Politics

A cut in VAT and a new levy on arena and stadium tickets are urgently needed to stop grassroots music venues from closing, MPs have said. A report by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee said artists are facing a “cost-of-touring crisis”, with venues stopping live music or closing entirely at a rate of two

No deportation flights to Rwanda will take off under a Labour government, Sir Keir Starmer has told Sky News. The Labour leader told Sky News political editor Beth Rigby “there’ll be no flights” as he wants to “scrap the scheme”, which aims to send asylum seekers entering the UK illegally from a safe country, such

“I am ruthless”. That was Sir Keir Starmer’s account of himself and his decision to let Natalie Elphicke into the Labour Party on our trip to Dover on Friday to unveil his plan to stop the small boats. Because for all the controversy her arrival on the Labour benches caused this week, for Sir Keir it

Jess Phillips has revealed that seeing Natalie Elphicke cross the floor to join the Labour Party felt “a bit like being punched in the gut” given the former Conservative MP’s “victim blaming” after her ex-husband and former MP Charlie Elphike was convicted of sexual assault. The former shadow minister for domestic violence told our Electoral

The MP who defected from the Tories to Labour yesterday has apologised for comments she made supporting her ex-husband after he was convicted of sexual assault. After former Tory MP Charlie Elphicke was jailed for two years in 2020 for assaulting two women, Natalie Elphicke told the Sun the fact he was “attractive” and “attracted

Former COVID vaccines minister and chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has announced he will not be standing at the next general election. The Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010 quoted his “most famous constituent” as he wrote: “Go to your bosom; knock there and ask your heart what it doth know.” He said: “The time is right

Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke has defected to the Labour Party. The Dover MP said the change in the Tory Party since she entered parliament in 2019 “has been dramatic and cannot be ignored”. She hit out at the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government”, adding that Labour “looks to the future –

Former Tory immigration minister Robert Jenrick has called for the Home Office to be split in two as part of a 30-point plan to curb migration. Mr Jenrick, who is seen as a potential Conservative leadership contender, has been ramping up pressure on Rishi Sunak over the issue after quitting his government post last year.

John Swinney will become Scotland’s new first minister after being backed by a majority of MSPs. Following his victory in the SNP leadership race on Monday, the 60-year-old faced a vote at Holyrood to confirm him as Humza Yousaf’s successor. The Scottish Greens abstained from the vote, with Mr Swinney able to fend off challenges

The Chinese state has hacked the Ministry of Defence, Sky News understands. MPs will be told on Tuesday of a massive data breach involving the MoD, targeting service personnel. It is understood investigations have not shown any data has been taken. The government will not name the country involved, but Sky News understands this to

The results of the next general election are not a “foregone conclusion” according to Rishi Sunak, after his party’s slate of defeats in the local elections. The prime minister was speaking off the back of analysis of the results conducted by Sky News which indicated the country was heading towards a hung parliament. This forecast,

The government at one point considered using Iraq to process asylum seekers – like the Rwanda scheme – according to documents seen by Sky News. This could have seen people sent from the UK to a country the government advises against all travel to. The two countries already have a returns agreement – but only

SNP leadership hopeful John Swinney has warned rivals against entering the contest, saying it would “delay the ability for the [party] to start its rebuilding”. The former deputy leader is currently the only candidate in the running to replace Humza Yousaf, who announced last week he would be stepping down as first minister after his

It was a wafer-thin victory, but a huge win. The symbolism of Labour taking the West Midlands mayor, a jewel in the Tory crown, could be felt in the room as Labour activists gathered in Birmingham to celebrate the win with their new mayor Richard Parker and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. There are moments

The battle for West Midlands mayor is down to the wire after a recount of votes was ordered. Incumbent Tory Andy Street’s hope of securing a third term in office remains on a knife-edge in the face of a stiff challenge by Labour’s Richard Parker. The outcome of the contest is critical to Rishi Sunak

The Conservative Party has suffered its worst electoral defeat in years, losing more than half of its councillors who stood for re-election across England. Labour hailed a “truly historic” result in Rishi Sunak’s own backyard of York and North Yorkshire, where David Skaith smashed Tory Keane Duncan by almost 15,000 votes. The region, which was

After counting more than two million votes cast in the English council elections, a provisional National Share Estimate shows the Conservatives on just 26% of the vote, a 19-point drop compared with the 2019 general election and one of its worst ever performances in any set of local elections. Labour‘s vote rises from 33% in

Labour has won control of a string of Leave-voting councils as results begin to roll in from the local elections across England and Wales. The party seized control of Rushmoor in Hampshire from the Conservatives shortly after 3am – a council the Tories had run for the last 24 years – with a spokesman calling

The race is on to find a new SNP leader and first minister of Scotland. Humza Yousaf announced he was stepping down on Monday after little more than a year in the hot seat. He intends to remain in the two posts until a successor is found. Former deputy first minister John Swinney is the

Polls are to open for the local elections across the country, with the added extra of a by-election on the same day. Over 2,600 council seats are up for grabs across 107 councils in England, along with 10 mayoralties in major cities and combined authorities, and 25 London Assembly seats. A total of 37 police