Politics

Liz Truss has said she will use an emergency budget to “ensure support is on its way” amid soaring energy bills if she becomes prime minister – despite repeatedly saying she favours tax cuts over handouts. The foreign secretary made the comments, which could be interpreted as going against much of what she has previously

Rishi Sunak says he will not quit politics if he loses the race to become the next prime minister and leader of the Conservatives. The former chancellor has become the underdog in the contest, with his rival, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, continuing to lead polls of party members – who will ultimately choose the winner.

The government must increase its energy bills discount by at least 150% or risk pushing millions of households into financial distress. That is the warning from consumer group Which? ahead of Friday’s announcement of the energy price cap for the three months from October. In May, the government said that it would give every household

Freezing energy bills will not help people who need the most support with the cost of living crisis, according to a government minister. The boss of Scottish Power revealed on Tuesday that he had asked the government to back a £100bn loan scheme to allow energy companies to freeze bills for two years. Keith Anderson

It was a 3am rise for a dawn police raid in Surrey. But the home secretary – a regular at these kind of events – wanted to project a steady hand at the Home Office, getting on with business as usual when everything else is in a state of flux.  On this occasion, the raid was a

After weeks of blue-on-blue battles, Liz Truss looks set to see off her rival Rishi Sunak to win the Conservative leadership race and become prime minister. But how did the current foreign secretary, who will become only the third female PM if she beats the former chancellor, reach this point? Early life as the eldest

Liz Truss has been accused of presiding over budget cuts to the Environment Agency that have resulted in “doubled sewage discharge”. Labour Party analysis of official figures shows that since 2016, when the Tory leadership hopeful was in charge of Defra – raw sewage discharge more than doubled from 14.7 per overflow in 2016 to

Rishi Sunak vowed to make Britain a “science superpower” while Liz Truss pledged to put the West Midlands “at the heart of our economic revival” in their latest policy announcements. The Tory leadership contenders are continuing to set out their visions for the country as the leadership race enters its final fortnight, with the pair

The winner of the battle for the Conservative Party crown – widely expected to be Liz Truss – will be unveiled in a 12.30pm ceremony in two weeks, the party’s co-chairman has announced. In a letter to Tory MPs and peers headed “Leadership Announcement: Arrangements”, Andrew Stephenson urged them to apply early for tickets for

Liz Truss has been accused of trying to “avoid independent scrutiny” as she prepares to hold a budget next month without an official economic forecast, despite one being ready should she ask. Having an emergency budget in September – in which she will make long-term funding pledges – has been a key part of the

Liz Truss has hinted she will announce more help on the cost of living – as Labour calls for the government to make public the plans it is considering. In an interview with The Sun on Sunday, the foreign secretary said that every government “has to look at making sure life is affordable for people”.

Michael Gove has backed Rishi Sunak to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister, as he accused Liz Truss of taking a “holiday from reality”. The former cabinet minister, who was sacked by Boris Johnson after telling the PM he should quit last month, said slashing taxes was not the answer to the cost

The government is to take further control of Liverpool away from the city council following a damning report into the operation of the authority which found a budget gap of close to £100m over four years. Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark is set to appoint a steering committee including Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, former

Grant Shapps has told union bosses to “get out of the way” and allow members to vote on newly proposed pay deals. It comes as fresh strikes take place on London Underground and the capital’s bus system, while national rail is set for more disruption on Saturday. The national strikes are related to pay rises

Labour is calling for parliament to be recalled ahead of the energy price cap rise. The opposition party has written to Boris Johnson, as well as Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, to ask for MPs to return to Westminster on Monday in a bid to propose their plan to freeze the cap. The price cap

Priti Patel has insisted that Rwanda is a “safe” country, despite warnings from Foreign Office officials of torture and killings. The latest defence from the home secretary comes after court documents revealed officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had concerns about the plan to send illegal migrants to the central African country.

