Politics

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised to “fix” the “mess” the Conservative government left in the economy, amid reports of a £20bn “black hole” in the public finances. Ms Reeves, who is currently on a visit to the G20 in Brazil, told broadcasters she aimed to tell the world that the UK “is open for business”

An independent review into the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has revealed “significant internal failings” that are hampering its ability to keep a check on health and social care institutions. An interim report from Dr Penny Dash found the CQC’s ability to identify poor performance at hospitals, care homes and GP practices had been impeded by

Mel Stride has become the fourth Conservative MP to enter the race to become the party’s next leader. The former work and pensions secretary – who now holds the shadow role – hinted his candidacy to Sky News earlier this week, saying there was a “reasonable chance” he would run. But he has now officially

Robert Jenrick will join the race to run for Conservative Party leader this morning. The former minister is the third Tory to throw their hat into the ring to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the party after he stepped down following a devastating loss at the general election three weeks ago. Mr Jenrick served

Former security minister Tom Tugendhat has joined the race to replace Rishi Sunak as the next leader of the Conservative Party. He is the second person to formally join the race, with shadow home secretary James Cleverly announcing his candidacy yesterday. Nominations for the race opened up this evening, with Mr Tugendhat, Mr Cleverly, Suella

Eluned Morgan is set to become Welsh Labour’s new leader after she ran unopposed. Baroness Morgan, 57, is to replace Vaughan Gething as head of Welsh Labour after he stepped down last Tuesday following the protest resignation of four members of his government. She will be Welsh Labour’s first female leader and is set to

Seven Labour MPs have been suspended from the parliamentary party after voting against the government to call for the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap. Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, Zarah Sultana, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Ian Byrne have all had the whip suspended for six months, at which point the decision will

Former home secretary James Cleverly has said there is a “reasonable chance” he will run to be leader of the Tory party. The senior Conservative strongly hinted he would throw his hat in the ring to replace Rishi Sunak. Mr Cleverly, shadow home secretary, told Sky News’ Breakfast with Kay Burley: “There is a reasonable

Rishi Sunak’s replacement as Conservative leader will be announced on 2 November, the Tory party has confirmed. The party said the former prime minister, who led the Conservatives to their worst-ever defeat on 4 July, will remain acting leader until that date. Nominations to succeed Mr Sunak will open on Wednesday at 7pm and will

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard are here with their guide to the day ahead in politics. On the morning after Joe Biden announced he would withdraw from the US presidential race, Jack and Sam talk about all the developments across the pond. And with about a week and a

Unfunded spending commitments crash the economy, a Treasury minister has warned, as he defended keeping the two-child benefit cap in what is shaping up to be the first big test of the Labour government. Speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, James Murray highlighted the market turmoil triggered by Liz Truss’s 2022 mini-budget

A Treasury minister has said there is a cost to not striking a deal on public sector pay in the face of reported proposals for inflation-busting wage hikes costing billions of pounds. But speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, James Murray insisted the Labour government’s fiscal rules were “non-negotiable” as he refused

Independent pay review bodies have reportedly told ministers millions of public sector workers should be given a 5.5% increase in pay. The proposed above-inflation increase for teachers and around 1.3 million NHS staff, reported by The Times, is well above the figure the government is thought to have been preparing for. Sir Keir Starmer’s government

Labour’s Emily Thornberry, who was snubbed for a cabinet role by Sir Keir Starmer, is running to be chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, she has told Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast. Ms Thornberry, who served as shadow attorney general when Labour was in opposition, told political editor Beth Rigby she was “very sad” and

The number of people arriving in the UK via small boat Channel crossings this year has now passed 15,000, the government has confirmed. A total of 317 people made the dangerous journey across six boats on Thursday, bringing 2024’s total so far to 15,076. Politics live: Demand for Cobra meeting over global IT outages The

The suspension of UK funding for a UN relief agency working in Gaza has been overturned by the government. In January, the Foreign Office paused any future funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) after allegations surfaced that some members of staff had been involved in the 7 October attacks in Israel

The prime minister has announced £84m of new funding for African and Middle Eastern countries in an attempt to tackle the migration crisis “at source”. Speaking in a press conference at Blenheim Palace, where a raft of leaders have been meeting for a European Political Community (EPC) summit, Sir Keir Starmer said the new money

More than 192,000 children in England and Wales have parents serving a sentence in prison, new figures have revealed. It is the first time the government has shown the scale of young people impacted – an estimated 192,912 – who, without support, often follow their parents into crime, studies show. But charities say releasing the

Sir Keir Starmer will pledge to “fire the starting gun” on a closer relationship with Europe as he hosts a major summit, set to focus on Ukraine and migration.  The prime minister will welcome at least 45 European leaders to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire for a meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), which was

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to “get Britain building” in the King’s Speech. The prime minister vowed to accelerate the delivery of more housing and infrastructure projects by changing existing planning laws – something that featured heavily in Labour’s general election campaign. The King said: “My ministers will get Britain building, including through planning reform,