Politics

The rising cost of social care and school transport will cause a £54bn black hole in council funding across England without government help, local authorities have warned. Councils face a massive shortage over the next five years due to the cost of adult social care, children’s services, and home-to-school transport, a new report from the

Sir Keir Starmer will travel to Brussels on Wednesday to hold talks with EU leaders about “putting the Brexit years behind us” and bolstering ties with the UK. The prime minister has vowed to “reset” relations with Europe following tensions between the previous Tory government and the EU – though he has ruled out a

Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat are the remaining contenders to become the next Conservative Party leader. 👉 Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts 👈 With infighting already playing out among the candidates, and outgoing leader Rishi Sunak calling for party unity, can whoever is

Robert Jenrick is within touching distance of Kemi Badenoch after a surge in his support, according to an exclusive Sky News poll of Tory members. The latest YouGov survey of Conservative members for Sky News suggests there is a path to victory for all four candidates, although Tom Tugendhat faces a bigger hurdle than the

The head of the civil service Simon Case has announced he will resign at the end of the year on health grounds. Mr Case, 45, said in a letter to colleagues that he has been undergoing medical treatment for a neurological condition over the last 18 months. “Whilst the spirit remains willing, the body is

Kemi Badenoch has said her remarks about maternity pay have been “misrepresented”, as she called for an “honest campaign” for the Tory leadership. The first day of the Conservative Party conference saw a row erupt over comments made by the shadow housing secretary, where she appeared to call the current level of the benefit “excessive”.

Former deputy prime minister Sir Oliver Dowden has become the most senior ally of Rishi Sunak to be interviewed in the official investigation into betting on the date of the general election, Sky News understands. He follows Mr Sunak’s former parliamentary aide Craig Williams and former Downing Street chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith in being

In some ways this isn’t surprising. Rosie Duffield has been open with her discontent with the party, specifically over the party’s gender views – and she has been only too happy in her disagreement with Sir Keir Starmer. But what is surprising is the strength and tone of the letter – it is savage –

Applications for pension credit hit nearly 75,000 in the eight weeks since the new chancellor announced the winter fuel payment for pensioners would be means-tested for the first time. Figures released on Friday by the Department for Work and Pensions figures showed there were around 74,400 pension credit claims in the eight weeks since 29

Russell Findlay’s first task as the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives will be to bring his party back together. It’s been a bruising few months for Tories north of the border. Former leader Douglas Ross left amid a row over candidate selections – and ultimately failed to take any Commons seats. Politics latest: SNP

The race to succeed Rishi Sunak as Tory leader could be won and lost in Birmingham over the next few days. The “beauty contest” involving the remaining candidates at the party conference has the potential to transform one of the not-so-famous four from also-ran to front-runner. Robert Jenrick, ahead among Conservative MPs, has the early

Russell Findlay has been elected the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives. The MSP saw off competition from Murdo Fraser and Meghan Gallacher in the bruising battle to replace Douglas Ross. Mr Findlay won with 2,565 votes. Mr Murdo placed second with 1,187 votes, while Ms Gallacher claimed third with 403 votes. The announcement comes

Downing Street has said Sir Keir Starmer did not break any rules when he used Lord Alli’s London penthouse to record a COVID-era broadcast urging people to “work from home”. The prime minister revealed on Wednesday he used the millionaire Labour peer’s home, estimated to be worth £18m, for his son to study for his

Sir Keir Starmer has attacked Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, accusing the country of “treating [its] own citizens as bits of meat to fling into the grinder”. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council in New York – and sat opposite a Russian representative – the British prime minister accused the state of committing

A motion calling for Labour to reverse its cut to the winter fuel allowance has been backed by party conference members, in an embarrassing blow to Sir Keir Starmer. While there is nothing binding about the vote, it puts further pressure on the Labour leadership over its controversial decision to take away the benefit from

Sir Keir Starmer has defended removing the winter fuel allowance from millions of pensioners as he warned of a “hard” path ahead. The prime minister, giving his keynote speech at Labour’s conference, was attempting to turn around the doom and gloom of the past few months. He addressed concern about cutting the winter fuel allowance,

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard share their daily guide to the day ahead in politics in under 20 minutes.  On the day Sir Keir Starmer addresses the Labour Party conference as prime minister for the first time, Jack and Sam set out what he’ll announce and ask whether he

As the UK’s first female chancellor delivers her speech at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool, Sky News Daily asks why the new government is already fighting to regain the public’s trust. Host Niall Paterson is joined by Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby and economic and data editor Ed Conway in the conference hall

Hecklers have interrupted the chancellor’s speech at the Labour conference as they appeared to call for a halt to arms sales to Israel and for action on the environment. Rachel Reeves was telling the conference in Liverpool how proud she was to be the UK’s first ever female chancellor when shouting came from the hall.

Angela Rayner has promised to bring Labour’s flagship workers’ rights bill to parliament next month as she told her party’s conference: “Things can get better if we make the right choices.” The government has faced criticism in recent weeks over its pessimistic messaging around the economy, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warning October’s Budget