Politics

Britain and the EU have an understanding on what needs to be done to resolve issues surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol but a deal is “by no means done”, Rishi Sunak has said. Speaking during a question and answer session after his speech at the Munich Security Conference, the Prime Minister said Britain wanted to

“Significant progress has been made” to resolve the row over the Northern Ireland protocol and a deal is “very much game on”, Sinn Fein’s leader said.  Speaking after talks with Rishi Sunak, Mary Lou McDonald told reporters: “We have always believed that a deal on the protocol was possible and we’ve always known it was

Candidates are expected to formerly enter the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the SNP and first minister today – after the timeline for the contest was unveiled last night. No individual has officially announced their bid to become Ms Sturgeon’s successor at present. But on Thursday, numerous candidates ruled themselves out of

Jeremy Corbyn has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “a flagrant attack on the democratic rights of Islington North Labour Party members” after he ruled out allowing the former party leader to stand as a Labour candidate in the next general election. Earlier today, marking a watchdog’s decision to no longer monitor the party over antisemitism,

Nicola Sturgeon has announced her intention to resign once a successor as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) has been elected. Scotland’s first minister said she had instructed the SNP’s national secretary Lorna Finn to start the election process to pick her successor after eight years in office. But as the race to replace

Almost half of all NHS trusts in England missed a crucial two-week cancer diagnosis target in every month last year, new data has revealed. NHS targets state that 93% of patients should have an appointment with a cancer specialist within two weeks of an urgent GP referral. But new research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats

Political leaders should “take a clear stand” and condemn violence against asylum seekers, charities have said – as they warned scenes like those outside a Merseyside hotel could be replicated across the country. Fifteen people were arrested after “violent scenes” outside the hotel where asylum seekers were staying in Knowsley on Friday. A demonstration descended

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak still supports BBC chairman Richard Sharp, despite revelations about the part he played in securing an £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson, his spokesman has said. Mr Sharp took the role in January 2021 after being recommended by then-PM Mr Johnson and having his appointment approved by a committee of MPs. But

Rishi Sunak has been accused of failing to rein in a “culture of lavish spending” across government departments as Labour published details of thousands of purchases over the past two years on taxpayer-funded debit cards. The opposition party’s report on Government Procurement Cards (GPCs) showed 14 departments spent at least £145.5m in 2021 compared with

As the death toll from the earthquake in Syria and Turkey continues to rise, development minister Andrew Mitchell defends the government’s cuts to the international aid budget as Conservative MP John Redwood calls for tax cuts at home. Plus, SNP MP John Nicolson and member of the DCMS select committee says Richard Sharp’s position is

The corporate vice president of Xbox has told Sky News “there’s no silver bullet” to protect women and minority groups on the internet who experience online harassment and abuse. Dave McCarthy said it takes just one toxic experience on a platform and “your trust in an online space dissipates immediately, as it should”. In an

The new Conservative Party chairman has said he believes a Russian spy tried to recruit him over a pint of beer in a London pub. The cabinet minister said he met the man who he now believes was a secret agent at the Seven Stars pub in Fulham, while he had been seeking election as

Tory MPs have stepped up calls for the government to cut taxes after pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca overlooked Britain for a new £320m drug factory. Sir Pascal Soriot, the firm’s chief executive, said it wanted to build a new plant close to its existing sites in northwest England but “because the tax rate was discouraging” chose

Dominic Raab has insisted he “behaved professionally at all times” despite facing an official inquiry into his conduct. The deputy prime minister is being investigated by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC over numerous bullying allegations. But, denying the allegations, Mr Raab told The Telegraph newspaper he is “confident” he has behaved appropriately. “I’m confident I

Labour has held on to its seat in West Lancashire after a by-election victory which saw Ashley Dalton become the country’s newest MP. Ms Dalton secured a majority of 8,326 over Conservative candidate Mike Prendergast, with a 10.52% swing from the Tories to Labour. In her victory speech, she said the people of her constituency

Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries has announced she is standing down as an MP at the next general election, blaming the “sheer stupidity” of her colleagues who “got rid of Boris Johnson”. The Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire fought back tears as she delivered the news on her TalkTV show, saying the decision had followed

