Politics

The “doorstep”. It’s an often necessary but rarely tidy journalistic exercise – locating and asking pertinent questions of an unwilling participant who has gone to some effort to avoid them. Boris Johnson had been on a lengthy US trip, through Texas to Las Vegas in the west and Washington DC in the east. Boris Johnson

As a sullen Conservative party resumed its favourite displacement activities this week – arguing over the entrails of Boris Johnson’s political career while taking chunks out of the civil service – few were paying attention to the only graph that matters in British politics The cost of government borrowing – a measure of whether global

A union representing civil servants has suspended its ballot to strike to enter new talks with the government. The FDA – which represents members of the Civil Service up to the permanent secretary level – made the announcement today. The move could put pressure on other unions representing civil servants to return to the negotiating

Britain is determined to compete in the global race for green investment, the chancellor has told Sky News, days before the expected announcement that Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata will build a major new battery factory in the country. Jeremy Hunt said that he was prepared to deploy subsidy money from the government’s £1bn war

Nigel Farage would “of course” accept worker shortages if it meant lower migration, the Eurosceptic campaigner has told Sky News – and wouldn’t rule out another attempt to become an MP. Mr Farage was speaking to Beth Rigby Interviews… following the release of the latest net migration figures. These showed the population grew by 606,000

GPs will be required to give patients the option to travel further for healthcare or go to a private alternative under plans to cut NHS waiting times. Doctors will have to offer up to five healthcare providers when making referrals, allowing people to select their preference using the NHS app or website. The options will

Suella Braverman is to remain in her post as home secretary after the prime minister said “further investigation is not necessary” into her handling of a speeding offence. In his letter to the home secretary, the prime minister said he had consulted with his independent ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, who advised that “on this

Boris Johnson has been referred to the police by the Cabinet Office over new claims he broke COVID lockdown rules. The former prime minister’s ministerial diary has revealed visits by friends to Chequers during the pandemic. The visits to the grace-and-favour residence were highlighted during preparations for a public inquiry into COVID, according to The

International students who come to study in the UK will no longer be able to bring family with them except under specific circumstances in a government bid to bring immigration down. International students will no longer be able to bring dependants with them unless they are on postgraduate courses that are currently designated as research

Former justice secretary and deputy prime minister Dominic Raab will stand down at the next election, Sky News understands. It comes a month after he quit Rishi Sunak’s cabinet over claims he bullied civil servants. Mr Raab has been the Conservative MP for Esher and Walton in Surrey since 2010. He has “become increasingly concerned”

Suella Braverman has insisted “nothing untoward happened” as she faces questions over whether she asked civil servants to help her dodge a group speeding awareness course. The comments are the first made by the home secretary since The Sunday Times reported that she asked civil servants to arrange a private one-to-one speed awareness course for

What is it about politicians and driving fines? In 2012 Lib Dem minister Chris Huhne resigned from the coalition government after his then-wife took speeding points for him. They both ended up in prison for perverting the course of justice. In 2019, Labour MP Fiona Onasanya was jailed and ejected from parliament for the same

A Tory mayor has said there should be “no compromise” when it comes to standards in public life following accusations the home secretary may have breached the ministerial code over a speeding fine. Andy Street, the mayor of the West Midlands, said there “have to be standards in public life” as Rishi Sunak comes under

It has not been a great week for Suella Braverman. It began on Monday with her making an inflammatory speech to activists, which Tory MPs saw as a shameless leadership bid, and then being told by colleagues to stick to the day job. And it ended with embarrassing reports on Saturday evening that she asked

Rishi Sunak has said attacks on his wealth do not bother him despite the Labour Party’s attempts to make him appear out of touch. The prime minister was asked about Labour’s attack ads against him while visiting Japan for the G7 summit. He said that while he notices the attacks at Prime Minister’s Questions from

More than 23,000 died in A&E in England last year, figures obtained by Labour show. The opposition party has released data it obtained through freedom of information requests, which shows an increase in deaths compared to previous years. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine previously said 23,000 “excess patient deaths” may have occurred partly due

Rishi Sunak has given a “straightforward” message for Vladimir Putin at the G7 summit: “We’re not going away.” Speaking to Sky News in Hiroshima, the prime minister had ready answers for his policy and position on Ukraine. Hours earlier, he had announced a ban on imports of Russian diamonds – and told me that he

The room in the homeless hostel is so small that there is barely enough room for two single beds. This is now home for 30 year-old Sammy and her six-year-old son Teddy after their world was turned upside down. When the bailiffs came to evict them from their flat last month, all they could do

A £10bn investment from water companies to stop sewage spills will be paid for by customers through “modest increases to their bills”. Ruth Kelly, chair of Water UK, told Sky News that water firms will provide a “huge multi-billion down-payment” to start “the biggest transformation project since Victorian times”. She added: “The way the system

Rishi Sunak has laid out his goals ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The PM is set to touchdown in the early hours of the morning on Thursday UK time. It comes hot on the heels of his visit to Iceland for the Council of Europe summit. Politics latest:PM responds to Nigel Farage’s