Politics

Sir Keir Starmer will promise the country a “decade of national renewal” if Labour gets into power at the next general election. Speaking at his party’s annual conference on Tuesday, the Labour leader will make pledges on housing, policing and devolution as he sets his sights on at least two terms in office to rescue

Two of Westminster’s best-connected journalists – Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard – provide the essential guide to politics in the week ahead. They look to what’s in store at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool – including how Sir Keir Starmer will lay out his priorities ahead of a general election –

Labour has been warned against being “too timid” and “limping into Number 10” by the head of its biggest donor on the eve of the party’s conference in Liverpool. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said she wanted the party to resemble the reforming Labour government of 1945 led by Clement Attlee in the

When Labour last met in Liverpool for its annual conference, Liz Truss had just delivered her mini-Budget, sterling had fallen to a 37-year low and the markets were about to be plunged into turmoil. With her government imploding and weeks after the Johnson collapse, Labour were on a high. Sir Keir Starmer had clocked up

This Labour Party conference will feel different. Unlike the Conservatives, they don’t need a big comeback moment to save them from dire polling, nor are there peacocking leadership hopefuls waiting in the wings (or at least, there is no looming vacancy). Instead, particularly after the massive win in the Rutherglen by-election, this is a party

Labour rallies in Scotland have been far from headline news for a very long time.  Their political sparkle fizzled out in the wake of the independence referendum in 2014 as an electoral punishment for teaming up with the Conservatives in a bitterly bruising campaign. Opponents have repeatedly poked fun at Labour’s failures at the polls,

Scottish Labour has won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election. Michael Shanks replaces shamed MP Margaret Ferrier, who was ousted from her seat in August following a successful recall petition for breaching COVID restrictions during lockdown in 2020. Voters took to the polls between 7am and 10pm on Thursday and out of the 82,104 electorate,

Sir Keir Starmer has criticised Rishi Sunak for failing to address the rising cost of living in his party conference speech after Sky News revealed how families are struggling to afford baby formula. The Labour leader was asked if he would commit to more support for struggling families after the report, which found that formula

There are fresh calls to clean up politics with stronger rules around lying after senior Tories made false statements around meat taxes and 15-minute cities at their annual party conference. Green MP Caroline Lucas told Sky News a “dishonesty epidemic is infecting the Tory party” as she called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to acquaint

He may have been prime minister for a year, but his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester felt almost like the moment Rishi Sunak introduced himself for the first time. A speech rich in announcements and packed with messages about Rishi the man and his values. He and his team knew the speech

Rishi Sunak will try and convince the public he is the person to “fundamentally change the country” and fix Westminster’s “broken system” – despite the fact his party has been in government for 13 years. The prime minister will try to present himself as a reformer who is prepared to take difficult decisions, unlike opponents,

HS2 will start at Euston rather than Old Oak Common – but between Birmingham and Manchester it will not be high speed, Sky News understands. The rail line will stop in Manchester, but from Birmingham it will switch to use existing West Coast Mainline track. It will therefore not be high speed after Birmingham –

Transgender women will be banned from being treated in female hospital wards, under new proposals suggested by the health secretary. In his conference speech, Steve Barclay will reportedly announce plans to push back against what he calls “wokery” in the NHS, which he says has led to women’s rights being increasingly sidelined. Speaking to the

The northern leg of the HS2 line is set to be scrapped, Sky News understands. Rumours had been circling for weeks that the high-speed rail line between Birmingham and Manchester was going to be axed by the prime minister and chancellor due to soaring costs. Even the reports – which have been denied by Number

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has refused to commit to tax cuts ahead of the next election, despite growing calls from inside his party. His cabinet colleague Michael Gove told Sky News on Sunday that he wanted to see “the tax burden reduced” by the time the public goes to the polls. But speaking to Kay Burley