Politics

Ian Blackford watched the election of his successor Stephen Flynn via zoom, surrounded by his closest allies. And by boxes. His imminent forced departure from the two-floor, wood-panelled suite of offices afforded to the leader of parliament’s third party, was a source of sadness and frustration. Nicola Sturgeon had made her own unhappiness clear to

Rishi Sunak has warned the UK’s problems will not “go away” in 2023 after a “tough” 12 months. In his New Year message, the prime minister promised the “very best of Britain” will be on display in the coming months as he pledged continuing support for Ukraine. And he also predicted King Charles’s coronation on

Tory and Labour MPs who caused trouble for Boris Johnson have been recognised in the first New Year Honours list to be published since he left No 10. Conservative Julian Lewis, chairman of the parliamentary intelligence and security committee (ISC), and Labour MP Chris Bryant, who chairs the commons standards committee, have both received knighthoods.

Tony Blair wanted Vladimir Putin to have a seat at the international “top table” during his time as prime minister, according to newly released official files. The Labour PM from 1997 to 2007 believed the Russian president was at heart a “Russian patriot” and it was important to encourage him to adopt Western values, the

Government targets to curb the number of smokers in England by 2030 will not be met, according to new analysis. In 2019 ministers set out an ambition for England to become “smoke-free” by 2030 – which is said to be achieved when adult smoking rates fall to 5% or less. But Cancer Research UK said

The North East of England could be the latest region to get a directly elected mayor as part of a new £1.4bn devolution deal. Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said the new deal would bring fresh powers over skills, transport and housing to people across areas including Northumberland, Newcastle and Sunderland. It would also see

The British government would not apologise over Bloody Sunday as it would mean accepting liability, confidential documents have revealed. The incident in January 1972 saw members of the Parachute Regiment shoot dead 13 civil rights protesters on the streets of Derry. Papers from the Irish government have now detailed a conversation between then-Northern Ireland Secretary

More than one million thefts were left unsolved across England and Wales last year, according to analysis from Labour. The party has said it is “disgraceful” 1,145,254 cases were dropped because the police failed to find a suspect. The analysis also shows the average cost of a domestic burglary for a family was £1,400, meaning

A warning has been issued to rail passengers for the New Year period as more strikes are set to cause further travel chaos. Network Rail said journeys would be “significantly disrupted” for the rest of the month and into January as industrial action continues. The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) became the latest union to

The government will today launch a new advert giving energy saving tips to the public. The short video suggests turning down the boiler flow temperature, switching off lights and changing to energy saving bulbs, as well as doing washing on a lower setting and turning off appliances at the wall. “This is a 30-second ad,”

The government is facing calls to crack down on a hunting loophole after figures suggested that hundreds of suspected illegal incidents took place in just five weeks. The League Against Cruel Sports said there were 303 combined incidents of hunt havoc (trespass, road interference and disturbing animals) and illegal fox hunting between 1 November and

To say 2022 was an eventful year in British politics is certainly an understatement. Luckily (or unluckily), politicians gave us some memorable quotes to remind us of all the year’s tumultuous events. From the bizarre to the poignant and the outrageous, here they are: January Boris Johnson: “Categorically nobody told me it was against the

The UK education secretary’s Twitter account appears to have been hacked, with its profile picture changed to an image of Elon Musk and several posts promoting a cryptocurrency once backed by the billionaire. While Gillian Keegan’s page still describes her as MP for Chichester and secretary of state for education, and has retained its banner

2022 has been a tough year, in which the UK has often been hit harder than its peer countries in the G7 – the club of the world’s wealthiest democracies. Russia’s bloody attack on Ukraine led to dramatic spikes in energy costs. A global cost of living crisis has been driven by soaring inflation and

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has branded Rishi Sunak’s visit to a shelter “excruciating” after he asked a homeless man if he works in business. Mr Sunak visited the homeless shelter in London run by The Passage on Friday and praised the “fantastic” work that the institution is carrying out during the festive period. The

Rishi Sunak has hired the Spectator’s political editor, James Forsyth, as his political secretary. The move comes as the PM continues bolster his top team in Downing Street in the hope of overturning recent negative polling results for the Conservative Party. It is understood that Mr Forsyth’s role will be to act as a link

Rishi Sunak has opted against a traditional Christmas message and has instead thanked public servants as his government remains deadlocked in bitter industrial disputes with striking workers. The prime minister made four apparently surprise calls to diplomats and the crew of a naval ship to express his gratitude for their “sacrifices” after an “extraordinary year”

Rishi Sunak has said he is “sad and disappointed” that strikes are threatening to disrupt Christmas getaways. The prime minister admitted setting public sector pay was a “difficult question” but insisted that “the government has acted fairly and reasonably in accepting all the recommendations of the independent public sector pay review bodies”. However, he did

Rishi Sunak has appointed a new ethics adviser after a six-month vacancy – but the prime minister is facing criticism for maintaining the power to veto any investigation into ministers. Mr Sunak was under pressure to fill the role after promising to bring “integrity, professionalism and accountability” to government when he entered Downing Street. The

People aged 16 will be able to apply to change their gender in Scotland, while the time required for someone to live in their acquired gender is to be slashed to three months after a controversial bill was passed. After two long days of debate in the Scottish Parliament, the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill