Politics

Labour would lose its majority and nearly 200 seats if a general election was held today, a new mega poll suggests. While Sir Keir Starmer would still come out on top, it would be in a “highly fragmented and unstable” parliament with five parties holding over 30 seats. More in Common, which used the data

Never wrestle with a pig. You get dirty. And besides, the pig likes it. Looking at the festive ding-dong that’s broken out between Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, you do wonder if the Tory leader should take on board this famous quote – because there was only ever going to be one winner from this

British voters are in for a relatively untroubled 2025, after the “Year of Elections” which saw a new government in the UK and major upheavals around the world, including the victory of Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated as US president for the second time on 20 January. In all likelihood, Sir Keir Starmer needs

More than 150,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats since 2018. The government began recording the number of people who have made the dangerous journey almost seven years ago, on 1 January 2018. The milestone was reached on Boxing Day, when 407 people crossed the Channel on

Sir Keir Starmer has paid tribute to his brother Nick, who died on Boxing Day aged 60 after suffering from cancer. The prime minister described his brother as a “wonderful man”, saying in a statement: “He met all the challenges life threw at him with courage and good humour. We will miss him very much.

Reform UK now has more members than the Conservative Party and is “the real opposition” according to Nigel Farage, while Kemi Badenoch has called his numbers “fake”. According to a digital counter on the party’s website, Reform UK had gone past 131,690 members – the amount the Conservative Party declared before its leadership election in

Nigel Farage has said he is willing to help incoming US ambassador Lord Mandelson negotiate with Donald Trump’s administration. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appointed the former New Labour minister earlier this month. He is due to take up his new role in Washington early next year. In the days after his appointment, one of

More than 13,000 people in the UK’s armed forces are “not medically deployable”, defence ministry figures show. Statistics shared by Al Carns, the veterans minister, who is also a reservist, show 99,560 people within the armed forces are medically fully deployable, while 14,350 have limited deployability. However, a total of 13,522 are medically not deployable.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will be “looking towards a better, brighter future” in his first Christmas message as prime minister. It comes almost six months into the Labour leader’s time in Downing Street, with the prime minister currently having to battle criticisms of his party’s management of the economy and the direction he

Two prime ministers, two Scottish first ministers and three leaders in Wales. It’s been quite the year in UK politics. The Politics Hub team have been busy putting together a quiz for their festive programme. But can you do better than our teams of politicians and pundits? Let us know how you get on!

No wonder Sir Keir Starmer is going abroad “for a few days” over New Year. The economic news here in the UK is unrelentingly gloomy. The prime minister’s spokesman says the latest GDP figures show “the challenge of fixing the economy and public figures is huge and won’t happen overnight”. Too right. The figures suggest

A leading construction industry body has warned the prime minister that measures unveiled in the budget will “fatally undermine” family-run companies in the sector, adding to the business backlash facing the government since the end of October. In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer seen by Sky News, Steve Mulholland, chief executive of the Construction

The UK economy is “headed for the worst of all worlds” as businesses expect activity to fall at the start of next year, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The industry group’s growth indicator survey found that private sector firms expect to cut down on hiring, reduce output and for prices to rise

For centuries an odd tradition lay dormant in our democracy. A number of nobleman have had the chance to sit in parliament, simply by birthright – 92 seats in the House of Lords are eligible to male heirs in specific families and 88 men have taken these seats and currently sit in the second chamber

Donald Trump’s second stint as president will be like a “24/7 bar-room brawl”, according to the UK’s former ambassador to Washington. Lord Darroch was the representative for the UK to the US between 2016 and 2019 – when Mr Trump was last in power – until cables he sent to London were leaked and showed

This is awkward for Downing Street to say the least. The person chosen by the British government to be the keystone in the most important of bilateral relationships is, according to one of the incoming president’s close aides, a “complete moron”. Chris LaCivita is a central character in Trump’s orbit. He managed Trump‘s election victory

Former cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt has revealed she threatened to pull out of a general election TV debate if she couldn’t apologise for Rishi Sunak skipping a D-Day event. The then Commons leader – who went on to lose her seat to Labour – told Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast that Number 10 didn’t want

Sir Keir Starmer is to make his most controversial senior appointment yet by naming Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US. Lord Mandelson, 71, known as the “Prince of Darkness” from his days as a New Labour‘s spin doctor, will be the prime minister‘s link to Donald Trump. ‘Brutal’ figure ‘an inspired choice’ –

With the end of 2024 in sight, it is time to put your knowledge of the past year to the test. Sky News commentator Adam Boulton has put together 30 questions covering everything from global politics to the Paris Olympics, to really see who has been paying attention this year. Let us know how you

The policing minister has said she wants forces “to do far more” to tackle shoplifting after figures obtained by Sky News showed fewer than one in four incidents were attended to by officers in 2023. Dame Diana Johnson blamed declining officer numbers under the previous government but also said she wanted to “see shop theft