Politics

By September the UK will have its fourth Conservative prime minister in a row. Of these only David Cameron was chosen by the wider British electorate by leading his party to victory in a general election. Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss will have made it to Number 10 thanks to

Boris Johnson visited Yorkshire this week to meet Ukrainian soldiers being trained in the UK – and new pictures show the prime minister throwing a grenade and using some of the equipment. The UK’s armed forces are training groups of Ukrainians as part of the support being provided following Russia’s invasion. Mr Johnson, who announced

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are ramping up their campaigns for the Conservative leadership this weekend, announcing new policies to tackle NHS backlogs and scrap EU laws if they become prime minister. First up, the former chancellor, who will promise to make cutting NHS waiting lists his “number one public service priority” if he wins

Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby’s looking at the final two candidates for the Conservative party leadership on her last podcast before a summer break. As well as assessing the chances for Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, she sits down with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to discuss his image, being investigated for a potential

Sir Keir Starmer has revealed he “hated” being subject to a criminal investigation over beergate and the potential breach of COVID rules, and that waiting to hear if he would be exonerated was a “burden every day”. In an interview with Sky News’ Beth Rigby interviews programme, the Labour leader opened up about the moment

Body language expert Judi James has offered a fascinating insight into the mannerisms of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – and the issues they need to address in order to convince people they should be the next prime minister. She said Mr Sunak is “smart, slick, always using Tony Blair’s gesticulation, we get the thumb

The final two runners in the race to be the next prime minister will begin a summer of campaigning today in an effort to convince Conservative party members they are the right candidate for the job. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made it onto the ballot paper on Wednesday after their

Tory leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have agreed to take part in a head-to-head debate on Sky News. The event – which will be in front of a live audience – will be on Thursday 4 August at 8pm and is to be hosted by Kay Burley. John Ryley, head of Sky News,

The final two candidates in the Conservative leadership contest will be decided today as the hopefuls edge closer to the top job – and Downing Street. Three runners remain in the race – Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss – after Kemi Badenoch was knocked out of the competition on Tuesday. They will face

Kemi Badenoch has become the latest candidate to be knocked out of the Conservative leadership race. In the fourth round of voting by Tory MPs, the contenders received the following support: Kemi Badenoch – 59 Penny Mordaunt – 92 Rishi Sunak – 118 Liz Truss – 86 There was one spoiled ballot paper and one

When Rishi Sunak resigned as chancellor – minutes after Health Secretary Sajid Javid left his role – it prompted a raft of senior figures to follow him out the door in protest over Boris Johnson’s leadership. But while some praised him for doing the “honourable thing” by stabbing Mr Johnson “in the front” and many

The last four runners in the Conservative leadership contest will face another round of voting later, as the party decides who will replace Boris Johnson in Downing Street. Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch made it through Monday’s ballot to continue in the race, while Tom Tugendhat was knocked out. But as

Tom Tugendhat has become the latest candidate to be knocked out of the Conservative leadership race. In the third round of voting by Tory MPs, the contenders received the following votes: Kemi Badenoch, 58 Penny Mordaunt, 82 Rishi Sunak, 115 Liz Truss, 71 Mr Tugendhat, 31 Politics Hub: New favourite to be PM after latest

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss engaged in bad-tempered exchanges as the five remaining Conservative leadership rivals faced off in the second televised debate. In a stand-out moment of the debate, all the candidates refused to put their hand up when asked if they would give Boris Johnson a job in their

A former leader of the Conservative Party has criticised Rishi Sunak’s approach to the economy, accusing the former chancellor of fuelling inflation. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, Liz Truss backer Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the Treasury, overseen by Mr Sunak, has demonstrated a “failure” of monetary policy. Sir Iain continued:

Rishi Sunak has vowed to scrap hundreds of remaining EU laws and regulations if he triumphs in the Tory leadership race, as Penny Mordaunt faces scrutiny for her views on trans rights. In a fresh pitch to win over Brexiteers, the former chancellor promised to appoint a Brexit minister to comb through the remaining 2,400

