Politics

Sir Keir Starmer will warn life in the UK is “going to get worse” before it improves in his first major speech as prime minister. Sir Keir will mark a week before Parliament returns after a shortened summer recess by continuing his attacks on the previous government, saying things are “worse than we ever imagined”.

The Metropolitan Police has ended its investigation into the general election betting scandal without bringing any charges. A number of Conservative politicians and officials, as well as police officers based around parliament, got into hot water over allegations they had placed bets on the timing of July’s vote before it had been publicly announced by

A Scottish Tory leadership candidate has said he still does not support gay marriage because of his religious beliefs, 10 years after voting against it. However, Murdo Fraser told Sky News that he is now “quite relaxed” about same-sex adoption, having previously voiced opposition to it. Politics live: Rising energy costs ‘deeply worrying’ for families

Magistrates have been told to consider pushing back the sentencing of criminals because of concerns about overcrowding in prisons. Sky News has seen an internal direction sent to courts in England and Wales saying hearings due in the next two weeks should be reviewed if the defendant is currently on bail – and potentially postponed

It is “laughable” for Rachel Reeves to claim she didn’t know the full state of the public finances until she took office, Ruth Davidson has said. Speaking on Beth Rigby’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives accused the new chancellor of trying to “build a political narrative” in order to justify

Almost all small boat arrivals who claimed asylum in the UK over the last year are still waiting for a decision from the Home Office, figures show. In the year ending June 2024, the Home Office said 99% of all the people arriving in small boats had an asylum claim recorded either as a main

Labour’s plan to increase detention capacity is unlikely to stop small boat crossings and the “only real solution” is a deal with the EU, the former head of the UK’s Border Force has said. Tony Smith told Sky News while the new government’s announcements – including reopening removal centres and staffing up the National Crime

Official data shows government borrowing in July was above expectations and at its highest since the pandemic. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expected borrowing to be £46.6bn – instead it reached £51.3bn. Our economics and data editor Ed Conway joins Niall Paterson to talk about the unexpected rise in government borrowing and Chancellor Rachel

Labour is pressing ahead with the previous government’s plan to reopen two immigration centres in a bid to achieve the highest rate of removals since 2018. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said detention capacity will be increased with the provision of 290 beds across Campsfield House and Haslar. The former, in Oxfordshire, closed in 2019 while

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed his government will do “everything we can” to preserve jobs at the steelworks in Port Talbot. The prime minister was visiting South Wales, the region where the site is based, to walk around Alltwalis wind farm with the new First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan. The pair have been showcasing

Pensioners are being urged to check if they are eligible for the winter fuel allowance after universal payments were scrapped. Last month Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that the tax free benefit, to help older people with higher heating costs during the colder months, would be limited to those on pension credit. The surprise move was

The Conservatives are demanding an investigation into Labour’s appointment of several senior civil servants since the election, which the Opposition claims may have broken hiring rules. The government says the claims from the Opposition are “untrue”. The appointments include Emily Middleton, formerly of Labour-aligned group Labour Together; and Ian Corfield, who donated to the party,

An emergency plan to avoid overcrowding in jails is expected to be triggered on Monday as more rioters are sentenced, Sky News understands. Operation Early Dawn is a long-standing plan that allows defendants waiting for a court appearance to be kept in police cells until prison space is available. Sky News understands that the operation

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has promised to crack down on people “pushing harmful and hateful beliefs” and “kickstart” a new approach to fighting extremism in the wake of riots that broke out across the UK earlier this month.  The Home Office has commissioned a “rapid sprint” to develop a new approach to countering extremism. The

SNP MSP John Mason been stripped of the party whip following an “utterly abhorrent” social media post about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Mr Mason has been effectively expelled from the party after posting on X: “If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed ten times as many.” The Glasgow Shettleston MSP made the comment

ASLEF’s lead negotiator has denied the union sees the new government as a “soft touch” after announcing fresh strikes two days after train drivers were offered a pay deal. Drivers working for London North Eastern Railway (LNER) – which runs the passenger service on the East Coast main line between London and Edinburgh – will