Politics

Humza Yousaf is expected to be declared Scotland’s new first minister later today. The 37-year-old has replaced Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader, triumphing over Kate Forbes and Ash Regan in the contest for the party’s top job. Mr Humza is now set to face a vote at Holyrood before being formally confirmed as the country’s

Humza Yousaf’s leadership win is a big victory for the SNP establishment. A close ally of Nicola Sturgeon, he was branded the “continuity” candidate – pledging to build on the former first minister’s work. The losers in this contest had planned a more radical overhaul of both policy and party. There is no doubt this

The gruelling contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon as the leader of Scotland’s biggest political party reaches its crescendo later when the winner is announced. Humza Yousaf, Ash Regan and Kate Forbes have spent weeks battling to become the new SNP leader and, ultimately, the next first minister. The party will reveal the results of the

No MP or minister has ever lied in parliament – for the simple reason that it is unparliamentary language to accuse another member of versions of the word “lie” or even to suggest that they might have been deliberately untruthful. Parliamentarians prefer the euphemism “mislead”, although even that is not considered automatically to be an

Former Conservative cabinet ministers Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng told a fake overseas company looking for MP advisers that their daily rate for consultancy would be £10,000. In a sting operation set up by campaign group Led By Donkeys, Mr Hancock and Mr Kwarteng both set out five-figure sums for what they would expect to

Sir Patrick Vallance has said COVID restrictions were “for everybody” after Boris Johnson said lockdown leaving dos were “absolutely essential” and that he relied on incorrect advice from Number 10 advisers. The UK’s chief scientific adviser became a household name during the pandemic as he stood beside the then-prime minister during daily COVID briefings. This

Downing Street has shown “important signs of regret and embarrassment” over the rhetoric used by ministers to describe Albanians, according to the country’s prime minister. Edi Rama has previously accused Home Secretary Suella Braverman of fuelling xenophobic attacks after she spoke in parliament about an “invasion” of asylum seekers and “Albanian criminals” when describing the

UK and EU officials will sign off on a new Brexit deal in London today, despite ongoing opposition from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The Windsor Framework – designed to address problems with the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol – was agreed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last

Sir Keir Starmer will lose the general election campaign “on day one” unless he shifts his position on transgender rights, party strategists have warned. Advisers have been telling the Labour leader since late 2021 to “deal with” the issue and explain to voters that “self-ID is not going to happen”. Sir Keir’s position has evolved

The singling out of Albanian migrants in the UK has been a “very, very disgraceful moment in British politics”, the country’s prime minister has said. Edi Rama, who is in Britain for talks with Rishi Sunak, said it is essential that relations between the two countries are not defined by a few “rotten apples”. “Unfortunately

Did Boris Johnson intentionally mislead Parliament about what he knew and when about rule-breaking events in Number 10? The privileges committee maintains it is “very likely” he did. Wednesday’s appearance in front of the privileges committee was billed as the day of reckoning for the former prime minister, with all the jeopardy that it brought.

Boris Johnson has sworn “hand on heart” he did not lie to MPs about partygate events in Downing Street – and said a gathering where he was pictured holding a glass in the air was “absolutely essential for work purposes”. The former prime minister also said the size of Number 10 made it difficult to

Boris Johnson’s future is in the balance as he is set to give evidence to MPs investigating whether he misled parliament over partygate denials. The former prime minister will appear before the cross-party privileges committee at 2pm on Wednesday for a session of questioning that is due to last four hours – but could be

The House of Commons privileges committee has published former prime minister Boris Johnson’s defence, which was submitted following its inquiry investigating whether he misled parliament over partygate. The probe was launched in the wake of Sue Gray’s partygate report, which blamed a “failure of leadership and judgement” for the lockdown-busting parties that took place in

Nicola Sturgeon has urged the SNP candidates vying to succeed her as first minister to “protect the ingredients of success” – telling Sky News the leadership contest so far has been “a less than edifying process”.  In a Beth Rigby interview due to air at 9pm on Sky News, Ms Sturgeon acknowledged the turmoil in

The DUP says its MPs will vote against a key aspect of Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal when it is put to a crunch vote in parliament this week. In a statement, party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said while the Windsor Framework represented “significant progress” in addressing concerns with the Northern Ireland Protocol, it does not