Politics

Rishi Sunak will announce a ban on Russian diamonds coming to Britain as the prime minister and other G7 leaders step up sanctions against Putin. The diamond ban is part of a wider package of sanctions as the prime minister and allies use the annual G7 summit in Tokyo to redouble support for Ukraine. Sanctions

A £10bn investment from water companies to stop sewage spills will be paid for by customers through “modest increases to their bills”. Ruth Kelly, chair of Water UK, told Sky News that water firms will provide a “huge multi-billion down-payment” to start “the biggest transformation project since Victorian times”. She added: “The way the system

Rishi Sunak has laid out his goals ahead of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The PM is set to touchdown in the early hours of the morning on Thursday UK time. It comes hot on the heels of his visit to Iceland for the Council of Europe summit. Politics latest:PM responds to Nigel Farage’s

Rishi Sunak has rejected Liz Truss’s calls for Taiwan to be fast-tracked into a trans-Pacific trading bloc. The UK is in the process of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes countries like Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Japan. Both China and Taiwan have applied to join the bloc

Former prime minister Liz Truss will call for her successor Rishi Sunak to say China is a “threat” to UK security. Ms Truss will be speaking in Taiwan’s capital Taipei, where she is expected to say that Mr Sunak should deliver on language he used during last summer’s Conservative Party leadership contest. He had described

An allegation of serious sexual assault made against MP Julian Knight is being looked into by Essex Police, after the case was referred to them by another force. The Metropolitan Police confirmed in December that it was carrying out an investigation into the then-Conservative MP, who had the party whip withdrawn after the inquiry was

Rishi Sunak is calling for changes to the international law which experts think his Illegal Migration Bill will break. The prime minister is in Iceland for a Council of Europe summit on Tuesday, where he will meet with heads of European Union countries and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Mr Sunak said the

Sir Keir Starmer has said it “does not pass the common sense test” that EU nationals who have lived in the UK long-term can’t vote in general elections. The Labour leader also said it is “not such an outlandish idea” to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to cast a ballot, as he confirmed his party is

The Tories have a “great opportunity” with a mood of “steely determination”, cabinet minister Grant Shapps has told Sky News, despite a local election drubbing and party infighting. Speaking on the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, the energy secretary also said he “completely and fundamentally” disagreed that the Conservatives cannot come back and win. Former

Sir Keir Starmer is promising his planned reforms of the Labour Party will be like New Labour’s famous Clause IV “on steroids”. In a speech on Saturday, the Labour leader drew comparisons with Sir Tony Blair’s controversial 1995 decision to abandon the party’s founding commitment to nationalisation in favour of his New Labour agenda. Sir

Priti Patel will accuse Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of presiding over the “managed decline” of the Conservative Party in a speech today. The former home secretary is one of the keynote speakers at the launch of a new grassroots movement – the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO). Set up by backers of Boris Johnson, the new

A well-connected Tory police and crime commissioner triggered two different police investigations into political opponents in recent weeks, Sky News can reveal.  Steve Turner, PCC for Cleveland, was attempting to become a Tory councillor in Redcar in the Tees Valley, in addition to his existing £73,300 role overseeing the area’s police service. During the campaign,

Rishi Sunak has criticised the decision by Eurovision bosses to block Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from addressing the event. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which produces the contest, said it declined Mr Zelenskyy‘s request to address the audience on Saturday in order to avoid politicising it. Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said the prime minister was “disappointed”

Sir Keir Starmer has praised Sue Gray as “a woman of incredible integrity” after it emerged she was in contact with the Labour chair of the partygate inquiry while still a civil servant. On Thursday, Sky News’s political correspondent Joe Pike revealed that the Labour leader’s incoming chief of staff was in personal contact with

As daylight broke on the English local election results a week ago, Sir Keir Starmer popped up in the Kent council district of Medway – which Labour had just captured from the Conservatives – to declare that Labour is “on course for a majority government”. He stuck to his line doggedly this week under tough,

Harriet Harman, the chair of parliament’s partygate inquiry, was in personal contact with Sir Keir Starmer’s incoming chief of staff Sue Gray while she was still a civil servant. In the early stages of the parliamentary probe, the veteran Labour MP privately said of her fact-finding efforts: “I just speak to Sue.” Sky News understands

