Politics

Anas Sarwar is “right” to distance himself from Sir Keir Starmer over the decision to scrap winter fuel payments for most pensioners, Baroness Davidson has said. The Scottish Labour leader has promised to go against the national party and reintroduce the universal winter fuel payment for pensioners if elected to Holyrood in 2026. The Tory

Former Labour deputy prime minister John Prescott has died aged 86, following a battle with Alzheimer’s, his family has announced. The former political giant served as MP for Kingston upon Hull East for 40 years and was a key part of New Labour under Sir Tony Blair. His family said he had “spent his life

Former Conservative MP Nadine Dorries has said her experience of being abused as a child “ruined” her life. The former culture secretary has spoken about how she had been abused by a Church of England vicar when she was just nine years old. In a recent column for the Daily Mail, Ms Dorries said she

Ukraine has fired British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia, a source has told Sky News. The UK and Ukraine have not yet confirmed the use of the Storm Shadow missiles in Russia but their deployment has been widely reported in British media. Image: A Storm Shadow cruise missile on display in June 2023. Pic: AP

The prime minister marked the 1,000th day of the war in Ukraine tending to global affairs at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. Over the two days of our trip to Brazil, the PM wanted to talk about “doubling down” on support for Ukraine, opening a “serious and pragmatic” dialogue with President Xi Jinping

Labour is “absolutely not” engaged in a class war, the prime minister has said. Sir Keir Starmer was asked by Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby if the changes to inheritance tax and putting VAT on private school fees shows the new government is looking to wage a “class war” on wealthier people. The prime

Thousands of farmers from across the UK are expected to gather outside Downing Street today – in the biggest protest yet against the government’s changes to inheritance tax rules. The reforms, announced in last month’s budget, will mean farms worth over £1m will be subject to 20% inheritance tax from April 2026. Farmers say that

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the “vast majority of farmers” will not be affected by changes to Inheritance Tax (IHT) ahead of a protest outside parliament on Tuesday. It follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing a 20% inheritance tax that will apply to farms worth more than £1m from April 2026, where they were previously exempt.

Climate change, the crisis in the Middle East, the continuing war in Ukraine, combating global poverty. All of these are critical issues for Britain and beyond; all of them up for discussions at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro this week, and all of them very much in limbo as the world awaits the

Sir Keir Starmer has said he intends to pursue a “pragmatic” relationship with China when he meets President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit. The prime minister said the size of China’s economy and its membership of the UN security council meant he wanted to have “serious and pragmatic discussions” with the Chinese leader during

The UK will double the amount of aid to Sudan and neighbouring countries, providing more than £110m to those affected by the war. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the package doubles the UK’s aid commitment and will assist more than 600,000 in Sudan. In total, £43.5m in funding will be provided to

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the

A former Conservative MP has said he felt “enormous guilt” when he found out he was the victim of a Westminster honeytrap scandal. William Wragg resigned from the parliamentary party in April after he admitted giving out fellow politicians’ phone numbers to the suspected perpetrator of the sexting scam. He said he felt threatened and

Nigel Farage has announced that he has paid a visit to Clacton following criticism that he does not spend enough time in his constituency. The Reform UK leader shared an image of himself on X alongside the caption: “I would like all my haters to know that I am once again in Clacton living my

Brexit has “weighed” on the British economy and relations with the EU must be rebuilt, according to the governor of the Bank of England. Andrew Bailey’s comments come in a speech at the City of London’s Mansion House this evening and were widely trailed beforehand. He said although he takes “no position on Brexit per

The prime minister, in the Home Office, flanked by Union Jacks, talking tough on immigration: This is the Keir Starmer his top team wants you to see. “Good news,” he says, praising the work of the National Crime Agency after the arrest of a suspected small boat smuggler in Amsterdam. Chancellor making major speech tonight

Pension “mega funds” will be created under government plans to increase infrastructure investment. Reforms could “unlock £80bn” of investment, according to Treasury plans, which say bigger funds can get greater returns. Chancellor Rachel Reeves wants to imitate the way large Canadian and Australian pension schemes work. She will give more details about her plans in

Labour MPs who are opposed to legalising assisted dying believe the momentum is swinging behind their side of the campaign, Sky News has learnt. MPs are currently weighing up whether to back a change in the law that would give terminally ill people with six months to live the choice to end their lives. At

Fines of £10,000 for social media bosses who don’t remove illegal knife adverts are being considered by the government. The proposals are part of attempts by Labour to fulfil their promise to halve knife crime levels in the next decade. The Home Office wants to introduce the measures to stop the “unacceptable use of social

Self-administering drugs to end your own life legally is more compassionate than someone else doing it, the MP proposing assisted dying legislation has said. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was published on Monday and revealed the medicine that will end a patient’s life will need to be self-administered, with doctors not allowed