Politics

When Labour last met in Liverpool for its annual conference, Liz Truss had just delivered her mini-Budget, sterling had fallen to a 37-year low and the markets were about to be plunged into turmoil. With her government imploding and weeks after the Johnson collapse, Labour were on a high. Sir Keir Starmer had clocked up

Labour is the “party of change”, leader Sir Keir Starmer declared, after its victory in the by-election in Scotland. Michael Shanks’s win in Rutherglen and Hamilton West returned the seat to Labour after it was won by the SNP in 2019. Speaking after the win this morning, Sir Keir said: “We’ve changed. And because we’ve

This Labour Party conference will feel different. Unlike the Conservatives, they don’t need a big comeback moment to save them from dire polling, nor are there peacocking leadership hopefuls waiting in the wings (or at least, there is no looming vacancy). Instead, particularly after the massive win in the Rutherglen by-election, this is a party

Angela Rayner is set to become the UK’s deputy prime minister if Labour wins the next general election.  With Labour’s annual conference starting this weekend, here’s what you need to know about the party’s deputy leader – from her early life and career in politics to the abuse and controversy she has faced. Early life

Rishi Sunak’s speech at the Conservative Party conference fell flat with the British public, a new poll suggests. During his speech, the prime minister confirmed his long-rumoured decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester and announced plans to introduce some of the strictest smoking laws in the world. New polling

Rishi Sunak has been reported to Police Scotland over comments he made about Nicola Sturgeon in his Tory Party conference speech. Chris McEleny, the general secretary of Alba Party, told Sky News he had filed a complaint and asked for an investigation into whether Mr Sunak may have committed contempt of court by mentioning Scotland’s

Rishi Sunak has pledged to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes by one year every year in a crackdown on smoking. The prime minister said the proposed legislation would mean a “14 -year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette and that they and their generation can grow up smoke-free”. He said the

There are fresh calls to clean up politics with stronger rules around lying after senior Tories made false statements around meat taxes and 15-minute cities at their annual party conference. Green MP Caroline Lucas told Sky News a “dishonesty epidemic is infecting the Tory party” as she called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to acquaint

HS2 will start at Euston rather than Old Oak Common – but between Birmingham and Manchester it will not be high speed, Sky News understands. The rail line will stop in Manchester, but from Birmingham it will switch to use existing West Coast Mainline track. It will therefore not be high speed after Birmingham –

A conference billed as the start of a Rishi Sunak reset has turned into the Rishi shambles over the past couple of days.  The prime minister has lost control over the narrative while we’ve been reminded very clearly by Liz Truss and other senior MPs that he never had control over his party or the

Transgender women will be banned from being treated in female hospital wards, under new proposals suggested by the health secretary. In his conference speech, Steve Barclay will reportedly announce plans to push back against what he calls “wokery” in the NHS, which he says has led to women’s rights being increasingly sidelined. Speaking to the

The northern leg of the HS2 line is set to be scrapped, Sky News understands. Rumours had been circling for weeks that the high-speed rail line between Birmingham and Manchester was going to be axed by the prime minister and chancellor due to soaring costs. Even the reports – which have been denied by Number

The week of the Conservative Party conference began with a grim warning about taxes. Now at their highest level since records began 70 years ago, taxes are also unlikely to come down anytime soon, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Where does this leave the Conservatives, the party which preaches lower taxes but has

Michael Gove has called for a tax cut before the next general election – putting him at odds with the chancellor on the first day of Conservative Party conference. Jeremy Hunt told The Times newspaper on Saturday the government was “not in a position to talk about tax cuts at all”, and needed to focus

Grassroots Conservative supporters are saying they want to oust Rishi Sunak and “go to war” with the liberal wing of the party in leaked WhatsApp messages obtained by Sky News. We have obtained the discussions amongst members of the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO), founded in December 2022 by donor and Johnson-backer Lord Peter Cruddas after

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has vowed to tackle the “vicious circle of ever-rising taxes” by revamping public services and the welfare system. The cabinet minister argued the state needed to become “more productive”, not bigger, as he pointed to the use of artificial intelligence to realise frontline efficiencies and reduce the burden on the public purse.