Politics

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

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