Politics

Official data shows government borrowing in July was above expectations and at its highest since the pandemic. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expected borrowing to be £46.6bn – instead it reached £51.3bn. Our economics and data editor Ed Conway joins Niall Paterson to talk about the unexpected rise in government borrowing and Chancellor Rachel

Labour is pressing ahead with the previous government’s plan to reopen two immigration centres in a bid to achieve the highest rate of removals since 2018. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said detention capacity will be increased with the provision of 290 beds across Campsfield House and Haslar. The former, in Oxfordshire, closed in 2019 while

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed his government will do “everything we can” to preserve jobs at the steelworks in Port Talbot. The prime minister was visiting South Wales, the region where the site is based, to walk around Alltwalis wind farm with the new First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan. The pair have been showcasing

Pensioners are being urged to check if they are eligible for the winter fuel allowance after universal payments were scrapped. Last month Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that the tax free benefit, to help older people with higher heating costs during the colder months, would be limited to those on pension credit. The surprise move was

Conservative Party deputy chair Matthew Vickers has resigned from his role in order to back Robert Jenrick in the Conservative Party leadership contests. Mr Vickers also serves as shadow policing minister, but does not need to stand back from this role to declare his support for a candidate. However, Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) is remaining

The education secretary has said the rollout of 30 hours’ free childcare by 2025 “will go ahead” but some parents might not get their first choice of nursery or childminder. Bridget Phillipson said that while all parents will be able to get the free 30 hours by September next year, they may not be able

Nigel Farage has denied being paid nearly £98,000 a month for appearing on GB News. The Reform UK leader was responding to reports about his secondary income. The register of members’ financial interests, published on Friday, listed Mr Farage as receiving £97,928 per month from the channel. However, writing on X, he said: “To be

SNP MSP John Mason been stripped of the party whip following an “utterly abhorrent” social media post about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Mr Mason has been effectively expelled from the party after posting on X: “If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed ten times as many.” The Glasgow Shettleston MSP made the comment

ASLEF’s lead negotiator has denied the union sees the new government as a “soft touch” after announcing fresh strikes two days after train drivers were offered a pay deal. Drivers working for London North Eastern Railway (LNER) – which runs the passenger service on the East Coast main line between London and Edinburgh – will

Nigel Farage’s presenting job on GB News earned him nearly £98,000 a month – more than an MP’s annual salary. The Reform UK leader was earning £97,900 a month as a presenter on the news channel – meaning he received more a month than an MP’s annual salary, which currently stands at £91,346, plus expenses. According

Thousands of prisoners languishing in prison indefinitely deserve “justice” and should be resentenced as a priority, the UN’s leading torture expert has said. Speaking to Sky News, Alice Jill Edwards described sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) as a “horrific indictment of the British justice system”. PM suffers post-election poll slump – politics latest

Sir Keir Starmer should have labelled the recent riots in England “racist” earlier than he did, Thangam Debbonaire has said. The former Bristol Central MP said she was “distraught” to see the riots unfold across the UK at the start of this month. Ms Debbonaire, who was shadow culture secretary in Sir Keir’s shadow cabinet

The education secretary has said private schools have themselves to blame for closures – not the government’s VAT policy. Bridget Phillipson said some private schools have failed to balance their books over a number of years as she denied they had closed because the government is making them pay 20% VAT on fees from January.

A funding injection of £13.5m will be given to businesses and workers affected by job losses at Tata Steel, the government will announce. Up to 2,800 jobs at Tata Steel are expected to be axed at the country’s biggest steelworks in Port Talbot as the company moves over to a greener form of steel production

Hundreds of homes built for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham are being sold off by the council at a projected loss of more than £300m, in a situation branded “nothing short of a scandal”. The government is facing pressure to intervene to stop the sale of 755 properties on the Perry Barr Estate to a

Liz Truss has stormed off stage after a banner featuring a lettuce and the words “I crashed the economy” unfurled behind her at an event. The former prime minister was taking questions from an audience in Beccles, Suffolk, as part of her book tour on Tuesday evening when campaign group Led By Donkeys carried out

There were “multiple and fundamental failures” with the NHS’s management of Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane’s mental health treatment, the health secretary has said. Speaking after a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report found paranoid schizophrenic Calocane’s condition was downplayed by the NHS, Wes Streeting said the report’s findings were “deeply distressing”. Calocane fatally stabbed students Grace

Sir Keir Starmer has spoken with the Iranian president as part of international efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, Sky News understands. The 30-minute phone conversation with Masoud Pezeshkian followed a joint statement on Monday issued with France, the US and Germany calling on Iran and its allies not to “jeopardise the opportunity

Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat will call for a national conversation about the root causes of the recent riots – hitting out at the “reckless rhetoric” of Nigel Farage. In his first major speech since declaring his bid to head the Conservative Party, the former security minister will attack a “culture of denial” that moves

The home secretary has said respect for the police needs to be restored after the “brazen abuse and contempt” shown by rioters. Yvette Cooper said there is “lots of rebuilding to be done” after a fortnight of rioting following the Southport stabbings on 29 July. “Respect for the police, respect for the law, and respect