Politics

As Westminster lurches to the end of the worst week so far for the prime minister, there is only one clear winner evident as the fog of war subsides. It’s not Sir Keir Starmer – Labour folk are fretting about their lack of impact at the moment. Nor is it the 148 Tory rebels who

Today, housing. Soon: childcare, energy and transport. Boris Johnson has a plan and he wants people to know about it – most of all those Tory MPs who sat in judgement on him in recent days. So during his speech in Blackpool the PM had an important argument to make. There are huge economic headwinds

Boris Johnson is not a good role model for children, according to a top government adviser who is known as Britain’s strictest headmistress. Katharine Birbalsingh, chair of the social mobility commission, told Sky News’s Beth Rigby Interviews that from his personal life to his messy hairstyle, the three-times married prime minister causes her to “raise

Michael Gove has said he would not run against Boris Johnson for leader of the Conservative Party after admitting he “made a mistake” when he scuppered the prime minister’s chances in 2016. The levelling up secretary told Sky News he “enthusiastically” voted for the prime minister to stay as party leader in Monday night’s confidence

Boris Johnson has said he is getting on with the job as he came back fighting in his first PMQs after surviving a confidence vote. The prime minister entered the House of Commons to cheers, just two days after he won a vote by his own MPs – although 41% voted to oust him as

Sajid Javid has promised urgent action to reform health and social care management after a review found evidence of bullying, discrimination and blame culture. The health secretary is promising “the biggest shake-up of leadership in decades” in response to a “stark” conclusion that there is “instructional inadequacy” in how leaders and management are trained, valued

Boris Johnson has sought to draw a line under a bruising confidence vote by urging Cabinet ministers to focus on tax cutting and levelling up. The prime minister won the backing of Tory MPs by 211 votes to 148 – leaving allies to say it is now time to move on from questions about his

It was a vote the PM was desperate to avoid. And when it came, one that Boris Johnson was keen to put behind him quickly, calling the vote as soon as possible after the trigger threshold (54 letters of no confidence) had been reached, and then declaring the result “decisive” and “convincing” once it was

The prime minister’s anti-corruption tsar has resigned over Boris Johnson’s response to the Sue Gray report into partygate – and will vote for him to go tonight. John Penrose has sent his resignation letter to the PM just hours after it was announced a confidence vote in Mr Johnson’s leadership will take place between 6pm

Rebel Conservative MPs say they expect a no confidence vote in Boris Johnson to be held in the coming days. Letters expressing no confidence in the prime minister must be submitted by 54 Tory MPs to trigger a challenge. Data collated by Sky News shows that 28 Conservatives have publicly called for Mr Johnson to

Boris Johnson will make the NHS a key feature of a series of expected policy announcements in the coming days, as the PM bids to move on from a bruising week which reignited reports of an impending confidence vote. More than 40 Conservative MPs have publicly called on the prime minister to resign over the

A government consultation that could mean greater use of imperial measurements will be launched on Friday. In 2000, the EU weights and measures directive forced traders to use metric when selling packaged or loose goods such as fruit and veg. They can still use pounds and ounces but must also list grammes and kilos, except

Boris Johnson has said he was “very, very surprised” to receive a fine for attending a lockdown-breaking gathering in Downing Street. The prime minister, talking to Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts, was questioned on issues from partygate and Northern Ireland to nappies and his favourite book to read to his children. Asked by a teacher why

Syrian and Afghan refugees are believed to be on the list of people set to be deported to Rwanda in a fortnight, charities have said. Zoe Gardner, head of policy and advocacy at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), said 15 Syrians have been told they will be sent to Rwanda in

The deputy prime minister has insisted there will not be a Boris Johnson leadership vote next week, saying the “Westminster bubble whips this stuff up”. Dominic Raab downplayed any threat to Mr Johnson’s premiership as the number of Conservative MPs publicly calling for him to go reached 41 in the wake of the Sue Gray

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s own ethics adviser has asked him to explain why he believes he has not broken the ministerial code after being fined for a lockdown breach. Lord Geidt said there was a “legitimate question” over whether the code has been broken – which would normally mean a minister would have to resign.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner have both received questionnaires from Durham Constabulary in relation to a potential breach of lockdown rules in April 2021. Sir Keir has come under pressure over an event in Durham in April 2021 with party colleagues when he was filmed having a drink and a

The trickle of MPs publicly calling for Boris Johnson to resign is now a modest stream and gathering pace. And the dangerous thing is, the rebellion feels uncoordinated and therefore unpredictable. With the number of MPs openly questioning the prime minister‘s authority at 40, senior Conservatives are braced for the possibility of a vote of

The former cabinet minister Dame Andrea Leadsom has blamed Boris Johnson for “unacceptable failings of leadership” over the partygate scandal. The former business secretary is the 40th Conservative MP to have publicly voiced their displeasure with the prime minister since he was fined by the Met for breaching lockdown rules in Downing Street, according to

One of the youngest MPs in the Conservative Party has become the 26th Tory to publicly call for Boris Johnson to resign over the partygate scandal. Elliot Colburn emailed his constituents to say that nothing within the Sue Gray report or the Met Police investigation has “convinced me that my decision to submit a letter