Politics

A former Australian prime minister has said his country should be “prepared to make a contribution” to protect the freedom of Ukraine. Tony Abbott told Sky News’ Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge that no country “will be safe against a bully” if Vladimir Putin wins the war. He called on Britain to take the lead

The Welsh government has set out plans to ban greyhound racing. Deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies told the Senedd on Tuesday that now was “the right time to ban greyhound racing” in the nation. Mr Irranca-Davies, who is also the climate change and rural affairs secretary, said the government was proud that Wales was “the

Has Sir Keir Starmer raised his game at Prime Minister’s Questions? Suddenly, he’s less wooden, robotic and lawyerly and much more aggressive against the Conservatives and Reform UK. It has been noticeable in the past few weeks how he’s taken the gloves off in his attacks on Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage. The new style

👉Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam’s on your podcast app👈       Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy look at the day ahead in British politics. Overnight, US President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into America would come into affect “soon”. Sam and Anne

Margaret Thatcher died on 8 April 2013. But the UK’s longest-serving post-war prime minister still casts a long shadow over politics today, more than a decade later. Only last week the Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer cited her example in support of his deregulation plans. “In the 1980s, the Thatcher government deregulated finance capital…,”

Millions of people face council tax hikes over normal thresholds after the government allowed six areas to boost rates above the usual 5%. More than two million people will be hit by increases of between 5 and 10%. Windsor and Maidenhead Council wanted to increase council tax by 25% but the plan was blocked –

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 The chancellor was trying to channel Love Island when she announced her plans for growth this week. But are her new ideas actually the “bombshell” her advisers hope they’ll be? Can they get everyone’s attention? And will the strategy be enough for

Doctors should be able to opt out of recommending assisted dying to terminally ill patients, MPs have been told. Dr Andrew Green, chairman of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) medical ethics committee, said it is important doctors should be able to say they do not want to take part in the process at any stage.

It presented Sir Keir Starmer with his first big challenge in office, and the Southport stabbings – followed by riots – look set to colour the early stages of his premiership. He dealt with the immediate aftermath by successfully mobilising the justice system and fast-tracking offenders through it – a throwback to his days as

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 After “going dark” for most of the week, Beth pops up in Poland to talk world politics with Ruth and Harriet. Top security, a slow train and Russian drones are all part of the inside story of the prime minister’s visit to

The UK has laid out a new economic relationship with China, and to use one of China’s favourite phrases, both countries are selling it as a “win-win” situation. It’s a significant development in restoring ties between the countries. The relationship has been beset by years of tension and suspicion. Both sides want to get it

Teachers have been told it is “not the right time to strike” after the largest education union said it will ask its members to reject the government’s pay rise offer. The National Education Union (NEU) will launch an indicative ballot of its members from 1 March until 11 April over the government recommendation of a

The treatment of Jess Phillips over recent days tells me all I need to know about the epidemic of misogyny, abuse and violence against women and girls that still plagues our culture. The domestic violence campaigner-turned politician, who has spent her career fighting for victims, has found herself the subject of abuse on an industrial

The alleged Chinese spy who became a “close confidant” of Prince Andrew met two prime ministers, photos seen by Sky News show. The businessman, known as ‘H6’ for legal reasons, has been pictured alongside former Tory leaders David Cameron and Theresa May. There is no suggestion either of them were aware of his reported links

Government plans to boost prison capacity could cost billions more than estimated and fall short by thousands of cell spaces, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has warned. The National Audit Office (NAO) said current plans to expand prisons are “insufficient to meet future demand”, with a projected shortage of 12,400 prison places by the end of 2027.

The Home Office spent a record £5.38bn over the last year on asylum – more than a third higher than the previous year. Figures released on Thursday showed spending on asylum rose by £1.43bn in the 2023/24 financial year to £5.38bn – 36% higher than in 2022/24 when £3.95bn was spent. The latest figure, covering

Instagram is releasing a feature that will let users easily reset their algorithms, as the government strengthens its regulation of online safety. With the new reset feature, users can clear their recommended content from Explore, Reels and their feed, potentially reducing the amount of harmful content they are exposed to. It’s all part of Meta’s

Non-crime hate incidents guidance needs to be urgently changed because officers are “not the thought police”, the shadow home secretary has said. Chris Philp told a major policing conference that the police should “apply common sense and not waste time and resources” investigating incidents unless there is “an imminent risk of criminality”. He said forces

Climate change, the crisis in the Middle East, the continuing war in Ukraine, combating global poverty. All of these are critical issues for Britain and beyond; all of them up for discussions at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro this week, and all of them very much in limbo as the world awaits the

The defence secretary has insisted Donald Trump is committed to NATO and is right to push other European nations to put more funding into the security alliance. John Healey dismissed suggestions the new US president will pull out of NATO, the military alliance consisting of 30 European countries and the US and Canada, after previous