Politics

The prime minister was never going to lose the two amendment votes, but the results tonight would have been hard to hear. On both rebel amendments, up to 60 of his own MPs told Rishi Sunak that his flagship illegal immigration plan doesn’t go far enough. In parliament’s central lobby after the vote tonight, one

Tory Rwanda rebels have shown their hand. They have been able to demonstrate their side is willing to go further than before Christmas – and that they have the numbers to defeat the government tomorrow. Two prominent figures on the right – salaried deputy chairmen of the Conservative Party – have resigned their posts to

Rishi Sunak has said the strikes conducted against Houthi rebels in Yemen were intended as a “single, limited action” amid questions about the UK’s long-term strategy. The British military joined forces with the US on Thursday night as it launched attacks against Houthi bases in Yemen, in retaliation for the group’s targeting of international trade

Rishi Sunak is gearing up for a potential rebellion among his backbenchers when his controversial Rwanda bill returns to the Commons on Tuesday. The prime minister is facing a dilemma over the question of whether to toughen up the bill to appease those on the right of his party. If he does, he risks losing

Tory MPs plotting the Rwanda rebellion are resigned to securing minimal changes to the legislation – despite some belief senior figures are poised to quit party roles over the bill. Almost 60 MPs have publicly backed the bill and some rebels hope that Lee Anderson, deputy chair of the Conservative Party, may resign and back

Former Labour MP Luciana Berger is making a comeback in the party to lead its mental health strategy review – five years after she quit over antisemitism within its ranks. Ms Berger was one of seven MPs to resign back in February 2019 amid anger over Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of antisemitism complaints, saying she was

A woman who spent more than three decades working for the Post Office is planning to stand against Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey – a former postal affairs minister – at the next general election. Yvonne Tracey, who said ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office had made her “very sad” and “very

Ministers are “failing to act” on the lessons from the Post Office scandal by refusing to change laws around public contracts, union leaders have said. The TUC said the Procurement Act, passed last October, was a “huge missed opportunity” to tighten up rules governing the awarding of taxpayer-funded contracts to private companies. The legislation was

Sir Tony Blair was warned the Horizon IT system could be flawed before it was rolled out across the Post Office, a document shows. A letter sent to the then-Labour prime minister on 9 December 1998 by a Downing Street special adviser said pressing ahead with the project was a risk because of spiralling costs

Brexit has cost the UK £140bn so far, according to new analysis, and could see the nation £311bn worse off by the middle of the next decade, according to a new report. Economists and analysts at Cambridge Econometrics – commissioned by London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan – have modelled how the UK’s economy would have acted

The Conservatives are facing yet another set of by-elections in February, with voters in Kingswood and Wellingborough set to pick their new MPs. The contests follow the resignation of former minister Chris Skidmore in protest at the government’s watering down of green policies, and the ousting of Peter Bone over allegations of bullying and sexual

The longest strike in NHS history, during which junior doctors walked out for six days, led to more than 113,000 patient operations, appointments and procedures being postponed, new figures show. The industrial action started last Wednesday and continued until yesterday, with 25,446 staff absent from work at the peak, which was the day the strike

When nine million people watch a TV drama that then provokes a national outpouring of anger over the postmasters’ fight for justice, a prime minister would do well to acknowledge the public mood and act. And that’s exactly what we have seen Rishi Sunak do this week. PM accused of seeking ‘glory’ from scandal –

More than 30 Tory MPs are poised to back amendments aimed at “toughening” Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill when it returns to the Commons next week. The prime minister is braced for yet another showdown with the right-wing faction of his party, which believes the legislation in its current form will not stop further legal challenges

Civil servants have hit back at “cowardly” former ministers who have criticised them for their alleged failure to act on the Post Office Horizon scandal. A blame-game is under way following the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which depicted how hundreds of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were wrongly held responsible for accounting errors

Israel “might have taken action” in breach of international law in Gaza, the foreign secretary has said during a tense exchange with MPs on the conflict in the Middle East. Lord Cameron also confirmed two British nationals are still being held hostage by Hamas, as he made his first appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee

