Politics

There is no clear alternative to lead the Conservative Party if Rishi Sunak were to be ousted, new polling has suggested.  Questions about the prime minister’s future have been raised by the calls for him to go from Sir Simon Clarke, and the defection of his pollster Will Dry to a group seeking his removal.

An aide to Rishi Sunak has quit and joined an effort to oust him, warning the Conservative Party could be destroyed by Christmas. Will Dry, a special adviser responsible for polling and opinion research at Number 10, resigned in November “after steadily becoming more dispirited”. After leaving Downing Street, he joined “others” who believe the

The next government could struggle to fund public services because of the biggest debt challenge since the 1950s, according to a respected thinktank. Whichever party wins the next election may be unable to fund key services if politicians are not transparent about the trade-offs they face, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says in a

British citizens should be “trained and equipped” to fight in a potential war with Russia – as Moscow plans on “defeating our system and way of life”, the head of the British Army has said. General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing Chief of the General Staff (CGS), said increasing army numbers in preparation for a

Former cabinet minister Sir Simon Clarke has called on Rishi Sunak to resign as prime minister. The Tory MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, who served as housing secretary under Liz Truss, said in The Telegraph: “Rishi Sunak has sadly gone from asset to anchor.” Politics latest: Reaction to Clarke’s call for PM to

Rishi Sunak has said the UK is “not seeking a confrontation” with Yemen’s Houthi fighters – but it will strike again if their attacks in the Red Sea continue. Royal Air Force jets took part in a second wave of joint US-UK action against the group on Monday night after attacks on the vital shipping

The passing of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill to its next stage is good news for Rishi Sunak.  MPs gave the bill a second reading by 293 votes to 211 on Monday evening, with the government securing a majority of 82. The prime minister is a man, remember, who said he wants to “max out”

The House of Lords has defied Rishi Sunak to vote against the ratification of the UK’s new treaty with Rwanda – in what could prove a damaging development for the Safety of Rwanda Bill. The upper house was voting following a report last week that recommended the treaty not be ratified. It comes after Rishi

Water company bosses have awarded themselves over £25m in bonuses and incentives since the last general election, according to analysis by Labour. The analysis found that nine water chief executives were paid £10m in bonuses, £14m in incentives and £603,580 in benefits since 2019. It comes amid outrage over illegal sewage dumping, with water firms

Rishi Sunak will seek to refocus attention on the economy this week amid questions about how long his chancellor will remain in post. Downing Street issued a statement in October saying: “The chancellor will be delivering the autumn statement in a few weeks’ time and the budget next spring.” The latest Politics at Jack and

Jeremy Hunt has compared himself to tax-cutting former chancellor Nigel Lawson as he suggested using his spring budget to “relieve pressure on families”. Ahead of the budget on 6 March, the chancellor said the government’s plan of “prioritising tax cuts” is working, and they will “stick to it”. Mr Hunt went on to liken his

Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted a speech by shadow foreign secretary David Lammy, with cries of “will you condemn the genocide” and “how many more children need to die”. The Labour Tottenham MP was giving a speech to the Fabian Society on Saturday to outline the party’s foreign policy if it wins the next general election. But

MPs have demanded that the Treasury and other public sector organisations reveal the details of any contracts awarded to Fujitsu since 2019 as the firm continues to come under fire for its role in the Post Office scandal. The letter to the Treasury – which was also sent to the Bank of England, the Office

Rishi Sunak awkwardly laughed when he was challenged about the state of the health service by a former NHS worker in Winchester. The prime minister was walking through the city in Hampshire when he was stopped by a woman who indicated she had worked for the NHS in the past. In the footage, captured by

Fresh from his Commons victory, the prime minister took to the stage on Thursday to declare he was making progress on his plan to send migrants to Rwanda, his party was “completely united” and any failure to deliver on this pledge would not be down to him, but rather a new bogeyman, peers in the House

Rishi Sunak has insisted he will “ignore” international law in order to ensure asylum seekers get deported to Rwanda. The prime minister managed to get his controversial policy through its latest parliamentary stage last night after days of rebellions from Conservative MPs, who want to see the bill toughened up. But despite two rebel sources

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will hold a press conference at 10am after his controversial Rwanda bill passed its latest stage in parliament – despite rebellions from his own backbenchers. The legislation – which aims to deter asylum seekers from making small boat crossings by threatening deportation to the African nation – passed its third reading

Sir Keir Starmer has attacked the “farce” playing out in the Conservative Party over the government’s Rwanda bill, claiming Rishi Sunak’s plan had been “brutally exposed” by his own MPs. Ministers insist the scheme to deport asylum seekers who arrive by small boat is “the most robust” legislation ever presented to the Commons, and will

The prime minister was never going to lose the two amendment votes, but the results tonight would have been hard to hear. On both rebel amendments, up to 60 of his own MPs told Rishi Sunak that his flagship illegal immigration plan doesn’t go far enough. In parliament’s central lobby after the vote tonight, one

Two deputy chairs of the Conservative Party have resigned from their roles after they both supported rebel amendments to Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill. Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith both said they would support proposed changes designed to toughen up Mr Sunak’s bill, which seeks to declare Rwanda a safe country to deport asylum seekers to.