Politics

Boris Johnson has not ruled out shortages continuing until Christmas, but said the festive period this year will be “considerably better” than last year. “I’m very confident this Christmas will be considerably better,” the prime minister said during a visit to a youth club in Manchester. Live updates from the Conservative Party conference When it

Boris Johnson has not ruled out a further relaxation of immigration rules to help ease the UK’s fuel and supply shortages – but the prime minister insisted he does not want to see a return to “a lot of low-wage immigration”. Amid the continuing queues at petrol stations across the country, the government has said

Boris Johnson has challenged Conservatives to take “big, bold decisions” as they gather for their party conference – but, ahead of the Manchester event, the prime minister is also being challenged over the fuel crisis, rising cost of living, supply issues and welfare cuts. More than 10,000 delegates are expected to attend the Tory conference

The golden rule of Boris Johnson’s Conservatives is that an otherwise disparate party is at its most happy when it’s talking about Brexit and its consequences. At times of stress, it’s the trump card the PM routinely reaches for. Given the stage of the country, expect it to feature heavily during the party conference. As

Army tanker drivers are to start delivering fuel to petrol stations from Monday in an emergency government move prompted by the continuing crisis at the pumps. Senior ministers have been alarmed at how slowly the fuel supply disruption is improving, with motorists still forced to queue for hours for fuel after more than a week

Sir Keir Starmer has said the Labour conference this week was a turning point for the party and it now has a “credible programme” to win the next general election. The Labour leader, speaking the morning after his 90-minute keynote speech, said if voters do not want to support the plans put forward at conference

The government’s coronavirus furlough scheme ends today after supporting millions of workers during the pandemic. Ministers say the wages of more than 11 million jobs were subsidised for at least some of the scheme’s duration, at a cost of about £70bn. There is now uncertainty over the almost one million people still thought to be

Sir Keir Starmer has been on quite a journey in the past 18 months Elected leader in April 2020 on a message of party unity and continuity, he has travelled a long way from that starting point. And it was on Wednesday that he finally crystallised what that really means as he faced down the

Sir Keir Starmer batted away hecklers during a mammoth speech in which he used his personal experiences to show off his human side as he announced a key climate change policy. Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, introduced Sir Keir before his conference speech by thanking the Labour leader for helping prosecute his

It’s Sir Keir Starmer’s first in-person speech to the Labour party conference, and he’ll promise to get Labour “back in business”. After becoming leader at the height of the pandemic – forced to give keynote speeches to a camera set up in his living room – this is an important moment. What’s clear from the

Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly refused to say if he is moving Labour away from the left to the centre of British politics, but insisted: “You can’t lose four elections and not change”. On the eve of his first in-person Labour conference speech as party leader, Sir Keir said he was focussed on turning Labour

Sir Keir Starmer is being warned that his party’s Brighton conference is “falling apart” following the dramatic resignation of a shadow minister. The Labour leader has been rocked by Andy McDonald’s decision to quit as shadow secretary of state for employment rights and protections midway through the party’s gathering on the South Coast. Mr McDonald’s

A Labour MP has dramatically quit the shadow cabinet mid-way through the party’s Brighton conference with an attack on Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and policies. Andy McDonald, who had been shadow secretary of state for employment rights and protections, said his position as a member of Sir Keir’s top team had become “untenable”. The 63-year-old,

Brexit is “obviously a contributory factor” to the shortage of HGV drivers that is having a knock-on effect across the economy, the shadow chancellor has told Sky News. Speaking to Kay Burley from the Labour Party conference in Brighton, Rachel Reeves said: “To deny that I think flies in the face of reality. Fuel supply

Sir Keir Starmer has seen his reform of Labour’s rulebook approved by the party’s conference in Brighton despite another day of opponents continuing their fight against the changes. In a vote at the Labour gathering in Brighton, Sir Keir’s overhaul of how the party elects future leaders was passed by 53.67% to 46.33%. But the

Sir Keir Starmer’s watered-down proposals for changing Labour’s rulebook will be put to the party’s conference in Brighton following a bruising internal row. The Labour leader has been forced into retreat, amid opposition from trade unions and the party’s left wing, in his bid to alter the rules on how his future successors are elected.