Politics

With the start of a new year, the 2024 general election campaign will officially get under way. The time for festive frivolity and fun is over. Rishi Sunak poked fun at himself with a highly amusing Home Alone-style video filmed in Number 10 Downing Street for Christmas day. Sir Keir Starmer and wife Victoria went

Self-driving cars could be on British roads as early as 2026, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said. Asked if people could soon be travelling “with your hands off the wheel, doing your emails”, he agreed the prospect was possible in as little as three years’ time. He told the BBC: “I think that’s when companies

James Cleverly has apologised after joking about putting a date rape drug in his wife’s drink in comments made at a Downing Street reception within hours of the Home Office announcing plans to crack down on spiking. The home secretary told female guests “a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night” was “not

As if the government’s “stop the boats” policy wasn’t already in disarray, now James Cleverly’s crackdown on legal migration is already unravelling. In a move cynically timed to avoid a backlash from MPs, he has admitted he’s made a major climbdown on workers bringing family members from overseas to the UK. When he announced plans

The long-awaited transgender guidance for schools in England has been published by the government. The main points from today’s developments include:• Schools and colleges to be told that parents should be involved in decisions affecting their children• Single-sex spaces must be protected for the safeguarding of all children• A sea change in approach on social

The prime minister appeared before the COVID inquiry today - defending his Eat Out to Help Out scheme and revealing Treasury concerns that the UK would not be able to fund the pandemic response. While Rishi Sunak was giving evidence, some of his Tory parliamentary colleagues were calling on the PM to scrap his Rwanda bill as

Rishi Sunak’s new Safety of Rwanda Bill should stop 99.5% of legal claims made by migrants to block their deportation, a minister has said. The prime minister is trying to convince his own backbenchers to support the legislation – with both the right of the Conservatives and separately the One Nation caucus set to announce

The Metropolitan Police has closed its investigation into whether COVID rules were broken during a gathering in parliament on 8 December 2020. The event was reportedly hosted by the deputy speaker of the Commons, Eleanor Laing, to mark the birthdays of Conservative MP Virginia Crosby and peer Baroness Jenkin – the wife of fellow Tory

“End of days”. “A death spiral”. “They’ve lost the plot”. “I feel sorry for Rishi”. These are just some of the comments from former cabinet and ex-senior ministers mulling over the current state of the Conservative Party and what the prime minister does next. Politics live: Partygate coverage ‘absolutely absurd’, claims Johnson The battle over

Rishi Sunak has dodged questions over whether he will call a general election if he loses a crunch vote on his Rwanda bill – which he insisted was not a vote of confidence in his leadership. The prime minister repeatedly defended the bill from its critics at a press conference on Thursday as questions mount

A vote on Rishi Sunak’s emergency Rwanda bill should not be seen as a matter of confidence in his leadership, a government minister has said. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris told Sky News he believed “all Conservatives” would vote for the bill when it is put to the Commons next week – despite it not

Rwanda has not received any additional funding for the new treaty it has signed to revive the UK government’s asylum plan, the home secretary has said. James Cleverly told a press conference in the Rwandan capital of Kigali: “Let me make it clear. The Rwandan government has not asked for and we have not provided

Police are hunting a man accused of spraying antisemitic graffiti on an MP’s office building. Feryal Clark’s constituency office in Hertford Road, Enfield, north London, was vandalised just after 11pm on 21 November, the Metropolitan Police said. A CCTV image of the suspect, with his hood up and wearing a blue face mask, was published

Rwanda may be getting more than the £140m it has already been paid under the controversial deportation deal, despite no flights taking off, MPs have been told. Sir Matthew Rycroft, the top civil servant at the Home Office, hinted more money would be spent but repeatedly refused to disclose the sum – saying ministers had

The UK’s largest nursing union is calling for the government to reopen pay negotiations after an offer was made to consultant doctors, in a move that has angered other health unions. The Royal College of Nursing – RCN – has suggested new strikes are “more likely in the future” as a result of yesterday’s announcement.

James Cleverly will announce he is still reviewing measures to reduce legal migration on Monday, as the government fights to convince its own backbenchers it can exercise control over UK borders. Next month Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will then set out the results of the review alongside details of the new treaty with Rwanda and

Boris Johnson has heaped further pressure on Rishi Sunak over the UK’s “all-time high” net migration figures, as he suggested “demographic change” had led to “race riots” in Dublin. The former prime minister criticised net migration numbers released this week as “way too big” and suggested imposing a minimum income of £40,000 for those who

The UK achieving herd immunity from COVID was a “clearly ridiculous goal of policy” and “very dangerous”, England’s chief medical officer has told the public inquiry into the pandemic. Giving evidence for a second day on Wednesday, Professor Sir Chris Whitty said 80% of the population would have had to have contracted coronavirus to achieve

The government’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is “probably dead” after it was ruled unlawful this week by the Supreme Court, one of its former justices has said. The court confirmed its “unanimous” decision on Wednesday after 18 months of legal battles, saying those sent to the country would be at “real risk”

The government’s Rwanda plan, devised to tackle illegal migration, has been dismissed by the Supreme Court, ending over 18 months of legal battles in the UK. Lord Reed announced the “unanimous” judgment from the court’s justices on Wednesday, saying those sent to the country would be at “real risk” of being returned home, whether their