Politics

Rishi Sunak has suffered a number of sizeable defeats in the House of Lords over his controversial bill to rescue the stalled Rwanda plan. Peers have voted through five amendments which, if enacted in law, would make it harder for parliament to declare the African nation ‘safe’ and would require the government to comply with

George Galloway has been sworn in as an MP, following his successful election last week. He will represent Rochdale following a by-election, triggered by the death of Labour’s Sir Tony Lloyd. Mr Galloway romped to victory with a majority, with independent runner David Tully finishing in second place, the Conservatives in third and Labour in

Jeremy Hunt is considering a last minute further cut to public spending to boost the tax giveaway in Wednesday’s budget. The Politics At Jack And Sam’s podcast, out now, set out how Number 10 and 11 have spent recent days finding as many different ways of raising future revenue as possible to increase the size

The chancellor has played down expectations of tax cuts in Wednesday’s budget, telling Sky News his spending plans will be “prudent and responsible”. Speaking to Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, the cabinet minister it would be “deeply unconservative” to take decisions that were unfunded and increased borrowing. Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to deliver tax

George Galloway told Sky News he “despises” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when asked about the prime minister’s speech condemning extremism. The Workers Party of Britain leader won the Rochdale by-election with 12,335 votes – more than 5,000 votes over second placed independent David Tully – and focused much of his campaign on the plight of

Rishi Sunak has railed against “extremist forces trying to tear us apart” during a Downing Street address to the nation. The prime minister said there has been a “shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality” and added that “now our democracy itself is a target”. He described the Rochdale by-election result on Thursday night as

A reduction in national insurance would be a “union tax cut”, the prime minister has said ahead of the budget next week. Rishi Sunak told journalists at the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen on Friday that while he could not comment on what the chancellor Jeremy Hunt will announce on 6 March, he could see

Controversial left-wing firebrand George Galloway has won the Rochdale by-election. The former Labour MP and Celebrity Big Brother contestant, who was standing for the Workers Party of Britain, won 12,335 votes. Labour had been expected to win the seat until its campaign was thrown into disarray by leaked recordings of their candidate Azhar Ali making

Voters in Rochdale will today choose their new MP as polling stations open across the constituency. The by-election was called after the death of Labour stalwart Sir Tony Lloyd last month, who had been suffering from an aggressive and untreatable form of leukaemia. There are now 11 candidates vying to replace him and represent the

Police are “assessing” a report of hate speech made against Lee Anderson following his claim “Islamists” had taken control of London and its mayor, Sadiq Khan, Sky News understands. The Ashfield MP was suspended from the Conservative Party last weekend after he refused to apologise for the remarks, which have been branded as racist by

Michael Gove has been placed under investigation by parliament’s standards watchdog. It relates to the housing secretary’s register of financial interests. Further details will remain confidential until the inquiry is concluded – and those under investigation are barred from discussing the allegations. Although the cause of investigation has not been published, last week the Guardian

Nestled in the foothills of the Pennines, Rochdale is a town with a proud history. It was once home to the world’s foremost cotton processing centres and is widely known as the birthplace of the modern co-operative movement. But in recent years the town has been marred by child exploitation scandals, poverty and deprivation. According

Former Tory MP Scott Benton has been suspended from the Commons over his role in a lobbying sting – creating a further headache for Rishi Sunak. MPs approved the suspension of Mr Benton, who had the Tory whip removed last April after suggesting to undercover reporters at The Times that he would be willing to

Rishi Sunak has “made the calculation” that he doesn’t need Muslim voters for his “political purposes”, a former minister has claimed. Tory MP Rehman Chishti told Sky News’ Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge that during the last leadership election, Mr Sunak promised he was “committed” to engaging with the community and told him: “We will

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has rejected an application from the SNP for an emergency debate over a ceasefire in Gaza – despite proposing the debate himself. Last week saw the Commons descend into chaos when Sir Lindsay breached convention and allowed a Labour amendment to dominate an SNP opposition day, discussing the Israel-Hamas conflict. The

The spring budget on 6 March is likely to be the last major fiscal event before the next general election, expected later this year. The Tories have been hinting at further tax reductions in a bid to woo over voters as the party continues to languish behind Labour in the polls. But as the country