Politics

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has indicated he too will not be following recommendations on public sector pay rises, saying his party are set to “inherit a real mess” if they win the next general election. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has faced a backlash from opposition parties and unions after hinting he will not adopt

Former prime minister Liz Truss has called on the government to have a plan in place in case the Russian government under Vladimir Putin collapses. It came as Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described the mutiny over the weekend as an “unprecedented challenge to President Putin’s authority”. Speaking in the House of Commons, Ms Truss said:

Rishi Sunak has hinted he will ignore recommendations for public sector pay rises, saying workers “need to recognise the economic context we are in”. Reports surfaced over the weekend that the prime minister planned to block upcoming proposals from public sector pay bodies in an attempt to tackle soaring inflation in the country. And health

Labour frontbencher Lisa Nandy has criticised her own party for selecting five white male candidates for a string of forthcoming by-elections. The shadow communities secretary told Sky News that “of course” she was bothered Labour had gone for an all-white male list to contest the Westminster seats. Female opposition MPs are reported to be angered

Reports that Rishi Sunak could block 6% pay rises for public sector workers have been criticised by unions. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) accused the government of “blaming workers who can’t afford to put food on the table” after the Times reported that the prime minister could overrule recommendations from pay review bodies. Government sources

The Home Office is working on plans to house hundreds of migrants in marquees on large sites across the country, Sky News understands. A government source said the plans were still at an early stage, but were being developed by the department. A number of new controversial accommodation sites have been announced by the Conservatives

A snap Ofsted inspection should be conducted at a school where a pupil was reported to have identified as a cat, a senior minister has said. A teacher is said to have been recorded telling another classmate at Rye College secondary school in East Sussex that she was “despicable” for refusing to accept the pupil

Junior doctors in England will strike for five consecutive days in July, in what is thought to be the longest single period of industrial action in the history of the health service. The British Medical Association (BMA) said the five-day walkout would be between 7am on Thursday 13 July and 7am on Tuesday 18 July.

In leafy South West Surrey, traditional Tory ground, we are taking the public temperature. “It’s very hard to vote Conservative at the moment”, 49-year-old Penny tells us. “You just can’t ignore the last two years”. This is the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s seat (8,800 majority). Voters here are affluent, home-owning, traditional Conservatives, the sort of people

Halving inflation by the end of year is “hard but not impossible”, the prime minister has said, in a comment on his pledge earlier in the year to do so. The prime minister was speaking to the Times CEO summit shortly after the surprise hiking of interest rates by the Bank of England on Thursday

Delays to HS2 announced by the government earlier this year in order to help ‘balance the books’ are likely to cost the taxpayer at least £366 million, according to new analysis exclusively leaked to Sky News. The government briefing also predicts the two-year pause to construction work on a key section is actually set to

People in government tell me they think the governor of the Bank of England is failing in his job, but cannot do anything about it.  That Andrew Bailey is under pressure is not in doubt. Today’s 8.7% year-on-year inflation rise is a painfully long way from the governor’s 2% target – meaning tomorrow, the Bank

Another of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s five key priorities for 2023 is in doubt as national debt reached 100% of GDP. The third of the government’s five targets is to reduce the national debt but official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed it increased in May to the highest in more than

Rishi Sunak is facing a by-election triple threat after the Somerton and Frome vote was scheduled for 20 July. The announcement comes after David Warburton formally left the House of Commons on Monday. The election will take place on the same day as Boris Johnson’s vacated Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat, and Nigel Adams’ Selby

To the very end, Boris Johnson and his dwindling band of supporters – and Rishi Sunak and the Tory high command – were outwitted by the Labour Party in the parliamentary battle over partygate. At the beginning of the Privileges Committee process, back in April 2022, the Tories failed to spot the trap being laid

David Cameron was heckled with shouts of “shame on you” as he left the COVID inquiry after giving evidence. The former prime minister was questioned for more than two hours on Monday on how prepared the government was for a pandemic during his time in office. But as he left the hearing in London and

Sir Keir Starmer has said Boris Johnson should be banned from parliament over the partygate scandal, as he challenged the prime minister to “show leadership” on the matter. The Labour leader said it’s “important to know” where Rishi Sunak stands ahead of a vote on the report of the Commons’ Privileges Committee, which last week

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has called a new leaked partygate video “terrible” – and says the fact the event went ahead is “indefensible”. The footage appears to show Tory staff drinking, dancing and joking about “bending” COVID lockdown rules in December 2020. On this week’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday podcast, hear Mr Gove’s reaction

A Conservative MP embroiled in a scandal has announced he will stand down – triggering a by-election in his Somerton and Frome constituency. David Warburton was suspended from the party in April 2022 pending the outcome of an Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) investigation into allegations of harassment and drug abuse. Speaking to the

Conservative Party staff were filmed celebrating at their London headquarters during the height of the COVID lockdown. New footage, obtained by The Mirror, shows Tory Party staff at a Christmas party dancing, drinking and joking about Covid restrictions while lockdown rules were in place in December 2020. Two of those at the party were among