Politics

An intervention by the chancellor to help shore up flagging financial market confidence in the UK economy has been ruled out by the government, amid further declines in the value of the pound. Sterling fell to its lowest level against the dollar since November 2023 early on Thursday, building on recent losses. A toxic cocktail

There are grooming gangs “in every single part of our country”, Jess Phillips has told Sky News. The safeguarding minister told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast she was issuing an “open invitation” to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to meet victims with her. Ms Badenoch’s spokesperson said she has not met

So can you stop people smugglers by lumbering them with sanctions? That is the government’s latest idea, and it is bold and innovative. It will certainly get attention, even if that doesn’t mean it will work. But it is another effort by this government to differentiate itself from the leaders who came before. In a

Jess Phillips has said “nothing is off the table” when dealing with the grooming gangs scandal – including a new national inquiry if victims want one. The safeguarding minister told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that she would listen to victims on a new panel that was announced by the

Jess Phillips has said she has “more important things to be thinking about” than Elon Musk after he accused her of being a “rape genocide apologist”. The safeguarding minister has hit back at the billionaire’s criticism of her for the first time, telling Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that his

For days, the attacks had been raining down from Elon Musk and his supporters on Keir Starmer, safeguarding minister Jess Philips and the wider government, over handling of the historical sex abuse cases.  The consensus in Number 10, as voiced by another leader subject to Mr Musk’s ire – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – was

Professionals who work with children will face criminal sanctions if they fail to report claims of sexual abuse, the home secretary has announced. Yvette Cooper promised to implement the key recommendation from Professor Alexis Jay’s child sexual abuse inquiry after Sir Keir Starmer faced down calls from Elon Musk, the Tories and Reform UK for

For British politicians, the question of the moment is how do you handle Elon Musk? The billionaire owner of X and Tesla, soon to take up a role as efficiency tsar in the Trump administration, has been throwing grenades almost every hour about British politics on his social media platform and dominating the headlines. Much

Elon Musk has said Reform UK needs a “new leader” because Nigel Farage “doesn’t have what it takes”. The X owner posted the tweet on Sunday following days of headlines over his comments about the historic grooming scandal that took place across UK towns and cities more than a decade ago. Mr Musk, who has

There’s no doubt that Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and live-in best friend of the US president-elect, must be a busy man – even before a Tesla truck exploded at the entrance to the Trump hotel in Las Vegas on 1 January. Musk was up late dad-dancing at Donald Trump’s glitzy New

Reform UK is a party that’s vying for attention and is not ashamed of how it gets it. With political support from Elon Musk this week amplifying Reform UK talking points on his platform X, the party has been able to make a splash in the new year ahead of the government. Already this month

MPs and peers could be forced to submit to criminal record checks under proposals submitted by a new Labour MP. In a letter seen by Sky News, Jo White urged the leader of the Commons to examine whether a new committee set up to modernise parliament should force all new members to have checks due

The government has launched an independent commission to “transform social care” – but proposals for major reform may not be delivered for years. The two-part commission will be led by Baroness Louise Casey, with the latter phase set to make its final recommendations for social care in England by the end of 2028. Ministers announced

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has denied the government is putting off social care reforms following criticism that a planned overhaul of the sector may not happen for years. Ministers have launched an independent commission, led by Baroness Casey, to “transform social care” – but the latter phase of the two-part commission will not make its

Kemi Badenoch has called for a national inquiry into the grooming scandal that took place across UK towns and cities, arguing one was “long overdue”. The Tory leader said 2025 “must be the year that victims get justice” after it emerged that Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, had rejected calls from Oldham council for a

A total of 36,816 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in 2024, provisional government figures show. The figure is up 25% on 2023 when 29,437 people arrived in small boats. The number successfully making the journey in 2024 is the second-highest since records began in 2018. The total, however, is down 20% on