Voters across Northern Ireland will head to the ballot box for local elections this Thursday. On 18 May, people across the country will get the opportunity to decide who is responsible for local issues, from leisure services to bin collections. Local elections are often used by voters to voice their opinion on national political parties,

Former Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has launched legal action against Matt Hancock after joining actor Laurence Fox’s Reclaim Party. Mr Bridgen was expelled from the Conservative Party after claiming the COVID-19 vaccine was “the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust”. Former health secretary Mr Hancock, who was suspended from the Tories for appearing on

Sir Keir Starmer has refused seven times to rule out doing a deal with the Liberal Democrats after the next election if Labour finds itself the biggest party at Westminster but short of an overall majority. Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, Sir Keir declined to say whether he would do a deal

A government minister has accused some anti-monarchy protesters of planning to cause “dangerous” disruption during the coronation, despite the Metropolitan Police expressing “regret” for arresting them. The force faced a backlash after detaining a number of members of the campaign group Republic over the weekend, and has now said their investigation was unable to prove

Workers at two ambulance trusts will go on strike on Tuesday as the Unite union starts its “escalation” of industrial action to get ministers back to the negotiating table over pay and conditions in the NHS. Members of the union rejected the government’s offer of a 5% rise and one-off payment last month, despite other

Metropolitan Police bosses are to be questioned by the London Assembly over the force’s treatment of protesters during this weekend’s coronation celebrations. A total of 64 people were arrested – including 13 people to “prevent a breach of the peace” and a man with an unused megaphone, who police said could “scare the horses”. Four

The government has announced £240m of funding for GP practices, aiming to help patients to get appointments more quickly. The cash will be given to surgeries to “embrace the latest technology”, replacing old phone systems and creating online tools to “ensure patients get the care they need as soon as possible”. As part of what

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has admitted the local election results were “not good” for the Conservatives, but insists Rishi Sunak is “starting to deliver in a quiet way for the British people”. Her party lost more than a thousand seats after voters went to the polls across England, seeing Labour take over as the largest

Tory Cabinet member Penny Mordaunt emerged as one of the stars of the coronation as she carried an enormous sword and then presented another to the King during the ceremony. In her role as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council, Ms Mordaunt carried the 17th-century Sword of State

If there is a key takeaway from this year’s local elections, it’s that it has been a punishing night for the Tories, with more than 1,000 council seat losses. In his first electoral test as prime minister, Rishi Sunak saw the Conservatives lose control of 50 councils – a result party chairman Greg Hands said

Labour would fall short of an overall majority in parliament, a vote share projection shows following local elections in England. Based on analysis of change in vote share across 1,500 wards Labour is the most popular party with 36%, with the Conservative share 29%, Lib Dems with 18% and others standing at 17%. See full

In 1997, as he celebrated Labour’s landslide, Tony Blair famously declared: “A new dawn has broken, has it not?” In 2023, as they head towards a set of dismal local election results, the Tories will fear this is the darkest hour before another new Labour dawn next year. From Plymouth to Stoke-on-Trent, from the South

Polling stations have now closed and votes are being counted in this year’s local elections in England. The results will come in waves throughout the night and into the morning – with all councils expected to declare by 8pm on Friday. Elections were held in 230 of England’s 317 councils, within district, borough, county borough

Sir Keir Starmer was wooing Sue Gray to become his chief of staff for at least four months before announcing her appointment, Sky News has discovered. The Labour leader has repeatedly refused to disclose when the first contact between the pair took place. But Sky News understands his first discussion with the top civil servant

Voters in parts of England are heading to the polls to cast their ballots for councillors and mayors in this year’s local elections. Elections are being held in 230 of England’s 317 councils, within district, borough, county borough and unitary authority councils, along with four mayoral elections in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough. There are

Police have been given greater powers to tackle disruption to the King’s coronation under new laws that come into force today, but the arrest of a man outside Buckingham Palace overnight has highlighted security concerns. A man was arrested after throwing what is suspected to be shotgun cartridges into palace grounds, the Metropolitan Police said.

A group of unions representing NHS staff – including nurses – has voted to accept a pay offer from the government. It comes despite the Royal College of Nursing and Unite rejecting the offer – as an electoral college of union representatives and members voted en masse as part of the NHS Staff Council. Many