Politics

Boris Johnson’s legislative programme outlined in the Queen’s Speech has been passed by MPs – despite some suggesting it should have contained more measures to help the poorest households amid the cost of living crisis. The speech, which was read least week by the Prince of Wales, was passed by MPs in the Commons by

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of dithering over more help for households struggling as inflation hits a four-decade high. The Labour leader, who is calling for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies to help consumers hit by soaring energy bills, said the PM “doesn’t actually understand what working families are going

Ministers plan to introduce legislation to change Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade arrangements in coming weeks as it faces a “very grave and serious situation”, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has announced. The government argues that without resolving problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol it will not be able to re-establish the Stormont power sharing executive

A Cabinet minister has said he was “somewhat surprised” to hear the Bank of England warn of “apocalyptic” food price rises. Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis was quizzed by Sky News’ Kay Burley on the comments made by BoE governor Andrew Bailey in a select committee appearance on Monday. Mr Lewis said: “I was somewhat

The Foreign Secretary is expected to set out plans for legislation to rewrite the Northern Ireland Protocol on Tuesday. Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Northern Ireland on Monday, Boris Johnson said the UK needs to “proceed with a legislative solution” to the protocol as an “insurance” in case a deal is not reached

Talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol are “kind of stuck”, an EU source has told Sky News as Boris Johnson heads to Belfast to try to make headway on the issue. The Brussels source said it was “not true or fair to say that we are being intransigent” and that the UK was asking for

The government is planning to publish legislation to override the Northern Ireland Protocol, but Sky News understands the cabinet has still not agreed the wording. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are demanding the trade border in the Irish Sea, created by the treaty, be removed before they restore power sharing at Stormont. Sources close to

Business Secretary Kwarsi Kwarteng has said it is “absolutely right” the government is ready to tear up parts of post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland. The cabinet minister also accused Brussels of being “unreasonable” in its approach towards the Northern Ireland Protocol. But Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney said his country was also “frustrated” dealing

Sinn Fein has accused Boris Johnson of playing dangerous games with the people of Northern Ireland and shamefully using the nation as a “pawn” in negotiations with the EU. President Mary Lou McDonald said the British government is helping the DUP block Sinn Fein’s right to form an executive following their election win. It comes

The first group of illegal migrants have been told they will be sent to Rwanda within a fortnight under the government’s controversial new immigration plans. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said 50 “illegal entrants into this country” have been served notice and will be relocated as part of a deal new signed by Home Secretary Priti

A bottle of champagne that Conservative Party Chairman Oliver Dowden donated to a fundraising auction was labelled as being “hugely valuable as a souvenir of partygate”. A picture of the gift, shared by food critic Jay Rayner on social media, shows the bottle’s label stating: “A bottle of champagne signed by Boris. Hugely valuable as

Jacob Rees-Mogg has said that plans to cut more than 90,000 civil service jobs in order to free up billions of pounds for measures to ease the cost of living crisis does not amount to the return of austerity. During an away-day with cabinet ministers in Stoke-on-Trent on Thursday, the prime minister asked cabinet ministers

Boris Johnson has ordered ministers to come up with plans to cut more than 90,000 civil service jobs in order to free up billions of pounds for tax cuts. During an away-day with cabinet ministers in Stoke-on-Trent, the prime minister asked them to report back within a month on how they can reduce the size

Emergency talks between the UK and EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol are due on Thursday as ministers consider whether to override parts of the post-Brexit deal. The UK’s Attorney General Suella Braverman is said to have approved the scrapping of swathes of the agreement, giving Boris Johnson legal cover to make the move, despite

A Conservative MP has been heavily criticised for claiming that people who use food banks do not know how to cook or manage their finances properly. Lee Anderson, who made the remarks during a House of Commons debate, was accused of insulting people who are struggling to feed their families and Labour said they were

The government will not be bringing forward an emergency budget in light of the cost of living crisis, but “will be saying more and doing more to help people”, Michael Gove has said. Responding to the government’s Queen’s Speech on Tuesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer claimed the government was “bereft of ideas” as the

Boris Johnson has hinted at an announcement about addressing the cost of living crisis in coming days – but the Treasury swiftly denied there would be an emergency budget. The prime minister came under pressure over the surge in prices facing British households during the Commons debate on the Queen’s Speech, which sets out the

Labour is confident it can prove Sir Keir Starmer did not break lockdown rules after he pledged to offer his resignation if issued with a fixed penalty notice by police. Sir Keir has come under pressure over an event in Durham in April 2021 with party colleagues when he was filmed having a drink and

New laws to outlaw guerrilla-style climate protests that have caused misery for the public are being unveiled in a bumper Queen’s Speech. A new offence of “locking-on”, targeting activists who lock or glue themselves together or to buildings, is planned by Home Secretary Priti Patel. Her crackdown comes in one of 38 new bills, which

Russian military leaders are as much to blame for the Ukraine invasion as President Vladimir Putin – and both should face consequences, the UK defence secretary has said. In a major speech today, Ben Wallace is expected to not mince his words, and tell the world bluntly, that Mr Putin and his inner circle should