The soaring cost of childcare in the UK is revealed in new figures today, suggesting nurseries will raise fees by £1,000 this year. A survey of 1,156 providers by the Early Years Alliance found nine out of 10 expect to increase fees, typically in April, and by an average of 8% – higher than in

Rishi Sunak’s controversial new deputy party chairman said he would support the return of the death penalty because “nobody has ever committed a crime after being executed”. Outspoken Ashfield MP Lee Anderson was handed the senior government position during the prime minister’s reshuffle on Tuesday. The move raised eyebrows given his history of controversial comments,

His news conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was, again, one where Rishi Sunak looked like he felt hard done by at the end. Not for the first time he looked slightly aggrieved at a line of questioning that failed to recognise what he thought he was getting right. Today, President Zelenskyy flew 1,500 miles to deliver

Just last week Lee Anderson compared the government to the “band on the Titanic” in a heated WhatsApp exchange about small boat crossings. Now, the outspoken Tory MP for Ashfield in Nottingham has been handed the senior position of deputy party chairman – and the appointment has raised eyebrows. The 56-year-old former miner has a

It has been 11 months since the privileges committee launched its inquiry into Boris Johnson to establish if he misled parliament over lockdown parties in Downing Street. Having collected written evidence, oral hearings are set to begin this month, and we will be able to watch live while senior figures are questioned about who knew

Reshuffle day, and as we watched familiar names slot into slightly less familiar job titles with, let’s be honest, limited short-term real-world consequences, we did learn one big and important thing: That Rishi Sunak has yet more personal priorities. Just to recap for those not quite across the full list: The prime minister regularly tells

Greg Hands has replaced Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman as Rishi Sunak begins the first reshuffle of his cabinet, Sky News understands. Mr Hands, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, takes over the role that will involve leading the Tories through the next election, which they are currently set to lose to Labour. His appointment

Liz Truss has said she would never want to be prime minister again but “doesn’t regret” her time in Downing Street. In an interview with The Spectator, the former PM ruled out a future bid at the top job after her tumultuous 44 days in the position last year. Asked whether she would want to

A nursing union leader is calling on the prime minister to intervene on the evening of the biggest NHS walkout in history. Royal College of Nursing’s director for England, Patricia Marquis, has told Sky News that so far there has been no “direct contact” with Rishi Sunak despite four previous strike days. “It’s a cry

The Treasury has signalled there is no new money for defence despite recognising the urgent need to rearm in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine, defence sources have said. At the same time, the sources said a “refresh” of UK defence policy – that was meant to inform the spending plans of Chancellor Jeremy

Grant Shapps has said Liz Truss had the right priorities but failed as she did not try to deal with the “big structural issues” first. The business secretary said he agreed the UK should have a low-tax economy, as the short-lived prime minister advocated, but inflation and debt needed to be dealt with first. He

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab should be suspended while he is investigated over bullying allegations, a former Conservative chairman has said. Mr Raab, who is also the justice secretary, is the subject of an inquiry after several civil servants made complaints, which Sir Jake Berry believes is enough for him to step aside from his

The prime minister is looking to ban people arriving in the UK via small boats from appealing against deportation, Sky News understands. Rishi Sunak has made stopping Channel migrant crossings one of his five priorities in office, promising to introduce new laws to “make sure that if you come to this country illegally, you are

MPs have launched an inquiry into “designer dogs” and other types of animal abuse following an increased demand for pets during the pandemic. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee will look into a variety of abuses committed against pets and is calling for experts to submit written evidence now. Puppy farms – high volume

“It’s not who you are but who you know” is a saying often used to explain why those with family connections to successful people seem to have a head start doing well in the next generation. In the US this phenomenon has led Gen Z to coin a new tag “nepo babies” as they list

The first 100 days of Rishi Sunak’s premiership are done – a yardstick that his predecessor Liz Truss never even reached, while Boris Johnson found himself utterly consumed with firefighting a pandemic. Mr Sunak can take some comfort in the fact he’s made it this far without a full-blown leadership crisis or an external global

Labour is demanding the government publishes its promised progress report on “levelling up”, saying there is “no excuse for dodging scrutiny by both parliament and the public”. Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy has written to her government counterpart, Michael Gove, pointing to the pledge he made when launching the levelling up white paper one