Politics

The Scottish Conservatives will launch their manifesto on Monday, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expected to speak. The party will lay out its “laser-like focus on the real priorities of the Scottish public” at an event in Edinburgh. Recruiting 1,000 more GPs and police officers, improving rural trunk roads, “backing teachers to teach and increasing

Many more people than the leading Tories already identified are being investigated by the gambling regulator in relation to bets on the date of the general election, Sky News understands. And in a major new development, the watchdog has widened its inquiries to investigate whether people with inside knowledge may have asked a third party

A top Conservative Party official has taken a leave of absence over allegations they placed bets on the timing of next month’s general election. The Tory party has been rocked by more allegations as another top official is being investigated by the Gambling Commission for allegedly betting on the date of the election before it

Rishi Sunak has said Nigel Farage’s comments about the West provoking Vladimir Putin were “completely wrong” and play into the Russian dictator’s hands. The Reform UK leader is facing a backlash from across the political spectrum for saying that the expansion of NATO and the EU “provoked” Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Follow the latest updates

Nigel Farage has reiterated that he blames the West and NATO for the Russian invasion of Ukraine – as he confirmed that he previously said he “admired” Vladimir Putin as a statesman. Speaking to the BBC, the Reform UK leader was asked about his previous comments on Russia and Ukraine. Asked about Russia’s 2022 invasion,

Labour raised almost £4.4m in the second full week of the general election campaign – close to 15 times the amount brought in by the Tories. Rishi Sunak’s party took in just under £300,000 between 6 and 12 June. Reform UK raised more than double this figure, with £742,000 taken. Election latest: Sunak faces more

The architect of the government’s delayed reforms to social care has told Sky News politicians need to “grow up” and tackle the crisis in the sector. Amid a bitter election row over public spending, Sir Andrew Dilnot said he believed the two main parties were reluctant to discuss care reform for fear of being accused

A second Conservative candidate facing an investigation over allegedly betting on the timing of the general election is married to the party’s director of campaigns. Laura Saunders, the Tory candidate for Bristol North West, is being looked into by the Gambling Commission. She has worked for the party since 2015 and is married to the

Even the world of escapism can’t escape politics. Decisions made on the green benches of parliament could be life or death for the circus. Like many businesses, it is walking the wire between rising costs and cash-strapped audiences. Election latest: Starmer’s wife says protest outside home made her feel ‘sick’ As part of our Bench

Labour are on course for a majority of 200 according to a new YouGov projection, which also suggests the Tories will slump to their lowest number of seats at an election since the party’s formation in 1834. If this projection is replicated when the country goes to the polls on 4 July, Labour would have

The general election may be “the last chance” to fix the UK’s “broken renting system”, housing organisations have warned as they called on party leaders to come up with bolder solutions to the crisis. In an open letter to Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, groups representing tenants said thousands more people “face homelessness, poverty

Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson says allowing Nigel Farage to join the Conservatives would be “imbecilic” and would only happen “over my cold, dead corpse”. The Reform UK leader used the launch of his party’s policy document to set out his pitch to “become a real opposition” to Labour, which will form the next

A former Brexit Party candidate is running for Reform UK under a different name, following accusations of Islamophobia in 2019. Dionne Moore Cocozza is now running in Glasgow West as Dionne Moore, using her middle name as a surname. No details on Reform UK’s website link the candidate to the 2019 race. The Reform UK

Nigel Farage has acknowledged Reform UK will not form a government after 4 July – but said the general election campaign is the “first big push” towards the next contest. Launching his party’s offer to the electorate – which he is calling a “contract” rather than a manifesto – Mr Farage said his campaign has

An extra 250,000 children will be hit by the two-child benefit cap next year, rising to an extra half a million by 2029, a leading thinktank has warned. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the number of children who will fall under the cap – which limits child benefits for the first two children

Nigel Farage is “terrorising” the Conservative Party and Rishi Sunak is afraid to take him on, Labour grandee Lord Mandelson has told Sky News. The former cabinet minister and spin-doctor, who masterminded Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide win, argued the job of the Tory leader should be to stand up to Mr Farage and Reform UK

Covering a general election campaign as a journalist can largely be summed up in two words – battle bus. Not too dissimilar to the coaches that rockstars use for their tours, battle buses are the vehicles each political party uses to transport their leaders, candidates, and advisers around the country during the election campaign. Sky’s

People are “really annoyed” the government has not always kept its promises, a Tory minister has said as he acknowledged the election was “tough” after 14 years in power. Speaking to Sky News Johnny Mercer admitted the campaign had been “up and down”, but insisted the polls showing the party lagging behind were not reflected

Even a poll-obsessive like me would have to admit that during election campaigns we often spend too much time focusing on the election ‘horse race’ – who is up and who is down in the polls – on an almost hourly basis. Even in this election, where Labour has been well ahead of the Conservatives

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said he should be allowed into a political leaders’ event next week – and challenged Sir Keir Starmer to a head-to-head debate. The parliamentary hopeful was speaking at an event in London, after a single poll put his party one percentage point above the Conservatives. This is within the