Politics

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

British citizens should be “trained and equipped” to fight in a potential war with Russia – as Moscow plans on “defeating our system and way of life”, the head of the British Army has said. General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing Chief of the General Staff (CGS), said increasing army numbers in preparation for a

Former cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke has called on Rishi Sunak to resign as prime minister. The Tory MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, who served as housing secretary under Liz Truss, said in The Telegraph: “Rishi Sunak has sadly gone from asset to anchor.” Politics latest: Reaction to Clarke’s call for PM to

Rishi Sunak will address MPs about the latest Houthi strikes later today – amid a dispute about whether Labour was briefed over the action. Huw Merriman, the transport minister, told Sky News that Sir Keir Starmer and Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle were told about the operation before it happened, despite briefings to the contrary. Politics

The House of Lords has defied Rishi Sunak to vote against the ratification of the UK’s new treaty with Rwanda – in what could prove a damaging development for the Safety of Rwanda Bill. The upper house was voting following a report last week that recommended the treaty not be ratified. It comes after Rishi

Ofcom’s oversight of the BBC will be extended under reforms aimed at bolstering confidence in the impartiality of the corporation. The communications watchdog, which regulates TV, radio and video-on-demand services, will be given new powers to monitor the BBC’s online public services, including the BBC news website and YouTube channel. The measure was put forward

Rishi Sunak will seek to refocus attention on the economy this week amid questions about how long his chancellor will remain in post. Downing Street issued a statement in October saying: “The chancellor will be delivering the autumn statement in a few weeks’ time and the budget next spring.” The latest Politics at Jack and

Jeremy Hunt has compared himself to tax-cutting former chancellor Nigel Lawson as he suggested using his spring budget to “relieve pressure on families”. Ahead of the budget on 6 March, the chancellor said the government’s plan of “prioritising tax cuts” is working, and they will “stick to it”. Mr Hunt went on to liken his

Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted a speech by shadow foreign secretary David Lammy, with cries of “will you condemn the genocide” and “how many more children need to die”. The Labour Tottenham MP was giving a speech to the Fabian Society on Saturday to outline the party’s foreign policy if it wins the next general election. But

MPs have demanded that the Treasury and other public sector organisations reveal the details of any contracts awarded to Fujitsu since 2019 as the firm continues to come under fire for its role in the Post Office scandal. The letter to the Treasury – which was also sent to the Bank of England, the Office

Rishi Sunak awkwardly laughed when he was challenged about the state of the health service by a former NHS worker in Winchester. The prime minister was walking through the city in Hampshire when he was stopped by a woman who indicated she had worked for the NHS in the past. In the footage, captured by

The Northern Ireland secretary has said he will introduce new legislation to address the political deadlock after the latest deadline to restore Stormont passed. Chris Heaton-Harris said his legislation will support Northern Ireland departments to manage “the immediate and evident challenges they face in stabilising public services and finances”. The power-sharing Stormont Assembly has been

Rishi Sunak has insisted he will “ignore” international law in order to ensure asylum seekers get deported to Rwanda. The prime minister managed to get his controversial policy through its latest parliamentary stage last night after days of rebellions from Conservative MPs, who want to see the bill toughened up. But despite two rebel sources

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will hold a press conference at 10am after his controversial Rwanda bill passed its latest stage in parliament – despite rebellions from his own backbenchers. The legislation – which aims to deter asylum seekers from making small boat crossings by threatening deportation to the African nation – passed its third reading

Rishi Sunak appears to have seen off a Tory rebellion as his controversial Rwanda bill passed its final hurdle in the Commons. The bill, which aims to declare that Rwanda is a safe country to deport asylum seekers to, passed by 320 votes to 276 – a majority of 44 for the government. The bill’s

The prime minister could be facing further rebellions from his backbenchers today as MPs return to the Commons to carry on debating the Rwanda bill. The government insists the proposed legislation – aimed at deterring asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats – is the toughest immigration law in history and will revive