced £240m of funding for GP practices, aiming to help patients to get appointments more quickly. The cash will be given to surgeries to “embrace the latest technology”, replacing old phone systems and creating online tools to “ensure patients get the care they need as soon as possible”. As part of what

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