Politics

The winner of the battle for the Conservative Party crown – widely expected to be Liz Truss – will be unveiled in a 12.30pm ceremony in two weeks, the party’s co-chairman has announced. In a letter to Tory MPs and peers headed “Leadership Announcement: Arrangements”, Andrew Stephenson urged them to apply early for tickets for

Liz Truss has been accused of trying to “avoid independent scrutiny” as she prepares to hold a budget next month without an official economic forecast, despite one being ready should she ask. Having an emergency budget in September – in which she will make long-term funding pledges – has been a key part of the

Liz Truss has hinted she will announce more help on the cost of living – as Labour calls for the government to make public the plans it is considering. In an interview with The Sun on Sunday, the foreign secretary said that every government “has to look at making sure life is affordable for people”.

Liz Truss has renewed optimism about her chances of getting into Downing Street next month – despite former Tory cabinet ministers pouring cold water on her plans. Ms Truss, who is leading the race to become the next Conservative leader by a significant margin, has continued her economic push, saying there is “too much talk

Michael Gove has backed Rishi Sunak to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister, as he accused Liz Truss of taking a “holiday from reality”. The former cabinet minister, who was sacked by Boris Johnson after telling the PM he should quit last month, said slashing taxes was not the answer to the cost

The government is to take further control of Liverpool away from the city council following a damning report into the operation of the authority which found a budget gap of close to £100m over four years. Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark is set to appoint a steering committee including Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, former

Grant Shapps has told union bosses to “get out of the way” and allow members to vote on newly proposed pay deals. It comes as fresh strikes take place on London Underground and the capital’s bus system, while national rail is set for more disruption on Saturday. The national strikes are related to pay rises

Labour is calling for parliament to be recalled ahead of the energy price cap rise. The opposition party has written to Boris Johnson, as well as Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, to ask for MPs to return to Westminster on Monday in a bid to propose their plan to freeze the cap. The price cap

Priti Patel has insisted that Rwanda is a “safe” country, despite warnings from Foreign Office officials of torture and killings. The latest defence from the home secretary comes after court documents revealed officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had concerns about the plan to send illegal migrants to the central African country.

The government has been allowed to keep parts of internal documents about Rwanda secret as part of a High Court challenge against plans to deport asylum seekers there. A handful of charities and several asylum seekers are challenging the Home Office over proposals to provide one-way tickets to the east African country for those who

Liz Truss rejected a plea to restore the abortion ban in Northern Ireland while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “much tougher” on the benefits system in the latest Conservative Party hustings in Belfast. Responding to an audience member who claimed Westminster had “undemocratically” imposed abortion laws on Northern Ireland, Ms Truss said: “I’m afraid I

A leaked audio recording has revealed Liz Truss said British workers needed “more graft” and lacked the “skill and application” of foreign rivals. The Tory leadership frontrunner was chief secretary to the Treasury when the conversation with officials was recorded five years ago. In the clip, leaked to The Guardian, Ms Truss said those outside

A total of 11 government whips have announced they are backing Liz Truss’s campaign to become the next Conservative leader in the latest blow for rival Rishi Sunak. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, herself a supporter of the foreign secretary, revealed the move in a graphic posted on social media on Tuesday morning. The

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have both promised to increase scrutiny of the Scottish government if they become the next prime minister – ahead of a visit north of the border. Ms Truss, who remains the favourite to win the race, said she would get “Scotland’s economy moving” and would give Members of the Scottish

Labour MPs should not be on picket lines if they want to be in government to help those struggling with the cost of living crisis, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader told Sky News “you can’t sit around the cabinet table and then go to a picket line” in some of his most

Ministers are urging all broadband providers to offer “social tariffs” allowing low-income households to receive discounted mobile and internet deals to ease the pressure of rising living costs. A new service, which will go live this week and be run by the Department for Work and Pensions, will allow internet providers to verify, with customers’

Sir Keir Starmer is tomorrow expected to call for the energy price cap to be frozen this autumn as households across the UK feel the pinch amid the cost of living crisis. The Labour leader will say the price cap, which is the maximum that firms in England, Wales and Scotland can charge an average

The two prime ministerial hopefuls have each pledged new commitments if elected – with Liz Truss saying she would take on the role of ‘minister for the Union’ and Rishi Sunak promising to make Britain more “energy secure”. Ms Truss made a promise to uphold the United Kingdom as she hit out at politicians in

An MP who assaulted his wife should quit and leave Plaid Cymru, the party leader has said. Jonathan Edwards, the MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, was suspended from the party in July 2020 after assaulting his wife but was readmitted on Thursday. He has said he will not rejoin the Plaid Cymru group of

Sir Robert Buckland has become the first cabinet minister to swap his support in the Conservative Party leadership race. The secretary of state for Wales is now supporting Liz Truss, having previously backed Rishi Sunak. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Sir Robert says that changing his mind was “not an easy thing to do”. He