Politics

A senior Labour politician who lost their seat in a shock result on election night has hinted at a future to return to parliament. Jonathan Ashworth, the former Labour MP for Leicester South who was defeated by an independent candidate, told Beth Rigby’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast that he was “still around” and “not going anywhere”.

Robert Jenrick thinks the Tories can win at the next election – but he added the party has a “mountain to climb” and must show “where we went wrong”. The former immigration minister will formally launch his campaign for the Conservative leadership on Friday. He will say the Tories need to undergo “serious changes” to

Sir Keir Starmer is holding an emergency meeting with senior police leaders following violent protests in the wake of the Southport stabbings. The prime minister will offer the government’s full backing to emergency service workers following outbreaks of violence in Southport, London, Hartlepool and Manchester this week. Sir Keir will meet senior police leaders on

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will hold an urgent meeting with BBC boss Tim Davie over his handling of the Huw Edwards case. Edwards, who was the BBC’s highest-paid newsreader before he resigned in April, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children on Wednesday. Questions have been raised over the BBC’s handling

Tax rises will likely be announced in the autumn budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves has admitted. She said Labour would stick to its election manifesto pledge not to raise national insurance, income tax or VAT. During the election campaign, Labour candidates avoided answering questions on whether other taxes would be increased – and the Conservatives warned

The sister of a man who has spent 12 years behind bars on an abolished prison sentence has pleaded with new justice minister Lord Timpson to intervene in her brother’s high-profile case. Clara White, whose brother Thomas White has been in prison since 2012 for stealing a mobile phone, said offenders like him who are

Angela Rayner has played down the prospect of a backlash among her own MPs at the government’s housebuilding push as she launched a task force for a series of new towns across the UK. The deputy prime minister – who yesterday announced a shake-up of the planning system to pave the way for 1.5 million new homes

The chancellor has said her predecessor Jeremy Hunt “lied” as she accused him of deliberately covering up the truth about the state of the UK’s finances. After announcing a series of spending cuts on Monday, Rachel Reeves said it was “unforgivable” the Conservatives left a £22bn funding black hole. Follow the latest updates from Westminster

Rachel Reeves has strongly hinted there will be tax rises in the autumn budget as she promised to be “honest” about “difficult” decisions that lie ahead. The chancellor said while she did not want to increase taxes on working people, the public had been “misled for too long” about the state of the country’s finances.

The government has offered junior doctors a 22.3% pay rise to end strike action, Sky News understands. The British Medical Association’s (BMA) junior doctors committee has agreed to put the offer to its members, and if it is accepted it will end months of walkouts over pay. The pay rise offer will amount to 22.3%

Rachel Reeves will signal Labour’s plans to cut government departments and the Civil Service as the new administration looks to accuse Rishi Sunak of “covering up” problems with the economy. The chancellor is set to speak to the House of Commons on Monday following a review of the government finances after taking office at the

Conservative leadership contests always start with much handshaking and hat doffing, but it never takes long for the muckraking and kneecapping to commence. Mel Stride managed as much – albeit in a characteristically courteous manner – when he popped up on Friday to announce his campaign. Asked about another candidate’s apparent volte-face on the European

Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel has said it is “time to put unity before personal vendetta” as she threw her hat into the ring for the Tory party leadership. Entering the increasingly crowded field to replace Rishi Sunak, the senior Conservative MP laid the blame for their worst-ever defeat on 4 July not on

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”

The government is expected to agree to above-inflation pay rises for public sector workers in the coming days, amid concerns over the costs of not settling, Sky News understands. Independent pay review bodies have already recommended the above-inflation figure to ministers for teachers and nurses of about 5.5% to keep them in line with increases

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