Rishi Sunak began 2023 hounded by the contamination of the Johnson and Truss premierships, and kicks off 2024 weighed down by what happened on David Cameron’s watch, as the hundreds of Post Office managers wrongly criminalised and convicted comes back to haunt his new year.  Travelling to Accrington in the marginal seat of Hynburn on

Rishi Sunak kicked off the election year trying to sell to voters that his five pledges were on track, and they should vote for him to finish the job rather than “going back to square one”. But look at his record, and it’s a pretty flimsy argument: • NHS waiting lists are almost 500,000 higher

Labour says it will introduce additional mental health counsellors to secondary schools as part of its plans to tackle rising pupil absences. The party says the UK is facing a “generational challenge”, as more than 88,000 secondary school students missed at least half of their education last year. Labour’s education pledge comes as a poll

The partner of disgraced ex-Tory MP Peter Bone has been chosen as the Conservative candidate to replace him in the Wellingborough by-election. Helen Harrison, who is a Conservative councillor in Wellingborough’s North Northamptonshire area, was selected by members of the party on Sunday afternoon, according to party chair Richard Holden. An election is being held

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says the former net zero chief is “wrong” after he quit the Tory party in protest of the government’s decision to ramp up oil and gas drilling. Chris Skidmore resigned as an MP on Friday, accusing the government of “rowing ever further back from its climate commitments”. Speaking on Saturday, Mr Hunt

In its long and venerable history dating back 192 years, the British Medical Association used to shy away from being called a “trades union”. Collective bargaining was for “trades people”; the doctors were independent professionals. Their association was there to campaign for best practice and to offer advice to the politicians regulating health treatment. That

A former energy minister has said he will quit as a Conservative MP over new legislation “that promotes the production of new oil and gas”. Chris Skidmore has said he will resign when parliament returns next week over the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. The senior Tory had already announced his intention to stand down at

Derek Draper, a former political adviser and husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway, has died after several years of serious health complications due to coronavirus. The 56-year-old was said to be one of the UK’s longest-suffering COVID patients, spending 13 months in hospital after contracting the virus in March 2020. Garraway posted a statement on

The NHS “doesn’t just belong” to striking junior doctors and can’t be “switched on and off on whim”, the health secretary said. Victoria Atkins turned up the heat in the government’s row with the British Medical Association (BMA) as their record-breaking walk-out continues. Junior doctors in England are in the middle of a six-day strike

Rishi Sunak has given the clearest hint yet about when he will call a general election, saying his “working assumption” is that it will happen in the second half of this year. Speculation has been rife for months about when the prime minister will choose to go to the polls. Politics latest: Sunak reveals when

Sir Keir Starmer is launching his election campaign on Thursday – and will promise the “character of politics will change” if Labour enters power. The government has until December this year to call an election – although if it decides to go to the polls so late, the vote itself will not happen until January

Nigel Farage is still “assessing” what role he will play in the upcoming general election, the leader of Reform UK has said. Holding a news conference to kick off the long campaign for the general election expected this year, Reform UK leader Richard Tice revealed he had been talking to Mr Farage over the festive

The cost of living crisis is “no excuse” for a rise in shoplifting, the policing minister has told Sky News, because the UK’s benefits system is “very generous”. Chris Philp’s comments come amid escalating levels of retail thefts, with increases blamed on inflation, organised crime and a lack of focus from police. Asked if he

Downing Street has insisted that the prime minister has achieved his target of clearing the legacy backlog of asylum claims, despite the government’s own data showing that 4,537 remain. Rishi Sunak pledged in December 2022 that he would “abolish” the legacy backlog of asylum claims made before 28 June of that year, with the Home

Rishi Sunak himself declared that 2024 will be an election year – at the least discreet location possible: a Christmas party for political journalists. This year that election will be looming in the background of every issue, whether politicians intend it to or not. The Conservatives – who were last ahead in the polls more

Britain is reportedly considering air strikes on Houthi rebels after the US Navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the government would not hesitate to take “direct action” to prevent further attacks on shipping. It comes after the US military said four

The Liberal Democrats have called for an inquiry into whether Rishi Sunak breached the ministerial code by holding secret meetings with Dominic Cummings. The Times reported on Sunday that the prime minister had held two sets of talks with the former chief adviser to Boris Johnson as he considered bringing the controversial figure back into