Politics

He may have been prime minister for a year, but his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester felt almost like the moment Rishi Sunak introduced himself for the first time. A speech rich in announcements and packed with messages about Rishi the man and his values. He and his team knew the speech

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

HS2 will start at Euston rather than Old Oak Common – but between Birmingham and Manchester it will not be high speed, Sky News understands. The rail line will stop in Manchester, but from Birmingham it will switch to use existing West Coast Mainline track. It will therefore not be high speed after Birmingham –

A conference billed as the start of a Rishi Sunak reset has turned into the Rishi shambles over the past couple of days.  The prime minister has lost control over the narrative while we’ve been reminded very clearly by Liz Truss and other senior MPs that he never had control over his party or the

Transgender women will be banned from being treated in female hospital wards, under new proposals suggested by the health secretary. In his conference speech, Steve Barclay will reportedly announce plans to push back against what he calls “wokery” in the NHS, which he says has led to women’s rights being increasingly sidelined. Speaking to the

Liz Truss has echoed the language of former US president Donald Trump as she called on her party to “make Britain grow again”. The ex-prime minister, who was ousted from Number 10 after just 44 days following her disastrous mini-budget, made the remark when appearing at a packed out fringe event at the Conservative Party

The week of the Conservative Party conference began with a grim warning about taxes. Now at their highest level since records began 70 years ago, taxes are also unlikely to come down anytime soon, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Where does this leave the Conservatives, the party which preaches lower taxes but has

Michael Gove has called for a tax cut before the next general election – putting him at odds with the chancellor on the first day of Conservative Party conference. Jeremy Hunt told The Times newspaper on Saturday the government was “not in a position to talk about tax cuts at all”, and needed to focus

Top Tories are setting out their policies as the Conservative Party conference kicks off in Manchester – with levelling up, immigration, Ukraine and the next general election on the agenda. Rishi Sunak has announced that more than 50 “overlooked” British towns will be given £20m each over the next 10 years to regenerate high streets,

Grassroots Conservative supporters are saying they want to oust Rishi Sunak and “go to war” with the liberal wing of the party in leaked WhatsApp messages obtained by Sky News. We have obtained the discussions amongst members of the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO), founded in December 2022 by donor and Johnson-backer Lord Peter Cruddas after

Rishi Sunak has said he is “slamming the brakes on the war on motorists” – with the government confirming that councils will be stopped from enforcing blanket 20mph speed limits. Low-traffic neighbourhoods are also in the prime minister’s crosshairs and will only be permitted where there is local consent. The Department for Transport added that

Rishi Sunak is considering removing the winter fuel allowance from all but the poorest pensioners as a way of clawing back some taxpayer funds from the elderly as he prepares to fight the next election on a pledge to keep the pension triple lock despite its spiralling costs. Government figures told Sky News the prime

Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson have overseen the largest set of tax rises since the Second World War, according to economic analysis. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimates that – by the time of the next general election – the tax burden will have risen to around 37% of national income. This equates to

Rishi Sunak dodged questions over the future of HS2 as he spoke to local radio stations across the country. The prime minister was repeatedly asked about the northern leg of the high speed rail line between Birmingham and Manchester. He was also quizzed on whether the route would now end in the west London suburb

“Many people” pretend to be gay to claim asylum in the UK, Suella Braverman has claimed, as she defended herself from criticism from Sir Elton John. The home secretary yesterday delivered a controversial speech in which she claimed the asylum system will break if people are given sanctuary for “simply being gay, or a woman,

A cabinet minister has refused to commit to the UK staying as a signatory to the United Nations human rights convention following a controversial speech in the US by Suella Braverman on migration. The home secretary has faced severe criticism over her comments in Washington DC on Tuesday, where she said being gay or a

The United Nations’ refugee agency has rebuked Home Secretary Suella Braverman after she claimed the current asylum system is no longer fit for purpose. Ms Braverman called for a reform of the international system in a speech in Washington DC. She outlined how she believed the current system was “outdated”, and branded the number of

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has called for a reform of the international asylum system, saying it is no longer fit for purpose. Speaking in Washington DC, Ms Braverman outlined how she believed the current system was “outdated”. She branded the number of displaced people in the world as an “epoch-defining challenge” – the same language

Sir Ed Davey will close this week’s Liberal Democrat conference by promising to “fix our economy with care” after the Conservatives “broke” it with “carelessness”. In his first speech at the annual gathering since becoming leader, he will underline a number of health pledges the party has made over recent days – including enabling patients

Sir Ed Davey has hinted his party would be prepared to do a post-election deal with Labour to prevent the Conservatives from forming a government. Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby at the Liberal Democrats annual conference, the leader categorically ruled out any agreement with the Tories, saying his party could “play a