Politics

Votes are being counted in the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections, where Labour will be looking to capitalise on the UK entering a recession to inflict a double defeat on Rishi Sunak. The Tories are defending traditionally safe seats in South Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire, following the departures of Chris Skidmore and Peter Bone, respectively. But the

Polls have opened for two crunch by-elections taking place today in Kingswood and Wellingborough. Voters in the constituencies will have until 10pm to decide who they want to be their MP following the departures of Chris Skidmore and Peter Bone. The Kingswood by-election was triggered after Mr Skidmore, a former Tory minister, quit parliament in

Police have dropped a rape and sexual assault investigation into Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell. Mr Rosindell, the MP for Romford, has not voted in the House of Commons since May 2022, when he says the allegations were made. The Metropolitan Police said the allegations included indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust

The government’s Rwanda bill is “fundamentally incompatible” with human rights law, MPs and peers have warned. A report from parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, published on Monday, said the proposed legislation “risks untold damage” to the UK’s reputation as an international leader on the issue. Politics live: Tough week for Sunak as by-elections loom

The dentist Rishi Sunak visited in Cornwall to promote his “recovery plan” is not accepting new NHS patients, it has emerged. The prime minister met staff and patients at Gentle Dental in Newquay on Thursday. Politics Live: Starmer ditches his ‘biggest dividing line’ with Tories He told broadcasters that “it hasn’t been easy enough for

Rishi Sunak should apologise for his transgender jibe which was made while Brianna Ghey’s mother was in parliament, Gordon Brown has told Sky News. The former PM was speaking to the Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge a day after the current occupier of Number 10 joked during Prime Minister’s Questions about Sir Keir Starmer’s record

The Met Police need extra money to deal with the XL bully ban, the Mayor of London has told the government. New legislation that came into force last week means unregistered dogs can be seized, with owners fined and prosecuted, and the animals potentially destroyed. Sadiq Khan, who is also the police and crime commissioner

The number of people who could be deported to Rwanda under Rishi Sunak’s £240m scheme “could be quite low”, the home secretary has admitted. James Cleverly said while the scheme was “uncapped” with no upper limit, the number of people sent to the African nation would be “entirely dependent on other work we’re doing in

The UK and France have agreed to “closer cooperation” to tackle illegal migration after two of the countries’ ministers held talks in Paris. Home Secretary James Cleverly and French interior minister Gérald Darmanin signed off on plans to speed up the deployment of aerial surveillance equipment so police can spot and stop small boat crossings

Iceland supermarket boss Richard Walker has switched his support from the Conservatives to Labour, saying Sir Keir Starmer’s party is “the right choice” for his customers. Mr Walker, a former Tory donor and the executive chairman of Iceland, said under Sir Keir’s leadership Labour had “progressively moved towards the ground on which I have always

Lee Anderson has said he regrets not voting for the Rwanda bill and would take back his old job as deputy Tory party chairman if asked. The outspoken MP told The Telegraph he should have been “brave” and sided with Rishi Sunak instead of abstaining. His plan had actually been to vote down the bill

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