Politics

Dominic Raab has told Sky News his controversial wink at Prime Minister’s Questions last month was not at Angela Rayner. The wink, which appeared to be directed at Labour’s deputy leader, led to Mr Raab being accused of sexism on social media. The two deputies were going head to head in Mr Johnson’s absence, with

Boris Johnson is holding his farewell party at the prime minister’s country estate this weekend, a source has told Sky News. Formal invites went out earlier this week to the event being held at Chequers, the official country residence of prime ministers, which is based in Buckinghamshire. A Tory source told Sky News: “The invitation

The final five candidates in the Conservative leadership race have clashed over their tax plans in a fiery first TV debate. While former Chancellor Rishi Sunak dismissed tax cut pledges by his rivals as an “unfunded spree of borrowing and more debt”, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss hit back, saying: “You cannot tax your way to

It’s the end of the first week into the Tory leadership race, and five hopefuls remain in the running to be the country’s next prime minister. Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat are battling it out to take over from Boris Johnson after securing a large enough backing during the

Penny Mordaunt has said fellow Conservative leadership candidates are trying to stop her from getting to the final round of the contest because she is who they most fear competing against head-to-head. Tory leadership favourite Ms Mordaunt told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that she is “running a positive campaign” and warned her fellow

Five candidates are left in the Conservative leadership race, which has now become even more unpredictable following the elimination of Suella Braverman from the field. While the top three slots remain unchanged, Liz Truss had another difficult round of voting as she failed to close the gap on Penny Mordaunt and instead found another right-wing

In 2016, Theresa May was anointed as the Brexiteers’ imploded, while in 2019 it was always going to be Boris Johnson. In 2022, the race to become Conservative Party leader and the next prime minister is wide open. After the first round of voting on Wednesday, Rishi Sunak emerged with most support, winning the backing

The final six candidates to become the next leader of the Conservative Party – and prime minister – are readying themselves for a second round of votes later, which will see at least one of them eliminated from the race. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak leads the field, having gained support from 88 MPs in yesterday’s

The Conservative leadership contender Nadhim Zahawi has said he would “certainly” offer Boris Johnson a role in his cabinet if he were to be elected the party’s next leader. Speaking to LBC, the newly appointed chancellor described the outgoing prime minister as “a good friend” and “probably the most consequential prime minister of his generation”.

Eight contenders in the race to replace Boris Johnson. But it was a day defined by one particular run-off in the competition: the tussle between frontrunner Rishi Sunak and the “Stop Rishi” campaign. It’s a drama that’s got everyone in Westminster reaching for the popcorn, as those loyal to Boris Johnson take very public aim

Labour will today push to hold a no confidence vote in the government to remove Boris Johnson from Number 10 and potentially trigger a general election. The party wants the vote to take place in the Commons tomorrow, rather than allowing the prime minister to stay in post while the Conservatives elect a new leader.

Boris Johnson has said he is “determined” to fulfil his Conservative Party’s winning 2019 mandate in his final few weeks as leader – as he refuses to back any one leadership contender. Speaking to broadcasters for the first time since his resignation last week, Mr Johnson said he will continue to “oversee the process” before

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has officially joined the race for the Tory leadership, with Home Secretary Priti Patel potentially set to announce her candidacy. A surprise entry has also been made by Foreign Office minister Rehman Chishti, meaning 11 Conservatives are now fighting to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister. Writing in the Telegraph newspaper,

Boris Johnson showed a “careless disregard for national security” in holding a private meeting with an ex-KGB agent in the wake of the Salisbury poisoning, Labour has said. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme it was “irresponsible” and “unthinkable” that Mr Johnson, who was then foreign secretary, would

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has become the latest Conservative to announce a bid to become the next prime minister. Mr Shapps pledged to end “tactical government by an often distracted centre”. He joins a leadership race that includes the former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who announced his bid on Friday, vowing to “restore trust, rebuild

Four more Conservative MPs have joined the Tory leadership race, widening the field to eight. Nadhim Zahawi, the newly appointed chancellor, Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, and the ex-health secretaries Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid all announced their bids on Saturday. Earlier in the day Ben Wallace, who was the bookies’ favourite to succeed Mr

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner have been cleared of breaking lockdown rules on a visit to Durham last year, following a police investigation. Both had vowed to step down if they were found to have breached regulations during a trip to the city in April 2021, ahead of the Hartlepool

The resignation of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid could be the final blow for Boris Johnson’s premiership after the political heavyweights attacked the PM’s “lack of integrity”, competence and leadership. The prime minister narrowly survived a confidence vote in him last month. Tory MPs voted by 211 to 148 in support of

Boris Johnson has told his cabinet ministers his government will not seek to implement new policies or make major changes of direction after he resigned as Conservative Party leader. Addressing his reshuffled top team of ministers for the first time since resigning earlier on Thursday, Mr Johnson said his priority is “to continue delivering on

Grant Shapps is believed to be considering a Conservative Party leadership bid as Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has ruled himself out of the contest, Sky News understands. It is understood that the transport secretary is one of the first senior Conservative MPs to be seriously considering the option of standing in the upcoming race.