Politics

Rishi Sunak landed in Bali on Monday evening with a clear message to viewers back home: the problems besetting the UK economy are shared with other industrialised nations around the world. And there are two very good reasons why he has chosen to frame the G20 summit in Indonesia in this way. Firstly, it’s an

Rishi Sunak has avoided sticking to his predecessor’s pledge to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP ahead of the autumn budget, set to be unveiled on Thursday. During her campaign for Number 10, Liz Truss said the figure would be reached by the end of the decade. But asked if he would standby her

Rishi Sunak will set out a five-point economic action plan to address global instability and the rising cost of living at this week’s G20 summit – where he will face Russia’s foreign minister and call out Vladimir Putin’s regime. The prime minister is travelling to Bali for talks with leaders of the world’s biggest economies

The last time a chancellor of the exchequer appeared on the Sunday morning political shows he helped kick the economy off a cliff-edge. Seven long weeks ago, Kwasi Kwarteng was still revelling in the aftermath of his not-so-mini budget and its promise of unfunded tax cuts, so much so he promised more to come. It

Rishi Sunak has pledged to “call out Putin’s regime” at this year’s G20 summit over the devastating turmoil inflicted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The prime minister will jet to Indonesia on Sunday ahead of talks with world leaders including US President Joe Biden, French premier Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. But Russian

Matt Hancock has been told by an I’m a Celebrity campmate that “sorry… doesn’t really cut it” over his rule-breaking during COVID. The former health secretary resigned from his post in June 2021 after pictures were leaked of him having an affair with his former aide in his office, breaking guidance about mixing with other

Dominic Raab “values” civil servants in his department, the Ministry of Justice has insisted, after bullying claims have emerged against him. Mr Raab was reappointed as justice secretary and deputy prime minister by Rishi Sunak last month, having held the roles between September 2021 and September 2022 under Boris Johnson, but having been sacked by

There is now a “window of opportunity” to fix the issues around the Northern Ireland protocol, says the Irish prime minister. Speaking after the British-Irish Council summit in Blackpool, Michael Martin said relations between the UK and EU had “improved very significantly”, and both he and British PM Rishi Sunak wanted to resolve the problems

Kwasi Kwarteng claims he told Liz Truss to “slow down” after the market crashing mini-budget was announced. The ex-chancellor, who was sacked by the then-prime minister, told TalkTV’s First Edition programme: “She said, ‘Well, I’ve only got two years’ and I said, ‘You will have two months if you carry on like this’.” Mr Kwarteng

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said he “could not speak or sleep” when he found out his wife had breast cancer. Susie Cleverly, 49, was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer in December 2021 after spotting dimpled skin underneath her right breast the month before – nearly a year ago to the day. At the

Is Rishi Sunak’s baptism of fire as prime minister evidence that politicians who’ve been Leader of the Opposition make the best PMs? Some MPs claim Mr Sunak’s early blunders – the disastrous appointment of Sir Gavin Williamson to the cabinet table and his COP27 U-turn, for example – reveal not only a lack of experience

Rishi Sunak has said it is “absolutely right” that Sir Gavin Williamson resigned and admitted he has “regret” over appointing him as a cabinet minister in light of the allegations he is facing. The prime minister insisted he “did not know about any of the specific concerns” relating to Sir Gavin’s alleged “unacceptable” behaviour in

Rishi Sunak will face PMQs this afternoon – hours after his ally Sir Gavin Williamson quit over bullying claims. The prime minister’s judgement is being questioned after he emerged that he appointed Sir Gavin to a senior role despite being aware of an investigation related to his behaviour. Sir Gavin’s departure as Cabinet Office minister

Rishi Sunak believes Sir Gavin Williamson’s account of events on the allegations he is facing and still has confidence in the cabinet minister, Downing Street has said. The Guardian newspaper reported that Sir Gavin allegedly told a senior civil servant to “slit your throat” while he was defence secretary. An ex-official from the Ministry of

The latest proposals for a major shake-up of parliamentary constituencies across the UK have been unveiled. Ten more seats would be created in England – taking the total number of MPs from 533 to 543. Wales would lose eight seats, going down to 32 MPs – with two seats removed in Scotland to leave 57

Business Secretary Grant Shapps has hinted that the government may extend the windfall tax on oil and gas companies in this month’s autumn budget as it tries to stabilise the UK’s public finances. Speaking to Sky News with just 10 days to go before the government’s fiscal plans are unveiled, Mr Shapps said: “I mean,

Rishi Sunak will call for a “global mission for new jobs and clean growth” as he joins world leaders for the first day of COP27 in Egypt. The PM, who only announced he would be attending the climate change talks in a U-turn last week, will tell attendees today it is essential countries stick to

The Liberal Democrats have called for the creation of a £3bn mortgage protection fund to assist families who are seeing their repayments soar. In a keynote speech on Sunday afternoon, party leader Sir Ed Davey said his proposal would mean homeowners who see their repayments increase by more than 10% of their income are able

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sworn to get the UK off polluting fossil fuels and on to more clean power in order to secure energy supplies, bucking claims by his predecessor Liz Truss that oil and gas expansion was vital. Addressing world leaders at COP27 in Egypt on Monday, Mr Sunak will argue the “shock”