Most councils are set to increase council tax by the maximum amount of at least 4.99% from April. Government figures released on Wednesday show 85% of the 139 top-tier authorities in England that have proposed or confirmed rises so far are planning to do so by 4.99%. If local authorities want to raise council tax
Politics
A former Australian prime minister has said his country should be “prepared to make a contribution” to protect the freedom of Ukraine. Tony Abbott told Sky News’ Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge that no country “will be safe against a bully” if Vladimir Putin wins the war. He called on Britain to take the lead
England’s most senior judge says she is “deeply troubled” by Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch’s exchange about a Gazan family coming to the UK under the Ukraine scheme. The Lady Chief Justice voiced her concern after the prime minister said a judge had made the “wrong decision” by letting a family of six from
A “US security guarantee” is the only path to peace in Ukraine, Sir Keir Starmer has said. Speaking in Paris after an emergency summit with European leaders, the prime minister said a “US backstop” is the “only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again”. And he said the future of Ukraine is not
Kemi Badenoch has said failing to spend more on defence “is not peacemaking, it is weakness” as Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders face pressure from Donald Trump to increase NATO contributions. The Conservative leader told the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference: “Totalitarian states like Russia, Iran and North Korea are coordinated in their
Tories trail Reform UK on a range of key indicators according to an exclusive new YouGov poll for Sky News that reveals Nigel Farage’s party now has the potential to reach as much of the electorate as the party run by Kemi Badenoch. Detailed comparisons of voter opinion towards the Tories and Reform UK reveal
The whole government recognises the need to spend more on defence, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, a cabinet minister has said. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that he “disagrees” with claims the prime minister is preparing to overrule the chancellor on the amount of cash being spent on the
Rachel Reeves says “no one ever raised any concerns” about her expenses when she worked at HBOS, as she responds to reports she was investigated while working for the bank. The chancellor was accused by former employees of being involved in an “expenses scandal” while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) from 2006 to
A waiting game on tariffs is beginning to play out between the UK and the United States on tariffs, amid warnings that Donald Trump’s latest strategy could hit the UK especially hard. The US president on Thursday revealed he has asked his government to consider what tariffs should be applied to other nations – and
People who believe the things posted in a controversial Labour WhatsApp group shouldn’t have been MPs in the first place, according to Harriet Harman. Speaking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the veteran Labour parliamentarian said the scandal was “very serious” as the public already thinks MPs are “contemptuous of their voters”. Politics live: Follow the
👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 Do MPs say one thing in public, and another in private? This week, Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and Ruth Davidson ask what’s been going on with the two MPs suspended from the Labour Party over WhatsApp messages containing offensive comments. Andrew Gwynne
Farmers forced the prime minister to cut short a visit to a housing development as they drove tractors to the site in a protest against changes to inheritance tax. Sir Keir Starmer was in Buckinghamshire to announce more than 100 new towns could be built under the government’s plans for the “largest house building programme
Sir Keir Starmer says he has full confidence in Rachel Reeves after questions were raised about inaccuracies in her CV and her use of expenses in a previous job. The chancellor has been accused by former employees of being involved in an “expenses scandal” while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) from 2006 to 2009,
A leak inquiry will take place following reports that economic growth forecasts have been reduced by the government’s financial watchdog. Bloomberg reported that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had reduced its growth forecasts in data sent to Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week. Reduced growth could force the government to cut further spending or increase
A judge made the “wrong decision” in letting a family from Gaza settle in the UK under a Ukrainian refugee scheme, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The prime minister said the government was working to close a “loophole” that led to the specific case, blaming the legal framework in place under the Conservatives. It emerged
Angela Rayner has insisted the government can meet its target to build 1.5m homes over the next five years as ministers pledged an extra £350m for housebuilding. An extra £300m has been injected to the affordable homes programme, a move ministers believe will allow 2,800 additional homes to be built. More than half of these
Even after half a century, she’s still adored and revered by Tories, grudgingly respected by present and former Labour prime ministers and yet despised and reviled on the left and in many working class communities. It was 50 years ago this week that Margaret Thatcher became Conservative Party leader and began to change the course
Has Sir Keir Starmer picked a fight with a bat tunnel that – in time – he will eventually discover he just can’t win? For the last six months, the prime minister has singled out the most hated construction site in Britain for criticism – a kilometre-long, £100m shed to protect bats in Buckinghamshire from
MPs are in line for an above inflation pay rise this year to reach an annual salary of £93,904, the body that decides parliamentary salaries has announced. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has proposed a 2.8% pay rise for MPs for the next financial year from April. This would take their annual pay from
A Labour MP has said he “deeply regrets” comments he made on a WhatsApp group – a day after health minister Andrew Gwynne was sacked for alleged racist and sexist remarks posted on the same chat. Burnley MP Oliver Ryan is being investigated by the Labour Party over comments which a government source said were