Politics

But seven weeks ago, Rishi Sunak was cast on to the political scrapheap as he lost out to Liz Truss to become prime minister and retreated to his North Yorkshire constituency, his ambitions shattered and his hopes for political power now beyond his grasp.  But on Monday, Mr Sunak staged the most remarkable of political

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak held talks late into the night, Sky News understands. Reports suggest Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak’s talks focused on a potential joint ticket. The discussion has fuelled speculation the pair could strike a deal – though neither the former prime minister nor the ex-chancellor have officially declared themselves in the

For a man who was, until recently, thousands of miles away on a Caribbean island (and has yet to put his hat in the ring) it is extraordinary that Boris Johnson’s name has dominated this leadership race. Such is the strength of feeling around the former PM: love him or loathe him, we can’t stop

Former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has said he is backing Boris Johnson to return as prime minister despite having previously called for him to resign in the summer. “I’m backing Boris. He got the big calls right, whether it was ordering more vaccines ahead of more waves of Covid, arming Ukraine early against the advice of

Boris Johnson has been pictured by Sky News making his way back to the UK. The former prime minister has been on holiday in the Dominican Republic but is set to return to London after telling an ally that he will run to lead the country again. He is flying back in economy alongside his

Boris Johnson has revealed to a close political ally that he is going to run in the Conservative leadership contest to replace Liz Truss as he seeks a return to Number 10. Tory MP James Duddridge told to Sky News’ chief political correspondent Jon Craig that he had spoken to the former prime minister, who

Rishi Sunak has announced his bid to become the next Conservative leader and prime minister, six weeks after Liz Truss beat him to the top job. The former chancellor has put himself forward for the second time in a matter of months after the extraordinary resignation of Ms Truss on Thursday, 44 days into her

Candidates to replace Liz Truss as Tory leader will need at least 100 nominations from Conservative MPs, 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady has said. This will rule out a number of candidates from running, and means the maximum number of people able to stand is three. During the last leadership election, Rishi Sunak won

Candidates to replace Liz Truss as Tory leader will need at least 100 nominations from Conservative MPs, 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady has said. This will rule out a number of candidates from running, and means the maximum number of people able to stand is three. During the last leadership election, Rishi Sunak won

After Wednesday, it’s worth asking: who is in charge? The last 12 hours suggests it’s very hard to say. Few say Liz Truss, since her word is no longer her bond, her writ limited. So what are the other possibilities? Few think it is Mark Fullbrook, the embattled chief of staff, but few believe his

Grant Shapps has been appointed as the new home secretary, replacing Suella Braverman after her shock resignation. The former transport secretary, who backed Rishi Sunak in the Tory leadership race and has been critical of some of PM Liz Truss’ policies, has been confirmed by Downing Street as now heading the Home Office. Speaking outside

It’s a sign of how bad things are for the new prime minister that only her third Prime Minister’s Questions is being billed as a potentially defining moment in her short premiership. MPs tell me that how Liz Truss performs at the despatch box against Sir Keir Starmer at their weekly joust will be an

The majority of Conservative Party members want Liz Truss to resign now – just six weeks after voting her in – and former PM Boris Johnson topped the list of who would be best to replace her, a new poll has found. A YouGov poll of Tory members found 55% would now vote for Rishi

It looks to be over. Jeremy Hunt’s decision to not just junk most of Liz Truss’s tax-cutting plan but go further and ditch much of her flagship energy policy signalled the end of not only “Trussonomics”, but potentially the prime minister herself. When the end comes is unclear: Ms Truss may have been bought some

Jeremy Hunt has announced he is creating an economic advisory council to assist the government as it seeks to repair the damage caused by last month’s mini-budget. The council’s membership will include Rupert Harrison, who was chief of staff to former chancellor George Osbourne during the austerity era of 2010-2015, and Karen Ward, who advised

Labour has called for Liz Truss to face parliament today after three Tory MPs broke ranks to demand that she quits. The prime minister is facing calls to resign from within her own party just six weeks after entering Number 10, following the economic turmoil in the wake of the mini-budget. Tory MPs Crispin Blunt,

A senior Tory has accused the government of looking “like libertarian jihadists” and treating the country as “laboratory mice” over the past few weeks. Robert Halfon, former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party and an education minister under Theresa May, said he believes Liz Truss needs to apologise to the public for the economic turmoil

The US president has branded Liz Truss’s original economic plan as a “mistake” amid continued criticism of the prime minister’s fiscal policies. Speaking to reporters from an ice cream parlour in Oregon, Joe Biden said he “wasn’t the only one who thought it was a mistake” and called the poor outcome of the government’s mini-budget

The new chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said there “were mistakes” in Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget. Speaking to Sky News on Saturday, Mr Hunt said: “It was a mistake when we were going to be asking for difficult decisions across the board on tax and spending to cut the rate of tax paid by

Be in absolutely no doubt, the prime minister is in deep trouble. She has sacked her chancellor, committed a second major U-turn on her mini-budget, and junked the core of her economic policy. And she did so, awkwardly and uncomfortably, in no more than eight minutes. Government descends into chaos as PM faces battle to