Politics

Labour has been warned against being “too timid” and “limping into Number 10” by the head of its biggest donor on the eve of the party’s conference in Liverpool. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said she wanted the party to resemble the reforming Labour government of 1945 led by Clement Attlee in the

When Labour last met in Liverpool for its annual conference, Liz Truss had just delivered her mini-Budget, sterling had fallen to a 37-year low and the markets were about to be plunged into turmoil. With her government imploding and weeks after the Johnson collapse, Labour were on a high. Sir Keir Starmer had clocked up

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his newest MP “blew the doors off” as Michael Shanks won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election with a swing of 20%. It was triggered after former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier was removed from her seat following a breach of COVID guidelines. The win could have implications for the

This Labour Party conference will feel different. Unlike the Conservatives, they don’t need a big comeback moment to save them from dire polling, nor are there peacocking leadership hopefuls waiting in the wings (or at least, there is no looming vacancy). Instead, particularly after the massive win in the Rutherglen by-election, this is a party

Labour is the “party of change”, leader Sir Keir Starmer declared, after its victory in the by-election in Scotland. Michael Shanks’s win in Rutherglen and Hamilton West returned the seat to Labour after it was won by the SNP in 2019. Speaking after the win this morning, Sir Keir said: “We’ve changed. And because we’ve

Angela Rayner is set to become the UK’s deputy prime minister if Labour wins the next general election.  With Labour’s annual conference starting this weekend, here’s what you need to know about the party’s deputy leader – from her early life and career in politics to the abuse and controversy she has faced. Early life

Rishi Sunak, and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, have teamed up to call for more action to be taken to tackle illegal migration. Both leaders have made reducing the number of people arriving in their nations outside traditional pathways a key part of their leadership. The pair co-hosted a summit on the fringes of the

Labour sources at the Rutherglen and Hamilton West count were either playing a game with us about the scale of their party’s victory or were genuinely surprised. Early on at the count, they said they thought the swing from the SNP to Labour would be 7% to 8%, suggesting a gain of 15 to 22

The Labour Party has been accused of attempting to delay a high-profile trial against five of its former employees because the case could prove to be “embarrassing” ahead of the next general election. The party is currently engaged in a protracted legal wrangle with five former employees whom it has accused of leaking a controversial

Rishi Sunak’s speech at the Conservative Party conference fell flat with the British public, a new poll suggests. During his speech, the prime minister confirmed his long-rumoured decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester and announced plans to introduce some of the strictest smoking laws in the world. New polling

Scottish Labour has won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election. Michael Shanks replaces shamed MP Margaret Ferrier, who was ousted from her seat in August following a successful recall petition for breaching COVID restrictions during lockdown in 2020. Voters took to the polls between 7am and 10pm on Thursday and out of the 82,104 electorate,

Rishi Sunak has signed new deals with Serbia, Belgium and Bulgaria to help target the criminal gangs who smuggle people across the Channel in small boats. The prime minister made the announcement at the European political community summit in Spain after a whirlwind week at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. Mr Sunak urged European

There are fresh calls to clean up politics with stronger rules around lying after senior Tories made false statements around meat taxes and 15-minute cities at their annual party conference. Green MP Caroline Lucas told Sky News a “dishonesty epidemic is infecting the Tory party” as she called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to acquaint

Rishi Sunak’s recent shift on green policies gave us the biggest indication yet that he is planning for a general election. Standing on a podium with the slogan “Long term decisions for a brighter future”, the prime minister made clear his watering down of net zero pledges was not a one-off, but the beginning of