Politics

Conservative members are facing delays in receiving their postal ballots to vote for who they want to be the party’s next leader due to security fears. In a letter sent to Tory members seen by Sky News, the Conservative Party’s head of membership confirmed postal ballots will arrive “a little later than we originally said”

Liz Truss has extended her lead over Rishi Sunak among Tory members, according to a new poll, after the foreign secretary U-turned on a plan to link public sector pay to regional living costs. On Monday night, the leadership race frontrunner said she would save £8.8bn by introducing regional pay boards instead of national ones

Liz Truss has U-turned on her latest leadership policy pitch to “wage war on Whitehall waste” after a Tory backlash over its impact on public sector pay. On Monday night, the foreign secretary said she would save £8.8m by introducing regional pay boards instead of national ones to set salaries for civil servants, reflecting where

Former Tory leadership contender Penny Mordaunt has endorsed Liz Truss in the race to be prime minister, in a huge blow to Rishi Sunak. Ms Mordaunt announced her backing for the foreign secretary as she introduced her at the latest Conservative leadership hustings in Exeter, declaring Ms Truss as “the hope candidate” who “knows what

Rishi Sunak is promising a “radical” change if he becomes prime minister by cutting the basic rate of income tax from 20p in the pound to 16p by the end of the next parliament. In his latest pitch to Conservative Party members, the former chancellor claims the 20% reduction would be “one of the most

A retweet by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, showing Rishi Sunak stabbing Boris Johnson in the back, has been branded “dangerous” by a fellow Conservative MP. The picture has the prime minister and the former chancellor’s faces imposed onto those of Roman leader Julius Caesar and one of the men who conspired against and killed him,

Rishi Sunak has pledged to introduce a temporary £10 fine for NHS patients who fail to attend a GP appointment as he tries to bridge the gap with Liz Truss in the Tory leadership race. The former chancellor acknowledged he is “playing catch-up” to the foreign secretary in the battle to become the next prime

Tom Tugendhat has admitted foreign secretary “would be a fantastic job to do” – but insisted Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss has made him no promises. Mr Tugendhat, who also stood as a candidate to take over from Boris Johnson, is the latest senior Tory MP to back Ms Truss over Rishi Sunak. Mr Tugendhat

Summer getaways and weekend plans could be severely disrupted today during a fresh round of rail strikes – with an “amber traffic warning” also in force on the roads. The Aslef union says train drivers at seven rail companies are staging a 24-hour walkout in a dispute over pay, and there are fears millions of

Former Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat has endorsed Liz Truss in the race to be prime minister, in a huge blow to Rishi Sunak. Writing in The Times, Mr Tugendhat said that the foreign secretary’s promises of tax cuts are based on “true Conservative principles” and that she can unite the party. He said: “Liz

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has revealed his support for cabinet colleague Liz Truss in the Tory leadership race. Mr Wallace described Ms Truss as “authentic, honest and experienced”, and with having “integrity” for the top job. The defence secretary, who was himself widely tipped to become the next Conservative Party leader before ruling himself out

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said one of his shadow ministers was sacked yesterday for making up policy “on the hoof” as he stood on a picket line during rail strikes. Sam Tarry was dismissed from his role as a junior shadow transport minister after he disobeyed orders for frontbench Labour MPs to not

Senior Labour MP John McDonnell says he supports a general strike and criticised Sir Keir Starmer for sacking a junior minister after he stood on the picket line during yesterday’s rail strike. Mr McDonnell, who was shadow chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn, told Sky News the Labour Party should be supporting the strikes as rail workers

A Labour MP has been removed from the party’s frontbench by Sir Keir Starmer after giving a TV interview on the picket line during a rail strike. Sam Tarry, the MP for Ilford South and shadow transport minister, was this morning at Euston station along with rail workers taking industrial action over pay and conditions.

Tonight’s Conservative Party leadership debate between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak was halted after presenter Kate McCann fainted during the live broadcast. Ms Truss held her hands to her face and said “oh my God” after a loud crash was heard – and then the contest was taken off air. TalkTV said Ms McCann is

Rishi Sunak has announced a plan to scrap VAT on energy bills – a significant U-turn on his previous pledge not to make any immediate tax cuts. The former chancellor said that if he becomes prime minister he would implement the temporary measure to save the average household £160. It marks a notable change of

The blue on blue attacks have ramped up after Rishi Sunak was accused of “mansplaining” to Liz Truss during their first head-to-head TV debate. Mr Sunak spoke over Ms Truss several times as she attempted to explain her tax-cutting policies to the BBC audience of Tory members. This prompted accusations of “mansplaining” – when a

Sir Keir Starmer has suggested Labour would drop its pledge to renationalise the railways, despite repeated promises to do so. The Labour leader insisted he took a “pragmatic” approach when asked about whether he would place rail, energy and water companies back under public ownership. His view appears to have changed since he became leader

Liz Truss’ team has accused Rishi Sunak of cosying up to China while he was chancellor after he pledged to impose curbs on Beijing and called it the “biggest long-term threat to Britain”. Mr Sunak has promised to close all 30 of China’s Confucius Institutes in the UK in a major hardening of government policy

The two remaining Tory leadership candidates have vowed to continue the government’s controversial scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. While former chancellor Rishi Sunak said he would do “whatever it takes” for the current policy to work, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she would expand it to other countries. They both said they would