Politics

Rishi Sunak has refused to reveal whether he would allow Nigel Farage to join his party after Sir Keir Starmer accused the Conservatives of “dancing to the tune” set by the former UKIP leader. Sir Keir Starmer challenged the prime minister on whether Mr Farage had a place in the Conservative Party after his predecessor,

Former Tory MP Scott Benton has been suspended from the Commons over his role in a lobbying sting – creating a further headache for Rishi Sunak. MPs approved the suspension of Mr Benton, who had the Tory whip removed last April after suggesting to undercover reporters at The Times that he would be willing to

Sir Keir Starmer is facing a possible parliamentary investigation over allegations he put pressure on the Speaker in a debate on Gaza last week. Sir Lindsay Hoyle is facing a backlash for allowing a vote on a Labour amendment to an SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Parliamentary convention dictates that there

Rishi Sunak has “made the calculation” that he doesn’t need Muslim voters for his “political purposes”, a former minister has claimed. Tory MP Rehman Chishti told Sky News’ Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge that during the last leadership election, Mr Sunak promised he was “committed” to engaging with the community and told him: “We will

Labour has called on Rishi Sunak to consider removing the whip from Liz Truss after her appearance in the US sparked controversy. Anneliese Dodds, the chair of the Labour Party, accused the former prime minister of “propagating conspiracy theories” and “associating with individuals who have actually praised the far right in our country”. “That’s deeply

Tory MPs have complained that suspending Lee Anderson may have been a mistake, WhatsApp messages leaked to Sky News have revealed. After one of the most toxic weeks in Westminster, the Sky News and Politico podcast, Politics at Jack and Sam’s, examines the attitude of all sides to the controversies of the last few days.

The deputy prime minister has refused to say on Sky News whether Lee Anderson is “racist” as he backed the decision to suspend him from the Conservative Party following his attack on Sadiq Khan. Mr Anderson claimed “Islamists” had “got control” of the London mayor who had “given our capital city away to his mates”.

Sir Keir Starmer has accused the prime minister of harbouring extremists in his party after a senior Tory MP was suspended for “Islamophobic” comments. The Labour leader said Rishi Sunak’s “weakness” allowed Lee Anderson “to act with impunity” and that he “needs to get a grip and take on the extremists in his party”. Sir

Sadiq Khan has accused the former Tory deputy chairman of “pouring fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred” after he said “Islamists” had “got control” of the London mayor. Mr Khan said the comments by Lee Anderson were Islamophobic and anti-Muslim – and that the message it sends is that Muslims are “fair game” when

Conservative MP Lee Anderson has been criticised for making “divisive and dangerous” comments about London mayor Sadiq Khan – with calls for him to be kicked out of the party. Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the former Tory deputy chairman had engaged in “outright racism and Islamophobia”, while ex-Tory MP Gavin Barwell said

For weeks – months even – we’ve been watching a beauty parade on the Conservative benches preparing for life after Rishi Sunak as various MPs hook up with various groupings of Conservative backbenchers hoping to garner support for the moment when the ball comes out of the scrum. On the right, we have seen the

The Speaker changing the “usual ways in which parliament works” was “very concerning”, according to the prime minister – who did not say whether he accepted Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s apology. Sir Lindsay’s role has been thrown into jeopardy after he allowed both Labour and government amendments to be voted on, on an SNP debate –

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is being urged to “come clean” about whether Labour tried to influence his handling of a debate on Gaza which descended into chaos. Sir Lindsay, who is facing calls to resign, is meeting with Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt and party chief whips later today in a bid to

Sir Keir Starmer started the day facing the prospect of a very sizeable rebellion and possibly even a shadow cabinet resignation or two as dozens of MPs warned that they wouldn’t be able to vote against the SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. And yet he ended it becoming the first political

The UK’s nuclear deterrent “remains effective, dependable and formidable” – despite a Trident missile misfiring during a recent test, the government has said. In a statement, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed “an anomaly did occur” when an operation was held on HMS Vanguard on 30 January – but stressed this was “event specific” and doesn’t

Labour has called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza for the first time, saying the situation there is “intolerable”. The party leadership has been under pressure to back an immediate end to the fighting in the strip, with Sir Keir Starmer previously only calling for a “sustainable ceasefire” or “humanitarian pauses”. Shadow foreign secretary David

HMRC has been accused of using “dangerous and sinister” new tactics in a tax crackdown that has already been linked to 10 suicides. The government has recently come under pressure over the “Loan Charge” – controversial legislation which made tens of thousands of contractors who were paid their salaries through loans retrospectively liable for tax

Kemi Badenoch has said former Post Office chair Henry Staunton was being investigated over bullying allegations before his dismissal – as she accused him of seeking “revenge” against the government. The business secretary told the Commons that allegations regarding Mr Staunton’s conduct, including “serious matters such as bullying”, were being examined and concerns had also

Ofcom has launched an investigation into Rishi Sunak’s recent appearance on GB News. The prime minister answered questions on a range of topics from an audience on the show, but complainants alleged that no alternative view was offered. In a statement, the UK’s communications and broadcast regulator said: “We have received around 500 complaints about

Ministers have urged police forces to use “robust” measures to tackle protesters who “intimidate and harass” MPs over their stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict. In a letter to chief constables, seen by Sky News, security minister Tom Tugendhat and policing minister Chris Philp said the demonstration outside the home of Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood was