Politics

Rishi Sunak has announced a plan to scrap VAT on energy bills – a significant U-turn on his previous pledge not to make any immediate tax cuts. The former chancellor said that if he becomes prime minister he would implement the temporary measure to save the average household £160. It marks a notable change of

Liz Truss castigated Rishi Sunak’s “doom and gloom” approach to the economy during another Conservative leadership debate in which the candidates appeared willing to trash the party’s own record in government. The foreign secretary, who sat alongside the former chancellor in Boris Johnson’s cabinet for more than two years, suggested the government’s raising of taxes

Sir Keir Starmer has suggested Labour would drop its pledge to renationalise the railways, despite repeated promises to do so. The Labour leader insisted he took a “pragmatic” approach when asked about whether he would place rail, energy and water companies back under public ownership. His view appears to have changed since he became leader

Liz Truss’ team has accused Rishi Sunak of cosying up to China while he was chancellor after he pledged to impose curbs on Beijing and called it the “biggest long-term threat to Britain”. Mr Sunak has promised to close all 30 of China’s Confucius Institutes in the UK in a major hardening of government policy

The two remaining Tory leadership candidates have vowed to continue the government’s controversial scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. While former chancellor Rishi Sunak said he would do “whatever it takes” for the current policy to work, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she would expand it to other countries. They both said they would

The battle to be the next leader of the Conservative Party – and prime minister of the United Kingdom – continued on Saturday. Rishi Sunak gave a speech in Margaret Thatcher’s home town of Grantham setting out his stall to Tory party members, framing himself as an “underdog”. Meanwhile, Liz Truss blamed France for issues

By September the UK will have its fourth Conservative prime minister in a row. Of these only David Cameron was chosen by the wider British electorate by leading his party to victory in a general election. Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss will have made it to Number 10 thanks to

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are ramping up their campaigns for the Conservative leadership this weekend, announcing new policies to tackle NHS backlogs and scrap EU laws if they become prime minister. First up, the former chancellor, who will promise to make cutting NHS waiting lists his “number one public service priority” if he wins

Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby’s looking at the final two candidates for the Conservative party leadership on her last podcast before a summer break. As well as assessing the chances for Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, she sits down with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to discuss his image, being investigated for a potential

Sir Keir Starmer has revealed he “hated” being subject to a criminal investigation over beergate and the potential breach of COVID rules, and that waiting to hear if he would be exonerated was a “burden every day”. In an interview with Sky News’ Beth Rigby interviews programme, the Labour leader opened up about the moment

Body language expert Judi James has offered a fascinating insight into the mannerisms of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – and the issues they need to address in order to convince people they should be the next prime minister. She said Mr Sunak is “smart, slick, always using Tony Blair’s gesticulation, we get the thumb

The final two runners in the race to be the next prime minister will begin a summer of campaigning today in an effort to convince Conservative party members they are the right candidate for the job. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made it onto the ballot paper on Wednesday after their

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will go head-to-head to become the next leader of the Conservative Party – and prime minister of the UK – after Penny Mordaunt became the latest candidate to be knocked out of the contest. In the fifth and final round of voting by Tory MPs, the leadership contenders received the

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

Kemi Badenoch has become the latest candidate to be knocked out of the Conservative leadership race. In the fourth round of voting by Tory MPs, the contenders received the following support: Kemi Badenoch – 59 Penny Mordaunt – 92 Rishi Sunak – 118 Liz Truss – 86 There was one spoiled ballot paper and one

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

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

A former leader of the Conservative Party has criticised Rishi Sunak’s approach to the economy, accusing the former chancellor of fuelling inflation. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, Liz Truss backer Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the Treasury, overseen by Mr Sunak, has demonstrated a “failure” of monetary policy. Sir Iain continued:

Rishi Sunak has vowed to scrap hundreds of remaining EU laws and regulations if he triumphs in the Tory leadership race, as Penny Mordaunt faces scrutiny for her views on trans rights. In a fresh pitch to win over Brexiteers, the former chancellor promised to appoint a Brexit minister to comb through the remaining 2,400