Politics

Boris Johnson has said voters are fed up of hearing about things he had “stuffed up” as he played down a bruising double by-election defeat as a “safety valve”. The prime minister, who has faced a barrage of criticism over lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street and over his own conduct, argued people had not been

Boris Johnson has acknowledged that the government’s defeat in two by-elections were not “brilliant results” – but insisted he was not worried about Conservative MPs plotting to replace him while he’s abroad. The prime minister was speaking at a press conference in Rwanda hours after the Liberal Democrats overturned the Tories’ 24,000 majority to win

Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden has resigned after the party slumped to two by-election defeats. Mr Dowden said in a letter to Boris Johnson that the defeats were “the latest in a run of very poor results” and added: “We cannot carry on with business as usual.” He is the first Cabinet minister to fall

Polls have closed in the by-elections being held in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton. Both seats were held by the Conservatives before their previous MPs resigned in disgrace, triggering the by-elections. Results are expected to be announced overnight. The polls are regarded as a key test for Prime Minister Boris Johnson‘s leadership after 148 of

Voters will head to the polls this morning in two crucial by-elections that are seen as a key test for Boris Johnson’s leadership. In Wakefield, a former industrial area in West Yorkshire, the election was triggered by the resignation of Imran Ahmad Khan. Wakefield was one of the so-called Red Wall seats won by the

The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford is facing fresh calls to step down amid mounting criticism over his reaction to one of his MPs sexually harassing a staff member. The victim, who was inappropriately touched by SNP MP Patrick Grady at a party in 2016, told Sky News: “Ian’s position right now is untenable, and

The deputy prime minister wants to introduce a Bill of Rights to ignore European Court of Human Rights judgments blocking removal flights to Rwanda. Dominic Raab is introducing the proposed legislation, which would also increase deportations of foreign criminals, to parliament on Wednesday after the court in Strasbourg disputed the government’s heavily-criticised policy of sending

The sun is blazing in Taunton and Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has his shirt sleeves rolled up as he leaflets in the Blue Wall town of Somerset. He’s here with local Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Gideon Amos and they are enthusiastically knocking on doors pushing pamphlets through letterboxes. And they are right to be

Ministers will change the law to ensure that the impact of “militant” union action is less damaging in future, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said as the biggest rail walk-out in three decades began. Mr Shapps told Sky News’ Kay Burley that nothing could be done to “change the reality” of the strikes that are taking

Downing Street has confirmed it was in conversation with The Times around the time the newspaper dropped a report claiming Boris Johnson tried to appoint his now wife to a government role when he was foreign secretary. In a story published on Saturday morning, the paper reported that Mr Johnson attempted to hire Carrie Johnson,

A Cabinet minister has told Sky News he fears rail strikes will go ahead this week – and warned that workers must make sacrifices as the UK battles inflation. Simon Clarke, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said that while the government was not the legal employer of union members due to walk out, they could

Britain is facing a summer of discontent with more workers set to be balloted on strike action, a union chief has warned, as a series of walkouts is set to cripple the rail network. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has predicted industrial action could spread to other services, arguing that “people can’t take it anymore”.

The RMT’s decision to proceed with train strikes next week will “punish millions of people”, the transport secretary has said. Grant Shapps warned the UK is “now on the cusp of major disruption which will cause misery for people right across the country”. He also claimed the RMT union had been repeatedly urged not to

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned the world against letting “Ukraine-fatigue” set in as he returned from a surprise visit to the war-torn country. Mr Johnson had pulled out of a planned appearance at conference of northern Tories on Friday in order to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Asked if he had timed the visit

The grounding of the first flight of asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda was an “absolutely scandalous” move, Priti Patel has said. Judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) granted an injunction that resulted in a chartered aircraft to Kigali being unable to depart Wiltshire on Tuesday. And in an interview with

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has returned a questionnaire to police investigating the so-called “beergate” episode. Sir Keir has been under pressure over the event in Durham in April 2021, when he was filmed having a drink and a takeaway curry with party colleagues. He has pledged to resign as party leader if he is

The Government is trying to do everything it can to tackle the cost of living “storm” but cannot solve every problem or save every business, a business minister has told Sky News. Paul Scully played down the immediate likelihood of tax cuts to help struggling households as he stressed the “tight” public finances and burgeoning

Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser told the prime minister he was quitting after being placed in an “impossible and odious position”. Downing Street published Lord Geidt’s resignation letter a day after he unexpectedly decided to step down, becoming the second in the role to do so under Mr Johnson. Lord Geidt admitted this week that he

Dominic Raab has said he does not know why Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser quit – as Number 10 came under pressure to explain what was behind the decision. Mr Raab batted off the suggestion that the departure of Lord Geidt reflected badly on the prime minister in an interview with Sky News – and said

Lord Geidt has resigned as the prime minister’s adviser on ministerial interests. He tendered his resignation to Boris Johnson, according to a brief statement on the government’s website on Wednesday evening. “With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests,” the statement reads.