UK

Rachel Reeves has refused to rule out tax rises beyond income tax, national insurance and corporation tax if Labour finds a black hole in the public finances once it enters government. In an interview with Sky News, the shadow chancellor swerved questions on whether the government books might be worse than anticipated if Labour wins

The Conservatives have promised to cut taxes for pensioners by creating a new “age-related” tax-free allowance – dubbed “triple lock plus”. Currently, people can receive £12,570 a year of their pensions before they start paying income tax on them – the same figure as the personal allowance for those who work. But if the party

If the Conservatives win the general election, teenagers will be expected to take part in national service when they turn 18.  Exactly how the scheme would work has not yet been hammered out. The Tories have said they would set up a royal commission – a type of public inquiry – to come up with

Rishi Sunak is expected to continue championing his controversial plans to revive National Service by urging employers to prioritise job applicants who have served time in the military. The prime minister said all 18-year-olds would be made to undertake a form of “mandatory” National Service if the Conservatives are re-elected on 4 July. Despite growing

Nobody would go to jail for refusing to comply with National Service under a Conservative government, the home secretary has said. In the Conservatives’ first policy announcement of the general election campaign, Rishi Sunak said on Saturday he would introduce a new form of mandatory National Service for 18-year-olds if his party wins the vote

Rishi Sunak has said he will introduce a new form of mandatory National Service for young people if the Conservatives win the general election. In the first new policy announcement of the campaign, the prime minister has unveiled a plan that would see 18-year-olds given the choice of a full-time military placement for 12 months

It’s taken less than 10 minutes to find someone willing to sell me abortion pills. Dr Jane* tells me she is based in Dubai but assures me the medication will arrive in the UK in a matter of days. How pregnant you are doesn’t matter – she provides pills as late as eight months. *Warning:

An industrial incident has led to the release of gas in County Durham, police have said. Cleveland Police said emergency services had attended the site of a fertiliser company in Haverton Hill, near Billingham, after reports of the incident. Footage posted on social media showed a cloud of bright orange gas in the sky, causing

An aircraft has crashed in a field in Lincolnshire, police say. Emergency crews are at the scene in Coningsby following reports the aircraft went down shortly before 1.20pm. A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said a “single occupant aircraft” is believed to have crashed and nobody else is thought to have been involved. The Air Accidents Investigation

Rishi Sunak and senior Tories have sparked the first major row of the election campaign by accusing “spineless” Sir Keir Starmer of “chickening out” of weekly TV debates. The prime minister has challenged the Labour leader to take part in six TV clashes during the campaign debating issues like tax, the cost of living and

The race for Number 10 begins in earnest today following Rishi Sunak’s decision to call a snap summer general election in a high stakes move that could bring to an end his party’s 14 years in government. The prime minister took the gamble of his political life when he announced that he will go to

It’s not just your lifelong politicans who enter the fray when it comes to election time. With the next general election now confirmed for July, there are already some faces in the mix you might recognise from other walks of life. They wouldn’t be the first from the worlds of entertainment and sport to venture

Rishi Sunak will call a general election for 4 July, Sky News understands. The surprise move comes after days of rumours the prime minister could go to the country earlier than previously thought. Follow the latest politics news live – general election to be confirmed Mr Sunak has been saying for months an election would

A victim of the Post Office Horizon scandal has told Sky News that ex-boss Paula Vennells must “come clean” in her evidence to the statutory inquiry. Chirag Sidhpura, a former sub-postmaster who became one of the public champions for justice based on his own treatment at the hands of the Post Office, said he was

One person has died and a number of others have been injured during severe turbulence on a plane that left the UK and was heading to Singapore. The plane was forced to divert to Bangkok. In a statement, Singapore Airlines said flight SQ321, operating from London Heathrow to Singapore on Monday, encountered severe turbulence en-route.

The government will outline how it plans to compensate the victims and families of the infected blood scandal when it makes a statement in the Commons later today. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologised in parliament on Monday after the Infected Blood Inquiry published its final report into the scandal, blaming failures on “successive governments, the

The infected blood scandal was “not an accident” – and its failures lie with “successive governments, the NHS, and blood services”, a public inquiry has found. From the 1970s, 30,000 people were “knowingly” infected with either HIV or Hepatitis C because “those in authority did not put patient safety first”, the report into the inquiry

“Don’t be surprised if Tyson walks away,” said Sky Sports boxing expert Johnny Nelson following the star’s defeat last night. The Mancunian boxer was nearly knocked out and struggled through the final three rounds before Oleksandr Usyk was crowned the new world heavyweight champion in Riyadh. The Ukrainian won on a split decision. Mr Nelson

“Every morning I wake up and there is a small part of me that thinks, ‘Is today the day I’m going to be diagnosed with some sort of cancer?'” This is the question Susan Lee asks herself every day. It is part of the mental anguish of living with Hepatitis C. Susan was born with

Oleksandr Usyk has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after defeating Tyson Fury in boxing’s biggest fight of the century. The Ukrainian won on a split decision following the match in Saudi Arabia. Usyk had 115-112 and 114-113 on two cards, while Fury took the other 114-113. Image: Pic: PA Fury disputed his