Politics

Labour has comfortably held on to its seat in Stretford and Urmston, in its second by-election victory in two weeks.  Andrew Western, who is the leader of Trafford Council, retained the Greater Manchester constituency with a majority of nearly 10,000. He secured 69.65% of the votes, up 9.34% on the snap general election three years

Nurses will continue to strike in January if the government does not negotiate with them on pay, union leader Pat Cullen has told Sky News. Ms Cullen, of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said it was “absolutely not true” that pay is a “tiny element” in the dispute as she hit out at “disparaging”

A backbench Conservative MP has failed in an attempt to override international human rights rulings and get the Rwanda deportation scheme up and running again. Jonathan Gullis was said to have the backing of former prime minister Boris Johnson and former home secretary Priti Patel – but the bill he proposed was voted down by

The Chinese government has “removed” a consul general and five of its officials involved in beating up a Hong Kong protester inside its Manchester consulate. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said his department had a week ago given a deadline of 14 December to the Chinese government for six of its officials to have their diplomatic

The SNP plans to introduce a bill that would allow Scotland to decide on independence without the UK government’s approval. The party is pushing for Holyrood to hold its own referendum on independence to “unlock Westminster’s denial of democracy”. It wants to amend the Scotland Act 1998, which details what Holyrood can and cannot legislate

A Tory MP has been made bankrupt after a court heard he owed around £1.7m. Adam Afriyie, who has held the seat of Windsor since 2005, was given the bankruptcy order during an online hearing in the Insolvency and Companies Court on Tuesday. Judge Nicholas Briggs was told the MP owed around £1m to HM

Talks to avert the nursing strike on Thursday have failed after the union leader behind the action accused the health secretary of refusing to discuss pay. Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said on Monday night: “I needed to come out of this meeting with something serious to show nurses why

The government’s top responsibility is to tackle inflation, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has told Sky News as thousands of public sector workers go on strike. Mr Hunt said the strikes, which are taking place every day until the end of the year, are a “symptom of the fact that people are very worried that their pay

Conservative MPs have called for lower taxes and a new Tory campaign group has been launched in a fresh double headache for Rishi Sunak. On Sunday morning, a letter from 40 Tory MPs was sent to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt saying taxes are too high and offering suggestions of how to lower them by £7bn. At

The government is “dangerous, reprehensible and irresponsible” for failing to sit down with nurses to try and avert a strike, Labour has said. NHS nurses are due to strike next Thursday and on 20 December in a dispute over pay and patient safety. It is the first time the Royal College of Nursing has staged

The UK will look to form long-lasting partnerships with Latin American, Asian and African countries, the foreign secretary will say next week. James Cleverly will give his first major speech at the Foreign Office on Monday, and will call for alignment with increasingly influential countries in the three regions. This includes states that are not

A formal request for troops to drive ambulances during strike action could be made within days, Sky News understands. After a formal request known as a MACA – or Military Assistance to the Civil Authorities – is made to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), training to drive ambulances would begin. A decision from the Department

She is no stranger to the spotlight. A book deal, regular television appearances and a prolific presence on Instagram, all part of a carefully crafted public image that helped Michelle Mone secure a peerage in 2015. Yet, Baroness Mone – or “Lady M” as she often refers to herself – has been keeping a low

Troops have been training at Heathrow and Gatwick airports for passport checking roles ahead of Border Force staff going on strike over Christmas. The Ministry of Defence confirmed to Sky News armed forces personnel arrived at London’s two main airports earlier this week. The PCS union announced on Wednesday that Border Force officers will go

The chair of the Conservative Party has called on Labour to return £750,000 of donations to Unite The Union and not take any more funds until police have concluded investigations into the organisation, Sky News has learned. On Thursday, Sky News’ political correspondent Joe Pike reported that two bombshell independent reports – one conducted by

People should “think carefully” about going on holiday over the Christmas period after Border Force workers became the latest to announce they would go on strike, the home secretary has said. Suella Braverman has urged people to rethink flying around the festive period as she warned of “undeniable, serious disruption for the many thousands who

Tory MP Julian Knight has had the whip removed after a complaint about him was made to the Metropolitan Police. A spokesperson for the Conservative chief whip, Simon Hart, said the complaint was made to the force on Wednesday evening and he removed the whip “with immediate effect”. It means Mr Knight, who is also

Tory peer Baroness Michelle Mone – who is at the centre of controversy over her alleged links to a firm awarded £200m of PPE contracts – has lost the Conservative whip, Rishi Sunak has confirmed. Yesterday, Baroness Mone said in a statement that she will take a break from the House of Lords to “clear

Stephen Flynn has been named as the new leader of the Scottish National Party in Westminster, replacing Ian Blackford. The MP for Aberdeen South defeated Alison Thewliss for the top job at the SNP’s AGM on Tuesday and will face Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister’s Questions less than 24 hours later. Mr Flynn’s deputy will

More than 10,000 ambulance workers across nine trusts in England and Wales will strike on 21 and 28 December, the GMB union has confirmed. The GMB, Unison and Unite unions are coordinating industrial action in a row over pay. Ambulance workers from the GMB union, including paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff,