Politics

The government is considering repealing a controversial law that could have seen universities and student unions fined for failing to uphold freedom of speech on campus. A Whitehall source branded The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which was due to come into force next week, “an antisemites’ charter” that could have lent a

Mel Stride has become the fourth Conservative MP to enter the race to become the party’s next leader. The former work and pensions secretary – who now holds the shadow role – hinted his candidacy to Sky News earlier this week, saying there was a “reasonable chance” he would run. But he has now officially

Robert Jenrick will join the race to run for Conservative Party leader this morning. The former minister is the third Tory to throw their hat into the ring to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the party after he stepped down following a devastating loss at the general election three weeks ago. Mr Jenrick served

Former security minister Tom Tugendhat has joined the race to replace Rishi Sunak as the next leader of the Conservative Party. He is the second person to formally join the race, with shadow home secretary James Cleverly announcing his candidacy yesterday. Nominations for the race opened up this evening, with Mr Tugendhat, Mr Cleverly, Suella

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted his government will “do difficult things” to tackle violence against women and girls following a Sky News report about sexual harassment in the ambulance service. At his first PMQs in his role as prime minister, Sir Keir was asked by Labour MP Charlotte Nichols how his government plans to tackle

Seven Labour MPs have been suspended from the parliamentary party after voting against the government to call for the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap. Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, Zarah Sultana, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Ian Byrne have all had the whip suspended for six months, at which point the decision will

The Bibby Stockholm barge will stop housing asylum seekers from the end of January 2025 as part of the government’s overhaul of the asylum system. The barge, currently moored in Dorset, was set up by the last Conservative government as one of its attempts to cut hotel bills for people who had come to the

Rishi Sunak’s replacement as Conservative leader will be announced on 2 November, the Tory party has confirmed. The party said the former prime minister, who led the Conservatives to their worst-ever defeat on 4 July, will remain acting leader until that date. Nominations to succeed Mr Sunak will open on Wednesday at 7pm and will

The previous government was set to spend £10bn on the now-scrapped Rwanda scheme, the home secretary has revealed. Giving a statement in the Commons, Yvette Cooper said £700m of taxpayers’ money had already been spent on the scheme, which the Conservatives brought in to act as a deterrent to those travelling in small boats across

Unfunded spending commitments crash the economy, a Treasury minister has warned, as he defended keeping the two-child benefit cap in what is shaping up to be the first big test of the Labour government. Speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, James Murray highlighted the market turmoil triggered by Liz Truss’s 2022 mini-budget

The story of the Starmer government will be shaped by the tension between the change it promised in opposition and the lack of cash available to achieve it. We can now see the first couple of chapters in this tale – public sector pay and benefits. The indications this weekend are that the chancellor will

The so-called “special relationship” between the UK and the US is acted out in the level of cooperation between the two governments and personified in the relationship between the presidents and prime ministers of the day. Voters have thrown together some odd couples since 1946 when, then ex-prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill coined the phrase

Independent pay review bodies have reportedly told ministers millions of public sector workers should be given a 5.5% increase in pay. The proposed above-inflation increase for teachers and around 1.3 million NHS staff, reported by The Times, is well above the figure the government is thought to have been preparing for. Sir Keir Starmer’s government

Labour’s Emily Thornberry, who was snubbed for a cabinet role by Sir Keir Starmer, is running to be chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, she has told Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast. Ms Thornberry, who served as shadow attorney general when Labour was in opposition, told political editor Beth Rigby she was “very sad” and

The suspension of UK funding for a UN relief agency working in Gaza has been overturned by the government. In January, the Foreign Office paused any future funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) after allegations surfaced that some members of staff had been involved in the 7 October attacks in Israel

The prime minister has announced £84m of new funding for African and Middle Eastern countries in an attempt to tackle the migration crisis “at source”. Speaking in a press conference at Blenheim Palace, where a raft of leaders have been meeting for a European Political Community (EPC) summit, Sir Keir Starmer said the new money

Sir Keir Starmer has said people smuggling is no longer a challenge but “a crisis”, as he opened a European summit at which he hopes to strike a deal on migration. The prime minister is using the European Political Community (EPC) gathering to push for closer security ties and joint action to tackle small boat

Sir Keir Starmer will pledge to “fire the starting gun” on a closer relationship with Europe as he hosts a major summit, set to focus on Ukraine and migration.  The prime minister will welcome at least 45 European leaders to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire for a meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), which was

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to “get Britain building” in the King’s Speech. The prime minister vowed to accelerate the delivery of more housing and infrastructure projects by changing existing planning laws – something that featured heavily in Labour’s general election campaign. The King said: “My ministers will get Britain building, including through planning reform,

George has not been to school for the last two years. He is autistic, which means he has special educational needs that requires a school to give him extra support to help him learn. And even though he as a legal document which outlines exactly the kind of support he should be receiving, his mum