Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said one of his shadow ministers was sacked yesterday for making up policy “on the hoof” as he stood on a picket line during rail strikes. Sam Tarry was dismissed from his role as a junior shadow transport minister after he disobeyed orders for frontbench Labour MPs to not
Politics
Senior Labour MP John McDonnell has called for a general strike and criticised Sir Keir Starmer for sacking a junior minister after he stood on the picket line during yesterday’s rail strike. Mr McDonnell, who was Jeremy Corbyn’s right-hand man, told Sky News the Labour Party should be supporting the strikes as rail workers call
A row has erupted over whether Rishi Sunak U-turned on his pledge to not cut taxes after announcing he would slash VAT on energy bills. The former chancellor said if he becomes prime minister, he would implement the temporary measure to save the average household £160. Throughout his campaign to become Tory leader, he has
Rishi Sunak has announced a plan to scrap VAT on energy bills – a significant U-turn on his previous pledge not to make any immediate tax cuts. The former chancellor said that if he becomes prime minister he would implement the temporary measure to save the average household £160. It marks a notable change of
The blue on blue attacks have ramped up after Rishi Sunak was accused of “mansplaining” to Liz Truss during their first head-to-head TV debate. Mr Sunak spoke over Ms Truss several times as she attempted to explain her tax-cutting policies to the BBC audience of Tory members. This prompted accusations of “mansplaining” – when a
Public spending in the north has fallen behind the England average despite the government’s flagship “levelling up” agenda, according to a new think tank analysis. IPPR North – a branch of the Institute for Public Policy Research – said that, despite Boris Johnson’s repeated pledges to level up the country, “money simply hasn’t followed the
Sir Keir Starmer has suggested Labour would drop its pledge to renationalise the railways, despite repeated promises to do so. The Labour leader insisted he took a “pragmatic” approach when asked about whether he would place rail, energy and water companies back under public ownership. His view appears to have changed since he became leader
The Tory leadership race is in full flow as Rishi Sunak pledged to impose curbs on China, labelling it the “biggest-long term threat to Britain”, and Liz Truss promised to boost UK growth rates with “full-fat freeports”. While the pair battled over tax cuts last week, and then tried to get one up on each
The two remaining Tory leadership candidates have vowed to continue the government’s controversial scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss both said they would stand by the policy, which has already cost the UK £120m. This comes despite the Commons home affairs committee saying this week
The battle to be the next leader of the Conservative Party – and prime minister of the United Kingdom – continued on Saturday. Rishi Sunak gave a speech in Margaret Thatcher’s home town of Grantham setting out his stall to Tory party members, framing himself as an “underdog”. Meanwhile, Liz Truss blamed France for issues
By September the UK will have its fourth Conservative prime minister in a row. Of these only David Cameron was chosen by the wider British electorate by leading his party to victory in a general election. Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss will have made it to Number 10 thanks to
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are ramping up their campaigns for the Conservative leadership this weekend, announcing new policies to tackle NHS backlogs and scrap EU laws if they become prime minister. First up, the former chancellor, who will promise to make cutting NHS waiting lists his “number one public service priority” if he wins
Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby’s looking at the final two candidates for the Conservative party leadership on her last podcast before a summer break. As well as assessing the chances for Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, she sits down with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to discuss his image, being investigated for a potential
Rishi Sunak says he flew back from a government trip last December to stop the country going into a new COVID lockdown. The former chancellor and Tory leadership candidate told LBC that the UK was “hours away from a press conference” announcing the measures due to the spread of the Omicron variant. But he said
Body language expert Judi James has offered a fascinating insight into the mannerisms of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – and the issues they need to address in order to convince people they should be the next prime minister. She said Mr Sunak is “smart, slick, always using Tony Blair’s gesticulation, we get the thumb
The final two runners in the race to be the next prime minister will begin a summer of campaigning today in an effort to convince Conservative party members they are the right candidate for the job. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made it onto the ballot paper on Wednesday after their