UK

The financial markets have enjoyed a rebound as Boris Johnson dropped out of the leadership race, leaving Rishi Sunak as the favourite to become prime minister. On Monday morning, the FTSE 100 started the day with a 0.5% rise, pushing it above the 7,000-point mark for the first time in a week. And the pound

Rishi Sunak has said the UK faces a “profound economic challenge” in his first comments since being announced as the next prime minister. He said he is “humbled and honoured” after he was selected by Conservative MPs to lead the party and the nation, describing it as the “greatest privilege in my life”. Mr Sunak

Boris Johnson has pulled out of the Conservative leadership race. His withdrawal leaves the path to No 10 open to Rishi Sunak. The former prime minister had the public backing of 59 Tory MPs but had to reach 100 to proceed in the race. Mr Sunak, the former chancellor, has more than 140 backers, a

A second turn in Number 10 for Boris Johnson would be “a guaranteed disaster”, one of his former supporters has claimed. Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker revealed to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge that he would be backing Rishi Sunak in the upcoming Tory leadership contest as he would “deliver competent, capable, professional government that we

Boris Johnson has been pictured by Sky News making his way back to the UK. The former prime minister has been on holiday in the Dominican Republic but is set to return to London after telling an ally that he will run to lead the country again. He is currently on a flight to the

Boris Johnson has arrived back in the UK as speculation mounts that the former prime minister will enter the Tory leadership race. Mr Johnson has been on holiday in the Dominican Republic but flew home after Liz Truss’s dramatic resignation on Thursday. The Conservative Party has a week to pick a new leader and prime

A cabinet minister has told Sky News they believe Boris Johnson could secure the 100 nominations he needs from Conservative MPs to progress in the Tory leadership race if he were to stand. And Jacob Rees-Mogg has become the first cabinet minister to publicly declare his backing for the former PM this morning, posting on

Liz Truss has resigned as prime minister just 44 days after taking over from Boris Johnson. She will be the shortest-serving PM in British history. A new Conservative leader, who will get the keys to Number 10, is set to be elected next Friday. In a statement read outside Downing Street, Ms Truss admitted she

An investigation has been launched into the chaotic scenes in the House of Commons where Tory MPs were accused of “manhandling” their colleagues into voting. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle announced he has asked the Serjeant at Arms and other officials to investigate allegations made about incidents in the Commons on Wednesday night. He will be

A Labour motion that would have forced a vote on a bill to ban fracking has been defeated amid farcical scenes in the House of Commons. Politicians have claimed Conservative MPs were being “manhandled” and bullied into voting with the government to oppose a ban, counter to what their party manifesto said in 2019. Tory

The rate of inflation rose to 10.1% in September, according to official figures, as the economy reels from the effects of rising prices and the fallout from the mini-budget. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the consumer prices index (CPI) measure rose from an annual rate of 9.9% in August to match the recent

The NHS is setting up data-driven “war rooms” as it prepares for what could be England’s “toughest winter on record”, new plans have revealed. Under the government’s winter preparation plan, which aims to help the NHS cope during the colder months, the 24/7 “care traffic control centres” are expected to be created in every local

Liz Truss has apologised for the “mistakes” she has made in her first few volatile weeks as prime minister – but insisted she will lead the Tories into the next general election. Speaking for the first time after almost all the tax cuts announced in last month’s mini-budget were scrapped, Ms Truss said: “I recognise

It looks to be over. Jeremy Hunt’s decision to not just junk most of Liz Truss’s tax-cutting plan but go further and ditch much of her flagship energy policy signalled the end of not only “Trussonomics”, but potentially the prime minister herself. When the end comes is unclear: Ms Truss may have been bought some

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will reveal parts of his medium-term fiscal plan later today – two weeks earlier than planned. The Treasury said the chancellor, who was installed on Friday, was fast-tracking the plans, which will be released in full on 31 October. It said the decision followed conversations with Prime Minister Liz Truss over the

Conservative MPs have started to publicly call for Liz Truss to resign after just six weeks as prime minister following the economic turmoil in the wake of the mini-budget. Crispin Blunt, former chair of the foreign affairs select committee, was the first Tory MP to put his head above the parapet since Kwasi Kwarteng was

The home secretary has unveiled plans for a major crackdown on climate protesters as she pledged to stop demonstrators holding the public “to ransom”. Under the plans, Suella Braverman will give police stronger powers to take a more “proactive” approach when dealing with protests that threaten or cause “serious disruption or a serious adverse impact

Jeremy Hunt has admitted the government went “too far, too fast” and that he will have to take some “very difficult decisions” on spending and tax to get the economy back up and running. Earlier, the new chancellor admitted there “were mistakes” in Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget in an interview with Sky News.

Be in absolutely no doubt, the prime minister is in deep trouble. She has sacked her chancellor, committed a second major U-turn on her mini-budget, and junked the core of her economic policy. And she did so, awkwardly and uncomfortably, in no more than eight minutes. Government descends into chaos as PM faces battle to

Liz Truss has said “I want to be honest, this is difficult” after sacking her chancellor and reversing key policies of her government’s growth plan. In a news conference shortly after dismissing Kwasi Kwarteng, Ms Truss said: “The way we deliver our mission has to change.” But she said the “mission remains” to deliver a