Politics

The passing of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill to its next stage is good news for Rishi Sunak.  MPs gave the bill a second reading by 293 votes to 211 on Monday evening, with the government securing a majority of 82. The prime minister is a man, remember, who said he wants to “max out”

Fresh from his Commons victory, the prime minister took to the stage on Thursday to declare he was making progress on his plan to send migrants to Rwanda, his party was “completely united” and any failure to deliver on this pledge would not be down to him, but rather a new bogeyman, peers in the House

Rishi Sunak appears to have seen off a Tory rebellion as his controversial Rwanda bill passed its final hurdle in the Commons. The bill, which aims to declare that Rwanda is a safe country to deport asylum seekers to, passed by 320 votes to 276 – a majority of 44 for the government. The bill’s

Rishi Sunak has been dealt a fresh blow to his authority as 68 MPs, including 60 Tories, voted in favour of changes to his Rwanda Bill put forward by Conservative backbencher Sir Bill Cash. The amendment, seeking to ensure UK and international law cannot be used to block a person being removed to Rwanda, was

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

Rishi Sunak himself declared that 2024 will be an election year – at the least discreet location possible: a Christmas party for political journalists. This year that election will be looming in the background of every issue, whether politicians intend it to or not. The Conservatives – who were last ahead in the polls more

The home secretary’s date rape joke was “misogynistic” and “very ill-judged”, a senior Conservative MP has told Sky News. James Cleverly apologised after making an “ironic joke” about putting a date rape drug in his wife’s drink, hours after the Home Office announced plans to crack down on spiking. He has faced calls to resign,

Households are facing a “debt timebomb” next year, according to analysis from a trade unions group. The Trades Union Congress – which includes the likes of GMB, Unite and Unison – predict unsecured debts are set to surge by £1,400 in 2024. This includes borrowing which does not have property as collateral, such as loans,

With the start of a new year, the 2024 general election campaign will officially get under way. The time for festive frivolity and fun is over. Rishi Sunak poked fun at himself with a highly amusing Home Alone-style video filmed in Number 10 Downing Street for Christmas day. Sir Keir Starmer and wife Victoria went

Self-driving cars could be on British roads as early as 2026, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said. Asked if people could soon be travelling “with your hands off the wheel, doing your emails”, he agreed the prospect was possible in as little as three years’ time. He told the BBC: “I think that’s when companies

James Cleverly has apologised after joking about putting a date rape drug in his wife’s drink in comments made at a Downing Street reception within hours of the Home Office announcing plans to crack down on spiking. The home secretary told female guests “a little bit of Rohypnol in her drink every night” was “not

As if the government’s “stop the boats” policy wasn’t already in disarray, now James Cleverly’s crackdown on legal migration is already unravelling. In a move cynically timed to avoid a backlash from MPs, he has admitted he’s made a major climbdown on workers bringing family members from overseas to the UK. When he announced plans

The long-awaited transgender guidance for schools in England has been published by the government. The main points from today’s developments include:• Schools and colleges to be told that parents should be involved in decisions affecting their children• Single-sex spaces must be protected for the safeguarding of all children• A sea change in approach on social

The prime minister appeared before the COVID inquiry today - defending his Eat Out to Help Out scheme and revealing Treasury concerns that the UK would not be able to fund the pandemic response. While Rishi Sunak was giving evidence, some of his Tory parliamentary colleagues were calling on the PM to scrap his Rwanda bill as

Rishi Sunak’s new Safety of Rwanda Bill should stop 99.5% of legal claims made by migrants to block their deportation, a minister has said. The prime minister is trying to convince his own backbenchers to support the legislation – with both the right of the Conservatives and separately the One Nation caucus set to announce

The Metropolitan Police has closed its investigation into whether COVID rules were broken during a gathering in parliament on 8 December 2020. The event was reportedly hosted by the deputy speaker of the Commons, Eleanor Laing, to mark the birthdays of Conservative MP Virginia Crosby and peer Baroness Jenkin – the wife of fellow Tory

“End of days”. “A death spiral”. “They’ve lost the plot”. “I feel sorry for Rishi”. These are just some of the comments from former cabinet and ex-senior ministers mulling over the current state of the Conservative Party and what the prime minister does next. Politics live: Partygate coverage ‘absolutely absurd’, claims Johnson The battle over

Rishi Sunak has dodged questions over whether he will call a general election if he loses a crunch vote on his Rwanda bill – which he insisted was not a vote of confidence in his leadership. The prime minister repeatedly defended the bill from its critics at a press conference on Thursday as questions mount

Rwanda has not received any additional funding for the new treaty it has signed to revive the UK government’s asylum plan, the home secretary has said. James Cleverly told a press conference in the Rwandan capital of Kigali: “Let me make it clear. The Rwandan government has not asked for and we have not provided

James Cleverly is travelling to Rwanda to sign a new treaty for the government’s asylum plan. It is part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s mission to make the deal to send migrants there legally watertight following the Supreme Court’s ruling against the scheme. In the wake of the judgement on 15 November the government insisted