Politics

On 12 June, Sky News will be hosting an election leaders event in Grimsby – a key marginal seat and one of our Target Towns this election year. The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the Conservative leader Rishi Sunak have been invited to attend, and we are looking for a live audience to join

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer will go head-to-head in their first televised debate of the general election on 4 June. The two leaders will appear on ITV at 9pm for an hour, the channel has announced. “Sunak v Starmer: The ITV Debate” will be moderated by journalist Julie Etchingham and will take place live

The Conservatives will promise to replace “rip-off degrees” with 100,000 apprenticeships each year by the end of the next parliament if they win the general election. The Tories will outline their plans on Wednesday to replace the “worst performing” courses with high-skilled apprenticeships, which they say will provide “more opportunities and greater financial security”. Politics

The Conservatives have promised to cut taxes for pensioners by creating a new “age-related” tax-free allowance – dubbed “triple lock plus”. Currently, people can receive £12,570 a year of their pensions before they start paying income tax on them – the same figure as the personal allowance for those who work. But if the party

More than 120 business leaders have written an open letter giving their backing to Labour in the general election. Senior figures, including chef Tom Kerridge and former CEOs of Heathrow, JP Morgan and Aston Martin, said the party had “shown it has changed and wants to work with business to achieve the UK’s full economic

Rishi Sunak is expected to continue championing his controversial plans to revive National Service by urging employers to prioritise job applicants who have served time in the military. The prime minister said all 18-year-olds would be made to undertake a form of “mandatory” National Service if the Conservatives are re-elected on 4 July. Despite growing

Suddenly, at election time, political predictions become so much harder and riskier. Everything changes in a campaign, not least the news cycle. That’s my excuse, at any rate, for failing to foresee the announcement of a general election in last week’s Politics at Jack and Sam’s. There were a few clues – and one magisterial

Nobody would go to jail for refusing to comply with National Service under a Conservative government, the home secretary has said. In the Conservatives’ first policy announcement of the general election campaign, Rishi Sunak said on Saturday he would introduce a new form of mandatory National Service for 18-year-olds if his party wins the vote

Rishi Sunak has said he will introduce a new form of mandatory National Service for young people if the Conservatives win the general election. In the first new policy announcement of the campaign, the prime minister has unveiled a plan that would see 18-year-olds given the choice of a full-time military placement for 12 months

The prime minister has joked he avoided catching pneumonia after making his election announcement speech outside Number 10 in the pouring rain. Speaking during a breakfast meeting with ex-servicemen in his constituency of Richmond, North Yorkshire, Rishi Sunak assured concerned local Vicky Rudd of his health, but couldn’t guarantee his suit survived the wet weather.

On the final day the House of Commons sat before the election, the view from the back of the chamber said it all. As Theresa May – in her familiar flame red suit – left the chamber after a speech by Ben Wallace, the Tory benches were packed, Labour’s almost deserted. MPs were taking part

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of “sounding a bit desperate” after he accused him of chickening out of TV debates. The Labour leader told Sky News that “of course there are going to be TV debates” and they are “part and parcel of the election cycle now”. “I obviously want to spend as

Nigel Farage has said he will not be making a return to British politics after a general election was called. The Reform UK honorary president and former UKIP leader said he had thought “long and hard” as to whether he should stand to become an MP but said “it is not the right time”. Mr

Rishi Sunak has admitted Rwanda flights will not take off before the general election – as he denied calling a summer vote because inflation is expected to rise. The prime minister has said for the past few months the first flights removing asylum seekers to the African nation will happen in July. But after calling

Rishi Sunak will call a general election for 4 July, Sky News understands. The surprise move comes after days of rumours the prime minister could go to the country earlier than previously thought. Follow the latest politics news live – general election to be confirmed Mr Sunak has been saying for months an election would

There has been a sharp fall in the number of overseas health and care workers applying for visas in the first few months of this year compared with the year before. Just 12,400 people applied for the Health and Care Worker visa from January to April this year, according to the latest statistics published by

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has bowed to pressure from some of his senior cabinet colleagues over proposed changes to the graduate visa scheme. Reports had suggested he planned on either shortening or scrapping the two-year period students could stay in the country after completing their studies, as he faced increasing pressure from the right of

Victims of the infected blood scandal have called for former health secretary Ken Clarke to be stripped of his peerage. Lord Clarke was heavily criticised in a report by Sir Brian Langstaff, chair of a seven-year inquiry into the scandal that killed more than 3,000 and infected more than 30,000 Britons with HIV and Hepatitis

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has offered a “wholehearted and unequivocal” apology to the victims of the infected blood scandal, saying it was a “day of shame for the British state”. Mr Sunak said the findings of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s final report should “shake our nation to its core”, as he promised to pay “comprehensive

The Downing Street diary has an enormous red ring circled around Wednesday morning when the Office for National Statistics releases its monthly inflation data. The Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast discuss whether the prime minister can use this week to create an economic turning point. Spreaker This content is provided by Spreaker, which may