Politics

Kemi Badenoch has said former Post Office chair Henry Staunton was being investigated over bullying allegations before his dismissal – as she accused him of seeking “revenge” against the government. The business secretary told the Commons that allegations regarding Mr Staunton’s conduct, including “serious matters such as bullying”, were being examined and concerns had also

Ofcom has launched an investigation into Rishi Sunak’s recent appearance on GB News. The prime minister answered questions on a range of topics from an audience on the show, but complainants alleged that no alternative view was offered. In a statement, the UK’s communications and broadcast regulator said: “We have received around 500 complaints about

Ministers have urged police forces to use “robust” measures to tackle protesters who “intimidate and harass” MPs over their stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict. In a letter to chief constables, seen by Sky News, security minister Tom Tugendhat and policing minister Chris Philp said the demonstration outside the home of Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood was

Sir Keir Starmer called for a “ceasefire that lasts” in Gaza – ahead of a vote in the Commons which risks re-opening Labour divisions on the issue. The Labour leader, fresh from an appearance at a gathering of top politicians in Germany, said every conversation there had focused on what could be done to end

Scottish Labour has unanimously backed an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with MSPs calling for “unequivocal” support and putting pressure on the rest of the party. All delegates backed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s calls for an immediate end to the Israel-Hamas war at the party conference in Glasgow. Politics latest: Backbench Tories deliver message to

It has been a stonking night for Labour – winning two more by-elections in safe Conservative seats on substantial swings. The momentum of last year’s gains in Tamworth, Selby and Ainsty, and Mid Bedfordshire, which some in the party had feared would stall, has continued to accelerate in the first tests of the general election

Losing both the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections means the Conservatives have established a new record – the largest number of defeats it has suffered in a single parliament. A net loss of nine seats is one more than the eight defeats in the mid-1990s as John Major led the party to one of its heaviest

Rishi Sunak has suffered a double-blow after losing two by-elections to Labour, overturning significant majorities in both. Both Kingswood and Wellingborough turned from blue to red, meaning this government has seen the most by-election losses of any Conservative administration since the Second World War. By-election results live: Labour secures double victory The losses do not

Votes are being counted in the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections, where Labour will be looking to capitalise on the UK entering a recession to inflict a double defeat on Rishi Sunak. The Tories are defending traditionally safe seats in South Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire, following the departures of Chris Skidmore and Peter Bone, respectively. But the

The UK economy has officially entered recession, figures show. A recession is defined as two consecutive three-month periods where the economy contracts rather than grows. A major measure of economic growth, gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.3% between October and December, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows. It’s a steeper fall than

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to suspend any Labour member who was present at a meeting of activists where antisemitic comments were allegedly made. Mike Katz, the national chair of the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), which is formally affiliated to the Labour Party, criticised those who were present at a community meeting that has

Another Labour politician attended a meeting of activists that has become the centre of an antisemitism row within the party, Sky News understands. Hyndburn councillor Munsif Dad is thought to have attended the gathering where two parliamentary candidates are alleged to have made antisemitic remarks. On Monday, Labour withdrew support from and suspended Azhar Ali,

The Labour Party has suspended one its election candidates who allegedly referred to “f***ing Israel” at a meeting of activists, Sky News understands. Graham Jones has been administratively suspended from the party pending investigation and was called in for an interview this evening after his comments were revealed by the website Guido Fawkes. Mr Jones, the

The sacking of Azhar Ali as Labour’s candidate in the Rochdale by-election is the biggest disaster for Sir Keir Starmer in his nearly four years as leader of the party. There will now be an almighty inquest into how a candidate who had made such comments about Israel and Gaza was selected for such a

Israel should “stop and think” before taking any further action in Rafah, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has said – as the UK sanctioned settlers in the West Bank. The former prime minister said the UK was “very concerned” about the situation on the Gaza-Egypt border. Local health officials have said 37 people were killed in

Labour’s candidate in Rochdale “fell for an online conspiracy” that led to his remarks over the 7 October attacks in Israel, a shadow minister has said. Councillor Azhar Ali told a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party in the wake of the atrocity that Israel deliberately allowed the massacre to go ahead to give it

The Ministry of Defence has been accused of taking its diversity policy to increase recruits from ethnic minorities too far. As Sky News has reported previously, the RAF admitted to discriminating against white male candidates in a hiring policy aimed at increasing diversity. And now a leaked MoD document, seen by The Sunday Telegraph, reveals

