Politics

Irish flags, poetry and a performance from Niall Horan… this White House trip was another diplomatic success for Ireland “Every American president is a little bit Irish on St Patrick’s Day…but some are more Irish than others.” Those words, spoken by Leo Varadkar, were greeted by raucous cheers in the White House, and a broad

Junior doctors and the government are set to enter talks following a 72-hour-strike which saw more than 175,000 appointments reorganised. The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents the clinicians, has pledged they will announce new strike dates if the government makes a “substandard” offer. On Friday evening, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC)

Teacher strikes will be paused for two weeks while education unions and the government hold “intensive” talks over pay, workload and conditions. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan will meet with representatives today – with discussions to continue over the weekend until Sunday. The National Education Union (NEU), National Association of Headteachers (NAHT), NASUWT The Teachers’ Union,

Boris Johnson has been re-selected to run as the Conservative candidate in Uxbridge and South Ruislip for the next general election. The former prime minister and current MP will again contest the northwest London seat, which he first won in 2015, in the next election that is due to be held no later than January

MPs will debate a motion next week on the so-called “Stormont brake” – a key part of the new Brexit deal agreed between the UK and EU attempting to solve issues in Northern Ireland. Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt confirmed the move in the Commons, saying the debate on one of the main elements

The chancellor stuck to his path. No big bangs, this was a budget all about trying to prepare the groundwork for possible tax cuts in the autumn statement and the pre-election showstopper next year. Jeremy Hunt’s message was that after the mess of the past six months, the Conservative Party was back to sound management

Jeremy Hunt has abolished the lifetime tax-free pensions allowance and introduced free childcare for youngsters under three in a budget aimed at getting people back to work. The chancellor announced his plans on Wednesday to get older people back in work and to help parents, mainly women, who cannot afford to go back to work

After the debacle of Liz Truss’s September mini-budget, with all its mega ramifications, and an autumn statement eight weeks later that performed an about-turn so big that the country’s tax burden hit a 70-year-high, Wednesday’s budget will be all about stability and sticking to the plan. “No big bangs in this budget,” is how one

Boris Johnson will be questioned by MPs next Wednesday as part of the partygate investigation into whether he misled parliament when he was prime minister. Mr Johnson has accepted the Privileges Committee’s invitation to give oral evidence to them from 2pm on 22 March, the committee said. The session will be held in public and

The UK, US and Australia will work together “keeping our oceans free” with a new generation of nuclear-powered attack submarines, Rishi Sunak has said. Mr Sunak met US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in San Diego to announce the next stage of the Aukus partnership plan. The plan will deliver nuclear-powered

Support for Scottish independence has continued to slide in the country, according to an exclusive YouGov poll for Sky News, with just 39% now backing an exit from the UK compared to 47% who want to remain part of the union. The survey also revealed that, regardless of their view on independence, 52% of the

Rishi Sunak has declined to offer his backing to the chairman of the BBC and stressed his appointment was made by his predecessor Boris Johnson. Richard Sharp has been dragged into the BBC row over Gary Lineker because of his close ties to government and the role he played when Boris Johnson was considering taking

The budget will “break down the barriers” to getting people back into work in the face of more than a million vacancies and a sluggish economy, the chancellor has told Sky News. With more than half a million people having disappeared from the UK workforce since the outbreak of COVID-19, tackling economic inactivity will be

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is flying to the United States on Sunday for defence talks with President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. One of the items on the agenda will be the next phase of the AUKUS nuclear submarine programme. AUKUS, announced in September 2021, is a pact under which the UK

The first UK-France summit in five years has concluded, resulting in “unprecedented measures” to tackle illegal migration, as well as joint pledges on Ukraine and energy security. Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron have given the clearest demonstration yet of what has become dubbed “Le Bromance”, as the pair sought to draw a line under post-Brexit

Britain will payout £480m over the next three years in a deal struck between Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron to tackle small boat Channel crossings, with measures including funding for a new detention centre in France. The fresh package agreed between the prime minister and the French president to deal with the migrant crisis will

Rishi Sunak has arrived in Paris to open a “new chapter” in UK-French relations as he resets ties with President Emmanuel Macron after five rocky years. The prime minister is visiting the Elysee Palace for talks with “Emmanuel” about stopping small boats crossing the Channel, Ukraine, China and greater military cooperation. Mr Sunak and the

Rishi Sunak will use talks with President Emmanuel Macron to push for a returns agreement allowing migrants to be sent back to France after crossing the English Channel. The prime minister is set to meet the French president in Paris on Friday where he will prioritise discussing his “stop the boats” plan. Downing Street wants

Matt Hancock was told by the Cabinet Office to tone down claims in his book that a Wuhan lab leak started the pandemic over fears it would “cause problems” with China. The former health secretary wanted to include in his Pandemic Diaries book that the Chinese government’s explanation “just doesn’t fly”, the latest messages leaked

Boris Johnson earned 85% of all the outside pay generated by MPs this year, Sky News can reveal. The former prime minister has declared earnings of £4.8m, mostly since stepping down from Downing Street in speeches and book deals, the latest update to the Westminster Accounts by Sky News can reveal. Some £3.7m of this