Politics

Labour has been warned against being “too timid” and “limping into Number 10” by the head of its biggest donor on the eve of the party’s conference in Liverpool. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said she wanted the party to resemble the reforming Labour government of 1945 led by Clement Attlee in the

When Labour last met in Liverpool for its annual conference, Liz Truss had just delivered her mini-Budget, sterling had fallen to a 37-year low and the markets were about to be plunged into turmoil. With her government imploding and weeks after the Johnson collapse, Labour were on a high. Sir Keir Starmer had clocked up

Labour rallies in Scotland have been far from headline news for a very long time.  Their political sparkle fizzled out in the wake of the independence referendum in 2014 as an electoral punishment for teaming up with the Conservatives in a bitterly bruising campaign. Opponents have repeatedly poked fun at Labour’s failures at the polls,

This Labour Party conference will feel different. Unlike the Conservatives, they don’t need a big comeback moment to save them from dire polling, nor are there peacocking leadership hopefuls waiting in the wings (or at least, there is no looming vacancy). Instead, particularly after the massive win in the Rutherglen by-election, this is a party

Angela Rayner is set to become the UK’s deputy prime minister if Labour wins the next general election.  With Labour’s annual conference starting this weekend, here’s what you need to know about the party’s deputy leader – from her early life and career in politics to the abuse and controversy she has faced. Early life

Labour sources at the Rutherglen and Hamilton West count were either playing a game with us about the scale of their party’s victory or were genuinely surprised. Early on at the count, they said they thought the swing from the SNP to Labour would be 7% to 8%, suggesting a gain of 15 to 22

Sir Keir Starmer has criticised Rishi Sunak for failing to address the rising cost of living in his party conference speech after Sky News revealed how families are struggling to afford baby formula. The Labour leader was asked if he would commit to more support for struggling families after the report, which found that formula

Rishi Sunak has been reported to Police Scotland over comments he made about Nicola Sturgeon in his Tory Party conference speech. Chris McEleny, the general secretary of Alba Party, told Sky News he had filed a complaint and asked for an investigation into whether Mr Sunak may have committed contempt of court by mentioning Scotland’s

He may have been prime minister for a year, but his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester felt almost like the moment Rishi Sunak introduced himself for the first time. A speech rich in announcements and packed with messages about Rishi the man and his values. He and his team knew the speech

Rishi Sunak will try and convince the public he is the person to “fundamentally change the country” and fix Westminster’s “broken system” – despite the fact his party has been in government for 13 years. The prime minister will try to present himself as a reformer who is prepared to take difficult decisions, unlike opponents,

Rishi Sunak has claimed a general election is “not what the country wants”, despite insisting he is unafraid of going to the polls. Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby put it to the prime minister that he was a “man without a mandate” – having lost the Tory leadership election last year, before being appointed

Transgender women will be banned from being treated in female hospital wards, under new proposals suggested by the health secretary. In his conference speech, Steve Barclay will reportedly announce plans to push back against what he calls “wokery” in the NHS, which he says has led to women’s rights being increasingly sidelined. Speaking to the

Downing Street struggled to be heard on the first day of Conservative conference in Manchester as a somewhat indistinct headline message struggled to break through unhelpful noises off from the fringe.  Some 24 hours later Downing Street had completely lost control of the narrative as full-on chaos ensued. Tory mayor Andy Street was addressing hacks

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has refused to commit to tax cuts ahead of the next election, despite growing calls from inside his party. His cabinet colleague Michael Gove told Sky News on Sunday that he wanted to see “the tax burden reduced” by the time the public goes to the polls. But speaking to Kay Burley

Michael Gove has called for a tax cut before the next general election – putting him at odds with the chancellor on the first day of Conservative Party conference. Jeremy Hunt told The Times newspaper on Saturday the government was “not in a position to talk about tax cuts at all”, and needed to focus

Top Tories are setting out their policies as the Conservative Party conference kicks off in Manchester – with levelling up, immigration, Ukraine and the next general election on the agenda. Rishi Sunak has announced that more than 50 “overlooked” British towns will be given £20m each over the next 10 years to regenerate high streets,

Grassroots Conservative supporters are saying they want to oust Rishi Sunak and “go to war” with the liberal wing of the party in leaked WhatsApp messages obtained by Sky News. We have obtained the discussions amongst members of the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO), founded in December 2022 by donor and Johnson-backer Lord Peter Cruddas after

Rishi Sunak has said he is “slamming the brakes on the war on motorists” – with the government confirming that councils will be stopped from enforcing blanket 20mph speed limits. Low-traffic neighbourhoods are also in the prime minister’s crosshairs and will only be permitted where there is local consent. The Department for Transport added that

Rishi Sunak is considering removing the winter fuel allowance from all but the poorest pensioners as a way of clawing back some taxpayer funds from the elderly as he prepares to fight the next election on a pledge to keep the pension triple lock despite its spiralling costs. Government figures told Sky News the prime

“I don’t visit the prison anymore to see him because he’s unrecognisable. His eyes are dark. He’s exhausted – mentally, physically, emotionally.” This is how Clara White speaks about her brother, Thomas White, who has been in prison for the past 11 years. His crime? Stealing a mobile phone. During that time – much of