Politics

There are grooming gangs “in every single part of our country”, Jess Phillips has told Sky News. The safeguarding minister told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast she was issuing an “open invitation” to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to meet victims with her. Ms Badenoch’s spokesperson said she has not met

So can you stop people smugglers by lumbering them with sanctions? That is the government’s latest idea, and it is bold and innovative. It will certainly get attention, even if that doesn’t mean it will work. But it is another effort by this government to differentiate itself from the leaders who came before. In a

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has accused the Conservatives of being “bandwagon jumpers” who “don’t care about children” as they try to force a national grooming gangs inquiry. The Tories have tabled an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, being debated on Wednesday, to require a statutory inquiry into grooming gangs after safeguarding minister

Jess Phillips has said she has “more important things to be thinking about” than Elon Musk after he accused her of being a “rape genocide apologist”. The safeguarding minister has hit back at the billionaire’s criticism of her for the first time, telling Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that his

For days, the attacks had been raining down from Elon Musk and his supporters on Keir Starmer, safeguarding minister Jess Philips and the wider government, over handling of the historical sex abuse cases.  The consensus in Number 10, as voiced by another leader subject to Mr Musk’s ire – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – was

Professionals who work with children will face criminal sanctions if they fail to report claims of sexual abuse, the home secretary has announced. Yvette Cooper promised to implement the key recommendation from Professor Alexis Jay’s child sexual abuse inquiry after Sir Keir Starmer faced down calls from Elon Musk, the Tories and Reform UK for

For British politicians, the question of the moment is how do you handle Elon Musk? The billionaire owner of X and Tesla, soon to take up a role as efficiency tsar in the Trump administration, has been throwing grenades almost every hour about British politics on his social media platform and dominating the headlines. Much

Elon Musk has said Reform UK needs a “new leader” because Nigel Farage “doesn’t have what it takes”. The X owner posted the tweet on Sunday following days of headlines over his comments about the historic grooming scandal that took place across UK towns and cities more than a decade ago. Mr Musk, who has

Reform’s deputy leader has praised Elon Musk as “popular” and “appreciated” by the British public – as a government minister criticised the tech tycoon for “ridiculous” and “ill informed” comments on the UK grooming scandal. Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Richard Tice defended the owner of X and Tesla as “one of the greatest

Reform UK is a party that’s vying for attention and is not ashamed of how it gets it. With political support from Elon Musk this week amplifying Reform UK talking points on his platform X, the party has been able to make a splash in the new year ahead of the government. Already this month

MPs and peers could be forced to submit to criminal record checks under proposals submitted by a new Labour MP. In a letter seen by Sky News, Jo White urged the leader of the Commons to examine whether a new committee set up to modernise parliament should force all new members to have checks due

Nigel Farage has said Tommy Robinson “won’t be” joining Reform UK after Elon Musk showed support for the jailed far-right activist on social media. The billionaire owner of X, who has spoken positively about Reform UK and is reportedly considering making a donation to the party, has been critical of the government’s handling of child

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has denied the government is putting off social care reforms following criticism that a planned overhaul of the sector may not happen for years. Ministers have launched an independent commission, led by Baroness Casey, to “transform social care” – but the latter phase of the two-part commission will not make its

Kemi Badenoch has called for a national inquiry into the grooming scandal that took place across UK towns and cities, arguing one was “long overdue”. The Tory leader said 2025 “must be the year that victims get justice” after it emerged that Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, had rejected calls from Oldham council for a

A total of 36,816 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in 2024, provisional government figures show. The figure is up 25% on 2023 when 29,437 people arrived in small boats. The number successfully making the journey in 2024 is the second-highest since records began in 2018. The total, however, is down 20% on

Sir Keir Starmer has hailed 2024 as a “year of change” as he shared his first New Year message as prime minister. But the Labour leader, who took office after a staggering general election victory over the Conservatives in July, admitted there is “still so much more to do” in 2025. It will include a

Parents who send their children to private schools could face higher fees from today as the government’s flagship VAT policy comes into force. Labour on Wednesday scrapped the VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools, forcing some academic institutions to offset the hike with raised fees for parents. Others have entirely restructured, with

Former England manager Gareth Southgate, London mayor Sadiq Khan and actor Stephen Fry have been knighted in the New Year Honours. Others who have received honours include a host of Team GB athletes – among them gold medal-winning runner Keely Hodgkinson – as well as author Jacqueline Wilson and television presenter Alan Titchmarsh. Honours have

A veteran Labour MP and the long-standing mayor of London are among a handful of politicians named in the King’s New Year Honours list. Former shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry, who has been made a dame, appears on the list alongside Sadiq Khan, who has been made a knight after securing a record third term

👉 Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam’s on your podcast app👈 On this special episode, Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard preview the year ahead in politics. They predict what Nigel Farage will be up to in 2025, weigh up whether things could look better for the economy and