Politics

A reduction in national insurance would be a “union tax cut”, the prime minister has said ahead of the budget next week. Rishi Sunak told journalists at the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen on Friday that while he could not comment on what the chancellor Jeremy Hunt will announce on 6 March, he could see

Controversial left-wing firebrand George Galloway has won the Rochdale by-election. The former Labour MP and Celebrity Big Brother contestant, who was standing for the Workers Party of Britain, won 12,335 votes. Labour had been expected to win the seat until its campaign was thrown into disarray by leaked recordings of their candidate Azhar Ali making

When Sky News launched The Voters Panel 24 hours ago, there was one party who stood apart from the rest – Reform. Our online congregation – 2019 Tory voters working out their political home in this year’s general election – seemed less sure where other, bigger parties were planting their ideological flags. In contrast, many

Michael Gove has been placed under investigation by parliament’s standards watchdog. It relates to the housing secretary’s register of financial interests. Further details will remain confidential until the inquiry is concluded – and those under investigation are barred from discussing the allegations. Although the cause of investigation has not been published, last week the Guardian

MPs will have a dedicated police contact for safety issues as part of a £31m package to boost security measures for elected politicians. Home Secretary James Cleverley said no MP should have to accept threats as “part of the job”, following fears some have been targeted by demonstrators demanding an end to fighting in Gaza.

Nestled in the foothills of the Pennines, Rochdale is a town with a proud history. It was once home to the world’s foremost cotton processing centres and is widely known as the birthplace of the modern co-operative movement. But in recent years the town has been marred by child exploitation scandals, poverty and deprivation. According

Post Office victims champion Alan Bates has called for the Post Office to be sold to the likes of Amazon for a pound as he described it as “a dead duck”. Appearing before MPs on the Business and Trade Committee, Mr Bates called for the Post Office to be removed from administering compensation schemes and

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

The spring budget on 6 March is likely to be the last major fiscal event before the next general election, expected later this year. The Tories have been hinting at further tax reductions in a bid to woo over voters as the party continues to languish behind Labour in the polls. But as the country

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 whom he claimed had “given our capital city away to

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

Lee Anderson has been suspended from the Conservative party after “Islamophobic” comments. A spokesperson for Chief Whip Simon Hart said: “Following his refusal to apologise for comments made yesterday, the Chief Whip has suspended the Conservative whip from Lee Anderson MP.” Speaking on GB News this week, Mr Anderson, MP for Ashfield, said: “I don’t

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