Politics

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will promise to “invest, invest, invest” in Labour’s first budget for 15 years. Ms Reeves – who is set to stand up in the Commons just after 12.30pm on Wednesday – will also give a pledge that “working people won’t face higher taxes in their payslips”. However, she will clarify that Labour’s

Kemi Badenoch has suggested she will offer all six candidates in the Tory leadership race a job in her shadow cabinet if she is elected leader. The Tory leadership hopeful, who is competing against Robert Jenrick to become the next head of the Tory party, said she “did not know” if they would like the

The budget will deliver billions of pounds of new funding for the NHS to unlock two million extra appointments a year, the government has announced. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to unveil £1.5bn for new surgical hubs and scanners alongside £70m for radiotherapy machines. An additional £1.8bn will also be put towards elective appointments

The Labour government’s first budget will embrace the “harsh light of fiscal reality” but “better days are ahead”, Sir Keir Starmer will say in a speech on Monday. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver the budget on Wednesday and setting the tone for the announcement, the prime minister will warn of “unprecedented” economic circumstances and the

People will not face higher taxes on their payslips after the budget, a cabinet minister said, as she refused to be drawn on what measures could be in the £40bn revenue raiser. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson repeatedly said she could not speculate on how Chancellor Rachel Reeves intends to fill the black hole in the

Mayors are set to be one of the big winners in the budget after Sir Keir Starmer personally intervened to ensure they have more freedom to spend cash and boost growth, Sky News understands. England’s dozen metro mayors have been working together to push the prime minister, Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner for more powers

A Labour MP has said he was involved in an incident where he “felt threatened” and is cooperating with police. Mike Amesbury, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, said he felt “threatened on the street following an evening out with friends” on Friday night in Cheshire. “This morning, I contacted Cheshire Police myself to report

The amount employers pay in national insurance is set to rise in next week’s budget to raise money for public services, Sky News understands. Reports have suggested it could be increased by up to two percentage points and will – in part – be used to help fund the NHS. A government source told Sky

“Working people.” It’s a fairly broad phrase that’s been banded around a lot this week in light of the budget. Labour actually mentioned the term working people 21 times in their manifesto, so you’d think they would have a pretty concrete idea of who they have in their mind’s eye when pushed on their definition.

Newly elected MPs are struggling to set up offices in their constituencies due to fears for their safety and spiralling rents, Sky News has learnt. Several MPs who spoke to Sky News said they believed landlords were becoming increasingly reluctant to have them as tenants due to the perceived risks that came with the job

Commonwealth leaders will agree plans to look at reparations for the slave trade, in defiance of Sir Keir Starmer. The UK prime minister called the transatlantic slave trade “abhorrent” but ruled out reparations as he said countries affected would rather the UK help them with current issues, such as the impact of climate change. His

Apologising for the UK’s role in the slave trade is “not on the agenda,” Downing Street has said amid the row engulfing the Commonwealth summit. The prime minister has called the transatlantic slave trade “abhorrent” but ruled out reparations as he said countries affected would rather the UK help them with current issues, such as

Sir Keir Starmer has rejected calls for reparations for slavery, saying it would lead to “very long, endless discussions” about the past. The prime minister said while the transatlantic slave trade was “abhorrent”, he believes the countries affected by it would rather the UK help them with contemporary challenges, such as the impact of climate

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted his relationship with Donald Trump has not been jeopardised after the Trump team filed a legal complaint against the Labour Party over its activists travelling to the US to support Kamala Harris in the tightly fought US presidential race. The prime minister said on Tuesday he had “established a good

One prisoner let out today under the government’s early release scheme celebrated by saying “big up Keir Starmer”. But Number 10 did not see the funny side of the situation – with the prime minister’s spokesperson saying Sir Keir “shares the public’s anger” over the matter. Today is the second time the Labour government has

Tougher punishments outside prison are being considered as part of a government review into sentencing. The review will be launched on Tuesday by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood in a bid to ease overcrowding in the prison system. Led by former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke, the review will be activated on the same day that

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has admitted NHS reform will not happen straight away and patients will have to wait until next April to see any changes. The government launched a public consultation on Monday, asking members of the public, NHS staff, and experts to share their experiences and ideas to “help fix our NHS”. But

The health secretary has warned of “difficult and big choices” coming in the budget, while refusing to rule out that tax thresholds will be frozen. Wes Streeting told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme the government “can’t fix 14 years in one budget” and there are lots of choices “we will have to

A housing minister has lost her building safety brief after Grenfell survivors complained about her attendance at a conference sponsored by a firm criticised by an inquiry into the deadly fire. Rushanara Ali said she understands that “perception matters” and trusted relationships between the government and the Grenfell community are “essential”. It came after Grenfell

A housing minister has lost her building safety brief after Grenfell survivors complained about her attendance at a conference sponsored by a firm criticised by an inquiry into the deadly fire. Rushanara Ali said she understands that “perception matters” and trusted relationships between the government and the Grenfell community are “essential”. It came after Grenfell