Politics

A veteran Labour MP and the long-standing mayor of London are among a handful of politicians named in the King’s New Year Honours list. Former shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry, who has been made a dame, appears on the list alongside Sadiq Khan, who has been made a knight after securing a record third term

Labour would lose its majority and nearly 200 seats if a general election was held today, a new mega poll suggests. While Sir Keir Starmer would still come out on top, it would be in a “highly fragmented and unstable” parliament with five parties holding over 30 seats. More in Common, which used the data

Who fancies a festive game of Labour or Liz? The rules are quite simple – I’ll set out some quotes and you guess whether they came from a member of the current tax-raising and workers’ rights improving Labour administration or from the right-wing scourge of the anti-growth coalition and former prime minister Liz Truss. So

Never wrestle with a pig. You get dirty. And besides, the pig likes it. Looking at the festive ding-dong that’s broken out between Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, you do wonder if the Tory leader should take on board this famous quote – because there was only ever going to be one winner from this

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to his brother Nick, who died on Boxing Day aged 60 after suffering from cancer. The prime minister described his brother as a “wonderful man”, saying in a statement: “He met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour. We will miss him very much.

Pistols, a deactivated World War I machine gun and a rifle were among items lost or stolen from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the last two years. The Liberal Democrats are demanding an “urgent inquiry” after the missing firearms came to light. Data obtained by the party reveals more than 700 computers, laptops, phones, and

Reform UK now has more members than the Conservative Party and is “the real opposition” according to Nigel Farage, while Kemi Badenoch has called his numbers “fake”. According to a digital counter on the party’s website, Reform UK had gone past 131,690 members – the amount the Conservative Party declared before its leadership election in

Nigel Farage has said he is willing to help incoming US ambassador Lord Mandelson negotiate with Donald Trump’s administration. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appointed the former New Labour minister earlier this month. He is due to take up his new role in Washington early next year. In the days after his appointment, one of

More than 13,000 people in the UK’s armed forces are “not medically deployable”, defence ministry figures show. Statistics shared by Al Carns, the veterans minister, who is also a reservist, show 99,560 people within the armed forces are medically fully deployable, while 14,350 have limited deployability. However, a total of 13,522 are medically not deployable.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will be “looking towards a better, brighter future” in his first Christmas message as prime minister. It comes almost six months into the Labour leader’s time in Downing Street, with the prime minister currently having to battle criticisms of his party’s management of the economy and the direction he

Two prime ministers, two Scottish first ministers and three leaders in Wales. It’s been quite the year in UK politics. The Politics Hub team have been busy putting together a quiz for their festive programme. But can you do better than our teams of politicians and pundits? Let us know how you get on!

Sir Keir Starmer is to head abroad over the New Year after spending Christmas Day at Chequers in Buckinghamshire. The prime minister is enjoying his first festive period in the role after winning the general election at the start of July. According to a Downing Street spokesperson, he will spend time with his family over

No wonder Sir Keir Starmer is going abroad “for a few days” over New Year. The economic news here in the UK is unrelentingly gloomy. The prime minister’s spokesman says the latest GDP figures show “the challenge of fixing the economy and public figures is huge and won’t happen overnight”. Too right. The figures suggest

A leading construction industry body has warned the prime minister that measures unveiled in the budget will “fatally undermine” family-run companies in the sector, adding to the business backlash facing the government since the end of October. In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer seen by Sky News, Steve Mulholland, chief executive of the Construction

There are no “immediate” plans to stop Elon Musk donating large sums of money to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, according to the government. However, Commons Leader Lucy Powell left the door open for changes in the way political donations are regulated in the future. There have been reports and rumours that Mr Musk could provide

Donald Trump’s second stint as president will be like a “24/7 bar-room brawl”, according to the UK’s former ambassador to Washington. Lord Darroch was the representative for the UK to the US between 2016 and 2019 – when Mr Trump was last in power – until cables he sent to London were leaked and showed

This is awkward for Downing Street to say the least. The person chosen by the British government to be the keystone in the most important of bilateral relationships is, according to one of the incoming president’s close aides, a “complete moron”. Chris LaCivita is a central character in Trump’s orbit. He managed Trump‘s election victory

The government is planning to “bring back the family doctor” by giving GPs an extra £889m to spend time with patients in a bid to end a dispute. Under proposals for the new GP contract for 2025/26, which is being consulted upon now, GPs would be incentivised to ensure patients most in need see the

Labour’s anti-corruption minister has been named in court documents detailing claims her family embezzled billions of pounds from a nuclear power project in Bangladesh. Economic secretary Tulip Siddiq – who holds responsibility for financial crime and illicit finance – is alleged to have helped co-ordinate meetings with the Russian government regarding the Rooppur nuclear power

Hospices in England will receive an extra £100m to improve buildings, equipment and accommodation, the government has said. The government announced the £100m will be given to both adult and child hospices in the new year and will cover until the end of the next financial year in April 2026. A further £26m will be