The chancellor is set to increase the national living wage to £9.50 in Wednesday’s budget, Sky News has been told. It will rise from the current living wage of £8.91 per hour for those aged 23 and over, which the government says will give full-time workers an extra £1,000 a year. The national living wage
Politics
When Rishi Sunak stands up to deliver his budget and three-year spending review on Wednesday it will be his first real opportunity to set the tenor of his chancellorship unencumbered from the immediate crisis of COVID – although the fall-out of this pandemic will undoubtedly loom large. It will make a change for a chancellor
Rishi Sunak has refused to be drawn on the future of the eastern leg of HS2 just three days before announcing his spending plans in the autumn Budget later this week. Deflecting a question on the matter on Sky’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday, the chancellor also failed to confirm whether a new Northern Powerhouse Rail
England’s regional mayors have welcomed a £6.9bn spending boost for local transport – but they are also being warned of a “massive sting in the tail” to come from Chancellor Rishi Sunak. At next week’s budget and spending review, Mr Sunak is expected to announce £5.7bn will be put into transport settlements for city regions,
A former British spy who wrote a dossier on Donald Trump said he once spent hours with then home secretary Theresa May, briefing her on the Russia threat. Christopher Steele also revealed he had been asked by a UK official to review sensitive government documents on Russia just days before his dossier, which alleged collusion
Boris Johnson has said there is “absolutely nothing to indicate” the country will enter a new lockdown this winter, although he added the government would “do whatever we have to do to protect the public”. On a visit to a vaccination centre in west London on Friday, the prime minister repeated his call for those
The government will not change the six-month gap between second doses of the coronavirus vaccine and the booster jab unless the UK’s vaccine advisory body recommends it, a health minister has said. Care minister Gillian Keegan told Kay Burley on Sky News that ministers will “do whatever” the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)
Conservative Party fundraising bosses are embroiled in a row over claims they offered dinner with the housing secretary to property developers for £4,000, Sky News can reveal. Michael Gove refused to be sat with developers at an event at the party’s conference in Manchester earlier this month following a furious behind the scenes row. He
A health minister has denied there is a “plan C” to control COVID-19 by restricting household gatherings in England at Christmas if hospital admissions get worse. Edward Argar told Sky News it is “not something I’m aware of” after reports claimed Whitehall officials are considering not allowing members of different households to meet in each
COVID cases could hit 100,000 a day, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has warned – but he confirmed England will not yet move to the government’s plan B for dealing with pressures on hospitals this winter. Speaking at a Downing Street news conference on Wednesday, Mr Javid cautioned that the coronavirus pandemic “is not over”. “Thanks
“Plan B” coronavirus restrictions must be enforced immediately to prevent the UK “stumbling to a winter crisis”, an NHS leader has warned. NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor has urged the government to bring back certain measures, including mandatory face coverings in public places. His remarks came as the UK recorded 223 COVID-related deaths on
The government’s net zero strategy will “support up to 440,000 jobs” by 2030, a business minister has said – as he announced a move towards the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. The new plan, published on Tuesday, has the intention of dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions to reach the government’s
Households will be able to apply for a £5,000 grant to swap their gas boiler for a low-carbon heat pump, as part of government plans to cut emissions. The government announced that the £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which is part of the more than £3.9bn funding to cut carbon from heating and buildings, will be
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told MPs that Southend-on-Sea will be given city status – a long-running campaign of Sir David Amess – as he led tributes to the murdered MP. Mr Johnson described Sir David as a “steadfast servant” of the House of Commons, a “prodigious campaigner” for his chosen causes, and a “dear
The deputy prime minister has said online hate is “out of control” but a wedge should not be put in between MPs and their constituents after the murder of Sir David Amess. Dominic Raab called for the vilification of MPs to stop as he paid tribute to the “big-hearted” Sir David, who was stabbed to
The deputy prime minister has said online hate is “out of control” but a wedge should not be put in between MPs and their constituents after the murder of Sir David Amess. Dominic Raab called for the vilification of MPs to stop as he paid tribute to the “big-hearted” Sir David, who was stabbed to