Politics

Police will take no further action against Labour’s Angela Rayner after accusations surrounding her living arrangements in 2010. Officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) launched an investigation into the party’s deputy leader earlier this year, after reports suggested she may have lived primarily at her then-husband’s address in Stockport, despite registering to vote under her

An MP who is not contesting her seat at the election has quit the Conservative Party after she was suspended for supporting the Reform candidate in her constituency. Lucy Allan, the outgoing MP for Telford, said on X she was supporting Alan Adams, who is standing for the rival Reform Party, to be the next

Labour will be both “pro-worker and pro-business” if it wins the general election, Rachel Reeves will pledge on Tuesday. The shadow chancellor will seek to reassure the corporate world of her credentials in her first major speech of the campaign, promising to “lead the most pro-growth Treasury in our country’s history”. But speaking to an

Suddenly, at election time, political predictions become so much harder and riskier. Everything changes in a campaign, not least the news cycle. That’s my excuse, at any rate, for failing to foresee the announcement of a general election in last week’s Politics at Jack and Sam’s. There were a few clues – and one magisterial

Two of Westminster’s best-connected journalists, Sky News’s Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard, guide you through their top predictions for the next seven days in British politics. On this week’s episode, Jack and Sam talk about their “epic fail” and reveal how they missed the biggest political story of the year – that Rishi Sunak

Whether you heard the wet outdoor version of Rishi Sunak’s election campaign launch or the dry indoor one, his message on national security was the same.  “The world is more dangerous than it has been at any point since the end of the Cold War,” he told the small banner-waving crowd bussed in to the

Sir Keir Starmer has defended Labour’s decision to rebrand its package of workers’ rights after a union said the plans had “more holes than Swiss cheese”. Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, accused the party of watering down its policies after it rebranded “Labour’s new deal for working people” as “Labour’s plan to

Rishi Sunak is set to battle it out with Sir Keir Starmer over the economy after a bruising day for the Conservative leader which saw two senior party figures quit as MPs. Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom both announced on Friday they would not stand in the 4 July general election, bringing the total number

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Rishi Sunak of “sounding a bit desperate” after he accused him of chickening out of TV debates. The Labour leader told Sky News that “of course there are going to be TV debates” and they are “part and parcel of the election cycle now”. “I obviously want to spend as

Rishi Sunak is presenting himself as the underdog in this campaign. In many ways it’s remarkable that a prime minister can position like this, but the 20-point poll deficit means he feels he has no alternative. But can he pull it off? He knows the job of the next six weeks is to change minds

Rishi Sunak has admitted Rwanda flights will not take off before the general election – as he denied calling a summer vote because inflation is expected to rise. The prime minister has said for the past few months the first flights removing asylum seekers to the African nation will happen in July. But after calling

This general election campaign is set to be an epochal, history-making election whichever way it goes. If Starmer wins an outright majority, it will be the largest ever uniform swing for a winning party, beyond what Tony Blair achieved in 1997. If Rishi Sunak manages to remain in Downing Street – well no PM has

In 1997, Labour told us “Things Can Only Get Better”, before Tony Blair won a landslide general election victory. This year, Rishi Sunak appears to have concluded that things are not going to get any better for the Tories if he delays an election until the autumn. His dash to the polls on 4 July

People infected with deadly viruses due to the tainted blood scandal could receive more than £2m in compensation, according to government documents. “Illustrative figures” have been published on the Infected Blood Compensation Authority section of the government website, which show “the compensation award that an infected person living with a single infection or co-infection may

Victims of the infected blood scandal will get £210,000 as an interim compensation payment from as early as this summer, the government has announced. Cabinet minister John Glen told parliament the initial payment will be given to people living with the effects of contaminated blood “within 90 days, starting in the summer”. Infected people who

After decades of denial, gaslighting and a chilling cover-up of the plight that befell thousands of victims of the infected blood scandal, finally an apology that sought to begin to make amends on this “day of shame” for the British state. “I want to speak directly to victims and their families,” said Rishi Sunak. “I

The Downing Street diary has an enormous red ring circled around Wednesday morning when the Office for National Statistics releases its monthly inflation data. The Politics at Jack and Sam’s podcast discuss whether the prime minister can use this week to create an economic turning point. Spreaker This content is provided by Spreaker, which may

Two of Westminster’s best-connected journalists, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard, guide you through their top predictions for the next seven days in British politics. This week the government will be hoping to see the rate of inflation hit the Bank of England’s 2% target as Rishi Sunak aims to claim a victory

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has said he won’t be standing at the next general election but will keep campaigning for the Conservative Party. In a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which he posted on X on Saturday night, Mr Heaton-Harris said after 24 years in politics, it had been an “honour and a

A Tory peer has resigned the government whip after he was found to have bullied and harassed two people while drunk. Lord Kulveer Ranger, a former adviser to Boris Johnson, faces being banned from the House of Lords bars following an investigation into his conduct. He has apologised for his behaviour and given up the