Politics

Sir Keir Starmer’s top adviser is “getting the right pay for the job” despite reports she earns £3,000 more than the prime minister, former Labour MP Harriet Harman has said. The Baroness, now a peer and the co-host of Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, said Sue Gray’s reported salary of more than £170,000 is “the rate

Sir Keir Starmer has come under scrutiny over the past week for the more than £100,000-worth of gifts he has accepted. It started with controversy over his wife’s clothes and has escalated since Sky News’ Westminster Accounts project revealed he has been gifted more freebies and hospitality than any other MP since 2019 – a

Sir Keir Starmer has received substantially more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader, Sky News can reveal. Government officials are worried the prime minister’s willingness to accept hospitality to go to football matches could amount to a conflict of interest given plans to overhaul the sport’s regulator which many clubs oppose. The

The London Victims’ Commissioner has called for it to be easier to appeal lenient sentences after it emerged the case of Huw Edwards cannot be reviewed. The disgraced BBC veteran was spared jail on Monday for accessing indecent images of children as young as seven, with the judge handing down a six-month suspended term at

Ten years ago today the people of Scotland went to the polls to decide on the future of their country in the Scottish independence referendum. The historic event – which would have seen Scotland break free from the rest of the UK – took place on 18 September 2014 and saw more than two million

Sir Ed Davey has pledged to be a champion for carers – as he put his party forward as the “responsible opposition”. In a personal and emotional keynote speech in Brighton on Tuesday, the Lib Dem leader said “care and carers must not be forgotten and ignored any longer”. “If the Liberal Democrats don’t offer

The government has diverted up to £75m from the scrapped Rwanda plan to fund the new Border Security Command ahead of an immigration “crime crackdown”. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said the agency will “deliver a major overhaul and upgrade in law enforcement against smugglers and trafficking gangs to boost our border security”. The immediate

The prime minister has said the UK has moved “from a government of gimmicks to a government of pragmatism” as he attempts to tackle the small boat crisis. Sir Keir Starmer is in Rome to hold talks with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni about a range of issues, including irregular migration and her controversial plans

Italy’s migration deal with Albania will be on the agenda as the prime minister meets his counterpart in Rome on Monday, after appointing a former police chief to tackle people smuggling. Sir Keir Starmer has signalled he is “interested” in the plan under which Tirana will accept asylum seekers on Italy‘s behalf while their claims

The foreign secretary insists the prime minister is “seeking to comply with the rules” and an investigation into a Labour donor buying clothes for Sir Keir Starmer’s wife is “not a transparency issue”. Sir Keir Starmer is facing an investigation over a possible breach of parliamentary rules after failing to declare that some of his

Sir Keir Starmer is under investigation for a possible breach of parliamentary rules after failing to declare that some of his wife’s high-end clothes were bought for her by his biggest personal donor, Lord Alli. The Labour peer paid for a personal shopper, clothes and alterations for Lady Victoria Starmer, reportedly both before and after

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called for a tax on the wealthiest instead of cutting support for “struggling pensioners”. Speaking after arriving at the Lib Dem conference in Brighton on a jet ski, Sir Ed said his party is the only one offering up a solution on how to “plug the awful financial

Labour’s biggest union backer has accused the government of being “cruel” over cuts to the winter fuel payment, as it opens a potential rift at the party’s conference later this month. A motion to be submitted to Labour‘s conference by the Unite trade union – that has been seen by Sky News – says “workers

There has been no impact assessment of how the decision to strip millions of pensioners of winter fuel payments will affect them, Keir Starmer has said. The Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves decided to means-test the payments, worth up to £300, to help fill a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances. Pressed on

Baroness Harman has urged the prime minister to stick to his manifesto pledge to kick peers out of the House of Lords when they turn 80. During the general election campaign, Sir Keir Starmer pledged to abolish the Lords entirely during his first parliament and replace it with an elected chamber. But the first of

The NHS will not get any more funding without reforming, Sir Keir Starmer has said as he laid out a 10-year plan to fix the health service. The prime minister stressed his plans to build an NHS fit for the future “do not just mean putting more money in”, and will take a decade to

Rishi Sunak has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “hiding” an impact assessment on the winter fuel payment cut for 10 million pensioners. Mr Sunak asked Sir Keir twice if he would publish an impact assessment on the policy after Labour MPs voted on Tuesday to push the cut through. However, Sir Keir responded by saying

The Scottish government has been defeated in a non-binding vote calling on ministers to expand free school meals to all primary pupils. The SNP administration suffered a double defeat at Holyrood, with MSPs also backing a separate motion calling on the government to reverse its decision to reintroduce peak ScotRail fares. Opposition politicians joined forces

Presenter and author Carol Vorderman has called on the prime minister to apologise over cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners. The controversial policy was approved by parliament today, despite a number of Labour MPs abstaining from the vote, with ministers saying “tough decisions” were needed to fix the public finances. But it was widely criticised

Mel Stride has become the latest Tory leadership hopeful to be knocked out of the race to replace Rishi Sunak. Conservative MPs held their second round of voting on Tuesday as they narrowed down the candidates to lead the party. And the former work and pensions secretary came in last place with just 16 MPs