Former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier, who now sits as an independent after having the whip removed, has pleaded guilty to breaching COVID rules after being told to self-isolate early on in the pandemic. Ferrier admitted she broke the rules by travelling on a train between Scotland and London after failing to self-isolate in September 2020,

The government has been allowed to keep parts of internal documents about Rwanda secret as part of a High Court challenge against plans to deport asylum seekers there. A handful of charities and several asylum seekers are challenging the Home Office over proposals to provide one-way tickets to the east African country for those who

Sajid Javid has said it would be “complete nonsense” if the RAF has placed an “effective pause” on offering jobs to white male recruits in favour of women and ethnic minorities. It comes after defence sources told Sky News on Tuesday that the head of RAF recruitment had resigned in protest at the move which

A leaked audio recording has revealed Liz Truss said British workers needed “more graft” and lacked the “skill and application” of foreign rivals. The Tory leadership frontrunner was chief secretary to the Treasury when the conversation with officials was recorded five years ago. In the clip, leaked to The Guardian, Ms Truss said those outside

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have both promised to increase scrutiny of the Scottish government if they become the next prime minister – ahead of a visit north of the border. Ms Truss, who remains the favourite to win the race, said she would get “Scotland’s economy moving” and would give Members of the Scottish

Eighty percent of the 40 new hospitals promised by the Conservatives in 2019 either do not have a completion date or are unlikely to be finished by the next general election, according to a Sky News investigation.  The new hospitals’ pledge, a key plank of Boris Johnson‘s 2019 election manifesto, promised 40 new hospitals by

Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour’s plan to deal with the “national emergency” of spiralling energy costs is “robust” and a “real answer” to soaring household bills. Speaking to broadcasters in Exeter on Monday, the Labour leader said his “radical” plan “will take us through the winter” and accused the government of “saying absolutely nothing”.

Ministers are urging all broadband providers to offer “social tariffs” allowing low-income households to receive discounted mobile and internet deals to ease the pressure of rising living costs. A new service, which will go live this week and be run by the Department for Work and Pensions, will allow internet providers to verify, with customers’

Sir Keir Starmer is tomorrow expected to call for the energy price cap to be frozen this autumn as households across the UK feel the pinch amid the cost of living crisis. The Labour leader will say the price cap, which is the maximum that firms in England, Wales and Scotland can charge an average

The two prime ministerial hopefuls have each pledged new commitments if elected – with Liz Truss saying she would take on the role of ‘minister for the Union’ and Rishi Sunak promising to make Britain more “energy secure”. Ms Truss pledged her commitment to uphold the United Kingdom as she hit out at politicians in

Sir Robert Buckland has become the first cabinet minister to swap his support in the Conservative Party leadership race. The secretary of state for Wales is now supporting Liz Truss, having previously backed Rishi Sunak. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Sir Robert says that changing his mind was “not an easy thing to do”. He

The House of Commons Speaker has refused to reveal why MPs want their attendance records at parliament deleted – a move to block information campaigners say the public has a “right to know”. It was decided earlier this year that the records of when MPs used their passes to access the Houses of Parliament should

Boris Johnson has admitted that the cost of living support the government is providing is not enough – but he refused to announce any immediate measures to combat spiralling household bills. Mr Johnson doubled down on his remarks that it will be up to his successor – either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – to

Rishi Sunak has unveiled a plan to slash rising energy bills for up to 16 million vulnerable people which he hopes will propel him to 10 Downing Street. In a dramatic move as his Tory leadership clash with Liz Truss becomes increasingly bitter, he is said to be prepared to find up to £10bn to

Boris Johnson has doubled down on his insistence that it is for his successor to “make significant fiscal decisions” after crisis talks with energy bosses ended with no new measures to ease the cost of living crisis. Speaking after the meeting, the prime minister said he would continue to urge the energy sector to ease

Allies of Rishi Sunak have played down the defection of a Tory MP to supporting Liz Truss as the two campaign teams continued to trade blows over economic policy. Former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers, who is backing Mr Sunak, said that “inevitably MPs change their mind during these contests”, when asked on Sky News about

Rishi Sunak has promised to give “hundreds of pounds” more to people for energy bills while Liz Truss refused to commit to extra support for struggling families. Mr Sunak said he is “confident” he could find the money needed to support people with the rising cost of living from government efficiency savings if was to