Politics

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,

Vaughan Gething has announced he is quitting as Welsh First Minister after four members of his government resigned and demanded he left office. In a statement on Tuesday morning, Mr Gething said he had “taken the difficult decision to begin the process of stepping down”, and will now discuss a timetable for the election of

Four ministers have resigned from the Welsh government, saying First Minister Vaughan Gething must leave office. Mick Antoniw, Julie James, Lesley Griffiths and Jeremy Miles have all quit their government positions, citing a lack of confidence in their leader. It comes a month after Mr Gething lost a vote of no confidence – but dismissed

The Conservative Party received a £50,000 donation from a firm linked to convicted billionaire businessman Prakash Hinduja, new figures show. The Electoral Commission has revealed the Tories gained £225,587 from private donors in the last week of the general election campaign, bringing their total to £1.8m. But the biggest single donation came from a firm

Sir Keir Starmer is facing fresh pressure to scrap the two-child benefit cap after the SNP announced plans to push for a vote on the issue in the upcoming King’s Speech. SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the policy is forcing thousands of children into poverty as he appealed to Labour MPs in Scotland to

The new Labour government will unveil more than 35 bills during the first King’s Speech of its tenure, Downing Street has said. Trailing the significant moment on Wednesday, which will see the King announce the party’s plans for power in a ceremony full of pomp, ministers promised to focus on economic growth and to ensure

Sir Keir Starmer has issued a rallying cry ahead of the Euro 2024 final, telling the England team: “We’re all behind you.” The prime minister, who will be in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on Sunday to cheer on the Three Lions against Spain, told the players they have already “made the country proud”. They