Politics

Most Conservative Party members still prefer Boris Johnson over either of the two candidates vying to take over as prime minister, a new poll shows. In a head-to-head vote, 63% of party members chose the prime minister compared with 22% for Liz Truss, Opinium found. When asked about Mr Johnson versus Rishi Sunak, 68% went

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

The House of Commons Speaker has refused to reveal why MPs want their attendance records at parliament deleted – a move to block information campaigners say the public has a “right to know”. It was decided earlier this year that the records of when MPs used their passes to access the Houses of Parliament should

Boris Johnson has admitted that the cost of living support the government is providing is not enough – but he refused to announce any immediate measures to combat spiralling household bills. Mr Johnson doubled down on his remarks that it will be up to his successor – either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – to

Rishi Sunak has unveiled a plan to slash rising energy bills for up to 16 million vulnerable people which he hopes will propel him to 10 Downing Street. In a dramatic move as his Tory leadership clash with Liz Truss becomes increasingly bitter, he is said to be prepared to find up to £10bn to

Nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition backing former prime minister Gordon Brown’s call for an emergency budget to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. On Monday Mr Brown warned people will have to go without food and will be unable to heat their homes by October if the government does not take urgent action. He told

Allies of Rishi Sunak have played down the defection of a Tory MP to supporting Liz Truss as the two campaign teams continued to trade blows over economic policy. Former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers, who is backing Mr Sunak, said that “inevitably MPs change their mind during these contests”, when asked on Sky News about

Rishi Sunak has promised to give “hundreds of pounds” more to people for energy bills while Liz Truss refused to commit to extra support for struggling families. Mr Sunak said he is “confident” he could find the money needed to support people with the rising cost of living from government efficiency savings if was to

The Liberal Democrats are demanding parliament be recalled from its summer recess to pass a law to scrap impending hikes in energy prices. The party has drafted legislation to cancel the price cap rise, which is due to be announced at the end of the month and coming into force in October. The Energy Price

Liz Truss’ emergency tax-cutting budget risks becoming an “electoral suicide note” for the Tory party, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has claimed, as blue-on-blue attacks in the leadership race continued. The Justice Secretary, who wants Rishi Sunak to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, claimed Ms Truss’ plan would “do little” for the most vulnerable

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are coming under growing pressure to explain how they would help British families with the cost of living crisis this autumn. With inflation set to spike above 13% in October, the energy price cap expected to surge and a recession forecast by the year’s end, economic policy has become the

Liz Truss was not ruling out future cost of living support when she said she would reject “handouts”, her supporters have said, with prominent backer Penny Mordaunt claiming the comments were “misinterpreted”. Leadership rival Rishi Sunak attacked the comments saying the foreign secretary needs to “get real”, while claiming her plan to cut taxes immediately

The next prime minister is facing calls to immediately increase Universal Credit payments to stop vulnerable people spiralling further into poverty when fuel bills increase again this winter. The poorest in society are suffering three major blows to their income in the year to October 2022, according to a report commissioned by former prime minister

Rishi Sunak has vowed to phase out university degrees that do not improve students’ “earning potential”, under plans to reform education if he became the UK’s next prime minister. In proposals announced tonight, the Tory leadership contender pledged to create a Russell Group of technical colleges. The changes would mark “a significant stride towards parity

Liz Truss has pledged to “immediately” reverse the increase in National Insurance if she wins the race for Number 10. The foreign secretary said she would make the move in an emergency budget in September while announcing other tax cuts. But leadership rival Rishi Sunak hit out at her plans, contrasting his “clear-eyed realism” with

Liz Truss was interrupted by activists as she attempted to deliver her opening speech at a Conservative Party hustings in Eastbourne. The protesters from Green New Deal Rising shouted “shame on you” and “Green New Deal” as they stood holding placards inside the hustings venue. “I think we have some infiltrators and I will wait