Politics

Sir Ed Davey has hinted his party would be prepared to do a post-election deal with Labour to prevent the Conservatives from forming a government. Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby at the Liberal Democrats annual conference, the leader categorically ruled out any agreement with the Tories, saying his party could “play a

Twenty-four hours in A&E is now “no longer a documentary”, leading medics have warned, as figures show almost 400,000 patients spent a day or more in an emergency department in England last year. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said the very long waits are a “matter of national shame”. Figures uncovered by the

Sir Vince Cable says the by-election in Mid Bedfordshire could “potentially be a mess” if his party and Labour split the vote in the Conservative stronghold. The seat is up for grabs after the exit from the Commons of Nadine Dorries – the Tory MP who eventually stood down after 81 days in anger over

The home secretary has questioned whether international migration rules and conventions designed more than a century ago are “fit for purpose” ahead of a major speech in the United States. Suella Braverman suggested a shake-up of international rules could be needed to tackle the migrant crisis. She warned a failure to address the problem will

A government taskforce intended to help people save energy and lower their bills has been disbanded after just six months. The Energy Efficiency Taskforce was set up by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, in March to boost uptake of insulation and boiler upgrades in homes and commercial buildings. It included Sir John Armitt, chair of the

Rishi Sunak is considering a recommendation that would effectively ban cigarettes for the next generation. The prime minister could introduce some of the world’s toughest anti-smoking measures by steadily increasing the legal age for consuming tobacco, according to The Guardian, citing Whitehall sources. The paper said it also understood Mr Sunak’s leadership pledge to fine

Rishi Sunak’s popularity has plunged to its lowest point since taking office following his watering down of key climate pledges. The prime minister’s net favourability rating has slumped to -45, according to a YouGov survey carried out days after his speech rowing back on net zero pledges. The poll of more than 2,000 adults between

Labour has pledged to bolster the power of the UK’s economic watchdog to prevent a repeat of the “disastrous mistakes” of Liz Truss’s mini-budget. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to introduce legislation that would allow the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to independently publish their own impact assessment of any major and permanent

This week, Rishi Sunak made a surprise speech announcing delays to a number of key Conservative pledges aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions. But alongside a five-year delay to the ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars, and various changes to promises on oil and gas boilers, the prime minister also claimed he was

Rishi Sunak’s watering down of climate pledges is not a “cynical ploy” – but is rather the prime minister doing “what is right”, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said. Last night, Mr Sunak announced a raft of changes to the UK’s climate pledges, including delaying the ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine

Today the cross-party climate consensus in place for many years was shattered. Minutes after Rishi Sunak’s press conference concluded, Labour announced they would reverse the most incendiary of all the PM’s promises – to move back the date to ban new petrol cars, from 2030 to 2035. This puts Labour and the Tories differences on

The home secretary has said that “we’re not going to save the planet by bankrupting the British people” in response to reports the government is looking at watering down its green pledges. Among the changes being considering are the pushing back of a ban on the sales of new vehicles with internal combustion engines from

Ever since the surprise Tory Uxbridge by-election victory, attributed to the party’s opposition to the ULEZ congestion charge scheme, Rishi Sunak has been reviewing the government’s net zero commitments. We are about to hear the results of that review, according to Whitehall sources. The PM has personally long been cautious about the costs that tackling

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has criticised the “increasing militancy” and “politically” motivated strikes, and said that is why new legislation to curtail walkouts is being introduced. Mr Barclay was speaking as consultants took industrial action today, with junior doctors set to join them tomorrow in the first joint strike in NHS history. The government is

An unrepentant Liz Truss has sought to blame a left-wing infiltration of thinktanks, the Bank of England and other “institutions” for the market turmoil during her brief premiership. Ms Truss was speaking at an Institute for Government event about what she believes are the issues with the UK economy. Her 49 days as prime minister

Labour will look to build a closer trading relationship with the EU if it wins the next election, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader spent the weekend meeting fellow centre-left leaders in Montreal, Canada, including the country’s prime minister Justin Trudeau. The party has long been critical of the deal negotiated by the

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to guarantee the tax burden – currently the largest since the Second World War –  would not increase under Labour. While the opposition leader told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme he wanted it to come down “for working people”, his “laser focus” was on growing the economy.

Sir Keir Starmer has described Conservative Party claims that Labour’s plans on immigration would increase asylum seeker numbers as “nonsense”. Speaking exclusively to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, from a summit in Montreal, the Labour leader maintained the government has “no control” of UK borders. He said: “What concerns people is that basic idea that

With the arrival of autumn, the Labour Party is shifting into pre-election mode. The likelihood is that the next general election will take place in May or October next year. Labour needs to hold its lead in opinion polls but, unlike its lagging rivals, it also has the space now to “prepare for government”, as

Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate for London mayor, is reported to have liked tweets praising controversial former minister Enoch Powell. Ms Hall, who will go up against Labour’s Sadiq Khan in the mayoral election next May, liked a message in February 2020 quoting the far-right, anti-immigration politician as saying: “It’s never too late to save