Politics

The resignation of Anneliese Dodds as international development minister “won’t make a difference” to Sir Keir Starmer, Harriet Harman has said.  The Labour peer told Beth Rigby on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast that there is “such coherence” in the rest of the cabinet that her decision to quit will do little damage. Politics Live:

Anneliese Dodds has quit as international development minister over Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to slash the overseas aid budget to pay for an increase in defence spending.  Ms Dodds, who is also women and equalities minister and attends cabinet, said she was resigning from both posts “with great sadness” but would continue to support the

“Relieved is an understatement”. That’s how one senior government figure described their mood as the prime minister, his foreign secretary and the Number 10 team left the White House having cemented Sir Keir and President Trump’s personal relationship; secured a commitment to NATO; the prospect of a trade deal that could spare the UK from

With Donald Trump, it’s all about relationships. Going into this bilateral summit, those around Sir Keir Starmer were stressing that these guys genuinely got on well, they liked each other, and that the prime minister could say things to Mr Trump in private and not get his head blown off. What we saw today was

I’ve been on quite a few trips now to the White House with successive prime ministers, but I can’t remember one that mattered as much as this.  As Keir Starmer himself puts it, “everything has changed” and the prime minister finds himself negotiating with an old ally that is looking at the post-war world order

Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of failing to guarantee the recently announced uplift in defence spending will not be spent on the contentious Chagos Islands deal. After initially refusing to set out a timeline to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, the prime minister confirmed on Tuesday the threshold would be met by

Something has changed dramatically in your home in a way you won’t have even noticed. The electricity in your plug socket no longer comes from coal, the workhorse of the industrial revolution that powered our economy for decades but which is also the most polluting fossil fuel. Now it is generated by cleaner gas, renewable

Sir Keir Starmer has admitted his decision to increase defence spending was “accelerated” by Donald Trump taking office. The prime minister said today’s announcement was “three years in the making” after Russia invaded Ukraine – but a “very changed context” pushed him forward. Politics Live: PM warns ‘everything has changed’ after announcing defence spending boost

People who have tracked the location of their stolen mobile phones, laptops or bikes can expect swifter police action under new measures to be introduced to parliament today. In a drive to tackle street crimes, officers will no longer need a warrant to enter a premises where stolen items have been electronically located, such as through

MP Mike Amesbury, who has been jailed for 10 weeks after punching a man in the street, will still get his £91,000 salary in prison. The Runcorn and Helsby MP pleaded guilty in January to assault by beating of 45-year-old Paul Fellows in Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of 26 October. Politics

👉Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam’s on your podcast app👈 Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics. On the third anniversary of Ukraine’s invasion, Sam and Anne take stock on the milestone’s significance for global politics. With transatlantic tensions remaining,

Sir Keir Starmer has said the United States “is right” about the UK and Europe needing to take more responsibility for defence and security. The prime minister, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, said he is clear Britain “will take a leading responsibility” in protecting the continent. “Instability in Europe always

Sir Keir Starmer has urged Donald Trump to stand by Ukraine with a security guarantee as he warned a bad peace deal would be a “disaster for everyone”. The prime minister is due to meet the US president for talks in Washington DC next week amid fragile relations between America and Europe after Mr Trump

Being a politician is not always easy – and neither is it straightforward if you are in a relationship with one. Jen Wilson joins her partner Baroness Davidson on Beth Rigby‘s Electoral Dysfunction podcast where she describes how her life became “quite intense” when Ruth led the Scottish Conservatives. A caller tells the podcast that

Child criminal exploitation (CCE) and “cuckooing” will be made new offences under a new law, the home secretary has said. Set to be introduced to Parliament next week, the Crime and Policing Bill would explicitly make the two acts illegal and introduce restriction orders on those thought to be using children for criminal means. Home

Spiking will become a criminal offence with a possible 10-year prison sentence under a new law, the government has announced. It said in a statement the new offence is part of the Crime and Policing Bill, which will be introduced in parliament next week. The government also announced a nationwide training programme to help workers

