Politics

This was the week it was meant to be done.  Having forced the House of Commons to vote down the Lords’ amendments to the prime minister’s flagship illegal immigration bill three times, peers would typically have bowed out of the battle this time around and passed the Rwanda bill. Instead, they sought to amend the

The government is “working on operationalising” Rwanda flights, a minister has said – amid reports RAF planes could be used for the controversial deportation scheme. Laura Trott did not deny a story in The Times newspaper which said migrants might have to be flown to the east African nation on RAF Voyagers because the Home

New defeats for the government’s Rwanda bill in the House of Lords have set up a parliamentary showdown on Wednesday – forcing MPs to consider changes to Rishi Sunak’s stop the boats plan. Downing Street wants to get the bill – which declares Rwanda a safe country and stops appeals from asylum seekers being sent

Nigel Farage said police would “have to drag me off stage” after officers moved to shut down the National Conservatism conference in Brussels. Local officials arrived as the former Brexit Party leader was finishing a speech at the event, which is also due to hear from Hungary’s pro-Putin leader Viktor Orbán and two Conservative MPs.

MPs have rejected a series of Lords’ amendments to the government’s Rwanda bill – as a week of parliamentary showdown on the legislation begins. The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill is currently in the middle of what is known as ping-pong, where the two houses propose, debate and vote on amendments. So far,

Lord David Cameron has urged Israel to “think with head as well as heart” and not retaliate to Iran’s missile attack. The foreign secretary said the nation needed to be “smart as well as tough” and think about the consequences of escalating violence in the region. UN warns of ‘devastating conflict’ – Middle East latest

MPs return to Westminster today after two weeks away, to the possibility of dangerous escalation in the Middle East. But this is a week the prime minister will also need to avoid danger domestically if he is to see through some of the key policies on which his political survival depends. One is the legislation

UK jets shot down “a number of drones” launched by Iran in its unprecedented attack on Israel last night, Rishi Sunak has said. The prime minister called the assault by Tehran a “dangerous and unnecessary escalation” of conflict in the Middle East, warning the “the fallout for regional stability would be hard to overstate” had

Liz Truss has revealed she considered abolishing the UK’s economic watchdog and replacing leaders at the Treasury and Bank of England, accusing the bodies of being “pro-China” and “pro-Remain”. The country’s shortest serving prime minister said she discussed scrapping the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) with her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng but concluded it would have

Angela Rayner has said she will “do the right thing and step down” if she is found to have committed a crime in the police investigation into her former living arrangements. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed earlier today that it was re-examining claims the deputy Labour leader may have broken electoral law over information she

As with most political scandals, the heat in the Angela Rayner housing row is less about the (alleged) crime and more about the (alleged) cover-up. Or, to put it another way, this is all about how honest and transparent the Labour deputy leader has been in responding to allegations about her living arrangements a decade

Police have launched an investigation into Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner. Ms Rayner has faced claims she may have broken electoral law over information she gave about her living situation a decade ago. A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) spokesperson said: “We’re investigating whether any offences have been committed. This follows a reassessment of the information

A libel case against Science Secretary Michelle Donelan has now cost the tax-payer £34,000. It was revealed last month that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) had paid out £15,000 in damages to an academic whom the minister had falsely accused of supporting Hamas in a letter she posted on X. But the

A Tory MP appears to have endorsed Reform’s Lee Anderson, after his former colleague promised not to campaign against him. Mr Anderson – who jumped ship after losing the Tory whip in February – posted on Facebook that he would not campaign with his new party at the next election in four seats won by

Rishi Sunak and other high-profile Conservatives could keep their seats because of voter ID confusion in the next general election, a new poll suggests. The government passed legislation in 2022 requiring Britons to show photo ID despite warnings it would prevent thousands from voting. The new rules came into force last year – with a

It was the picture that launched warnings of the “death” of a popular trainer: the prime minister in a box-fresh pair of Adidas Sambas, paired with suit trousers and a white shirt.  He was accused of “ruining” an “eternally cool sneaker” by GQ, while other magazines rushed to offer lists of alternative trainers after Rishi

William Wragg, who shared other politicians’ personal numbers as part of a parliamentary sexting scam, can no longer sit as a Tory MP after he “voluntarily” gave up the Conservative whip. Mr Wragg yesterday resigned as vice-chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers and also stepped down from his role heading the Commons’ Public

The Tory MP at the heart of a Westminster sexting scandal has stood down from two top Commons posts. William Wragg, the MP for Hazel Grove, has resigned as the chair of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACA) and vice chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs. Mr Wragg, who

Labour will pursue tax avoiders to fund its commitments on schools and the NHS after the government adopted its plan to raise revenue by abolishing the non-dom tax status. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to announce the party’s plans to raise £5bn a year by the end of the next parliament to fund its

The UK has a “duty” to support Israel “in her hour of need” despite the killing of three British aid workers in Gaza, a government minister has said. A row has been raging over whether the UK should continue to sell arms to the country after the incident last week, with questions over whether Israel