Politics

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

The government is “simply not in a position to pay inflation pay rises”, the transport secretary has told Sky News before a meeting with the boss of the sector’s biggest union tomorrow. Mark Harper told The Take with Sophy Ridge that he understands why “people facing these cost-of-living pressures want more pay”, but said if

This is a major blow for Nicola Sturgeon’s ambition to hold a second independence vote next October. It almost certainly rules out that plan.  But it’s not entirely surprising as the first minister’s own top law officer wasn’t fully convinced of the legal basis for Holyrood legislating for a referendum against Westminster’s approval. That is

King Charles has hosted his first state visit since becoming monarch, welcoming South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa to Buckingham Palace. The pair are said to have voiced their mutual respect and admiration for both the late Queen and Nelson Mandela during the first day of the leader’s two-day trip. The pomp and ceremony began with

There are now no people at the Manston migrant processing centre, Sky News understands. The Home Office site in Kent, where thousands of migrants arriving in small boats have been taken since it opened in January, currently has zero people in it. In recent weeks Manston has been at the centre of controversy as it

Rishi Sunak has reiterated his commitment to Brexit amid reports the government could be seeking a closer “Swiss-style” deal with the EU. Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) annual conference, the prime minister said he was “unequivocal” that he would not return to any alignment with EU laws. “I voted for Brexit, I

The UK government has introduced legislation to extend the deadline for forming an executive in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Bill also sees MLA salaries slashed by about a third while the Assembly is unable to conduct business and enables civil servants to have limited decision-making powers to ensure public services can

Labour wants to replace the House of Lords with an elected chamber if it gets into power as part of a plan to “restore trust in politics”. The party will hold a consultation on the make-up of the new look Lords, including on how to make sure “regional voices” are included. But it has said

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will accuse Iran of spreading “bloodshed and destruction” around the world as he reaffirms Britain’s determination to prevent it acquiring a nuclear weapon. Addressing an international security conference in Bahrain on Saturday, Mr Cleverly will warn that Iranian-supplied weapons are threatening security in the Middle East and beyond. He will point

Rishi Sunak is to axe the daily appearance of ministers on morning breakfast shows, it is understood. Instead of being grilled on the airwaves every day, the government will now only provide a minister to be interviewed around three mornings a week. The move was first reported by the Daily Mirror, which said the appearances

The UK’s science and technology sector survived a much feared spending cut in this week’s budget – but those in the field say the government will need to do more to realise the UK’s potential as a “science superpower.” The expectation was that this was going to be a budget of cuts, with the government’s

Let’s start with a tale of two charts. Or rather, one chart. Be warned: it’s not a pretty chart. It shows how average household disposable income changed each year since 1955 and for the most part it’s a story of progress. As the years have gone on, we have seen our disposable incomes rise in