Politics

Tory MP Julian Knight has had the whip removed after a complaint about him was made to the Metropolitan Police. A spokesperson for the Conservative chief whip, Simon Hart, said the complaint was made to the force on Wednesday evening and he removed the whip “with immediate effect”. It means Mr Knight, who is also

Border Force workers across UK airports and ports will take strike action on key dates in December as their union calls for the government to come back to the negotiating table. Strikes will take place between 23rd and 26th December, and from 28th to 31st December, impacting Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow and Manchester airports,

The Speaker of the Lords is set to condemn Labour’s plans to abolish the second chamber, claiming changing it to a fully elected House would “present fundamental challenges”. Sir Keir Starmer announced the plan on Monday – alongside former prime minister Gordon Brown – as the pair insisted a new Labour government would ensure “the

The government has U-turned over its ban on onshore wind by saying turbines could be installed if the projects gain the support of local communities. Onshore windfarms were effectively barred under the leadership of David Cameron when he excluded them from government’s green energy subsidies. And asked during the summer Tory leadership contest what his

“TikTok traffickers” who use social media to advertise small boat crossings to migrants must face criminal penalties, ministers have been told. Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke believes the advertising of Channel crossings on networks such as TikTok and Facebook should be recognised as a crime. Speaking during a Commons debate on the Online Safety Bill, the

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to abolish the House of Lords in his first term if he is elected prime minister. Speaking to Sky News, the Labour leader confirmed his party “do want to abolish the House of Lords“, adding that he does not think anybody could “defend” the institution. Sir Keir told Kay Burley:

Sir Keir Starmer will promise the “biggest ever transfer of power from Westminster to the British people”, as the Labour leader launches a report recommending handing new economic, taxation and law-making powers to mayors and devolved governments. The report on the UK’s future, carried out by former prime minister Gordon Brown, also recommends sweeping constitutional

The government is considering deploying the army to help ease possible strike disruption over Christmas, Conservative Party Chairman Nadhim Zahawi has confirmed. Mr Zahawi told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme that military personnel could be “driving ambulances” and working on UK borders under the proposals. The Conservative Party chairman also suggested that pharmacists

Albanians should be barred from claiming asylum in the UK, the Immigration Minister has said. Robert Jenrick said such individuals should be “excluded from the right to claim asylum” as they are coming from a “demonstrably safe” country. Current levels of migration into the UK were “unsustainable,” he said. His comments came as the Home

Sajid Javid has announced he will not stand in the next general election, saying being an MP had been “the privilege of [his] life”. The former chancellor, who has held a number of senior roles in government alongside his Bromsgrove seat, is the most high-profile Tory MP to decide to step down at the next

As a winter of strike action looms, and a growing list of unions threaten to grind the county to a halt, the PM is under pressure. Rishi Sunak is attempting a more constructive, less combative, approach with the unions. A government source said the meetings involving Mick Lynch and the transport secretary and rail minister

Labour has comfortably won the Chester by-election, the first public vote since Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were forced out of Number 10. Samantha Dixon retained the seat for her party with 17,309 votes, a 61% share and nearly 11,000 more than the Conservative candidate. Labour was expected to win, but the margin was bigger

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said whenever we see racism “we must confront it” following the race row engulfing Buckingham Palace. A black domestic abuse campaigner from London said she was repeatedly asked where she “really came from” by Prince William‘s godmother during a reception at the palace this week. Although he refused to comment

Union leaders could coordinate industrial action across the NHS this winter to cause “maximum impact”, the head of the GMB has suggested. Andy Prendergast, the GMB national secretary, said health workers have had enough of “public school boys who run the government and simply don’t care” about their pay demands. More than 10,000 ambulance workers

The government is running out of prison places and has had to ask police for 400 cells to make sure there is enough accommodation for the prison population. Prisons minister Damian Hinds told MPs there had been an “acute and sudden increase in the prison population” in recent months and, as a result, the Operation

China’s military advances could “eventually lead to a clash” and the UK has been “asleep” to the threat it poses for the last 30 years, an influential Tory MP has warned. Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the defence select committee, said Beijing is “taking advantage of a timid West” and Rishi Sunak’s speech declaring the

Ukraine’s first lady has urged the UK to lead the way in the creation of a special international tribunal to prosecute Russia for aggression against her nation – as she stressed that “just to stop the war is really the first step”. Speaking to Sky News’ Beth Rigby Interviews programme, Olena Zelenska said Russia is

Rishi Sunak has called last orders on the UK government’s cosy relationship with China. The UK needs to “evolve our approach” to China, he declared at the sumptuous Lord Mayor’s Banquet at the Guildhall in the City of London. The so-called “golden era” is over, he said, “along with the naive idea that trade would

Rishi Sunak has said the “golden era” between the UK and China is over as he called for a new approach to the Chinese government. The prime minister, speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet at London’s Guildhall, criticised China’s human rights abuses but said the UK “cannot simply ignore China’s significance in world affairs”. Mr

The government will spend an extra £1bn to insulate the least energy-efficient homes in the UK, the business secretary has announced. Grant Shapps said the new Eco+ scheme was aimed at middle earners who do not benefit from any other government support to upgrade homes. Labour criticised it as a “reheated announcement with no new