Politics

A law allowing the deportation of illegal migrants and effectively banning them from claiming asylum could be introduced by the home secretary as she unveils plans for another “crackdown” on Channel crossings. In her first major speech to the Conservative Party conference, Suella Braverman is expected to set out proposals for legislation that will go

The chancellor has admitted it has been a tough day after he was forced to U-turn on cutting income tax for the rich. Kwasi Kwarteng began his keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference by saying: “What a day, it has been tough but we need to focus on the job in hand.” Just hours

A little under four weeks as prime minister and it couldn’t really have gone worse for Liz Truss. A mini-budget that precipitated a run on the pound (it has rallied a bit since), a £65bn emergency intervention by the Bank of England to prop up pension funds, and the withdrawal of nearly 1,000 mortgage deals

Kwasi Kwarteng is facing calls for an official inquiry following a report that he attended a private champagne reception with hedge fund managers following his mini-budget. The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the chancellor joined the gathering in Chelsea on 23 September and was said to have been “egged on” to pursue his plan of

Liz Truss and the Tories’ approval ratings have again plummeted in a fresh poll – as Labour jumped to a 19-point lead. The Opinium poll showed 55% of voters disapprove of the new prime minister and just 18% approve, which is worse than Boris Johnson’s final days in office. Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is no more

The devolved governments of the UK want an urgent meeting with Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to discuss immediate action to reverse the damaging effects of the mini-budget. In a joint letter, the finance ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are warning that the government’s spending plans are a “huge gamble” that will mean another decade

Liz Truss has for the first time acknowledged that “there has been disruption” to the UK economy following last week’s mini budget. Since the chancellor’s announcement of £45bn in tax cuts the value of the pound has plummeted, nearly half of mortgages have been pulled and the Bank of England launched a £65bn bail-out to

The mini-budget “seemed designed to provoke the markets” when they were already vulnerable, a backbench Tory MP has said, in the latest criticism of the new government from its own side. Writing in The House magazine, Waveney MP Peter Aldous joined the criticism of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng‘s mini-budget last week. He highlighted the

You have to go back to Tony Blair’s honeymoon period after his 1997 landslide general election victory to find a Labour opinion poll lead as massive as 33 points. All those critics of Sir Keir Starmer – mostly on the Corbynista left-wing of the party, who’ve claimed with the Tories in turmoil, Labour should be

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has insisted the government is focusing on “delivering the growth plan” and “protecting people right across the country” despite a week of market turmoil. The chancellor, who announced his mini-budget last Friday, said without the government’s plans it could not generate the income and tax revenue needed to pay for the public

Liz Truss’s cabinet is to be asked to find “efficiency savings” in Whitehall budgets, Sky News understands, putting huge pressure on frontline services.  During the leadership contest, Ms Truss said that she was “not planning public spending reductions”. Now the Treasury is expected to send out a letter within hours to secretaries of state insisting

Sir Keir Starmer has called for a recall of parliament to discuss the financial market turmoil following Friday’s mini-budget. Speaking to reporters, the Labour leader said the move by the Bank of England to launch a temporary bond-buying programme to prevent “material risk” to UK financial stability was “very serious”. Politics Hub: ‘Growing movement’ for

Labour will tomorrow unveil plans to ensure every primary school child in England has access to fully funded breakfast clubs under a government led by Sir Keir Starmer. Announcing the scheme on the final day of the party’s conference in Liverpool, Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, will say the policy will be paid for

A Labour MP has been suspended from the party after she was accused of making “racist” comments about the chancellor. Rupa Huq was administratively suspended pending an investigation after she claimed that Kwasi Kwarteng was “superficially” black. The MP for Ealing Central and Acton made the remarks about the UK’s first black chancellor at a

Sir Keir Starmer will claim a “changed” Labour can turn the UK into a “growth superpower” in his keynote conference speech – as a new poll gave the party its largest lead over the Conservatives in more than two decades. The Labour leader will tell party delegates in Liverpool on Tuesday that Labour’s Green Prosperity

Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said the UK government is putting the economy in danger and attacked Prime Minister Liz Truss’s plan of “trickle-down economics” after the pound sank to a record low against the dollar. Sterling slipped to a low of $1.0327 on Monday, before stabilising at around $1.07, following lows seen after

Labour will pledge to “build British industry” through the use of a state-owned investment fund during the second day of the party’s conference in Liverpool. In her speech later today, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, will set out the party’s industrial strategy, which includes promises to invest in national projects from battery factories to clean

Labour will reverse the cut in the higher rate of income tax if it wins power at the next election, Sir Keir Starmer has said. Around 660,000 of the highest earners on more than £150,000 will benefit from the scrapping of the 45p rate, getting back on average £10,000 a year. Asked if Labour would

After last year’s showdown with the Labour left on party rules and the resignation of a shadow cabinet minister, Sir Keir Starmer is hoping for a calmer, happier conference in Liverpool. But the leader knows he is not in control of all his party’s levers – and his bête noires in Momentum and the Corbyn-backing

Sir Keir Starmer has accused the Conservatives of showing their “true colours” by unveiling tax cuts that will benefit the wealthiest most. Arriving at Labour’s party conference in Liverpool, he vowed to set out a plan for “an economy that works for working people” – unlocking “growth for everyone”. According to the Opposition, the mini-budget