Politics

Liz Truss was interrupted by activists as she attempted to deliver her opening speech at a Conservative Party hustings in Eastbourne. The protesters from Green New Deal Rising shouted “shame on you” and “Green New Deal” as they stood holding placards inside the hustings venue. “I think we have some infiltrators and I will wait

Rishi Sunak has said Nicola Sturgeon needs to be beaten rather than ignored, aiming a dig at Liz Truss who earlier this week called Scotland’s first minister an “attention seeker”. Mr Sunak said Ms Sturgeon and her party the SNP “pose an existential threat to our cherished union”, adding: “Arguing that we should ignore them

Rishi Sunak has been accused of “funnelling taxpayers’ money to rich Tory shires” after he told party members he had been working to divert funding from “deprived urban areas”. A video obtained by the New Statesman magazine shows the former chancellor telling grassroots Conservatives that he had started changing public funding formulas to ensure more prosperous

Rishi Sunak won the audience, but Liz Truss appears to have a grip on the Tory membership in the country. All the clues as to why both are true could be found in Thursday night’s 90-minute Battle for Number 10 on Sky News with Kay Burley, which tested the breadth, depth and agility of the

This is the moment that matters. On the advice of the National Cyber Security Centre, an arm of GCHQ, the Conservative party has delayed sending out ballot papers to its members – originally expected last weekend. As a result the next seven days, beginning today, are now crucial to determining the next prime minister of

Sajid Javid has thrown his support behind Liz Truss as the next Conservative Party leader, in what will come as a huge blow to Rishi Sunak. The former health secretary, and ex-leadership hopeful, attacked Mr Sunak’s economic policies as he revealed his choice in The Times this evening. He suggested Mr Sunak’s refusal to cut

Liz Truss has said she would “support and extend” the government’s controversial Rwanda deportation policy “to more countries”. The widely criticised strategy, introduced by the current Conservative government, has been the subject of numerous court cases and received widespread international backlash. Both Tory leadership hopefuls Ms Truss and Rishi Sunak have previously committed to continuing

Conservative members are facing delays in receiving their postal ballots to vote for who they want to be the party’s next leader due to security fears. In a letter sent to Tory members seen by Sky News, the Conservative Party’s head of membership confirmed postal ballots will arrive “a little later than we originally said”

Liz Truss has U-turned on her latest leadership policy pitch to “wage war on Whitehall waste” after a Tory backlash over its impact on public sector pay. On Monday night, the foreign secretary said she would save £8.8m by introducing regional pay boards instead of national ones to set salaries for civil servants, reflecting where

Former Tory leadership contender Penny Mordaunt has endorsed Liz Truss in the race to be prime minister, in a huge blow to Rishi Sunak. Ms Mordaunt announced her backing for the foreign secretary as she introduced her at the latest Conservative leadership hustings in Exeter, declaring Ms Truss as “the hope candidate” who “knows what

Rishi Sunak is promising a “radical” change if he becomes prime minister by cutting the basic rate of income tax from 20p in the pound to 16p by the end of the next parliament. In his latest pitch to Conservative Party members, the former chancellor claims the 20% reduction would be “one of the most

A retweet by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, showing Rishi Sunak stabbing Boris Johnson in the back, has been branded “dangerous” by a fellow Conservative MP. The picture has the prime minister and the former chancellor’s faces imposed onto those of Roman leader Julius Caesar and one of the men who conspired against and killed him,

Rishi Sunak has pledged to introduce a temporary £10 fine for NHS patients who fail to attend a GP appointment as he tries to bridge the gap with Liz Truss in the Tory leadership race. The former chancellor acknowledged he is “playing catch-up” to the foreign secretary in the battle to become the next prime

Tom Tugendhat has admitted foreign secretary “would be a fantastic job to do” – but insisted Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss has made him no promises. Mr Tugendhat, who also stood as a candidate to take over from Boris Johnson, is the latest senior Tory MP to back Ms Truss over Rishi Sunak. Mr Tugendhat

Former Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat has endorsed Liz Truss in the race to be prime minister, in a huge blow to Rishi Sunak. Writing in The Times, Mr Tugendhat said that the foreign secretary’s promises of tax cuts are based on “true Conservative principles” and that she can unite the party. He said: “Liz

Rishi Sunak has vowed to review the Equalities Act to stop the “woke nonsense” he claims is “permeating public life”. While claiming he has “zero interest in fighting a so-called culture war”, the Tory leadership hopeful pledged to “stand up to left-wing agitators” and “protect British freedoms” if he becomes prime minister. It is his

Sky News has caught up with former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, who was instrumental in Boris Johnson’s downfall. Last month, Mr Pincher resigned his post after he was accused of groping two men in a private members’ club. It later emerged he had already been investigated for his conduct three years ago. The PM’s

Rishi Sunak said he would support the return of grammar schools while Liz Truss promised to revive Northern Powerhouse Rail during a wide-ranging hustings event that saw them grilled on everything from Love Island to illegal drugs. After four TV debates with audiences largely made up of floating voters, the leadership hopefuls were finally confronted

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said one of his shadow ministers was sacked yesterday for making up policy “on the hoof” as he stood on a picket line during rail strikes. Sam Tarry was dismissed from his role as a junior shadow transport minister after he disobeyed orders for frontbench Labour MPs to not

A Labour MP has been removed from the party’s frontbench by Sir Keir Starmer after giving a TV interview on the picket line during a rail strike. Sam Tarry, the MP for Ilford South and shadow transport minister, was this morning at Euston station along with rail workers taking industrial action over pay and conditions.