Sir Keir Starmer has hailed 2024 as a “year of change” as he shared his first New Year message as prime minister. But the Labour leader, who took office after a staggering general election victory over the Conservatives in July, admitted there is “still so much more to do” in 2025. It will include a

Three visitors’ books from Downing Street signed by some of the most famous names in modern history have been released to the public for the very first time. The gilt-edged volumes, covering the years 1970, when Edward Heath was prime minister, to 2003 when Tony Blair was in office, have been released to the National

The government has insisted that private school fees are “clearly out of reach for most people” as ministers continue to defend their VAT policy. On Wednesday, Labour will scrap the VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools in a bid to fund 6,500 new teachers in the state sector. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson

A veteran Labour MP and the long-standing mayor of London are among a handful of politicians named in the King’s New Year Honours list. Former shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry, who has been made a dame, appears on the list alongside Sadiq Khan, who has been made a knight after securing a record third term

👉 Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam’s on your podcast app👈 On this special episode, Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard preview the year ahead in politics. They predict what Nigel Farage will be up to in 2025, weigh up whether things could look better for the economy and

Labour would lose its majority and nearly 200 seats if a general election was held today, a new mega poll suggests. While Sir Keir Starmer would still come out on top, it would be in a “highly fragmented and unstable” parliament with five parties holding over 30 seats. More in Common, which used the data

Who fancies a festive game of Labour or Liz? The rules are quite simple – I’ll set out some quotes and you guess whether they came from a member of the current tax-raising and workers’ rights improving Labour administration or from the right-wing scourge of the anti-growth coalition and former prime minister Liz Truss. So

British voters are in for a relatively untroubled 2025, after the “Year of Elections” which saw a new government in the UK and major upheavals around the world, including the victory of Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated as US president for the second time on 20 January. In all likelihood, Sir Keir Starmer needs

Never wrestle with a pig. You get dirty. And besides, the pig likes it. Looking at the festive ding-dong that’s broken out between Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, you do wonder if the Tory leader should take on board this famous quote – because there was only ever going to be one winner from this

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to his brother Nick, who died on Boxing Day aged 60 after suffering from cancer. The prime minister described his brother as a “wonderful man”, saying in a statement: “He met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour. We will miss him very much.

Reform UK now has more members than the Conservative Party and is “the real opposition” according to Nigel Farage, while Kemi Badenoch has called his numbers “fake”. According to a digital counter on the party’s website, Reform UK had gone past 131,690 members – the amount the Conservative Party declared before its leadership election in

Nigel Farage has said he is willing to help incoming US ambassador Lord Mandelson negotiate with Donald Trump’s administration. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appointed the former New Labour minister earlier this month. He is due to take up his new role in Washington early next year. In the days after his appointment, one of

More than 13,000 people in the UK’s armed forces are “not medically deployable”, defence ministry figures show. Statistics shared by Al Carns, the veterans minister, who is also a reservist, show 99,560 people within the armed forces are medically fully deployable, while 14,350 have limited deployability. However, a total of 13,522 are medically not deployable.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will be “looking towards a better, brighter future” in his first Christmas message as prime minister. It comes almost six months into the Labour leader’s time in Downing Street, with the prime minister currently having to battle criticisms of his party’s management of the economy and the direction he

Two prime ministers, two Scottish first ministers and three leaders in Wales. It’s been quite the year in UK politics. The Politics Hub team have been busy putting together a quiz for their festive programme. But can you do better than our teams of politicians and pundits? Let us know how you get on!

Sir Keir Starmer is to head abroad over the New Year after spending Christmas Day at Chequers in Buckinghamshire. The prime minister is enjoying his first festive period in the role after winning the general election at the start of July. According to a Downing Street spokesperson, he will spend time with his family over

No wonder Sir Keir Starmer is going abroad “for a few days” over New Year. The economic news here in the UK is unrelentingly gloomy. The prime minister’s spokesman says the latest GDP figures show “the challenge of fixing the economy and public figures is huge and won’t happen overnight”. Too right. The figures suggest