Politics

Angela Rayner has defended her decision to remove the need for “beautiful” buildings from Labour’s housing policy, claiming the word was “preventing and blocking development”. The stipulation was added to planning rules by the previous Conservative government, with then housing secretary Michael Gove saying it would encourage communities to support new projects. But his successor

The sister of a man who has spent 12 years behind bars on an abolished prison sentence has pleaded with new justice minister Lord Timpson to intervene in her brother’s high-profile case. Clara White, whose brother Thomas White has been in prison since 2012 for stealing a mobile phone, said offenders like him who are

The prime minister has visited Southport to pay his respects to the victims of Monday’s stabbings, and to their families who are “going through raw pain and grief”. Sir Keir Starmer laid flowers near the Hart Space, a community centre where children had been attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop before the attack. Three young

The chancellor has said her predecessor Jeremy Hunt “lied” as she accused him of deliberately covering up the truth about the state of the UK’s finances. After announcing a series of spending cuts on Monday, Rachel Reeves said it was “unforgivable” the Conservatives left a £22bn funding black hole. Follow the latest updates from Westminster

Rachel Reeves has strongly hinted there will be tax rises in the autumn budget as she promised to be “honest” about “difficult” decisions that lie ahead. The chancellor said while she did not want to increase taxes on working people, the public had been “misled for too long” about the state of the country’s finances.

By now, you are probably aware that at 3.30pm the new chancellor will tell MPs of an approximately £20bn black hole in the public finances, necessitating immediate painful spending cuts today and paving the way for tax increases in an October budget. Rachel Reeves and her team will then challenge the Tories over who knew

Kemi Badenoch has entered the Conservative leadership race to replace Rishi Sunak with a pledge to tell voters the truth. The shadow housing secretary – who served as business and trade secretary in the last government – becomes the sixth person to put themselves forward. She joins James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat, Robert Jenrick and Mel

Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel has said it is “time to put unity before personal vendetta” as she threw her hat into the ring for the Tory party leadership. Entering the increasingly crowded field to replace Rishi Sunak, the senior Conservative MP laid the blame for their worst-ever defeat on 4 July not on

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised to “fix” the “mess” the Conservative government left in the economy, amid reports of a £20bn “black hole” in the public finances. Ms Reeves, who is currently on a visit to the G20 in Brazil, told broadcasters she aimed to tell the world that the UK “is open for business”

The government is considering repealing a controversial law that could have seen universities and student unions fined for failing to uphold freedom of speech on campus. A Whitehall source branded The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which was due to come into force next week, “an antisemites’ charter” that could have lent a

The government is expected to agree to above-inflation pay rises for public sector workers in the coming days, amid concerns over the costs of not settling, Sky News understands. Independent pay review bodies have already recommended the above-inflation figure to ministers for teachers and nurses of about 5.5% to keep them in line with increases

Mel Stride has become the fourth Conservative MP to enter the race to become the party’s next leader. The former work and pensions secretary – who now holds the shadow role – hinted his candidacy to Sky News earlier this week, saying there was a “reasonable chance” he would run. But he has now officially

A record number of prisoners were released in error last year, as violence and self-harm rose in increasingly overcrowded prisons, new statistics reveal. In the 12 months to March 2024, 87 prisoners were released by mistake – 23% more in England and Wales than the previous year – making it the highest number ever recorded,

Robert Jenrick will join the race to run for Conservative Party leader this morning. The former minister is the third Tory to throw their hat into the ring to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the party after he stepped down following a devastating loss at the general election three weeks ago. Mr Jenrick served

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted his government will “do difficult things” to tackle violence against women and girls following a Sky News report about sexual harassment in the ambulance service. At his first PMQs in his role as prime minister, Sir Keir was asked by Labour MP Charlotte Nichols how his government plans to tackle

Has Sir Keir Starmer overreacted by suspending seven Labour MPs who rebelled and voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap? Not according to the Labour leader’s inner circle, obviously. But many Labour MPs – and not just the left-wing “usual suspects” – were stunned at his response. In a recent interview with Sky News political

Seven Labour MPs have been suspended from the parliamentary party after voting against the government to call for the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap. Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, Zarah Sultana, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Ian Byrne have all had the whip suspended for six months, at which point the decision will

Rishi Sunak’s replacement as Conservative leader will be announced on 2 November, the Tory party has confirmed. The party said the former prime minister, who led the Conservatives to their worst-ever defeat on 4 July, will remain acting leader until that date. Nominations to succeed Mr Sunak will open on Wednesday at 7pm and will

The previous government was set to spend £10bn on the now-scrapped Rwanda scheme, the home secretary has revealed. Giving a statement in the Commons, Yvette Cooper said £700m of taxpayers’ money had already been spent on the scheme, which the Conservatives brought in to act as a deterrent to those travelling in small boats across

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard are here with their guide to the day ahead in politics. On the morning after Joe Biden announced he would withdraw from the US presidential race, Jack and Sam talk about all the developments across the pond. And with about a week and a