Politics

An independent review into the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has revealed “significant internal failings” that are hampering its ability to keep a check on health and social care institutions. An interim report from Dr Penny Dash found the CQC’s ability to identify poor performance at hospitals, care homes and GP practices had been impeded by

Robert Jenrick will join the race to run for Conservative Party leader this morning. The former minister is the third Tory to throw their hat into the ring to replace Rishi Sunak as leader of the party after he stepped down following a devastating loss at the general election three weeks ago. Mr Jenrick served

James Cleverly has become the first Tory MP to announce he will be running to be the party’s next leader. The shadow home secretary, who has held a number of senior roles in government, revealed his decision in a video on social media. In the post, which saw him return to his childhood home in

Seven MPs have been suspended by Labour for voting against the government on the two-child benefit cap. The rebel backbenchers had backed an amendment to scrap the cap but have now lost the whip – meaning they can still sit as MPs but they do not count as Labour MPs – for the next six

Has Sir Keir Starmer overreacted by suspending seven Labour MPs who rebelled and voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap? Not according to the Labour leader’s inner circle, obviously. But many Labour MPs – and not just the left-wing “usual suspects” – were stunned at his response. In a recent interview with Sky News political

Seven Labour MPs have been suspended from the parliamentary party after voting against the government to call for the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap. Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, Imran Hussain, Apsana Begum, Zarah Sultana, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Ian Byrne have all had the whip suspended for six months, at which point the decision will

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing growing pressure from his backbenchers to scrap the two-child benefit cap. But what is the policy? And why is it causing such a ruckus within Labour ranks? Politics live: Starmer ‘bludgeons’ opposition at PMQs over inheriting ‘crisis’ What is the policy? The two-child benefit cap was announced by

Tom Tugendhat has emerged as the leadership contender who is most popular with the public, according to a new Savanta poll shared with Sky News. The former security minister, who ran for the leadership after Boris Johnson’s tenure, has a net favourability of -3, compared with -28 for Priti Patel, the former home secretary who

Sir Keir Starmer has said he will not listen to advice from the Conservative Party as voters “rejected them profoundly”. The new prime minister initially struck a cordial tone with his predecessor at his first Prime Minister’s Questions after achieving a landslide victory. But he gave the Conservatives some advice on changing their party just

Eluned Morgan is set to become Welsh Labour’s new leader after she ran unopposed. Baroness Morgan, 57, is to replace Vaughan Gething as head of Welsh Labour after he stepped down last Tuesday following the protest resignation of four members of his government. She will be Welsh Labour’s first female leader and is set to

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted his government will “do difficult things” to tackle violence against women and girls following a Sky News report about sexual harassment in the ambulance service. At his first PMQs in his role as prime minister, Sir Keir was asked by Labour MP Charlotte Nichols how his government plans to tackle

Former security minister Tom Tugendhat has joined the race to replace Rishi Sunak as the next leader of the Conservative Party. He is the second person to formally join the race, with shadow home secretary James Cleverly announcing his candidacy yesterday. Nominations for the race opened up this evening, with Mr Tugendhat, Mr Cleverly, Suella

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard are here with their guide to the day ahead in politics.  They discuss what’s on the table at the prime minister’s first NATO meeting and dinner with Joe Biden, whether the rumours are true that Labour could introduce digital ID cards, and what is really

Sir Keir Starmer will tell NATO allies that the UK has a “cast iron commitment” to lifting the UK’s defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, but is refusing to honour this pledge in his first term in government. The new Labour prime minister said en route to his first international summit since his landslide election

Sir Keir Starmer is on his first overseas visit as prime minister at a NATO summit where he will flex his diplomatic muscles. Less than a week after becoming prime minister, Sir Keir has joined other world leaders in Washington DC for the summit marking 75 years since NATO was formed. It is expected to

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard are here with their guide to the day ahead in politics. They discuss how the prime minister is tackling his first full week, with the problems facing the new government reportedly outlined in a dossier drawn up by his chief of staff Sue Gray –

Relations between London and Edinburgh have been severely strained for years. The messy relationship soured dramatically in the Boris Johnson era, with public spats and name-calling. Scottish officials have long held the view that some Tory prime ministers felt it was beneath them to meaningfully engage with the first ministers of the devolved nations. UK

Emily Thornberry has been left out of Labour’s new government after more than eight years of serving in its shadow cabinet. The MP for Islington South and Finsbury was most recently Sir Keir Starmer’s shadow attorney general, having been his shadow international trade secretary for about 18 months after he won the leadership contest in

The government is expected to announce new plans to ease overcrowding in jails across England and Wales by the end of this week. Sky News understands one of the core proposals being considered is a lowering of the automatic release point, from the 50% mark in an inmate’s sentence to 40% or 43%. At the