Politics

Tory Cabinet member Penny Mordaunt emerged as one of the stars of the coronation as she carried an enormous sword and then presented another to the King during the ceremony. In her role as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council, Ms Mordaunt carried the 17th-century Sword of State

If there is a key takeaway from this year’s local elections, it’s that it has been a punishing night for the Tories, with more than 1,000 council seat losses. In his first electoral test as prime minister, Rishi Sunak saw the Conservatives lose control of 50 councils – a result party chairman Greg Hands said

Labour would fall short of an overall majority in parliament, a vote share projection shows following local elections in England. Based on analysis of change in vote share across 1,500 wards Labour is the most popular party with 36%, with the Conservative share 29%, Lib Dems with 18% and others standing at 17%. See full

In 1997, as he celebrated Labour’s landslide, Tony Blair famously declared: “A new dawn has broken, has it not?” In 2023, as they head towards a set of dismal local election results, the Tories will fear this is the darkest hour before another new Labour dawn next year. From Plymouth to Stoke-on-Trent, from the South

Polls have closed in this year’s crunch local elections – with results expected to start rolling in from midnight. Voters are deciding who runs services in 230 (out of 317) local authorities in England, with around 8,000 councillors’ seats up for grabs. Mayors are also being chosen in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough in what

Sir Keir Starmer was wooing Sue Gray to become his chief of staff for at least four months before announcing her appointment, Sky News has discovered. The Labour leader has repeatedly refused to disclose when the first contact between the pair took place. But Sky News understands his first discussion with the top civil servant

The leader of Plaid Cymru, Adam Price, is to step down after a damning report into the party’s culture. Mr Price and the party’s chair Marc Jones were forced to apologise after the report – commissioned by the party’s ruling committee – found that the party had “failed to implement a zero-tolerance approach to sexual

Voters in parts of England are heading to the polls to cast their ballots for councillors and mayors in this year’s local elections. Elections are being held in 230 of England’s 317 councils, within district, borough, county borough and unitary authority councils, along with four mayoral elections in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough. There are

Police have been given greater powers to tackle disruption to the King’s coronation under new laws that come into force today, but the arrest of a man outside Buckingham Palace overnight has highlighted security concerns. A man was arrested after throwing what is suspected to be shotgun cartridges into palace grounds, the Metropolitan Police said.

A group of unions representing NHS staff – including nurses – has voted to accept a pay offer from the government. It comes despite the Royal College of Nursing and Unite rejecting the offer – as an electoral college of union representatives and members voted en masse as part of the NHS Staff Council. Many

Partygate investigator Sue Gray chose not to participate in an inquiry looking at talks she held with Labour over joining as its chief of staff. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden provided an update to the Cabinet Office inquiry into the “circumstances leading to the resignation of Sue Gray” to take up the role of chief

Labour says there is an emerging “pattern of behaviour” after a company partially owned by the prime minister’s wife was revealed to have received taxpayer cash. It comes after it was revealed that Akshata Murty held shares in a childcare company which stands to benefit from policy announced in the budget. Ms Murty, who is

Nurses could keep holding strikes “up until Christmas” if the current dispute is not resolved, the leader of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has told Sky News. Pat Cullen, the head of the RCN union, was speaking as her members picket today – although the period of action is truncated after judges ruled the

Striking rail staff should want to stand in solidarity with fellow Ukrainian workers rather than “cynically target” the Eurovision Song Contest, which the UK is hosting on behalf of the war-torn nation, the transport secretary has said. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Mark Harper argued the stricken country’s train network has

A senior MP has accused police of giving the “green light” to internet trolls after a vexatious complaint saw her subjected to a social services investigation. Stella Creasy was told her harasser would not face criminal sanctions because he was “entitled” to his view her children should be taken into care because of her “extreme”

Sir Keir Starmer has denied that a Labour attack advert aimed at Rishi Sunak is racist. A series of recent ads, which have been described as “gutter politics” and criticised by some of Labour’s own MPs, have targeted the prime minister personally. In an interview with Sky News, Sophy Ridge questioned the party leader about