Politics

Jess Phillips has said “nothing is off the table” when dealing with the grooming gangs scandal – including a new national inquiry if victims want one. The safeguarding minister told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that she would listen to victims on a new panel that was announced by the

Anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq has resigned after controversy over links to her aunt’s ousted political movement in Bangladesh. The Hampstead and Highgate MP is probably best known for campaigning for the release of her constituent, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained in Iran for six years. Politics latest: Embattled City minister leaves government The mother-of-two also

Jess Phillips has said she has “more important things to be thinking about” than Elon Musk after he accused her of being a “rape genocide apologist”. The safeguarding minister has hit back at the billionaire’s criticism of her for the first time, telling Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that his

Professionals who work with children will face criminal sanctions if they fail to report claims of sexual abuse, the home secretary has announced. Yvette Cooper promised to implement the key recommendation from Professor Alexis Jay’s child sexual abuse inquiry after Sir Keir Starmer faced down calls from Elon Musk, the Tories and Reform UK for

For days, the attacks had been raining down from Elon Musk and his supporters on Keir Starmer, safeguarding minister Jess Philips and the wider government, over handling of the historical sex abuse cases.  The consensus in Number 10, as voiced by another leader subject to Mr Musk’s ire – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – was

Millions of extra appointments, high street state of the art diagnostic centres, non-stop surgical hubs and an effective NHS app giving patients a “shopper’s experience”. This is Sir Keir Starmer’s elective reform plan. It reads more like a revolution. And that’s why questions are being asked about how achievable the government’s NHS plans actually are,

Sir Keir Starmer will launch his plan to deliver millions more appointments across the NHS and to reduce waiting times to 18 weeks over the next five years. The prime minister will lay out how greater access to community diagnostic centres (CDCs) will help deliver up to half a million more appointments, alongside 14 new

Reform’s deputy leader has praised Elon Musk as “popular” and “appreciated” by the British public – as a government minister criticised the tech tycoon for “ridiculous” and “ill informed” comments on the UK grooming scandal. Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Richard Tice defended the owner of X and Tesla as “one of the greatest

Reform UK is a party that’s vying for attention and is not ashamed of how it gets it. With political support from Elon Musk this week amplifying Reform UK talking points on his platform X, the party has been able to make a splash in the new year ahead of the government. Already this month

MPs and peers could be forced to submit to criminal record checks under proposals submitted by a new Labour MP. In a letter seen by Sky News, Jo White urged the leader of the Commons to examine whether a new committee set up to modernise parliament should force all new members to have checks due

Nigel Farage has said Tommy Robinson “won’t be” joining Reform UK after Elon Musk showed support for the jailed far-right activist on social media. The billionaire owner of X, who has spoken positively about Reform UK and is reportedly considering making a donation to the party, has been critical of the government’s handling of child

The government has launched an independent commission to “transform social care” – but proposals for major reform may not be delivered for years. The two-part commission will be led by Baroness Louise Casey, with the latter phase set to make its final recommendations for social care in England by the end of 2028. Ministers announced

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has denied the government is putting off social care reforms following criticism that a planned overhaul of the sector may not happen for years. Ministers have launched an independent commission, led by Baroness Casey, to “transform social care” – but the latter phase of the two-part commission will not make its

Kemi Badenoch has called for a national inquiry into the grooming scandal that took place across UK towns and cities, arguing one was “long overdue”. The Tory leader said 2025 “must be the year that victims get justice” after it emerged that Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, had rejected calls from Oldham council for a

A total of 36,816 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in 2024, provisional government figures show. The figure is up 25% on 2023 when 29,437 people arrived in small boats. The number successfully making the journey in 2024 is the second-highest since records began in 2018. The total, however, is down 20% on

Sir Keir Starmer has hailed 2024 as a “year of change” as he shared his first New Year message as prime minister. But the Labour leader, who took office after a staggering general election victory over the Conservatives in July, admitted there is “still so much more to do” in 2025. It will include a