Politics

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

Suella Braverman’s claim that “multiculturalism has failed” may have been made “to get attention”, according to her predecessor. The current home secretary has faced a raft of criticism since making the comment earlier this week as part of a wider speech demanding an overhaul of the international asylum system. But Priti Patel said the UK

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

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has vowed to tackle the “vicious circle of ever-rising taxes” by revamping public services and the welfare system. The cabinet minister argued the state needed to become “more productive”, not bigger, as he pointed to the use of artificial intelligence to realise frontline efficiencies and reduce the burden on the public purse.

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 is set to block councils from introducing new 20mph speed limits, according to reports. The move is among a package of measures the prime minister is due to announce at the Conservative Party’s annual conference that gets under way in Manchester this weekend. The so-called “plan for motorists” comes in the wake of

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

HS2 is the UK’s biggest infrastructure project, supposed to transform public transport between London, the Midlands and the North. But it is becoming synonymous with political football, disappointment, delays and spiralling costs. It’s been backed by more than one government and political party over the years but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has declined to throw

“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

Poised to scatter morsels of red meat to the right of the Tory party, Suella Braverman will today tell a centre-right thinktank that it’s time to re-examine the definition of the word “refugee”. In Washington DC, the home secretary is set to accuse asylum seekers of shopping around, arguing that those who travel to the

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

Twenty-four hours in A&E is now “no longer a documentary”, leading medics have warned, as figures show almost 400,000 patients spent a day or more in an emergency department in England last year. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said the very long waits are a “matter of national shame”. Figures uncovered by the

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the government to scrap severance payments for senior figures who break the ministerial code. Research carried out by the party showed a total of £530,000 had been given to ministers after they quit over a breach, despite some of them returning to government within weeks. High profile resignations include

Sir Ed Davey has insisted the Liberal Democrats will continue to support the pensions triple lock under any circumstances. The policy means the state pension has to rise in line with wages, inflation or 2.5% – whichever is higher – each year, with the government taking the decision in the autumn ahead of it being

A government taskforce intended to help people save energy and lower their bills has been disbanded after just six months. The Energy Efficiency Taskforce was set up by the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, in March to boost uptake of insulation and boiler upgrades in homes and commercial buildings. It included Sir John Armitt, chair of the

Households under financial pressure must be supported ahead of an “inevitable” energy crisis this winter, MPs have told the government. Many in the UK will be paying the same or even more over the winter months than they were a year earlier, despite wholesale market prices dropping. It’s a scenario MPs on the Energy Security

Rishi Sunak’s popularity has plunged to its lowest point since taking office following his watering down of key climate pledges. The prime minister’s net favourability rating has slumped to -45, according to a YouGov survey carried out days after his speech rowing back on net zero pledges. The poll of more than 2,000 adults between

Labour has pledged to bolster the power of the UK’s economic watchdog to prevent a repeat of the “disastrous mistakes” of Liz Truss’s mini-budget. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to introduce legislation that would allow the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to independently publish their own impact assessment of any major and permanent