Politics

Rishi Sunak hopes three key moments this week will turn around his fortunes after his standing in the party plummeted. The PM is hoping Monday’s speech on the economy, Wednesday’s end of term appearance before Tory MPs and new inflation figures due out the same day, which could be close to the Bank of England

Rishi Sunak will lead the Tories into the next general election, the transport secretary insisted amid reports of a plot to oust the PM. Mark Harper dismissed speculation some Conservative rebels want the prime minister to be replaced with Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt. Politics Live: Rishi Sunak ‘will lead Tories’ into next election Asked on

Vaughan Gething is set to become Wales’s next first minister after winning the Labour leadership race. Mr Gething, who will also become the first black man to hold the post, is expected to be confirmed as the country’s first minister on Wednesday when a vote will be held in the Senedd. He will succeed Mark

On a cold Wednesday night, in the shadows of the Port Talbot steelworks, a group of men is playing football under the floodlights. The game has been arranged by a local group called Marauders Men’s Health, which provides help to those struggling with mental health problems. Increasingly, the team is made up of men from

The Conservative Party is “in talks” about an additional £5m from a Tory donor embroiled in a race row, Sky News understands. Two sources said discussions are ongoing about the extra money from Frank Hester, which if received, would take the amount he has donated since 2019 to £15m. Politics Live: 62 Tory MPs now

There are some weeks in politics where what Westminster needs is a monsoon to wash away the toxicity enveloping this place and clean up the atmosphere – and this week is one of them.  Be it the Number 10 agenda this week on better defining extremism, an unruly MP in the shape of Lee Anderson,

The government has unveiled its new definition of extremism as part of a drive to clamp down on Islamist and far-right extremism. Some have warned the change could have a “chilling effect” on free speech, while others have said it doesn’t go far enough. How has the definition changed, why has the government done it,

Michael Gove says he is inclined to “exercise Christian forgiveness” when it comes to alleged remarks a Tory donor made about former Labour MP Diane Abbott. Earlier this week, the Guardian reported that businessman Frank Hester told his staff Ms Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and “should be shot”. The comments

Diane Abbott has criticised Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle over his failure to call her during Prime Minister’s Questions when it was dominated by a row over comments a Tory donor allegedly made about her. The former Labour MP, who tried to speak during today’s debate but was not called, posted on X: “I don’t

A Conservative minister says he does not believe his party’s biggest donor is a racist, despite alleged comments he made about former Labour MP Diane Abbott – apparently saying she made him “want to hate all black women”. Rishi Sunak took the whole of Tuesday to call out the remarks from businessman Frank Hester –

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said alleged comments made about Diane Abbott by a Tory donor were “racist” – but that there should be “space for forgiveness”. Ms Badenoch is the first cabinet minister to use the term to describe Frank Hester’s reported remarks about the former Labour MP, after government ministers including Graham Stuart

A minister has refused to say if the Conservatives should return money to one of its biggest donors, after reports Frank Hester said former Labour MP Diane Abbott made him “want to hate all black women”. The allegations about the chief executive of The Phoenix Partnership – who donated £10m to the Tories last year

Former Conservative deputy chair Lee Anderson has defected to Reform UK, becoming the party’s first MP in the Commons. Mr Anderson, who took the seat of Ashfield in 2019, was kicked out of the parliamentary Conservative Party for refusing to apologise after alleging that London mayor Sadiq Khan was controlled by “Islamists”. And while some

Michael Gove is poised to unveil a new definition of extremism amid jitters in government at his plan. The Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast discusses the big announcement by Rishi Sunak‘s government this week – designed to update and increase the number of organisations that are classed as “extremist” and put new limits on

Labour will not bail out bankrupt councils, the shadow chancellor has said. “I’m not going to be able to fix all the problems straightaway,” Rachel Reeves said during an interview on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips. Her comments follow Birmingham City Council effectively declaring bankruptcy after being hit with a £760m bill to

Michael Gove has urged pro-Palestinian protesters to question whether extremist groups are behind some of the demonstrations – days ahead of publishing a new official definition of extremism. The housing secretary said “good-hearted people” attending the marches should be aware they could be “lending credence” to extremists. Tens of thousands of people participated in a