UK

Penny Mordaunt has dropped out of the Conservative leadership race at the last minute after failing to secure 100 backers, paving the way for Rishi Sunak to become the next prime minister. The leader of the Commons had struggled to get fellow MPs to publicly declare as former chancellor Mr Sunak’s support surged. In a

Boris Johnson has pulled out of the Conservative leadership race. His withdrawal leaves the path open for Rishi Sunak, who has a chance of picking up the keys to Downing Street as early as today. The former prime minister had the public backing of 59 Tory MPs – far short of the 100 required to

Liz Truss’s “disastrous premiership” means British families are spending an extra £530 a month on their mortgage than they were a year ago, Labour has claimed. The Opposition claims the effects of higher interest rates will be felt by tens of thousands of households for years to come. Labour’s analysis is based on the current

Boris Johnson has been pictured by Sky News making his way back to the UK. The former prime minister has been on holiday in the Dominican Republic but is set to return to London after telling an ally that he will run to lead the country again. He is flying back in economy alongside his

Boris Johnson has arrived back in the UK as speculation mounts that the former prime minister will enter the Tory leadership race. Mr Johnson has been on holiday in the Dominican Republic but flew home after Liz Truss’s dramatic resignation on Thursday. The Conservative Party has a week to pick a new leader and prime

The second Tory leadership race in just three months is underway following the extraordinary resignation of Liz Truss. The now-outgoing PM was forced from office after just 44 days following a seismic few weeks in Westminster that saw her tax-slashing mini-budget crash and burn. Ms Truss’s resignation, signalling the end of the shortest term by

A cabinet minister has told Sky News they believe Boris Johnson could secure the 100 nominations he needs from Conservative MPs to progress in the Tory leadership race if he were to stand. Jacob Rees-Mogg became the first cabinet minister to publicly declare his backing for the former prime minister this morning, posting on social

An investigation has been launched into the chaotic scenes in the House of Commons where Tory MPs were accused of “manhandling” their colleagues into voting. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle announced he has asked the Serjeant at Arms and other officials to investigate allegations made about incidents in the Commons on Wednesday night. He will be

A Labour motion that would have forced a vote on a bill to ban fracking has been defeated amid farcical scenes in the House of Commons. Politicians have claimed Conservative MPs were being “manhandled” and bullied into voting with the government to oppose a ban, counter to what their party manifesto said in 2019. Tory

At least 45 baby deaths could have been avoided at two Kent hospitals, a report into maternity services at an NHS trust has found. Dr Bill Kirkup, chair of the independent inquiry into maternity at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust said his panel had heard “harrowing” accounts from families receiving “suboptimal” care. He

The NHS is setting up data-driven “war rooms” as it prepares for what could be England’s “toughest winter on record”, new plans have revealed. Under the government’s winter preparation plan, which aims to help the NHS cope during the colder months, the 24/7 “care traffic control centres” are expected to be created in every local

China has recruited dozens of former British military pilots to teach the Chinese armed forces how to defeat western warplanes and helicopters in a “threat to UK interests”, officials have revealed. One official said some 30 mainly ex-fast jet but also some helicopter pilots – lured by annual salaries of around £240,000 – are currently

Liz Truss has apologised for the “mistakes” she has made in her first few volatile weeks as prime minister – but insisted she will lead the Tories into the next general election. Speaking for the first time after almost all the tax cuts announced in last month’s mini-budget were scrapped, Ms Truss said: “I recognise

Jeremy Hunt has revealed he is reversing “almost all” of the tax cuts announced in his predecessor’s mini-budget and is scaling back support on energy bills. In an emergency statement, the chancellor said a 1p cut to income tax will be delayed “indefinitely” until the UK’s finances improve instead of being introduced in April 2023

Conservative MPs have started to publicly call for Liz Truss to resign after just six weeks as prime minister following the economic turmoil in the wake of the mini-budget. Crispin Blunt, former chair of the foreign affairs select committee, was the first Tory MP to put his head above the parapet since Kwasi Kwarteng was

The home secretary has unveiled plans for a major crackdown on climate protesters as she pledged to stop demonstrators holding the public “to ransom”. Under the plans, Suella Braverman will give police stronger powers to take a more “proactive” approach when dealing with protests that threaten or cause “serious disruption or a serious adverse impact

Jeremy Hunt has admitted the government went “too far, too fast” and that he will have to take some “very difficult decisions” on spending and tax to get the economy back up and running. Earlier, the new chancellor admitted there “were mistakes” in Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget in an interview with Sky News.

Be in absolutely no doubt, the prime minister is in deep trouble. She has sacked her chancellor, committed a second major U-turn on her mini-budget, and junked the core of her economic policy. And she did so, awkwardly and uncomfortably, in no more than eight minutes. Government descends into chaos as PM faces battle to

Liz Truss has said “I want to be honest, this is difficult” after sacking her chancellor and reversing key policies of her government’s growth plan. In a news conference shortly after dismissing Kwasi Kwarteng, Ms Truss said: “The way we deliver our mission has to change.” But she said the “mission remains” to deliver a

The government is set to raise corporation tax despite promising not to do so in the mini-budget, Sky News understands. The prime minister had vowed to scrap the planned tax rise from 19% to 25% next April, a key policy of her pro-business growth plan, during the Conservative leadership campaign. The change in direction is