Michael Gove has backed Rishi Sunak to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister, as he accused Liz Truss of taking a “holiday from reality”. The former cabinet minister, who was sacked by Boris Johnson after telling the PM he should quit last month, said slashing taxes was not the answer to the cost
Politics
Grant Shapps has told union bosses to “get out of the way” and allow members to vote on newly proposed pay deals. It comes as fresh strikes take place on London Underground and the capital’s bus system, while national rail is set for more disruption on Saturday. The national strikes are related to pay rises
Priti Patel has insisted that Rwanda is a “safe” country, despite warnings from Foreign Office officials of torture and killings. The latest defence from the home secretary comes after court documents revealed officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had concerns about the plan to send illegal migrants to the central African country.
Former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier, who now sits as an independent after having the whip removed, has pleaded guilty to breaching COVID rules after being told to self-isolate early on in the pandemic. Ferrier admitted she broke the rules by travelling on a train between Scotland and London after failing to self-isolate in September 2020,
The government has been allowed to keep parts of internal documents about Rwanda secret as part of a High Court challenge against plans to deport asylum seekers there. A handful of charities and several asylum seekers are challenging the Home Office over proposals to provide one-way tickets to the east African country for those who
Sajid Javid has said it would be “complete nonsense” if the RAF has placed an “effective pause” on offering jobs to white male recruits in favour of women and ethnic minorities. It comes after defence sources told Sky News on Tuesday that the head of RAF recruitment had resigned in protest at the move which
A leaked audio recording has revealed Liz Truss said British workers needed “more graft” and lacked the “skill and application” of foreign rivals. The Tory leadership frontrunner was chief secretary to the Treasury when the conversation with officials was recorded five years ago. In the clip, leaked to The Guardian, Ms Truss said those outside
A total of 11 government whips have announced they are backing Liz Truss’s campaign to become the next Conservative leader in the latest blow for rival Rishi Sunak. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey, herself a supporter of the foreign secretary, revealed the move in a graphic posted on social media on Tuesday morning. The
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have both promised to increase scrutiny of the Scottish government if they become the next prime minister – ahead of a visit north of the border. Ms Truss, who remains the favourite to win the race, said she would get “Scotland’s economy moving” and would give Members of the Scottish
Ministers are urging all broadband providers to offer “social tariffs” allowing low-income households to receive discounted mobile and internet deals to ease the pressure of rising living costs. A new service, which will go live this week and be run by the Department for Work and Pensions, will allow internet providers to verify, with customers’
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that people will not “pay a penny more” on their winter energy bills as he prepares to unveil Labour’s plan for easing the cost of living crisis. Ahead of a full reveal on Monday, the Labour leader says his party’s £29bn energy plan will save the typical family £1,000 immediately,
The two prime ministerial hopefuls have each pledged new commitments if elected – with Liz Truss saying she would take on the role of ‘minister for the Union’ and Rishi Sunak promising to make Britain more “energy secure”. Ms Truss made a promise to uphold the United Kingdom as she hit out at politicians in
Most Conservative Party members still prefer Boris Johnson over either of the two candidates vying to take over as prime minister, a new poll shows. In a head-to-head vote, 63% of party members chose the prime minister compared with 22% for Liz Truss, Opinium found. When asked about Mr Johnson versus Rishi Sunak, 68% went
The House of Commons Speaker has refused to reveal why MPs want their attendance records at parliament deleted – a move to block information campaigners say the public has a “right to know”. It was decided earlier this year that the records of when MPs used their passes to access the Houses of Parliament should
Sir Robert Buckland has become the first cabinet minister to swap his support in the Conservative Party leadership race. The secretary of state for Wales is now supporting Liz Truss, having previously backed Rishi Sunak. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Sir Robert says that changing his mind was “not an easy thing to do”. He
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has said options to provide additional help to people to ease cost of living pressures will be “ready to go” on 5 September – but said it will be up to the new prime minister to take decisions on the matter. Speaking to Sky News, Mr Zahawi said either of the two
Labour has vowed to stop “outrageous” premiums that energy prepayment meter customers face. The pledge is part of a package of measures to tackle the cost of living crisis which Sir Keir Starmer’s party is set to unveil. It comes as Boris Johnson doubled down on his insistence that it is for his successor to
Nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition backing former prime minister Gordon Brown’s call for an emergency budget to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. On Monday Mr Brown warned people will have to go without food and will be unable to heat their homes by October if the government does not take urgent action. He told
Allies of Rishi Sunak have played down the defection of a Tory MP to supporting Liz Truss as the two campaign teams continued to trade blows over economic policy. Former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers, who is backing Mr Sunak, said that “inevitably MPs change their mind during these contests”, when asked on Sky News about
Energy bosses have been “hauled in” before government to discuss what they are going to do with their rising profits as household bills soar, the education secretary has told Sky News. James Cleverly said Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng are to meet with leaders of energy companies as calls grow for more