Politics

The UK’s chief civil servant, Simon Case, has resigned his membership from the men-only Garrick Club, Sky News understands. It comes following criticism of his membership of the organisation due to its restrictive entry requirements. Asked about his membership on Tuesday, Mr Case said: “I have to say, my position on this one is clear,

Jeremy Hunt has hinted at an autumn election as speculation continues to grow over when the country will head to the polls. Speaking at the Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee on Tuesday, the chancellor was asked about the government’s spending review – the detailed multi-year plan on how departments will spend their cash – and revealed

The government’s alternative plans for housing asylum seekers will actually cost the taxpayer millions more than the hotels they seek to replace, according to a public spending watchdog. A report from the National Audit Office (NAO) said accommodating those waiting for asylum decisions on barges or former RAF bases would cost the Home Office £1.2bn

Campaigners and MPs are calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the Loan Charge scandal – accusing HMRC of “airbrushing” its approach to a harsh tax crackdown linked to several suicides. The Loan Charge Action Group (LCAG) has hit out at the Treasury Committee after it wrote to the tax office requesting information on its approach

Rishi Sunak said he is “not interested in Westminster politics” and insisted his party is “united” as he brushed off rumours of a plot to oust him. Asked during a visit to the West Midlands why he did not let one of his “disloyal colleagues” have the “poisoned chalice” of being prime minister, Mr Sunak

Rishi Sunak hopes three key moments this week will turn around his fortunes after his standing in the party plummeted. The PM is hoping Monday’s speech on the economy, Wednesday’s end of term appearance before Tory MPs and new inflation figures due out the same day, which could be close to the Bank of England

Rishi Sunak has insisted “the economy is turning a corner” and urged Tory MPs to “stick to the plan” amid reports of a plot to oust him before the election. The prime minister is seeking to shift the political debate to the gradually improving economic outlook as he tries to shore up his leadership. With

Grant Shapps was forced to abandon a visit to a port city in Ukraine after British intelligence warned of a credible missile threat from Russia. Officials told the defence secretary Russia had become aware of his travel plans to Odesa, where a convoy carrying Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greece’s prime minister had narrowly avoided an airstrike.

Vaughan Gething has been elected leader of Welsh Labour – and is set to become the next Welsh first minister and first black leader of any European country. Currently serving as minister for the economy, Mr Gething, 50, has been in politics since he was a teenager. But he rose to prominence as health minister

The result of the race to become the next first minister of Wales will be revealed today. Jeremy Miles, the current minister for education and Welsh language, and Vaughan Gething, the minister for the economy, have been competing to see who will lead Welsh Labour and the country. Which of the two has succeeded will

The Conservative Party is “in talks” about an additional £5m from a Tory donor embroiled in a race row, Sky News understands. Two sources said discussions are ongoing about the extra money from Frank Hester, which if received, would take the amount he has donated since 2019 to £15m. Politics Live: 62 Tory MPs now

There are some weeks in politics where what Westminster needs is a monsoon to wash away the toxicity enveloping this place and clean up the atmosphere – and this week is one of them.  Be it the Number 10 agenda this week on better defining extremism, an unruly MP in the shape of Lee Anderson,

The government has unveiled its new definition of extremism as part of a drive to clamp down on Islamist and far-right extremism. Some have warned the change could have a “chilling effect” on free speech, while others have said it doesn’t go far enough. How has the definition changed, why has the government done it,

The government has unveiled its new definition of extremism despite warnings it could have a “chilling effect” on free speech. Communities Secretary Michael Gove has updated the definition as part of a drive to clamp down on the Islamic and far-right extremism that has intensified in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. The new definition,

Rishi Sunak appears to have ruled out returning money to a Tory donor who allegedly said Diane Abbott made him “want to hate all black women” and “should be shot”.  Asked at Prime Minister’s Questions by Labour MP Marsha De Cordova if he would hand back one of the specific donations from Frank Hester’s company

A law aimed at quashing the wrongful convictions of sub-postmasters caught up in the Horizon IT scandal is being introduced by the government later. The proposed Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill “marks an important step forward in finally clearing” the names of hundreds of wronged branch managers who have had their lives “callously torn

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has said alleged comments made about Diane Abbott by a Tory donor were “racist” – but that there should be “space for forgiveness”. Ms Badenoch is the first cabinet minister to use the term to describe Frank Hester’s reported remarks about the former Labour MP, after government ministers including Graham Stuart

Rishi Sunak will call a snap general election if 10 Conservative MPs defect to Reform UK, a top Tory with close links to Downing Street has claimed. The source of the claim, made to parliamentary colleagues after Lee Anderson’s shock defection, is an influential party figure with impeccable connections. The prime minister’s threat emerged as

Former Conservative deputy chair Lee Anderson has defected to Reform UK, becoming the party’s first MP in the Commons. Mr Anderson, who took the seat of Ashfield in 2019, was kicked out of the parliamentary Conservative Party for refusing to apologise after alleging that London mayor Sadiq Khan was controlled by “Islamists”. And while some

Michael Gove is poised to unveil a new definition of extremism amid jitters in government at his plan. The Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast discusses the big announcement by Rishi Sunak‘s government this week – designed to update and increase the number of organisations that are classed as “extremist” and put new limits on