Politics

Jeremy Hunt has faced a twin assault on tax cuts and fuel duty from Tory MPs ahead of his Budget in six weeks’ time. The chancellor was confronted at a meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee on the same day a grim economic forecast put him under more pressure to cut taxes. Leading the onslaught

Rishi Sunak will reshuffle his cabinet this morning with Nadhim Zahawi set to be replaced as Conservative Party chair after he was sacked over his tax affairs, Sky News understands. The prime minister has been under pressure to pick the right candidate as he struggles to draw a line under ‘Tory sleaze’ allegations – despite

Downing Street has insisted that the UK’s economy is strong despite the International Monetary Fund’s warning that Britain’s economy will go into reverse this year and will fare worse than all other advanced nations. In its latest World Economic Outlook update, the IMF downgraded its UK gross domestic product (GDP) forecast once again, predicting a

Labour will push the government for an increase to the number of neighbourhood police officers on Tuesday, saying communities are facing 3,000 incidents of anti-social behaviour a day. In an opposition day debate in the Commons, the party will point to the latest crime statistics from the ONS, which showed 1.1 million incidents of anti-social

Rishi Sunak has insisted he acted “decisively” in sacking Nadhim Zahawi as chairman of the Conservative Party after a row over his tax affairs. Speaking in Country Durham at the launch of his government’s emergency care plan, the prime minister defended his handling of situation and stressed his commitment to “integrity” and the need to

Rishi Sunak has been urged by Labour to “come clean” over what he knew about Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs after the PM sacked the Tory party chairman on Sunday. An ethics inquiry into the handling of Mr Zahawi’s finances found a “serious breach” of the ministerial code and Mr Sunak swiftly removed the Tory chairman

Boris Johnson was reportedly told to stop asking Richard Sharp for “advice” about his “personal financial matters” just days before he was announced as the new BBC chairman. Mr Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, was warned by officials to stop discussing his financial arrangements with Mr Sharp on 22 December 2020, according

A proportion of Conservative members feel “disconnected” from the party as they were “denied a vote” when Rishi Sunak became prime minister, a former Tory chairman said. Sir Jake Berry, who was chair under Liz Truss, said Mr Sunak should have held an “endorsement vote” to show he had the support of the membership. Instead,

HS2 will end at Euston after reports the high-speed line could stop before reaching central London, the chancellor has confirmed. Jeremy Hunt said he did not see “any conceivable circumstance” the original plan would not be followed and that he was “incredibly proud” of the work going ahead. The endpoint of the line came into

Those worried about the health of British politics have diagnosed a new disease at Westminster. Chris Patten, a grandee from the Conservative establishment, spotted what he called “Long Boris” last summer. Weeks after Boris Johnson announced his resignation as prime minister, Lord Patten, a former party chairman and former BBC chairman, lamented the persistent “corrupting

The NHS is in the worst crisis in its 75 years, say health experts. And you only had to listen to the heart-wrenching stories of the audience during a live Sky News programme on the NHS at Coventry Hospital for the reality of that to be laid bare. There was James, whose wife died after

Rishi Sunak has refused to place his full confidence behind Nadhim Zahawi as the Tory party chairman faces an investigation into whether he breached the ministerial code over an HMRC tax settlement. The prime minister, speaking from Chequers during an awayday with his cabinet, said he believes “in due process” when asked if he has

Parliament’s reputation is being put at risk by groups of MPs that can be funded by lobbyists, according to a rare joint letter from the speakers of both the House of Commons and Lords. Parliament’s two most powerful figures called for a major overhaul in the way All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) operate in a letter

Sir Keir Starmer has suggested the job of prime minister is “too big” for a “hopelessly weak” Rishi Sunak as he attacked him for failing to sack Nadhim Zahawi. At PMQs, the Labour leader asked if “any politician who seeks to avoid taxes they owe in the country is not fit to be in charge”

Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked as Tory party chairman after an ethics inquiry into the handling of his tax affairs found a “serious breach” of the ministerial code. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had resisted earlier calls from opposition parties to fire Mr Zahawi following reports that he had paid a penalty as part of an

The North of England receives one of the lowest levels of investment among advanced economies, a think tank has said. Greece would be the only OECD nation to see less public and private investment, if the region was a country, according to a new IPPR North report. Researchers found the UK as a whole ranks

A Conservative former minister has become the first Tory MP to publicly call for Nadhim Zahawi to stand down as party chairman. Caroline Nokes said there are “too many unanswered questions” over the former chancellor’s multi-million pound tax dispute and that he is “leading too many front pages”. “When you become the story it’s a

Archbishops have called for a “radical redesign” of England’s “broken” social care system. A so-called National Care Covenant, setting out the rights and responsibilities of national and local government, communities, families and citizens should be established, the Archbishops’ Commission on Reimagining Care said. Published today, it also calls on the government to “set out a

Rishi Sunak has ordered an investigation into Nadhim Zahawi as he resisted calls to sack the Tory party chairman over his tax dispute. The prime minister asked new ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus on Monday to assess whether the cabinet minister breached the ministerial code with the HMRC settlement he made while he was chancellor.

Nadhim Zahawi settled his tax issue with HMRC while he was serving as chancellor, a government source has told Sky News. Questions about the now Tory Chairman’s deal with tax authorities have continued to swirl, even after he released a statement to “address some of the confusion about my finances”. On Saturday he admitted he