Politics

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “deeply sorry” for the actions of the British government after a damning report into the Grenfell Tower blaze said ministers “failed to act”, despite knowing the risk of building materials. A landmark report into the disaster that claimed 72 lives in June 2017 was published earlier on Wednesday,

The East Midlands market town of Kettering is famous for its trusty boots, Weetabix and at one stage John Profumo. It is also a proper bellwether seat having swung between Labour and the Conservatives over the past 30 years. In July it helped form part of Labour’s majority of 158. The Conservatives’ worst defeat since

Former minister Tom Tugendhat has apologised for the “disrespect and double standards” of previous Conservative governments as he made his appeal to become the next party leader. Speaking from Westminster at his campaign launch, Mr Tugendhat said he had “witnessed the recent political trauma” within the Tory ranks “with a combination of depression and anger”,

Day one of a new term at Westminster and Sir Keir Starmer was already facing double trouble from Labour MPs. First, a partial arms export ban on Israel, which opponents claimed was a sop to pro-Gaza Labour left-wingers, ended up pleasing no-one. And then, predictably, at a packed Parliamentary Labour Party meeting, senior cabinet ministers

A new political term, and a new reality for the Conservatives, as what’s left of the party regroups in Westminster and gets down to the business of picking a new leader. On Monday, it was the turn of Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly to officially launch their campaigns ahead of the first knock-out round on

The Tories will not win back trust of the British people by simply “pointing out how terrible Labour are”, Kemi Badenoch will say. Speaking at the launch of her Conservative leadership campaign on Monday, the former Business Secretary will attack the new government as failing to offer “something better”. But despite reeling off a list

The government is “not attacking the hospitality industry” with proposed plans to ban smoking in pub gardens, a cabinet minister has insisted. Lucy Powell told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that Labour wants to create a “smoke-free country” and measures to achieve this will be done “in consultation” with businesses that could be

As the photos of Angela Rayner raving in an Ibiza nightclub confirm, the deputy prime minister enjoys her time off. But hey, it was August. And, to be fair, hours earlier she chaired a meeting in Whitehall on building safety, before jetting off to the Spanish holiday isle. But while “Angela Raver” was enjoying the

A Labour politician has defended himself as a “renters champion” despite flats he rents out reportedly found to be in poor condition. Jas Athwal, the newly-elected MP for Ilford South, owns 15 rental flats, but some tenants have claimed they regularly have to clean their bathroom ceilings to remove mould. In an investigation first reported

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey calls it “the first big mistake this government has made”. The decision by the new Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves to axe the £300 Winter Fuel Payment for 10 million pensioners forever is probably the biggest domestic headache for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as MPs return to Westminster from

Employers will have to offer flexible working hours – including a four-day week – to all workers under government plans. To receive their full pay, employees would still have to work their full hours but compressed into a shorter working week – something some workplaces already do. Currently, employees can request flexible hours as soon

Labour heavyweight Harriet Harman is joining Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast as a permanent member of the team. The former acting leader of the party and mother of the House will now sit alongside Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby and Conservative peer Ruth Davidson as the three women bring the news – and their

Is it last orders for puffing with a pint? Almost certainly. With Labour’s massive 172-seat majority in the Commons, smoking in pub gardens and outside football stadiums, nightclubs and restaurants looks certain to be stubbed out. Politics live: Tories and Farage attack talk of outdoor smoking ban During his visit to Gauloises-loving Paris, Sir Keir

“Woeful budgeting” by the Home Office has led to years of overspend on asylum, a watchdog has claimed. For the past three years, the department has set £110m aside for asylum operations. But a new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the actual spend had averaged £2.6bn a year in that time.

Sir Keir Starmer has said his government wants a reset with the EU – “but that doesn’t mean reversing Brexit or re-entering the single market”. Following a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, the prime minister said plans for a new treaty with Germany are about a “reset” with the EU. He said

Cast your mind back to the heady days of early July, as a beaming Sir Keir Starmer swept into Downing Street to a cheering crowd and the promise of “change”. Britain’s seventh ever Labour prime minister had won a landslide that deservedly drew parallels between himself and the party’s most successful election winner Tony Blair.

There are only 100 spaces left in male prisons across England and Wales, Sky News understands. The figure, first reported by the Telegraph, is the closest the system has come to running out of places amid an ongoing crisis in the sector. Politics live: Starmer offers biggest clue so far on possible tax rises Government

Sir Keir Starmer will vow on Tuesday to “reverse a decade of decline” and to “fix the foundations” of the UK economy. Delivering a much-trailed speech in the gardens of Downing Street ahead of parliament’s return next week, the prime minister will acknowledge the state of the public finances but pledge to “do the hard

A Labour donor who contributed more than £500,000 to the party did have a pass to Number 10 for a short time, the government has told Sky News. The Sunday Times reported Lord Waheed Alli, a television executive who has donated to Labour over the last 20 years, had been given a pass granting him

The August bank holiday has arrived – the cue for millions to get back to work after whatever holidays they have managed to enjoy. Over this weekend many Britons will be coming home from Europe through ports, airports and the Channel Tunnel. Their trips may have included frustrating delays and border checks but there won’t