Politics

Downing Street has shown “important signs of regret and embarrassment” over the rhetoric used by ministers to describe Albanians, according to the country’s prime minister. Edi Rama has previously accused Home Secretary Suella Braverman of fuelling xenophobic attacks after she spoke in parliament about an “invasion” of asylum seekers and “Albanian criminals” when describing the

Sir Keir Starmer will lose the general election campaign “on day one” unless he shifts his position on transgender rights, party strategists have warned. Advisers have been telling the Labour leader since late 2021 to “deal with” the issue and explain to voters that “self-ID is not going to happen”. Sir Keir’s position has evolved

The singling out of Albanian migrants in the UK has been a “very, very disgraceful moment in British politics”, the country’s prime minister has said. Edi Rama, who is in Britain for talks with Rishi Sunak, said it is essential that relations between the two countries are not defined by a few “rotten apples”. “Unfortunately

Did Boris Johnson intentionally mislead Parliament about what he knew and when about rule-breaking events in Number 10? The privileges committee maintains it is “very likely” he did. Wednesday’s appearance in front of the privileges committee was billed as the day of reckoning for the former prime minister, with all the jeopardy that it brought.

Boris Johnson has sworn “hand on heart” he did not lie to MPs about partygate events in Downing Street – and said a gathering where he was pictured holding a glass in the air was “absolutely essential for work purposes”. The former prime minister also said the size of Number 10 made it difficult to

Boris Johnson’s future is in the balance as he is set to give evidence to MPs investigating whether he misled parliament over partygate denials. The former prime minister will appear before the cross-party privileges committee at 2pm on Wednesday for a session of questioning that is due to last four hours – but could be

A man has been charged with sending offensive and indecent messages to Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner. David Perry has been charged with sending the MP a grossly offensive message and an indecent message. The 66-year-old, from Weybridge, Surrey, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 11 April. Greater Manchester Police said the

Nicola Sturgeon has urged the SNP candidates vying to succeed her as first minister to “protect the ingredients of success” – telling Sky News the leadership contest so far has been “a less than edifying process”.  In a Beth Rigby interview due to air at 9pm on Sky News, Ms Sturgeon acknowledged the turmoil in

The DUP says its MPs will vote against a key aspect of Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal when it is put to a crunch vote in parliament this week. In a statement, party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said while the Windsor Framework represented “significant progress” in addressing concerns with the Northern Ireland Protocol, it does not

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said she is “encouraged” by “constructive” discussions with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) about the injunction that halted migrant flights to Rwanda. A government source said any change to the injunction “would remove a key barrier to getting flights off the ground”. The ECHR, which granted an injunction

The government “doesn’t relish” deporting migrants to Rwanda but is being “forced” to pursue the controversial policy because of the rise in Channel crossings, a cabinet minister has claimed. Oliver Dowden was asked by Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday if he is “comfortable” with the idea of sending children and families to the east African

There was only ever going to be one outcome as the SNP fought off the flames of crisis after crisis. This is the week the party changed forever. Peter Murrell has been in charge of the SNP since 1999 and arguably was pivotal in its strategy to become a political force in Scotland. But in

Junior doctors and the government are set to enter talks following a 72-hour-strike which saw more than 175,000 appointments reorganised. The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents the clinicians, has pledged they will announce new strike dates if the government makes a “substandard” offer. On Friday evening, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC)

The home secretary is set to travel to Rwanda this weekend as the government’s deal to send asylum seekers to the country remains mired in legal challenges. It is 11 months since the UK agreed the deal, which would see people who claimed asylum in Britain deported to the central African nation to have their

Teacher strikes will be paused for two weeks while education unions and the government hold “intensive” talks over pay, workload and conditions. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan will meet with representatives today – with discussions to continue over the weekend until Sunday. The National Education Union (NEU), National Association of Headteachers (NAHT), NASUWT The Teachers’ Union,

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has expanded free childcare for working parents in England to cover all children under five. The move could allow 60,000 more parents of young children to enter the workforce, according to the government’s independent forecaster. While the move has been welcomed by parents, there’s been criticism from the childcare sector, which is

TikTok will be banned from UK government phones amid security concerns around the Chinese-owned video app, Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden has announced. In a statement to parliament, Mr Dowden said there “could” be a risk to how government data and information is used by the app. He said that while TikTok use is “limited”,

The chancellor stuck to his path. No big bangs, this was a budget all about trying to prepare the groundwork for possible tax cuts in the autumn statement and the pre-election showstopper next year. Jeremy Hunt’s message was that after the mess of the past six months, the Conservative Party was back to sound management

Just six months ago, the economy was on the brink, with markets concerned that the UK would not be able to pay back its spiralling obligations. Debt costs were rising.   Yet fast forward to today, and Jeremy Hunt delivered another heavy spending budget – doling out £21bn a year, funded by yet more borrowing,

After the debacle of Liz Truss’s September mini-budget, with all its mega ramifications, and an autumn statement eight weeks later that performed an about-turn so big that the country’s tax burden hit a 70-year-high, Wednesday’s budget will be all about stability and sticking to the plan. “No big bangs in this budget,” is how one