The Conservatives have held on to the southeast London seat of Old Bexley and Sidcup after a by-election prompted by the death of MP James Brokenshire in October. Mr Brokenshire, who represented the area since 2010 until his death from lung cancer, had held the seat with a majority of almost 19,000. Thursday’s by-election, however,
Politics
Former cabinet ministers who remain in parliament earn an average of £162,000 on top of their MP salary from the private sector in their first year after leaving government, Sky News research has found. The figure, arrived at by analysing data from the register of members’ interests between 2015 and 2021, excludes earnings from media
Number 10 has stressed that Christmas parties should not be cancelled and there are no rules limiting their size after conflicting comments from ministers and officials in recent days. The discovery of the Omicron variant of coronavirus has prompted speculation about how Britons should be approaching festive celebrations this year. As scientists work to assess
A number of social gatherings were held in Downing Street in the run-up to Christmas last year while indoor mixing was banned in London under COVID restrictions, Sky News understands. Following reports that a large party was held in late December, it has also emerged that Number 10 staff gathered after work and drank alcohol
Boris Johnson has said “all guidance was followed completely” as the prime minister was accused by Sir Keir Starmer of hosting a “boozy party” in Downing Street last Christmas despite COVID rules that were in place at the time. The Labour leader said Mr Johnson was “taking the British public for fools” as the pair
Downing Street has denied claims that Boris Johnson broke coronavirus rules with parties at No 10 last Christmas. The Mirror claims the PM made a speech at a leaving do on 13 November – when the country was in the second lockdown – and allowed a festive party to proceed on 18 December when London
France’s interior minister has suggested talks with the UK over Channel crossings could resume as Paris proposed ideas to tackle the crisis. Gerald Darmanin said Prime Minister Jean Castex will write to Boris Johnson on Tuesday with proposals for a “balanced agreement” between the UK and the EU. He said discussions could take place “very
Yvette Cooper is elevated to shadow home secretary while Lisa Nandy will move from shadow foreign secretary to the levelling up brief as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reshuffles his cabinet. Ms Cooper, who held the home affairs brief previously from 2011 to 2015 under former Labour leader Ed Miliband, will depart her current role
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is carrying out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet, with the first departure from his top team confirmed. A Labour source has told Sky News: “It’s all happening – big names being moved.” The reshuffle comes six months after Sir Keir‘s last refresh of his shadow cabinet, in the wake
Have the last few weeks seen a turning point in Boris Johnson’s premiership? Dozens of Tories have refused to follow the prime minister’s orders in the voting lobbies on issues as diverse as sleaze and social care. Meanwhile a handful of Tory MPs have gone public with demands for change, with many more complaining in
The health secretary has said it is going to be a “great Christmas” as he defended not imposing stricter restrictions to combat the new COVID variant. Sajid Javid told Trevor Phillips On Sunday it would be “irresponsible to make guarantees” but the measures announced this week in reaction to the Omicron variant will “buy us
A government minister has defended Stanley Johnson, calling him “a gentleman” after a fellow Conservative Party MP accused the prime minister’s father of inappropriately touching her. Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, said she “didn’t believe” what Caroline Nokes had accused the former MEP of. In response to the remarks, Ms Nokes said she was “sorry”
There is limited evidence that Rishi Sunak’s £2bn jobs programme for young people is working, according to a new report. The National Audit Office (NAO) watchdog warned that the government has “limited assurance” over whether the Kickstart scheme, aimed at 16 to 24-year-olds, is having any positive effect or creating high quality jobs. The government
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-isolating. The leading Labour MP said he will be “out of action for a bit” after announcing he had tested positive on Friday morning. He did not say whether his family or members of his staff have also tested positive for COVID or
France has cancelled a meeting with the UK to discuss Channel crossings after Boris Johnson asked the French to take back migrants arriving in Britain. French interior minister Gerald Darmanin has told Home Secretary Priti Patel “she was no longer welcome” at Sunday’s European meeting on migrant issues, a French government spokesman said. Spokesman Gabriel
Boris Johnson has offered to work with France to “move further and faster” in order to tackle small boat crossings and avoid a repeat of the “appalling tragedy” in the Channel that left 27 people dead. The prime minister has written to President Emmanuel Macron and set out five steps he thinks both sides should
When the government was embroiled in a storm about sleaze earlier this month, Boris Johnson addressed a private meeting of the 1922 committee of Tory MPs. The headline was his admission to them that “on a clear road, I crashed the car” over the Owen Paterson affair. But the vast majority of the questions at
Boris Johnson has hit out at France after more than 30 people died in the English Channel when their boat capsized, as he slammed people trafficking gangs who are “literally getting away with murder”. The prime minister said he was “shocked, appalled and deeply saddened” by the “disaster”, which “underscores how dangerous it is to
Parliament is going to review its rules on bringing babies into the House of Commons after an MP was reprimanded for taking her young baby into a debate. Stella Creasy shared an email from an official on Tuesday telling her she should not have had her three-month-old son in the House of Commons while speaking
Boris Johnson has appeared to step back from a manifesto commitment on social care, after a controversial change to his government’s reforms to the system in England were narrowly backed by MPs. The prime minister committed in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto that “nobody needing care should be forced to sell their home to pay