Politics

Jeremy Hunt’s budget is unlikely to win back many Tory supporters from the last election, the Sky News Voters Panel suggests.   We have spent the last fortnight interrogating the views of our YouGov-run online community of more than 50 voters who backed the Tories in the 2019 general election. Today they deliver their verdict on

The chancellor has said that the current tax system for non-doms will be abolished – and confirmed a 2p cut to national insurance. In the budget, Jeremy Hunt said “permanent cuts in taxation” were possible because of the progress made in bringing down inflation – with forecasts suggesting it will fall to the target level

This week, as Jeremy Hunt was putting the final touches to his budget, a poll dropped putting the Conservatives on their lowest level of support in 40 years. MPs are desperate for the chancellor to give them something this week that just might pull them back up. The final budget before the general election will

Britain’s electoral map could look dramatically different after voters go to the polls this year. Labour is on course for a majority but in parts of the North of England and the Midlands, the battle is by no means straightforward. Galloway met with silence in Commons – politics latest Here, there are a number of

The UK is almost certain to hold a general election in 2024 after 14 years of Conservative prime ministers. The latest the next election could be held is January 2025, but polling experts have predicted it will take place no later than November. As politicians plunge themselves into “campaign mode”, Sky News will be speaking

Rishi Sunak has suffered a number of sizeable defeats in the House of Lords over his controversial bill to rescue the stalled Rwanda plan. Peers have voted through five amendments which, if enacted in law, would make it harder for parliament to declare the African nation ‘safe’ and would require the government to comply with

Any tax cuts made during this budget will “one way or another be undone after the election”, according to one economist. Speaking to Sky News, Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, explained that – if it were not an election year – it is unlikely that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt would be

Some Jewish people are “absolutely terrified” to leave their homes during pro-Palestinian marches, according to the chancellor. While most people wanted to demonstrate peacefully, Jeremy Hunt told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show there had been instances of “very intimidatory protests” and this was “not the British way”. Please use Chrome browser for

The chancellor has played down expectations of tax cuts in Wednesday’s budget, telling Sky News his spending plans will be “prudent and responsible”. Speaking to Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, the cabinet minister it would be “deeply unconservative” to take decisions that were unfunded and increased borrowing. Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to deliver tax

Rishi Sunak has railed against “extremist forces trying to tear us apart” during a Downing Street address to the nation. The prime minister said there has been a “shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality” and added that “now our democracy itself is a target”. He described the Rochdale by-election result on Thursday night as

A reduction in national insurance would be a “union tax cut”, the prime minister has said ahead of the budget next week. Rishi Sunak told journalists at the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen on Friday that while he could not comment on what the chancellor Jeremy Hunt will announce on 6 March, he could see

George Galloway will be back in parliament on Monday with his megaphone and a new platform to rail against Labour. His theme is Gaza and his menace is clear. As he accepted victory in the Rochdale by-election at around 3.30am (at a rally in a Subaru car showroom of all places), the veteran left-wing agitator

He’s back! The left-wing firebrand and Celtic FC fanatic George Galloway has now scored a hat-trick of election victories over Labour, the party he represented in parliament for 16 years. After ousting Oona King in Bethnal Green and Bow in 2005 and a winning spectacular by-election victory in Bradford West in 2012, he has now

Border protections at UK airports are neither “effective nor efficient” as ePassport gates are sometimes left unmanned, according to one of several delayed reports by sacked chief inspector David Neal. The Home Office has published 13 papers written by the former borders and immigration inspector, who was dismissed last week after releasing information to the

Voters in Rochdale will today choose their new MP as polling stations open across the constituency. The by-election was called after the death of Labour stalwart Sir Tony Lloyd last month, who had been suffering from an aggressive and untreatable form of leukaemia. There are now 11 candidates vying to replace him and represent the

Police are “assessing” a report of hate speech made against Lee Anderson following his claim “Islamists” had taken control of London and its mayor, Sadiq Khan, Sky News understands. The Ashfield MP was suspended from the Conservative Party last weekend after he refused to apologise for the remarks, which have been branded as racist by

Nestled in the foothills of the Pennines, Rochdale is a town with a proud history. It was once home to the world’s foremost cotton processing centres and is widely known as the birthplace of the modern co-operative movement. But in recent years the town has been marred by child exploitation scandals, poverty and deprivation. According

Rishi Sunak is failing to hold together the voting coalition that delivered Boris Johnson a decisive victory in the 2019 general election, according to The Voters Panel on Sky News – launched today.  A profound unhappiness with the state of the country and exhaustion at years of Tory chaos means 2019 Tory voters will flock

Sir Keir Starmer is facing a possible parliamentary investigation over allegations he put pressure on the Speaker in a debate on Gaza last week. Sir Lindsay Hoyle is facing a backlash for allowing a vote on a Labour amendment to an SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Parliamentary convention dictates that there

Labour has called on Rishi Sunak to consider removing the whip from Liz Truss after her appearance in the US sparked controversy. Anneliese Dodds, the chair of the Labour Party, accused the former prime minister of “propagating conspiracy theories” and “associating with individuals who have actually praised the far right in our country”. “That’s deeply