Politics

As a winter of strike action looms, and a growing list of unions threaten to grind the county to a halt, the PM is under pressure. Rishi Sunak is attempting a more constructive, less combative, approach with the unions. A government source said the meetings involving Mick Lynch and the transport secretary and rail minister

Matt Hancock has said he was warned the COVID pandemic could kill hundreds of thousands of people in the UK two months before the country was put into lockdown and claims ministers “did not really believe it”. The former health secretary said the chief medical officer for England, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, informed him in

A review into tackling late payments for small companies from larger, more powerful firms has been launched by the government. Business Secretary Grant Shapps said delayed payments are a “real barrier” to improved productivity and job creation amid the current challenging economic situation. Large firms such as GlaxoSmithKline have been criticised by the government’s Small

Sajid Javid has announced he will not stand in the next general election, saying being an MP had been “the privilege of [his] life”. The former chancellor, who has held a number of senior roles in government alongside his Bromsgrove seat, is the most high-profile Tory MP to decide to step down at the next

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said whenever we see racism “we must confront it” following the race row engulfing Buckingham Palace. A black domestic abuse campaigner from London said she was repeatedly asked where she “really came from” by Prince William‘s godmother during a reception at the palace this week. Although he refused to comment

Ian Blackford has announced he is stepping down from his role as Westminster leader of the SNP. “After more than five years in the role, now is the right time for fresh leadership at Westminster as we head towards a general election and the next steps in winning Scotland’s independence,” he said. The SNP is

The government is running out of prison places and has had to ask police for 400 cells to make sure there is enough accommodation for the prison population. Prisons minister Damian Hinds told MPs there had been an “acute and sudden increase in the prison population” in recent months and, as a result, the Operation

China’s military advances could “eventually lead to a clash” and the UK has been “asleep” to the threat it poses for the last 30 years, an influential Tory MP has warned. Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the defence select committee, said Beijing is “taking advantage of a timid West” and Rishi Sunak’s speech declaring the

Aboard the Lady Diana, a tourist river cruise through Chester, there is little talk of the upcoming by-election: “We don’t do politics here”, captain Paul Blessing tells me, chuckling.  But dig a little deeper, and you will find strong views on everything from shops closing to sewage in the River Dee, queues at A&E and

Rishi Sunak has called last orders on the UK government’s cosy relationship with China. The UK needs to “evolve our approach” to China, he declared at the sumptuous Lord Mayor’s Banquet at the Guildhall in the City of London. The so-called “golden era” is over, he said, “along with the naive idea that trade would

Rishi Sunak has said the “golden era” between the UK and China is over as he called for a new approach to the Chinese government. The prime minister, speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet at London’s Guildhall, criticised China’s human rights abuses but said the UK “cannot simply ignore China’s significance in world affairs”. Mr

The government will spend an extra £1bn to insulate the least energy-efficient homes in the UK, the business secretary has announced. Grant Shapps said the new Eco+ scheme was aimed at middle earners who do not benefit from any other government support to upgrade homes. Labour criticised it as a “reheated announcement with no new

Rishi Sunak hopes a “blueprint” inspired by the coronavirus vaccine rollout will help tackle the NHS’s four “healthcare missions” of cancer, obesity, mental health and addiction. The prime minister has announced more than £113m in funding for research into new treatments and technologies with the aim of encouraging breakthroughs. Ministers believe tackling the key challenges

Inflation-busting pay rises are “unaffordable”, cabinet minister Mark Harper has told Sky News in the face of strikes in the public sector. The transport secretary said there “simply isn’t the money” to fund such wage hikes, even in line with rising prices, given the current economic situation and state of the public finances in the

Another Conservative MP has said he will not be standing at the next general election. Chris Skidmore, the MP for Kingswood, said in a statement “there has been no greater honour in my life” than to represent the constituency, in southwest England. “Parliamentary boundary changes will result in the Kingswood constituency ceasing to exist. “With

A man who died after staying at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent did have diphtheria, the Home Office has confirmed. A government spokesperson said initial local hospital tests were false negatives, and follow-ups showed that diphtheria may have been the cause of the man’s illness. Post-mortem examinations are ongoing, meaning the official cause

Two more Conservative MPs have announced that they will not be standing at the next general election. Dehenna Davison, 29, a levelling up minister, is viewed as one of the rising stars in the Tory party, so the news of her intention to step aside will come as a surprise. “For my whole adult life,

Rishi Sunak is mulling a crackdown on foreign students bringing dependents and studying “low-quality” degrees after net migration reached its highest level since the Second World War. Downing Street has indicated that plans to bring overall numbers down could include putting up barriers for international students’ loved ones and reducing admissions to lower-ranked universities. This

Dominic Raab has insisted he has “behaved professionally at all times” despite facing growing allegations of bullying and intimidating behaviour. Yesterday, a number of the deputy PM’s former private secretaries told the BBC they were preparing to submit formal complaints about his behaviour. Newsnight was also told that Mr Raab used his personal email account

GP practices offering the lowest number of appointments could be named and shamed later as new league tables are released for the first time. Data out on Thursday will detail how many appointments each surgery in England is delivering and how long it takes to be seen. The statistics will be published on the NHS