The first domestic violence specialists have been placed in 999 control rooms in response to the death of a woman who was murdered by her ex-husband, despite ringing police on the night she died. Raneem’s Law has been launched in five pilot areas – West Midlands, Northumbria, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Humberside. The legislation – promised

Nigel Farage has said Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not a dictator and everything Donald Trump says should be taken “truthfully not literally”. Speaking to Sky News’ US correspondent James Matthews, the Reform UK leader also said he did not think Ukraine started the war with Russia and claimed Mr Trump was talking about “causal factors” when

Sir Keir Starmer has held private calls with European leaders to ensure the Western alliance does not fracture, a minister has said, after Donald Trump claimed Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a “dictator”. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast the prime minister has spent a “quite considerable amount of time” over the

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has spoken with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to give the Ukrainian president his backing after Donald Trump called him a “dictator”. A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir called Mr Zelenskyy this evening and shared his support for him “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader”. The prime minister “said that it was perfectly

Some government departments have been asked to make savings which would amount to a 11% cut in spending – as the prime minister faces calls to raise defence spending. Sky News has been told that departments which do not have their spending protected have been asked to model two options – “flat” spending, which, adjusted

A former Australian prime minister has said his country should be “prepared to make a contribution” to protect the freedom of Ukraine. Tony Abbott told Sky News’ Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge that no country “will be safe against a bully” if Vladimir Putin wins the war. He called on Britain to take the lead

Sir Keir Starmer was the first leader to arrive at this meeting in Paris, strolling down the road from the British Embassy. When he emerged, after three hours of discussion, he looked sombre. Sir Keir, like the other political heavyweights who came to the Elysee Palace, knows that Europe has been battered and marginalised over

There’s been a lot of talk in politics recently about “Western values”. Just last week, the new US vice president JD Vance spoke about the “crisis” in the West and accused European governments of retreating from their values. He said Europe was determined to ignore voter concerns on migration and said free speech was in

The war in Ukraine is “the frontline for all of us” in Europe, a minister has said after Sir Keir Starmer said he is prepared to put British troops on the ground. Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast the government stands firmly behind Ukraine – not just for Ukrainians, but

The whole government recognises the need to spend more on defence, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, a cabinet minister has said. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that he “disagrees” with claims the prime minister is preparing to overrule the chancellor on the amount of cash being spent on the

Rachel Reeves says “no one ever raised any concerns” about her expenses when she worked at HBOS, as she responds to reports she was investigated while working for the bank. The chancellor was accused by former employees of being involved in an “expenses scandal” while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) from 2006 to

A waiting game on tariffs is beginning to play out between the UK and the United States on tariffs, amid warnings that Donald Trump’s latest strategy could hit the UK especially hard. The US president on Thursday revealed he has asked his government to consider what tariffs should be applied to other nations – and

People who believe the things posted in a controversial Labour WhatsApp group shouldn’t have been MPs in the first place, according to Harriet Harman. Speaking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the veteran Labour parliamentarian said the scandal was “very serious” as the public already thinks MPs are “contemptuous of their voters”. Politics live: Follow the

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 Do MPs say one thing in public, and another in private? This week, Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and Ruth Davidson ask what’s been going on with the two MPs suspended from the Labour Party over WhatsApp messages containing offensive comments. Andrew Gwynne

Farmers forced the prime minister to cut short a visit to a housing development as they drove tractors to the site in a protest against changes to inheritance tax. Sir Keir Starmer was in Buckinghamshire to announce more than 100 new towns could be built under the government’s plans for the “largest house building programme

A leak inquiry will take place following reports that economic growth forecasts have been reduced by the government’s financial watchdog. Bloomberg reported that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had reduced its growth forecasts in data sent to Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week. Reduced growth could force the government to cut further spending or increase

The man who killed Conservative MP Sir David Amess was released from the Prevent anti-terror programme “too quickly”, a review has found. Sir David was stabbed to death by Islamic State (ISIS) supporter Ali Harbi Ali during a constituency surgery at a church hall in Leigh-on-Sea in October 2021. The killer, who was given a