Politics

The home secretary has said that “we’re not going to save the planet by bankrupting the British people” in response to reports the government is looking at watering down its green pledges. Among the changes being considering are the pushing back of a ban on the sales of new vehicles with internal combustion engines from

Millions of households across the UK will receive £300 from the government between 31 October and 19 November. It is the second of three cost of living payments – totalling £900 – being sent directly from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Eligible pensioner households will also receive a further £300 payment later this

The Online Safety Bill has passed its last parliamentary hurdle in the House of Lords, meaning it will finally become law after years of delay. The flagship piece of legislation aims to regulate online content to help keep users safe, especially children, and to put the onus on social media companies to protect people from

Boris Johnson’s chaotic time in office exposed weaknesses in the UK’s political system that have damaged public trust and the country’s international reputation, a major review has found. A report by the Institute for Government (IfG) called for urgent reform following a tumultuous period which has seen MPs test or break constitutional principles – including

Nearly a year since the mini-budget that secured her place as Britain’s shortest serving prime minister, Liz Truss is back. In her most significant intervention since resigning, the former PM was characteristically unrepentant, pointing the finger at “left-wing institutions” and the “anti-woke brigade”. She did admit acting too fast, however, delivering another pork analogy for

Labour will look to build a closer trading relationship with the EU if it wins the next election, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader spent the weekend meeting fellow centre-left leaders in Montreal, Canada, including the country’s prime minister Justin Trudeau. The party has long been critical of the deal negotiated by the

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to guarantee the tax burden – currently the largest since the Second World War –  would not increase under Labour. While the opposition leader told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme he wanted it to come down “for working people”, his “laser focus” was on growing the economy.

Sir Keir Starmer has described Conservative Party claims that Labour’s plans on immigration would increase asylum seeker numbers as “nonsense”. Speaking exclusively to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, from a summit in Montreal, the Labour leader maintained the government has “no control” of UK borders. He said: “What concerns people is that basic idea that

Rishi Sunak was persuaded not to quit as chancellor over his COVID lockdown fine after discussions with executives working for media mogul Rupert Murdoch, it has been claimed. Mr Sunak is reported to have shared a draft resignation statement with allies after both he and Boris Johnson were fined for attending the then-prime minister’s birthday

Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate for London mayor, is reported to have liked tweets praising controversial former minister Enoch Powell. Ms Hall, who will go up against Labour’s Sadiq Khan in the mayoral election next May, liked a message in February 2020 quoting the far-right, anti-immigration politician as saying: “It’s never too late to save

The government has officially launched an independent investigation into how terror suspect Daniel Khalife was able to escape from Wandsworth prison. The investigation will look at several issues including whether the relevant protocols were in place and applied correctly, whether there was sufficient staffing and whether Khalife was held in the right category of prison.

Labour has promised to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers if it gets into power at the next election. Outlining its latest policy pledges, the party said it would also clear the growing backlog of asylum cases and speed up the return of those who fail to meet the threshold. As a result

The NHS will receive a £200m boost from the government ahead of the busiest months of the year for them. The winter resilience fund is aimed at supporting the health service so it can attend to patients as quickly as possible amid record waiting lists. Last month, NHS England said 7.6 million people were waiting

Labour has confirmed it would seek to negotiate a returns agreement for migrants with the EU if it wins power, as it accused the government of having “lost control of our borders”. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the “objective” was to secure a returns agreement to establish “management and control of the system”.

Sir Keir Starmer has branded the prime minister “inaction man” over the problems facing the UK’s schools and prisons. Mr Sunak has been greeted with a number of problems on returning to Westminster from the summer recess, including a crisis involving concrete in public buildings, the escape of a terror suspect from prison and allegations

Angela Rayner wasn’t wearing her trademark chunky boots when she addressed the TUC conference in Liverpool But she put the boot into Labour’s trade union critics in a powerful speech, ending with a call for the unions to “come together, stand together and campaign side by side”. No stilettos, either, just a pair of smart

Angela Rayner declared the battle to win over voters at the next general election is “getting started” as she revealed Labour’s vision to boost workers’ rights. In a speech at the TUC conference in Liverpool, Labour’s deputy leader gave a “cast iron commitment” to push through an employment rights bill in the party’s first 100

Collapse-prone concrete has been found in the Houses of Parliament. Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, known as RAAC, was a common building material used in the post-war era as it was cheaper and lighter than traditional concrete. But it is now proving a nightmare for the government as it has been found to have a 30-year

A parliamentary researcher who has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China has said he is “completely innocent”. In a statement released by his lawyers, the man – who they did not name – said: “I feel forced to respond to the media accusations that I am a ‘Chinese spy’. It is wrong that

The Conservatives will be accused of having “broken Britain” in a keynote speech by the new leader of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) attacking the state of the economy and public services. In his first speech as head of the union federation, Paul Nowak will highlight that “nothing works in this country anymore and no