Politics

This is the greatest defeat in the Conservative Party’s history and it will not recover soon. Trying to do so will end up prolonging the pain.  This was not a defeat born of an election called too early, or with too thin a manifesto, or because of what happened at D-Day or with wayward bets

Labour are on course for a landslide victory on Thursday with a majority of 212 seats according to the final YouGov poll projection of the campaign. This will give Sir Keir Starmer the biggest majority for any single party since 1832 in a vote which YouGov’s last MRP suggests will break a series of electoral

Rishi Sunak has conceded defeat in the general election – putting Sir Keir Starmer on course to enter Downing Street as the country’s first Labour prime minister in 14 years. Speaking after winning his seat in Richmond, Yorkshire, the solemn-looking Conservative leader said: “The Labour Party has won this general election and I have called

Finally, after six long weeks, the final 24 hours of campaigning is upon us. Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will be dashing around the country as they make their final pitch to voters. The prime minister, who may well be out of that job in less than 48 hours, will be sticking to Tory

Sir Keir Starmer will chair his first cabinet as prime minister this morning following a historic election victory for Labour. The new prime minister appointed his top team on Friday afternoon, making very few changes to the shadow cabinet that existed before the election. Follow general election fallout live Rachel Reeves is the new chancellor

Millions of people across the UK will head to the polls today to vote in the general election. A total of 650 parliamentary constituencies are being contested in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with polling stations open from 7am until 10pm. Find more details of what you can expect here There are around 40,000

Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is facing further sex offence charges, bringing the total to 18. The Northern Ireland politician has been charged with seven more offences after the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) reviewed the police evidence, as is the normal practice. When he appeared in court in April, the ex-MP was accused of

The government is “urgently” investigating why some people have not yet received their postal ballots ahead of Thursday’s election. Conservative minister Maria Caulfield told Sky News she is aware of “a number of” constituencies where people have not yet received their postal votes. There are reports of thousands of postal ballots not being delivered in

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard are back with their guide to the election day ahead. This is day 40 of the campaign. Jack and Sam look at where the parties are now as the election approaches, with Labour’s attack ads and the Conservatives pushing back against Reform UK. Plus,

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says there’s a conspiracy of silence this election – that all of the major political parties aren’t being honest enough about their fiscal plans this election. And they have a point. Most obviously (and this is the main thing the IFS is complaining about) none of the major manifestos

A Reform UK candidate has disowned the party and is backing the Conservatives amid a row over racism. Liam Booth-Isherwood, who was standing in the seat of Erewash, announced he was dropping out of the race and would instead be endorsing the Tory contender Maggie Throup to “stop Labour”. He said he had become “increasingly

Reform UK has withdrawn support from three of its parliamentary candidates as the racism row engulfing the party continues to grow. The party led by Nigel Farage is no longer supporting Edward Oakenfull, who is standing in Derbyshire Dales, Robert Lomas, a candidate in Barnsley North, and Leslie Lilley, standing in Southend East and Rochford,

Was this the day the wheels began to come off for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK bandwagon? Quite possibly. It was a day that began with terrible newspaper headlines and ended with a clash about racism in his party with a hostile TV audience. Election latest: What do we know about Reform UK racism scandal? It

Two Reform UK parliamentary candidates have shared material deemed “vile” and in breach of the internationally-recognised definition of antisemitism. Candidates of the right-wing party have previously shared on social media material defending Adolf Hitler, denying the Holocaust, conspiracy theories about the Rothschild family and Jewish financier George Soros, denial of antisemitism, and comparisons of the

Rishi Sunak has spoken of his hurt and anger at his daughters having to hear Reform activists using a racial slur about him. Responding to the slurs made by supporters of the party led by Nigel Farage, the prime minister said: “Well, my two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for

Britain could soon have its most diverse parliament ever but how will voters from ethnically diverse communities behave at the ballot box? The voting trends of such groups are incredibly complex and varied. There is no single narrative but several themes stick out from YouGov’s exclusive polling for Sky News. Most notably, the handling of

Sir Keir Starmer has said there is “no evidence” private schools will be forced to close due to Labour’s plans to impose VAT on them. Speaking to Sky’s Sophy Ridge, the Labour leader defended his party’s education policy to use the money to support state schools. Election latest: Tory donor backs Reform “I think they

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of being “bullied into action” over the election gambling scandal after a question over politicians’ “lack of integrity and honesty” in the final TV debate. As the debate in Nottingham came to an end, Metropolitan Police released a statement saying it was taking on a “small number of

Rishi Sunak’s closest Commons aide, Craig Williams, has been interviewed by Gambling Commission officials over his bet on the timing of the general election, Sky News understands. He has been cautioned and interviewed by two ex-police officers and a former HMRC official who are now investigators at the commission, according to a Gambling Commission insider.

After days of furore directed at Rishi Sunak for the election betting scandal, now a Labour candidate is under investigation by the Gambling Commission for his own betting activity – and is immediately suspended.  Is this an equaliser in one of the grubbiest electoral sagas of recent elections? Quite possibly not. There is no doubting