Politics

Sir Keir Starmer will look to move on from a row over his reforms of the Labour rulebook during the third day of the party’s conference in Brighton. After a bruising battle over his shake-up of the rules for party leadership contests – which saw the Labour leader forced to water down his initial proposals

Angela Rayner has declined to apologise for calling the Conservatives “scum”, saying she was using “street language” to convey her “anger and frustration” at the actions of the government. Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sunday on Sky News, Labour’s deputy leader said the comments were made “post-watershed…with a group of activists at an event last

Sir Keir Starmer’s watered-down proposals for changing Labour’s rulebook will be put to the party’s conference in Brighton following a bruising internal row. The Labour leader has been forced into retreat, amid opposition from trade unions and the party’s left wing, in his bid to alter the rules on how his future successors are elected.

Labour’s conference is opening in Brighton after Sir Keir Starmer was forced into a humiliating retreat over his attempt to re-write the party’s rulebook. He had to put his reforms on hold after a backlash from unions and party activists, in what left-wing MPs said was an own goal that had weakened his authority. The

Will Britain elect a prime minister people see as weak? This unfortunate question is one Sir Keir Starmer must confront on the eve of his first in-person party conference as Labour leader, however personally painful he finds it. Can he reverse voters’ first impressions of him by taking on his party in Brighton then imprinting

Labour have made a pitch to be the “party of home ownership” ahead of their annual conference.  The party have unveiled plans to force developers to sell homes to first-time buyers for six months after construction. They also propose to stop foreign buyers purchasing “swathes” of new developments, by capping the number of flats which

Dealing with David Cameron’s multiple texts, WhatsApp messages, emails and phone calls “did not take up a very significant part” of the Treasury’s time, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has told MPs investigating the Greensill lobbying scandal. Earlier this year, ex-prime minister Mr Cameron was revealed to have bombarded government ministers and officials – as well as

The government is preparing for the “worst-case scenario” of gas costs continuing to stay high beyond a “short spike”, a minister has told Sky News. Speaking to Kay Burley, Paul Scully said high wholesale gas costs were placing “pressure” on the energy price cap. Asked what the worst-case scenario was for a rise in the

Boris Johnson has admitted to being “taken aback” by France’s angry reaction to a new security pact between the UK, US and Australia. The prime minister has told French President Emmanuel Macron to “prenez un grip” and give him a “break” in the diplomatic row over the new AUKUS initiative. But he has also spoken

Joe Biden does not “fully appreciate” the details of the row surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol, a minister has suggested. Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News, Environment Secretary George Eustice said the row over post-Brexit arrangements between the UK and EU was “very complicated” and “I’m not sure he does fully appreciate all of

Ministers are considering efforts to join an existing free trade agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada – or to strike a series of mini-deals with America – after Boris Johnson appeared to admit a standalone UK-US free trade deal was not an imminent prospect. On his visit to New York and Washington DC this

Boris Johnson has played down the prospect of an imminent trade deal between the UK and US, saying that Joe Biden has “a lot of fish to fry”. The prime minister‘s latest comments about a potential trade pact between the two countries are in stark contrast to his remarks four years ago when he was

The Ministry of Defence has launched an investigation into a data breach involving the details of 250 Afghan interpreters. It is not yet clear if the interpreters concerned are in the UK or Afghanistan after dozens were left behind following the withdrawal of UK troops from Afghanistan last month after the Taliban took the country.

Boris Johnson has admitted he is facing an uphill battle to convince world leaders to put up hard cash and hard commitments to reduce carbon emissions. Speaking on his way to New York for the UN General Assembly Summit, the prime minister conceded he had a 40% chance of failure in securing the $100bn he

Rich countries must do more to help developing nations cut carbon emissions, Boris Johnson will tell other world leaders at a high-level gathering in New York. The prime minister will be hosting the meeting on climate change with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. It is understood the PM is likely to focus on coal, cash

New Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has defended the UK’s “hard-headed” security pact with the US and Australia, amid a deepening diplomatic row with France. The AUKUS deal saw the UK, Australia and the US form a security pact to develop and deploy a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, adding to the Western military presence in

Boris Johnson has been accused of having a “more casual” approach to Britain’s national security in a highly critical report by MPs which claims the government is unable to cope with more than one major crisis at a time. The Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, which is made up of senior MPs and peers,

Travel companies have seen a sharp surge in bookings as the government announced the current traffic light system of red, amber and green countries will be scrapped for England from 4 October. Thomas Cook’s chief executive said customers are “already booking in their droves” following the latest travel changes, with the holiday company experiencing its

“It’s Howard o’clock” has become a slogan used on swimsuits, t-shirts, bags, mugs, bottles of wine and, even, turned into a monopoly-style drinking game. But while Isle of Man chief minister Howard Quayle might have become an almost cult-like personality during the COVID crisis, he was also working 20 hour days, scrambling to purchase an

Boris Johnson will gather his cabinet later for the first meeting of his top team since the prime minister’s reshuffle. It comes after the PM completed a shake-up of his cabinet that saw a number of high-profile casualties. Dominic Raab was replaced as foreign secretary by Liz Truss and moved to the roles of justice