Politics

Angela Rayner has defended compromising within Labour’s top team, saying she will not let her principles “block” her party from getting into government. Speaking to the Beth Rigby Interviews programme, the deputy leader – known for being on the left of the party – said it was “not about getting rid of my principles”. But,

Introducing mandatory minimum levels of service during strikes will protect people’s lives while respecting workers’ rights to walk out, the business secretary has said. Grant Shapps told Sky News the anti-strikes bill he will introduce to parliament today will ensure there is no longer a “postcode lottery” as key workers take action. The bill, if

The health secretary has announced the government will block-book beds in residential homes so around 2,500 people can be released from hospitals when they are medically fit to be discharged. Steve Barclay gave a statement to the Commons outlining the plans to help ease the “severe pressures” on the NHS – hours after his talks

Trade unions, Qatar and a little-known Hertfordshire business are among the biggest donors to individual MPs since the last general election. As part of the Westminster Accounts, Sky News and Tortoise Media have compiled a leaderboard showing how much money external organisations and individuals have donated to MPs since the end of 2019. These donations

The Westminster Accounts interactive database lets you search for information about the earnings and donations declared by any MP, political party, an all-party parliamentary group, or donor since the last election. Sky News and Tortoise Media have programmatically collected and analysed thousands of public records to create this extensive record of financial interests in Westminster

Rishi Sunak has refused to reveal if he uses private healthcare as NHS waiting times for GPs, ambulances and hospitals soar. The prime minister said his own healthcare arrangements are “not really relevant” as he insisted bringing down waiting times is one of his key priorities. But the head of the Royal College of Nursing

On a freezing, foggy evening in December, the House of Commons finally formally responded to the last major financial sleaze scandal to hit parliament, and in doing so, sent an important signal about the way politicians look after themselves. After more than a year of deliberation, the debate and vote late in the evening of

The chair of the Public Accounts Committee has told Sky News she “could weep for the five years” lost by the decision to abolish the organisation set up to deliver the long-term renovation of parliament. Dame Meg Hillier MP says there is an “unacceptable cloak of secrecy” around the decision to send the restoration programme

Boris Johnson had a “problem” in responding to a controversial report on race due to his “bad track record on the issue”, one of its lead authors has claimed. The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities released its conclusions back in 2021 after reviewing racial disparities in Britain following the rise of the Black Lives

Nurses have said they will call off strike action later this month if the government discusses pay for this year – but ministers are standing by their refusal not to. Rishi Sunak dodged answering whether talks the government has invited all unions to next week will include discussions about pay for the 2022-23 financial year

The criminal justice system is “about to crack” with a record number of trials being aborted at the last minute because no one is available to prosecute them, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has warned. A fresh row is bubbling after the government agreed to boost legal aid fees by 15% in October in a

The government is bringing forward new strike laws to “maintain a basic function and deliver minimum safety levels” in the public sector during industrial action, the business department has confirmed. In a statement, it said the government would “always protect the ability to strike”, but added: “It must be balanced with the public’s right to

Sir Keir Starmer will promise to end “sticking plaster politics” when he delivers his first speech of the new year later today. The Labour leader will claim that “a short-term mindset” dominates Westminster under the Conservatives, pointing in particular to its handling of the crisis in the NHS. He will promise “a completely new way

Rishi Sunak must recall parliament “immediately” so MPs can discuss the “NHS crisis”, a leading medical organisation has said. Writing a letter to the PM on Wednesday, Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) – an organisation led by frontline medical staff – and its supporters said MPs must return from their festive break before Monday 9 January.

Rishi Sunak must “step up to the plate” and allow ministers to get around the table to negotiate with union leaders, the boss of the TUC has said – as he accused the PM of using the independent pay review bodies as a “human shield”. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak told Sky News the PM

Rishi Sunak’s flagship policy to stop Albanian migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats is unlikely to reduce overall illegal immigration because of “infinite” demand, Home Office sources have warned. The prime minister’s five-point-plan, launched last month, specifically targets people arriving from Albania after the Eastern European country accounted for more than a third

New Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar – seen as a bogeyman by many unionists in Northern Ireland – has said he “understands” and “gets” the concerns that community has about the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol he helped to design.  Mr Varadkar, who began his second term as Taoiseach in mid-December, told reporters at a briefing

UK Border Force officers have joined patrols on French beaches for the first time in a bid to stem the flow of migrants crossing the Channel. The first joint patrols are believed to have taken place just before Christmas after months of negotiations between UK and French officials. The collaboration aims to give UK officers

The Archbishop of Canterbury has kicked off 2023 by putting the Church of England on a collision course with Rishi Sunak’s government. Justin Welby is a canny political operator who is almost certainly the most political archbishop of Canterbury in recent years. And there have been a few of those. During 2022 he led an

The major events which come define a year, or even a decade, are seldom predicted. Nobody foresaw the 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001 which then swamped the leaderships of Tony Blair and George W Bush. This time a year ago most experts doubted that Russia would go ahead with the vicious attack on