Politics

There are only 100 spaces left in male prisons across England and Wales, Sky News understands. The figure, first reported by the Telegraph, is the closest the system has come to running out of places amid an ongoing crisis in the sector. Politics live: Starmer offers biggest clue so far on possible tax rises Government

Sir Keir Starmer will vow on Tuesday to “reverse a decade of decline” and to “fix the foundations” of the UK economy. Delivering a much-trailed speech in the gardens of Downing Street ahead of parliament’s return next week, the prime minister will acknowledge the state of the public finances but pledge to “do the hard

A Labour donor who contributed more than £500,000 to the party did have a pass to Number 10 for a short time, the government has told Sky News. The Sunday Times reported Lord Waheed Alli, a television executive who has donated to Labour over the last 20 years, had been given a pass granting him

Messaging is a key weapon in any government’s armoury. Back in 2010 the new coalition spent the first few months re-iterating the line that Labour had caused economic chaos, aided by the famous note “there is no money left”. It was so successful that some political analysis believe it was a big factor in helping

The August bank holiday has arrived – the cue for millions to get back to work after whatever holidays they have managed to enjoy. Over this weekend many Britons will be coming home from Europe through ports, airports and the Channel Tunnel. Their trips may have included frustrating delays and border checks but there won’t

The Metropolitan Police has ended its investigation into the general election betting scandal without bringing any charges. A number of Conservative politicians and officials, as well as police officers based around parliament, got into hot water over allegations they had placed bets on the timing of July’s vote before it had been publicly announced by

A Scottish Tory leadership candidate has said he still does not support gay marriage because of his religious beliefs, 10 years after voting against it. However, Murdo Fraser told Sky News that he is now “quite relaxed” about same-sex adoption, having previously voiced opposition to it. Politics live: Rising energy costs ‘deeply worrying’ for families

Magistrates have been told to consider pushing back the sentencing of criminals because of concerns about overcrowding in prisons. Sky News has seen an internal direction sent to courts in England and Wales saying hearings due in the next two weeks should be reviewed if the defendant is currently on bail – and potentially postponed

Let’s start with one claim that’s been causing a bit of confusion today. Contrary to what the Home Office press release today suggests, small boat crossings to the UK have not fallen since last year – at least not in any sense that any normal person would understand it. Actually, the cumulative number of people

It is “laughable” for Rachel Reeves to claim she didn’t know the full state of the public finances until she took office, Ruth Davidson has said. Speaking on Beth Rigby’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives accused the new chancellor of trying to “build a political narrative” in order to justify

Almost all small boat arrivals who claimed asylum in the UK over the last year are still waiting for a decision from the Home Office, figures show. In the year ending June 2024, the Home Office said 99% of all the people arriving in small boats had an asylum claim recorded either as a main

Official data shows government borrowing in July was above expectations and at its highest since the pandemic. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expected borrowing to be £46.6bn – instead it reached £51.3bn. Our economics and data editor Ed Conway joins Niall Paterson to talk about the unexpected rise in government borrowing and Chancellor Rachel

Labour is pressing ahead with the previous government’s plan to reopen two immigration centres in a bid to achieve the highest rate of removals since 2018. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said detention capacity will be increased with the provision of 290 beds across Campsfield House and Haslar. The former, in Oxfordshire, closed in 2019 while

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed his government will do “everything we can” to preserve jobs at the steelworks in Port Talbot. The prime minister was visiting South Wales, the region where the site is based, to walk around Alltwalis wind farm with the new First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan. The pair have been showcasing

Pensioners are being urged to check if they are eligible for the winter fuel allowance after universal payments were scrapped. Last month Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that the tax free benefit, to help older people with higher heating costs during the colder months, would be limited to those on pension credit. The surprise move was

Conservative Party deputy chair Matthew Vickers has resigned from his role in order to back Robert Jenrick in the Conservative Party leadership contests. Mr Vickers also serves as shadow policing minister, but does not need to stand back from this role to declare his support for a candidate. However, Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) is remaining

An emergency plan to avoid overcrowding in jails is expected to be triggered on Monday as more rioters are sentenced, Sky News understands. Operation Early Dawn is a long-standing plan that allows defendants waiting for a court appearance to be kept in police cells until prison space is available. Sky News understands that the operation

Nigel Farage has denied being paid nearly £98,000 a month for appearing on GB News. The Reform UK leader was responding to reports about his secondary income. The register of members’ financial interests, published on Friday, listed Mr Farage as receiving £97,928 per month from the channel. However, writing on X, he said: “To be

SNP MSP John Mason been stripped of the party whip following an “utterly abhorrent” social media post about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Mr Mason has been effectively expelled from the party after posting on X: “If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed ten times as many.” The Glasgow Shettleston MSP made the comment

ASLEF’s lead negotiator has denied the union sees the new government as a “soft touch” after announcing fresh strikes two days after train drivers were offered a pay deal. Drivers working for London North Eastern Railway (LNER) – which runs the passenger service on the East Coast main line between London and Edinburgh – will