Politics

Kemi Badenoch has become the latest candidate to be knocked out of the Conservative leadership race. In the fourth round of voting by Tory MPs, the contenders received the following support: Kemi Badenoch – 59 Penny Mordaunt – 92 Rishi Sunak – 118 Liz Truss – 86 There was one spoiled ballot paper and one

The last four runners in the Conservative leadership contest will face another round of voting later, as the party decides who will replace Boris Johnson in Downing Street. Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch made it through Monday’s ballot to continue in the race, while Tom Tugendhat was knocked out. But as

Sky News has cancelled its Conservative leadership debate after Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss pulled out from the event. The debate was due to be hosted by Kay Burley tomorrow evening. Conservative MPs are said to be concerned about the damage the debates are doing to the image of the party, exposing disagreements and splits.

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss engaged in bad-tempered exchanges as the five remaining Conservative leadership rivals faced off in the second televised debate. In a stand-out moment of the debate, all the candidates refused to put their hand up when asked if they would give Boris Johnson a job in their

A former leader of the Conservative Party has criticised Rishi Sunak’s approach to the economy, accusing the former chancellor of fuelling inflation. Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, Liz Truss backer Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the Treasury, overseen by Mr Sunak, has demonstrated a “failure” of monetary policy. Sir Iain continued:

Rishi Sunak has vowed to scrap hundreds of remaining EU laws and regulations if he triumphs in the Tory leadership race, as Penny Mordaunt faces scrutiny for her views on trans rights. In a fresh pitch to win over Brexiteers, the former chancellor promised to appoint a Brexit minister to comb through the remaining 2,400

The final five candidates in the Conservative leadership race have clashed over their tax plans in a fiery first TV debate. While former Chancellor Rishi Sunak dismissed tax cut pledges by his rivals as an “unfunded spree of borrowing and more debt”, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss hit back, saying: “You cannot tax your way to

It’s the end of the first week into the Tory leadership race, and five hopefuls remain in the running to be the country’s next prime minister. Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat are battling it out to take over from Boris Johnson after securing a large enough backing during the

Penny Mordaunt has said fellow Conservative leadership candidates are trying to stop her from getting to the final round of the contest because she is who they most fear competing against head-to-head. Tory leadership favourite Ms Mordaunt told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that she is “running a positive campaign” and warned her fellow

Five candidates are left in the Conservative leadership race, which has now become even more unpredictable following the elimination of Suella Braverman from the field. While the top three slots remain unchanged, Liz Truss had another difficult round of voting as she failed to close the gap on Penny Mordaunt and instead found another right-wing

Loyal defenders of Boris Johnson argued repeatedly that he should not be deposed as Conservative leader because there was no obvious candidate to replace him. In doing so they misunderstood their own party. More often than not, the imperative when the Tories change leader is to get rid of the present incumbent and then worry

The final six candidates to become the next leader of the Conservative Party – and prime minister – are readying themselves for a second round of votes later, which will see at least one of them eliminated from the race. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak leads the field, having gained support from 88 MPs in yesterday’s

The government has tabled a no confidence motion in itself after blocking Labour’s bid to remove Boris Johnson from office immediately. It means MPs will vote on whether they still have confidence in the prime minister’s administration, despite him stepping down from office in a few weeks. Labour’s request was for a confidence motion in

Eight contenders in the race to replace Boris Johnson. But it was a day defined by one particular run-off in the competition: the tussle between frontrunner Rishi Sunak and the “Stop Rishi” campaign. It’s a drama that’s got everyone in Westminster reaching for the popcorn, as those loyal to Boris Johnson take very public aim

Rishi Sunak has stuck by Boris Johnson as he officially launched his leadership bid, saying he won’t “demonise” his former boss. The ex-chancellor defended the prime minister, calling him “one of the most remarkable people I have ever met”, despite resigning last week over Mr Johnson’s conduct in office. Fellow contenders Tom Tugendhat and Kemi

A decision on a legal challenge to the government’s controversial Rwanda deportation policy has been delayed until September – with the Home Office refusing to say if it will still attempt removals flights in the meantime. In what they said was a win for due process and fairness, charities taking the government to court over

Boris Johnson has said he is “determined” to fulfil his Conservative Party’s winning 2019 mandate in his final few weeks as leader – as he refuses to back any one leadership contender. Speaking to broadcasters for the first time since his resignation last week, Mr Johnson said he will continue to “oversee the process” before

Sir Keir Starmer will take aim at Conservative leadership contenders later today, claiming more than £200bn of commitments made in an “arms race of fantasy economics” are not funded. As he delivers a speech in the North East, the Labour leader is also expected to hit out at Tory MPs who served in Boris Johnson’s

Nadhim Zahawi has said he is “clearly being smeared” after questions were reportedly raised about his personal finances before his appointment as chancellor. The former education secretary and vaccines minister, who is vying to take over from Boris Johnson, told Sky News he had “always” paid his taxes and had “declared” them in the UK.

Education minister Andrea Jenkyns has explained why she made a rude gesture while entering Downing Street this week. The Morley and Outwood MP made the sign with her hand on Thursday as she walked through the black gates, where she says a “baying mob” outside were insulting MPs on their way in. Ms Jenkyns, who