The defence secretary is said to be “furious” after it was reported the British Army wants to relax security clearance vetting for overseas recruits to boost diversity and inclusion. The UK’s armed forces are looking overseas to boost ethnic minority representation because they have consistently failed to hit recruitment targets, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

Fujitsu is set to have received more than £3.4bn through contracts from Treasury-linked organisations since 2019, despite its role in the Post Office scandal, MPs have found. The international tech firm, which is under intense scrutiny, was awarded around £1.4bn worth of deals since a 2019 High Court ruling concluding there had been numerous bugs

Rishi Sunak has promised to reward hard work with tax cuts as he struck an optimistic note over the UK’s economic prospects. Official figures next week may show the UK slipped into a technical recession at the end of last year, while the prime minister is facing a heavy opinion poll deficit against Labour and

Rishi Sunak has published his personal tax return, showing he paid more than half a million pounds in UK tax last year. The document shows he paid a tax bill of £508,308 in the financial year 2022-23. His income included £1.8m in capital gains, as well as his £150,000 prime minister’s salary. The prime minister

Rishi Sunak has again refused to apologise for comments he made about transgender people in parliament this week, despite calls from Brianna Ghey’s father to do so. Mr Sunak rejected suggestions he made a joke during Prime Minister’s Questions when Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, was in parliament. “That is not what I did, it is

Rishi Sunak should apologise for his transgender jibe which was made while Brianna Ghey’s mother was in parliament, Gordon Brown has told Sky News. The former PM was speaking to the Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge a day after the current occupier of Number 10 joked during Prime Minister’s Questions about Sir Keir Starmer’s record

Rishi Sunak has declined to apologise for his joke about transgender people, despite Brianna Ghey’s father calling for him to say sorry. The prime minister was criticised for aiming the political dig about transgender people at Sir Keir Starmer, saying the Labour leader had broken promises on “defining a woman” while Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey,

Labour will announce tomorrow that it is scaling back its flagship green prosperity plan, Sky News understands. The policy will not be dropped altogether, but the party is ditching the financial target to spend £28bn a year on environmental schemes. Labour will put this down to uncertain public finances and is also likely to say

As the next general election draws closer, three political powerhouses are uniting to unravel the spin in a new weekly podcast from Sky News. Launching on 1 March, Electoral Dysfunction will bring together our Political Editor Beth Rigby, Labour MP Jess Phillips and former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson to analyse the week

Nigel Farage believes it’s possible to replace the Conservative Party with his own Reform Party as he predicts an “extinction event” for the government at the next election. Mr Farage was speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby at the launch of the Popular Conservatism (PopCon) group in Westminster. Headlined by former prime minister

A man has been arrested on suspicion of sending malicious communications to MP Mike Freer. Mr Freer, currently a minister and the MP for Finchley and Golders Green, last week said he would not be standing for election after a raft of death threats and abuse. He said an arson attack on his office on

Rishi Sunak has wished the King a “speedy recovery” after Buckingham Palace announced he was diagnosed with a form of cancer. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on X: “Wishing His Majesty a full and speedy recovery. “I have no doubt he’ll be back to full strength in no time and I know the whole country

Rishi Sunak has insisted the priority in Northern Ireland is “day-to-day” governing rather than “constitutional change”. The prime minister was in Northern Ireland to celebrate the restoration of power-sharing in the nation. This came after changes were made to the post-Brexit settlement, reducing the checks on goods travelling between Northern Ireland and the rest of

Rishi Sunak is visiting Northern Ireland to celebrate the restoration of power-sharing at Stormont, where he will meet the country’s first nationalist first minister. Over the weekend, an executive was finally re-established after almost two years without one in the region. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which had been holding up the process, allowed a

The Clapham chemical attack is “not really about asylum”, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has claimed. A manhunt is still under way for Abdul Ezedi following the attack on Wednesday 31 January in which a mother, 31, and her two children, three and eight, were hospitalised. After two failed attempts, the 35-year-old suspect’s asylum claim to

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill has made history by being appointed Northern Ireland’s first nationalist first minister. A power-sharing government has returned as politicians gathered at Stormont to appoint a series of ministers to the devolved executive, two years after it collapsed over the UK government’s deal with the EU. The Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) Emma