Politics

In its long and venerable history dating back 192 years, the British Medical Association used to shy away from being called a “trades union”. Collective bargaining was for “trades people”; the doctors were independent professionals. Their association was there to campaign for best practice and to offer advice to the politicians regulating health treatment. That

Rishi Sunak had doubts the government’s Rwanda asylum scheme would stop small boat crossings while he was chancellor, according to documents seen by Sky News. The Number 10 papers, prepared in March 2022 shortly before the Rwanda plan was first announced, also suggest the prime minister wanted to scale back the plans. A government source

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is unsure if the government can afford further tax cuts – as a National Insurance (NI) reduction comes into force today. The pre-election cut to NI, from 12% to 10%, will impact around 27 million payroll employees across the UK. A person earning the UK’s average salary of £35,000 will save £450

Sir Elton John and former prime minister Sir Tony Blair have joined an outpouring of tributes from the political and entertainment worlds to the husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway, Derek Draper. The 56-year-old former political adviser has died after several years of serious health complications due to coronavirus. “I am so sad to hear

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to commit to unfreezing tax thresholds if Labour wins the next general election, saying he won’t make promises he can’t keep. However, the Labour leader was firmer in his position on inheritance tax, telling Sky News if the Tories reduce it, he will reverse that change because he does not

Rishi Sunak has given the clearest hint yet about when he will call a general election, saying his “working assumption” is that it will happen in the second half of this year. Speculation has been rife for months about when the prime minister will choose to go to the polls. Politics latest: Sunak reveals when

Rishi Sunak has given the clearest hint yet about when he will call a general election, saying his “working assumption” is that it will happen in the second half of this year. Speculation has been rife for months about when the prime minister will choose to go to the polls. Politics latest: Sunak reveals when

Sir Keir Starmer is launching his election campaign on Thursday – and will promise the “character of politics will change” if Labour enters power. The government has until December this year to call an election – although if it decides to go to the polls so late, the vote itself will not happen until January

Home Secretary James Cleverly has made a personal apology for a date rape joke and admitted it “potentially distracted” from the government’s work to tackle drink spiking. Just before Christmas, it emerged the home secretary had made what his spokesperson described as an “ironic joke” at a Downing Street reception about putting a date rape

Junior doctors in England are due to walk out for six days, starting on Wednesday morning. The industrial action, from 7am on 3 January to 7am on 9 January, is the longest in the history of the NHS. Health service executives have said the strike could mean “one of the most difficult starts to the

The Home Office has started the New Year proudly trumpeting its progress in dealing with the huge number of outstanding asylum cases – claiming in a press release issued last night to have “cleared” the legacy backlog as promised by the prime minister in December 2022. The whole premise of the “legacy backlog” is a

As the Home Office announced it has delivered on its pledge to abolish its legacy backlog of old asylum cases, data released by the department today shows a new backlog of recent cases is growing. Back in December 2022, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to abolish the legacy backlog of asylum applications. These are asylum

Downing Street has insisted that the prime minister has achieved his target of clearing the legacy backlog of asylum claims, despite the government’s own data showing that 4,537 remain. Rishi Sunak pledged in December 2022 that he would “abolish” the legacy backlog of asylum claims made before 28 June of that year, with the Home

Michelle Mone has hit out at the “obsession” with her personal life – claiming she is surprised the Daily Mirror hasn’t asked about her “bras and knickers” following their latest report. Baroness Mone, who had been a Tory before she had the whip removed, admitted she lied when she denied links to firm PPE Medpro

The cost of living crisis is “no excuse” for a rise in shoplifting, the policing minister has told Sky News, because the UK’s benefits system is “very generous”. Chris Philp’s comments come amid escalating levels of retail thefts, with increases blamed on inflation, organised crime and a lack of focus from police. Asked if he

Sir Keir Starmer will vow to take on those who commit “fraud against the public purse” in a major speech that will mark the start of campaigning for the general election. The Labour leader’s first speech of 2024 is expected to focus on the erosion of trust in politics following a series of scandals, including the

The UK’s stats watchdog has launched an investigation into the government’s claim that it cleared the legacy backlog of asylum claims in 2023. Rishi Sunak and his administration faced criticism on Tuesday for saying they had cleared all the applications to remain in the UK by asylum seekers made before 28 June 2022. In total,

Nigel Farage is still “assessing” what role he will play in the upcoming general election, the leader of Reform UK has said. Holding a news conference to kick off the long campaign for the general election expected this year, Reform UK leader Richard Tice revealed he had been talking to Mr Farage over the festive