Politics

Cabinet minister Grant Shapps has revealed  he predicted to within one vote the scale of the recent revolt by Tory MPs against Boris Johnson. In doing do so, the transport secretary was far more accurate in forecasting the scale of opposition against the prime minister’s leadership than the Conservative whips. The backroom fixers were taken

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned the world against letting “Ukraine-fatigue” set in as he returned from a surprise visit to the war-torn country. Mr Johnson had pulled out of a planned appearance at conference of northern Tories on Friday in order to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Asked if he had timed the visit

Britons cannot expect pay rises to keep up with the soaring cost of living, the government has warned. Treasury Chief Secretary Simon Clarke has said matching salaries to inflation risked causing prices in the shops to surge even higher. His intervention comes as more than 40,000 staff prepare for a three-day strike that will cripple

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has returned a questionnaire to police investigating the so-called “beergate” episode. Sir Keir has been under pressure over the event in Durham in April 2021, when he was filmed having a drink and a takeaway curry with party colleagues. He has pledged to resign as party leader if he is

Travel turmoil at UK airports caused by severe labour shortages could be solved by staff opting to work longer hours, a business minister has suggested. Speaking to Sky News, Paul Scully highlighted the scope for part-time workers to be “more productive” as he was tackled over months of misery faced by air passengers. His comments

Boris Johnson’s plan to unilaterally overhaul parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol is “politically driven”, the vice president of the European Commission has suggested. Speaking exclusively to Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby, Maros Sefcovic said the legislation appeared to be more of a reflection of the PM’s domestic difficulties than problems with the agreement itself.

Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser told the prime minister he was quitting after being placed in an “impossible and odious position”. Downing Street published Lord Geidt’s resignation letter a day after he unexpectedly decided to step down, becoming the second in the role to do so under Mr Johnson. Lord Geidt admitted this week that he

Priti Patel has said the government’s Rwanda migrant policy has not been ruled unlawful after a last-minute intervention by a European court blocked the first deportation flight. The home secretary told MPs that the injunctions was not an “absolute bar” on the removal of the asylum seekers due to have been on the flight –

The government has not ruled out leaving Europe’s human rights framework after last-ditch legal rulings blocked the first scheduled deportation flight on Tuesday evening. Downing Street said on Wednesday that all options were on the table and did not rule out withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It comes after last-minute interventions

Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin has claimed the UK government does not “fully get” the Good Friday Agreement following Britain’s decision to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Speaking in the Dail, the taoiseach described the UK government’s plans as “economically incoherent” and warned that changing parts of the post-Brexit deal the country secured

SNP MP Patrick Grady is facing suspension from the House of Commons after an allegation of sexual misconduct was upheld by a parliamentary probe. The independent expert panel recommended that Mr Grady should be suspended from the House for two days for making an “unwanted sexual advance” to a member of party staff at a

Boris Johnson has said it would be “preposterous” for Brussels to launch a trade war over “trivial” planned changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol – as senior EU figures warned of the damage they could cause. The government is preparing to table legislation to override parts of the deal, which governs Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading

Boris Johnson has been told that the majority of Northern Ireland assembly members reject the government’s “reckless new protocol legislation”. A letter on behalf of 52 of the 90 members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) said the proposal “flies in the face of the expressed wishes of not just most businesses, but most people in

For a leader on the backfoot, offence can be the best form of defence. For Boris Johnson, there’s no better way to try and move the conversation on from his own political woes than picking a big fight with the EU. But when the prime minister unveils controversial legislation on the Northern Ireland Protocol that

The House of Commons is to become a “menopause-friendly” workplace with a range of new measures including better-ventilated rooms and flexible working. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will sign a Menopause Workplace Pledge on Monday in the presence of campaigners Penny Lancaster, Lisa Snowdon, Liz Earle and Mariella Frostrup. He said he wanted to “break

A government minister has been accused of showing “utter contempt for voters” after appearing to suggest Blackpool and Birmingham are “godawful”. Tory MP Heather Wheeler – no stranger to a vocal faux pas – reportedly made the remark in London on Thursday while trying to recall where she had recently visited. According to technology journalist

Controversial legislation overriding parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol will be tabled at the start of next week, Downing Street has confirmed. The plan to alter the Protocol, which governs Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements, will inflame a row with the European Union. It could also prove a key test of Boris Johnson’s authority after

As Westminster lurches to the end of the worst week so far for the prime minister, there is only one clear winner evident as the fog of war subsides. It’s not Sir Keir Starmer – Labour folk are fretting about their lack of impact at the moment. Nor is it the 148 Tory rebels who

Three of four asylum seekers fighting their deportation from the UK to Rwanda will not be sent to the African country, the Home Office has said. The news came as part of written submissions by Home Office lawyers to the High Court ahead of a bid today to block a deportation flight to the African

Boris Johnson is not a good role model for children, according to a top government adviser who is known as Britain’s strictest headmistress. Katharine Birbalsingh, chair of the social mobility commission, told Sky News’s Beth Rigby Interviews that from his personal life to his messy hairstyle, the three-times married prime minister causes her to “raise