Politics

A row has erupted over whether Rishi Sunak U-turned on his pledge to not cut taxes after announcing he would slash VAT on energy bills. The former chancellor said if he becomes prime minister, he would implement the temporary measure to save the average household £160. Throughout his campaign to become Tory leader, he has

Rishi Sunak has announced a plan to scrap VAT on energy bills – a significant U-turn on his previous pledge not to make any immediate tax cuts. The former chancellor said that if he becomes prime minister he would implement the temporary measure to save the average household £160. It marks a significant change of

The blue on blue attacks have ramped up after Rishi Sunak was accused of “mansplaining” to Liz Truss during their first head-to-head TV debate. Mr Sunak spoke over Ms Truss several times as she attempted to explain her tax-cutting policies to the BBC audience of Tory members. This prompted accusations of “mansplaining” – when a

Public spending in the north has fallen behind the England average despite the government’s flagship “levelling up” agenda, according to a new think tank analysis. IPPR North – a branch of the Institute for Public Policy Research – said that, despite Boris Johnson’s repeated pledges to level up the country, “money simply hasn’t followed the

Sir Keir Starmer has suggested Labour would drop its pledge to renationalise the railways, despite repeated promises to do so. The Labour leader insisted he took a “pragmatic” approach when asked about whether he would place rail, energy and water companies back under public ownership. His view appears to have changed since he became leader

The two remaining Tory leadership candidates have vowed to continue the government’s controversial scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss both said they would stand by the policy, which has already cost the UK £120m. This comes despite the Commons home affairs committee saying this week

By September the UK will have its fourth Conservative prime minister in a row. Of these only David Cameron was chosen by the wider British electorate by leading his party to victory in a general election. Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss will have made it to Number 10 thanks to

The battle to be the next leader of the Conservative Party – and prime minister of the United Kingdom – continued on Saturday. Rishi Sunak gave a speech in Margaret Thatcher’s home town of Grantham setting out his stall to Tory party members, framing himself as an “underdog”. Meanwhile, Liz Truss blamed France for issues

Boris Johnson visited Yorkshire this week to meet Ukrainian soldiers being trained in the UK – and new pictures show the prime minister throwing a grenade and using some of the equipment. The UK’s armed forces are training groups of Ukrainians as part of the support being provided following Russia’s invasion. Mr Johnson, who announced

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are ramping up their campaigns for the Conservative leadership this weekend, announcing new policies to tackle NHS backlogs and scrap EU laws if they become prime minister. First up, the former chancellor, who will promise to make cutting NHS waiting lists his “number one public service priority” if he wins

Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby’s looking at the final two candidates for the Conservative party leadership on her last podcast before a summer break. As well as assessing the chances for Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, she sits down with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to discuss his image, being investigated for a potential

Sir Keir Starmer has revealed he “hated” being subject to a criminal investigation over beergate and the potential breach of COVID rules, and that waiting to hear if he would be exonerated was a “burden every day”. In an interview with Sky News’ Beth Rigby interviews programme, the Labour leader opened up about the moment

Body language expert Judi James has offered a fascinating insight into the mannerisms of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – and the issues they need to address in order to convince people they should be the next prime minister. She said Mr Sunak is “smart, slick, always using Tony Blair’s gesticulation, we get the thumb

The final two runners in the race to be the next prime minister will begin a summer of campaigning today in an effort to convince Conservative party members they are the right candidate for the job. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made it onto the ballot paper on Wednesday after their

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has branded Boris Johnson a “complete bull*******” who “took the **** out of the public” over partygate. Asked about the departing prime minister’s legacy in an episode of The Rest Is Politics podcast, he said Mr Johnson had been “found out” over the lockdown-breaking gatherings in Downing Street. But rather

The final two candidates in the Conservative leadership contest will be decided today as the hopefuls edge closer to the top job – and Downing Street. Three runners remain in the race – Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss – after Kemi Badenoch was knocked out of the competition on Tuesday. They will face

The last four runners in the Conservative leadership contest will face another round of voting later, as the party decides who will replace Boris Johnson in Downing Street. Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch made it through Monday’s ballot to continue in the race, while Tom Tugendhat was knocked out. But as

Tom Tugendhat has become the latest candidate to be knocked out of the Conservative leadership race. In the third round of voting by Tory MPs, the contenders received the following votes: Kemi Badenoch, 58 Penny Mordaunt, 82 Rishi Sunak, 115 Liz Truss, 71 Mr Tugendhat, 31 Politics Hub: New favourite to be PM after latest

Sky News has cancelled its Conservative leadership debate after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pulled out from the event. The debate was due to be hosted by Kay Burley tomorrow evening. Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the party, exposing disagreements and splits.

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss engaged in bad-tempered exchanges as the five remaining Conservative leadership rivals faced off in the second televised debate. In a stand-out moment of the debate, all the candidates refused to put their hand up when asked if they would give Boris Johnson a job in their