Politics

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will announce a rise in the national living wage this week, Sky News understands. Mr Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will accept an official recommendation to increase the living wage from £9.50 an hour to about £10.40 an hour, according to news first reported in The Times. The rise of nearly

Rishi Sunak has avoided sticking to his predecessor’s pledge to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP ahead of the autumn budget, set to be unveiled on Thursday. During her campaign for Number 10, Liz Truss said the figure would be reached by the end of the decade. But asked if he would standby her

Rishi Sunak will set out a five-point economic action plan to address global instability and the rising cost of living at this week’s G20 summit – where he will face Russia’s foreign minister and call out Putin’s regime. The prime minister is in Bali for talks with leaders of the world’s biggest economies in his

The last time a chancellor of the exchequer appeared on the Sunday morning political shows he helped kick the economy off a cliff-edge. Seven long weeks ago, Kwasi Kwarteng was still revelling in the aftermath of his not-so-mini budget and its promise of unfunded tax cuts, so much so he promised more to come. It

The head of the UK’s armed forces and the defence secretary have held “serious” talks with the prime minister and chancellor about the need to invest in defence at a time of war in Europe despite grave economic pressures at home. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme that Rishi

Rishi Sunak will this week kick off his premiership for real, with an international summit in Indonesia that will give a taster of his approach to foreign policy and an economic statement back in London that will define the early months of his government – for good or ill. On Monday, Mr Sunak will arrive

Dominic Raab “values” civil servants in his department, the Ministry of Justice has insisted, after bullying claims have emerged against him. Mr Raab was reappointed as justice secretary and deputy prime minister by Rishi Sunak last month, having held the roles between September 2021 and September 2022 under Boris Johnson, but having been sacked by

There is now a “window of opportunity” to fix the issues around the Northern Ireland protocol, says the Irish prime minister. Speaking after the British-Irish Council summit in Blackpool, Michael Martin said relations between the UK and EU had “improved very significantly”, and both he and British PM Rishi Sunak wanted to resolve the problems

Kwasi Kwarteng claims he told Liz Truss to “slow down” after the market crashing mini-budget was announced. The ex-chancellor, who was sacked by the then-prime minister, told TalkTV’s First Edition programme: “She said, ‘Well, I’ve only got two years’ and I said, ‘You will have two months if you carry on like this’.” Mr Kwarteng

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said he “could not speak or sleep” when he found out his wife had breast cancer. Susie Cleverly, 49, was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer in December 2021 after spotting dimpled skin underneath her right breast the month before – nearly a year ago to the day. At the

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has promised that an Assembly election will take place in the first three months of 2023 if the impasse at Stormont remains unresolved. The UK government announced on Wednesday it intended to extend the deadline for calling a fresh election in Northern Ireland and cut the pay of Stormont Assembly

Rishi Sunak has said it is “absolutely right” that Sir Gavin Williamson resigned and admitted he has “regret” over appointing him as a cabinet minister in light of the allegations he is facing. The prime minister insisted he “did not know about any of the specific concerns” relating to Sir Gavin’s alleged “unacceptable” behaviour in

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said Sir Gavin Williamson was right to resign from the cabinet over bullying claims. Sir Gavin’s departure on Tuesday evening came shortly after an ex-civil servant – who claimed the MP told them to “slit your throat” – made a formal complaint. A Number 10 source told Sky News it

He had to go. It was inevitable. The charge sheet against Sir Gavin Williamson was getting longer, not just by the day, but by the hour. It was impossible for him to survive, given the damage the bullying row was doing to Rishi Sunak. Did he jump or was he pushed? Despite Sir Gavin claiming

Former chief whip Wendy Morton has referred an allegation that Sir Gavin Williamson sent “abusive” messages to her for an independent investigation by a parliamentary watchdog. The Cabinet Office minister was already facing an internal Conservative Party investigation over the series of threatening messages reportedly send to Ms Morton complaining he had been excluded from

When Wendy Morton attempted to be selected as Conservative candidate in Richmond, North Yorkshire, back in 2014, she was defeated by Rishi Sunak. Now she appears to be gaining her revenge as the prime minister faces questions about his judgement for re-appointing Sir Gavin Williamson to the government. Politics Hub: PM ‘has confidence’ in Williamson

Rishi Sunak will call for a “global mission for new jobs and clean growth” as he joins world leaders for the first day of COP27 in Egypt. The PM, who only announced he would be attending the climate change talks in a U-turn last week, will tell attendees today it is essential countries stick to

Rishi Sunak says it is “right” for an independent complaints investigation to take place into accusations of bullying made again Sir Gavin Williamson “before making any decisions about the future”. Sir Gavin, the cabinet minister and former education secretary, allegedly sent abusive text messages to Wendy Morton, the former chief whip, complaining that he and

The former chairman of the Conservative Party has said he told Rishi Sunak a bullying complaint had been made against Cabinet Office minister Sir Gavin Williamson days before he appointed him to the job. Sir Jake Berry says he informed the incoming PM about the allegations a day before he entered Number 10. Politics Hub: