Politics

Boris Johnson is not a good role model for children, according to a top government adviser who is known as Britain’s strictest headmistress. Katharine Birbalsingh, chair of the social mobility commission, told Sky News’s Beth Rigby Interviews that from his personal life to his messy hairstyle, the three-times married prime minister causes her to “raise

Michael Gove has said he would not run against Boris Johnson for leader of the Conservative Party after admitting he “made a mistake” when he scuppered the prime minister’s chances in 2016. The levelling up secretary told Sky News he “enthusiastically” voted for the prime minister to stay as party leader in Monday night’s confidence

Boris Johnson will announce new measures to help people to get on to the property ladder during a speech in which he pledges to hard-pressed UK households that “things will get better”. The prime minister will set out the plans during a speech in Lancashire on Thursday that will also commit him to reforms in

Conservative MPs should not change the rules to allow another confidence vote in the prime minister within a year, Sajid Javid has said. The health secretary said it was a “clear and decisive result” on Monday night when Boris Johnson won a confidence vote among his MPs – although 148 voted against him. There have

Boris Johnson has sought to draw a line under a bruising confidence vote by urging Cabinet ministers to focus on tax cutting and levelling up. The prime minister won the backing of Tory MPs by 211 votes to 148 – leaving allies to say it is now time to move on from questions about his

The prime minister’s anti-corruption tsar has resigned over Boris Johnson’s response to the Sue Gray report into partygate – and will vote for him to go tonight. John Penrose has sent his resignation letter to the PM just hours after it was announced a confidence vote in Mr Johnson’s leadership will take place between 6pm

Boris Johnson needed 180 of his 359 MPs to vote for him in order to stay on as party leader and prime minister. He got 211. That’s better than Margaret Thatcher in percentage terms, who was forced out just two days after winning the first round of a vote, but not as good as either

His supporters say he got Brexit done and saved the country by making the vaccine rollout happen before any other developed nation. His opponents say his record was marred by allegations of sleaze and mismanagement and that he was unfit for top office. Here are the main events – the highs and lows – of

A new law prohibiting the sale of ivory goods in the UK from today is a “landmark moment” in the protection of elephants, according to the government. But despite being widely welcomed by conservationists, there are concerns it doesn’t go far enough to protect other species. It has taken four years for the Ivory Act

Boris Johnson will make the NHS a key feature of a series of expected policy announcements in the coming days, as the PM bids to move on from a bruising week which reignited reports of an impending confidence vote. More than 40 Conservative MPs have publicly called on the prime minister to resign over the

A government consultation that could mean greater use of imperial measurements will be launched on Friday. In 2000, the EU weights and measures directive forced traders to use metric when selling packaged or loose goods such as fruit and veg. They can still use pounds and ounces but must also list grammes and kilos, except

Boris Johnson has said he was “very, very surprised” to receive a fine for attending a lockdown-breaking gathering in Downing Street. The prime minister, talking to Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts, was questioned on issues from partygate and Northern Ireland to nappies and his favourite book to read to his children. Asked by a teacher why

Syrian and Afghan refugees are believed to be on the list of people set to be deported to Rwanda in a fortnight, charities have said. Zoe Gardner, head of policy and advocacy at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), said 15 Syrians have been told they will be sent to Rwanda in

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s own ethics adviser has asked him to explain why he believes he has not broken the ministerial code after being fined for a lockdown breach. Lord Geidt said there was a “legitimate question” over whether the code has been broken – which would normally mean a minister would have to resign.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner have both received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary in relation to a potential breach of lockdown rules in April 2021. Sir Keir has come under pressure over an event in Durham in April 2021 with party colleagues when he was filmed having a drink and a

A cross-party group of MPs has told the logistics industry to “get its house in order”, calling for better overnight facilities for drivers and new ways to boost recruitment. The Commons transport select committee said that if the changes are not made within two years then the most profitable parts of the industry could face

Another Conservative MP has submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson, making him the 28th Tory to publicly call for him to go over the partygate scandal. John Stevenson, MP for Carlisle, said he has been “deeply disappointed” in the rule-breaking parties at Number 10 and Mr Johnson’s response to parliament. He said

The trickle of MPs publicly calling for Boris Johnson to resign is now a modest stream and gathering pace. And the dangerous thing is, the rebellion feels uncoordinated and therefore unpredictable. With the number of MPs openly questioning the prime minister‘s authority at 40, senior Conservatives are braced for the possibility of a vote of

The former cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom has blamed Boris Johnson for “unacceptable failings of leadership” over the partygate scandal. The former business secretary is the 40th Conservative MP to have publicly voiced their displeasure with the prime minister since he was fined by the Met for breaching lockdown rules in Downing Street, according to

One of the youngest MPs in the Conservative Party has become the 26th Tory to publicly call for Boris Johnson to resign over the partygate scandal. Elliot Colburn emailed his constituents to say that nothing within the Sue Gray report or the Met Police investigation has “convinced me that my decision to submit a letter