Politics

Without political input, many important decisions on budgets and public sector pay have been impossible to pass. Successive suspensions at Stormont over the years have contributed to long-term issues in the public sector, with impacts seen across all areas of public services. But perhaps nowhere more so than in the health and social care sector.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has revealed to Sky News she no longer goes out socially because of threats and abuse and that she was “scared” when confronted by pro-Palestinian supporters. The senior frontbencher said the level of intimidation had impacted on her day-to-day life and she had changed her behaviour. People wanting to see

The suspected chemical attacker who targeted a woman and children is still at large, and the focus is on the police finding hm. But inside government, serious questions are starting to be raised about how a convicted sex offender is understood to have been granted asylum, after being handed a suspended jail sentence. Abdul Shokoor

Rachel Reeves has refused to commit to Labour’s pledge of investing £28bn in green technologies if her party wins the next election. Asked 10 times by Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby if the policy remained in place, the shadow chancellor appeared to dodge the question. Instead, she pointed to increasing government debt and “the

Rachel Reeves has defended her decision not to restore a cap on bankers’ bonuses, arguing businesses do not need “more chopping and changing”. The shadow chancellor said that when the government scrapped the cap under Liz Truss, Labour did not “feel that was the right priority in that budget”. But she said much stronger rules

A government minister who avoided being murdered “by the skin of my teeth” is stepping down as an MP at the next general election over fears for his personal safety. Mike Freer, Conservative MP for the north London constituency of Finchley and Golders Green, has faced a series of death threats and was targeted by

The UK government is tabling legislation to end post-Brexit checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Significantly, the Withdrawal Act will also be amended, meaning EU law will no longer apply automatically in Northern Ireland. The details are contained in a government document which effectively details the deal to restore power-sharing at

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are “in a position” to restart the executive in Northern Ireland after a near two-year absence – if ministers keep to the “agreed timeline” over a fresh deal on post-Brexit trade, their leader has said. The power-sharing agreement between the main parties at Stormont collapsed in 2022, with the unionist

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has agreed a deal restore power sharing to Northern Ireland, subject to legislation by the UK government. The party collapsed the power-sharing government nearly two years ago in protest against post-Brexit trade arrangements. DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says his party will restore power sharing in Northern Ireland, subject to

The Archbishop of Canterbury has again slammed the government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, telling the House of Lords: “We can as a nation do better than this bill.” Speaking in the upper chamber, the Most Rev Justin Welby said the government was “continuing to seek good objectives in the wrong way”, leading

Iceland supermarket boss Richard Walker has switched his support from the Conservatives to Labour, saying Sir Keir Starmer’s party is “the right choice” for his customers. Mr Walker, a former Tory donor and the executive chairman of Iceland, said under Sir Keir’s leadership Labour had “progressively moved towards the ground on which I have always

Labour MP Kate Osamor has had the Labour whip suspended while she is investigated for saying Gaza should be remembered as a genocide on Holocaust Memorial Day. The Edmonton MP sent the message to her party members, saying Holocaust Memorial Day should be observed, but other genocides should also be remembered – and list Gaza

There was general agreement at the Institute for Government’s Annual conference last week that it would be a good thing for Britain if this year’s election campaign is not “dirty”. This highfalutin notion was shot down in seconds with equally universal assumption by the assembled politicians and policy wonks that “that is not going to

Baroness Michelle Mone and her husband have had some of their assets frozen by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the couple have confirmed. A spokesman for the pair said the move was part of a “consensual process” which would allow them to “prove their innocence more quickly” amid an investigation into government contracts for personal

The government’s plan to drill for more oil and gas in the North Sea passed its first major hurdle in the Commons this week. But will it, as the government claims, deliver energy security and protect the jobs we need to help drive a transition to a low-carbon economy? Or are the Petroleum Licencing Bill’s

It is more likely to fail than succeed, the plotters behind the attempt to oust Rishi Sunak believe. The most likely outcome of all the conversations, scheming and briefing is that the Tories go down to an even bigger defeat than they otherwise would have done when the election finally comes. Yet, the handful of

There is no clear alternative to lead the Conservative Party if Rishi Sunak were to be ousted, new polling has suggested.  Questions about the prime minister’s future have been raised by the calls for him to go from Sir Simon Clarke, and the defection of his pollster Will Dry to a group seeking his removal.

An aide to Rishi Sunak has quit and joined an effort to oust him, warning the Conservative Party could be destroyed by Christmas. Will Dry, a special adviser responsible for polling and opinion research at Number 10, resigned in November “after steadily becoming more dispirited”. After leaving Downing Street, he joined “others” who believe the

Home Secretary James Cleverly has defended the government’s delay in announcing legislation to toughen up a ban on zombie knives. The government is introducing new legislation on Thursday to “close the loophole” on the weapons, which were first banned in 2016. However, it is still common for them to appear in knife crime cases, with

Senior Tories have lashed out at a “reckless and selfish” former minister after he called on Rishi Sunak to step down to avoid being “massacred” at the election. Former ministers urged colleagues to put their duty to the country ahead of “tribalism” following a challenge to the prime minister launched by Sir Simon Clarke. While