The final five candidates in the Conservative leadership race have clashed over their tax plans in a fiery first TV debate. While former Chancellor Rishi Sunak dismissed tax cut pledges by his rivals as an “unfunded spree of borrowing and more debt”, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss hit back, saying: “You cannot tax your way to

It’s the end of the first week into the Tory leadership race, and five hopefuls remain in the running to be the country’s next prime minister. Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat are battling it out to take over from Boris Johnson after securing a large enough backing during the

Penny Mordaunt has said fellow Conservative leadership candidates are trying to stop her from getting to the final round of the contest because she is who they most fear competing against head-to-head. Tory leadership favourite Ms Mordaunt told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that she is “running a positive campaign” and warned her fellow

Five candidates are left in the Conservative leadership race, which has now become even more unpredictable following the elimination of Suella Braverman from the field. While the top three slots remain unchanged, Liz Truss had another difficult round of voting as she failed to close the gap on Penny Mordaunt and instead found another right-wing

Loyal defenders of Boris Johnson argued repeatedly that he should not be deposed as Conservative leader because there was no obvious candidate to replace him. In doing so they misunderstood their own party. More often than not, the imperative when the Tories change leader is to get rid of the present incumbent and then worry

The final six candidates to become the next leader of the Conservative Party – and prime minister – are readying themselves for a second round of votes later, which will see at least one of them eliminated from the race. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak leads the field, having gained support from 88 MPs in yesterday’s

The government has tabled a no confidence motion in itself after blocking Labour’s bid to remove Boris Johnson from office immediately. It means MPs will vote on whether they still have confidence in the prime minister’s administration, despite him stepping down from office in a few weeks. Labour’s request was for a confidence motion in

The first round of voting in the Conservative leadership race will take place today – and Tory MPs will be able to choose from eight contenders. Those vying to become the party’s new leader, and the next prime minister, will need to secure at least 30 votes in order to advance to the next stage.

Rishi Sunak has stuck by Boris Johnson as he officially launched his leadership bid, saying he won’t “demonise” his former boss. The ex-chancellor defended the prime minister, calling him “one of the most remarkable people I have ever met”, despite resigning last week over Mr Johnson’s conduct in office. Fellow contenders Tom Tugendhat and Kemi

Labour will today push to hold a no confidence vote in the government to remove Boris Johnson from Number 10 and potentially trigger a general election. The party wants the vote to take place in the Commons tomorrow, rather than allowing the prime minister to stay in post while the Conservatives elect a new leader.

The number of Conservative MPs who can run to replace Boris Johnson could be narrowed down after changes to the party’s leadership contest rules. The new regulations mean MPs who put themselves forward to become leader of the Conservative Party will now need the backing of 20 other Tory MPs to get on to the

Nadhim Zahawi is a man on a mission – and he isn’t in the mood for taking any prisoners in his desire to become the next prime minister. In his first broadcast interview since entering the race, the new chancellor told Sky News exclusively how the boy from Baghdad has: nothing to hide with his

Trade minister Penny Mordaunt has joined the Tory leadership race, becoming the ninth person to enter the field. “Our leadership has to change. It needs to become a little less about the leader and a lot more about the ship,” she said, going on, “I’m Penny Mordaunt, and I’m ready to serve as the next

Education minister Andrea Jenkyns has explained why she made a rude gesture while entering Downing Street this week. The Morley and Outwood MP made the sign with her hand on Thursday as she walked through the black gates, where she says a “baying mob” outside were insulting MPs on their way in. Ms Jenkyns, who

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has become the latest Conservative to announce a bid to become the next prime minister. Mr Shapps pledged to end “tactical government by an often distracted centre”. He joins a leadership race that includes the former chancellor Rishi Sunak, who announced his bid on Friday, vowing to “restore trust, rebuild

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner have been cleared of breaking lockdown rules on a visit to Durham last year, following a police investigation. Both had vowed to step down if they were found to have breached regulations during a trip to the city in April 2021, ahead of the Hartlepool

The resignation of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid could be the final blow for Boris Johnson’s premiership after the political heavyweights attacked the PM’s “lack of integrity”, competence and leadership. The prime minister narrowly survived a confidence vote in him last month. Tory MPs voted by 211 to 148 in support of