Politics

Rishi Sunak will be under increased pressure as MPs return to Westminster on Monday after their summer recess. The prime minister has been accused of presiding over a “zombie parliament” – not just by Labour, as would be expected, but in a parting shot by Nadine Dorries, who has finally vacated her seat of Mid

A return to pandemic-style home learning for school pupils impacted by the unsafe concrete crisis should only last “days, not weeks”, the government has said. More than 100 schools and colleges have been told by the Department for Education (DfE) to partially or fully shut buildings – just days before the start of the new

MPs are returning to Westminster on Monday for the rapidly accelerating downhill run to the next general election. Thanks to Boris Johnson’s success in repealing the Fixed Term Parliament Act there is no precise guidance as to when that date with political destiny will be. The next general election could even take place the year

The crisis over unsafe concrete in schools may extend beyond the education sector to other types of public buildings, experts have warned. They say the scale of the problem with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) is “much bigger than schools” and could include hospitals, police stations, and court buildings. Even private sector sites such as

Rishi Sunak’s director of communications has quit her role after less than a year in the job and with a general election fast approaching. Amber de Botton, who had a decade-long career as a broadcast journalist at ITV and Sky News, was hired by the prime minister as his top spin doctor a few days

Domestic abusers will be forced to wear electronic tags on leaving prison or risk being sent back to detention under a pilot scheme launched by the government to protect victims. Up to 500 people will be made to wear the devices, which can monitor their whereabouts, enforce a curfew and ban them from going within a

Rishi Sunak today sought to put his own stamp on the cabinet, in a way not possible a year ago when he took over.  Yet this reshuffle – which was already in the works in May – took only baby steps towards creating a cabinet truly in Mr Sunak’s image. Even this level of change

The resignation of Ben Wallace was no surprise, but Rishi Sunak’s choice of replacement has ruffled some feathers. Wallace was by far the most popular cabinet minister before his exit, with a popularity rating of +76, compared to just +3 for his replacement, according to ConservativeHome’s monthly rankings. But despite his lack of popularity or

A new law will force criminals to attend their sentencings in court, with the offenders facing longer behind bars if they still refuse to sit in the dock. The government confirmed its plans to introduce the reform on Wednesday, promising to create a new power for judges to make the order. The change will also

The foreign secretary has landed in China for meetings with senior members of the government as Rishi Sunak comes under pressure at home over how to approach the country. James Cleverly is holding talks with senior Chinese officials – including minister of foreign affairs Wang Yi and vice president Han Zheng – on issues ranging

A local council says it cannot provide the necessary care for vulnerable children in its area due to rising numbers of unaccompanied young people seeking asylum and a “wholly inadequate” scheme to distribute them to authorities across the country. Kent County Council is responsible for 661 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, along with 1,030 care leavers. However,

Nadine Dorries is officially no longer an MP, 81 days after she announced her resignation from the Commons with “immediate effect”. The former culture secretary did not step down instantaneously, instead remaining in her role as a politician as she claimed she was looking into why she was refused a seat in the House of

GP surgeries will face economic sanctions if they do not provide patients with adequate services if Labour come to power, according to the shadow health secretary. Wes Streeting has told the NHS that the “like it or lump it” approach taken by UK health providers is not acceptable and Labour “will give back patients control

Police forces must investigate every theft, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said. Ms Braverman said it was “unacceptable” crimes such as shoplifting, criminal damage and phone or car theft have been treated as “less important”. Forces have committed to follow all “reasonable lines of enquiry” in an effort to improve investigations and drive down crime

Labour and the Liberal Democrats hit the campaign trail in Mid Bedfordshire in the hours after Nadine Dorries stood down. The former Conservative culture secretary handed in her resignation yesterday – 11 weeks after she vowed to go – leaving Prime Minister Rishi Sunak facing yet another test in the form of a by-election. In

Nadine Dorries has announced her resignation with a scathing attack on Rishi Sunak, accusing him of “demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy” against her. The Tory MP for Mid Bedfordshire said on Saturday she had submitted her resignation letter to the prime minister, publishing it in the Mail

Former Conservative minister Nadine Dorries has announced she is resigning, after months of criticism over her absence from the House of Commons. In her resignation letter, the Tory MP accused Rishi Sunak of “demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy” against her. The letter to the prime minister said:

Rishi Sunak has said the inquiry into the murders carried out by Lucy Letby should be judge-led. The government ordered an inquiry last week after Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others while working as a neonatal nurse. She was sentenced to 14 whole-life orders and will never

MPs who lose their seat at the next general election will receive double the financial support following a ruling from parliament’s expenses watchdog. MPs who are forced out in an election defeat have previously been entitled to two months of financial assistance to help close their office and manage the departure of staff, but the Independent

Elizabeth Barton arrived in the UK from South Africa in September- one of more than 120,000 people who came from overseas to fill vacancies in the struggling health and care sector in the last year.  “It’s hard to get a job at home,” she told me. “Here I can get a job, the salary’s okay. Back