Politics

Labour has comfortably won the Chester by-election, the first public vote since Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were forced out of Number 10. Samantha Dixon retained the seat for her party with 17,309 votes, a 61% share and nearly 11,000 more than the Conservative candidate. Labour was expected to win, but the margin was bigger

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said whenever we see racism “we must confront it” following the race row engulfing Buckingham Palace. A black domestic abuse campaigner from London said she was repeatedly asked where she “really came from” by Prince William‘s godmother during a reception at the palace this week. Although he refused to comment

Union leaders could coordinate industrial action across the NHS this winter to cause “maximum impact”, the head of the GMB has suggested. Andy Prendergast, the GMB national secretary, said health workers have had enough of “public school boys who run the government and simply don’t care” about their pay demands. More than 10,000 ambulance workers

The government is running out of prison places and has had to ask police for 400 cells to make sure there is enough accommodation for the prison population. Prisons minister Damian Hinds told MPs there had been an “acute and sudden increase in the prison population” in recent months and, as a result, the Operation

China’s military advances could “eventually lead to a clash” and the UK has been “asleep” to the threat it poses for the last 30 years, an influential Tory MP has warned. Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the defence select committee, said Beijing is “taking advantage of a timid West” and Rishi Sunak’s speech declaring the

Aboard the Lady Diana, a tourist river cruise through Chester, there is little talk of the upcoming by-election: “We don’t do politics here”, captain Paul Blessing tells me, chuckling.  But dig a little deeper, and you will find strong views on everything from shops closing to sewage in the River Dee, queues at A&E and

Rishi Sunak has said the “golden era” between the UK and China is over as he called for a new approach to the Chinese government. The prime minister, speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet at London’s Guildhall, criticised China’s human rights abuses but said the UK “cannot simply ignore China’s significance in world affairs”. Mr

Fifty migrants who have arrived in the UK this year have been diagnosed with diphtheria, the immigration minister has revealed, with the vast majority being reported in the last two months. Robert Jenrick told MPs that the number has increased significantly since he first gave an update on 1 November. The latest UK Health Security

The government will spend an extra £1bn to insulate the least energy-efficient homes in the UK, the business secretary has announced. Grant Shapps said the new Eco+ scheme was aimed at middle earners who do not benefit from any other government support to upgrade homes. Labour criticised it as a “reheated announcement with no new

Inflation-busting pay rises are “unaffordable”, cabinet minister Mark Harper has told Sky News in the face of strikes in the public sector. The transport secretary said there “simply isn’t the money” to fund such wage hikes, even in line with rising prices, given the current economic situation and state of the public finances in the

Health officials have raised concerns that some migrants have been moved from a processing centre in Kent to other parts of the country while suffering from suspected diphtheria. There have been dozens of suspected cases of diphtheria among those who have left the Manston processing centre in recent weeks, according to The Sunday Times. It

Another Conservative MP has said he will not be standing at the next general election. Chris Skidmore, the MP for Kingswood, said in a statement “there has been no greater honour in my life” than to represent the constituency, in southwest England. “Parliamentary boundary changes will result in the Kingswood constituency ceasing to exist. “With

A man who died after staying at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent did have diphtheria, the Home Office has confirmed. A government spokesperson said initial local hospital tests were false negatives, and follow-ups showed that diphtheria may have been the cause of the man’s illness. Post-mortem examinations are ongoing, meaning the official cause

Two more Conservative MPs have announced that they will not be standing at the next general election. Dehenna Davison, 29, a levelling up minister, is viewed as one of the rising stars in the Tory party, so the news of her intention to step aside will come as a surprise. “For my whole adult life,

Sharing “downblouse” images and pornographic “deepfakes” without consent will be made crimes under new legislation. The government has confirmed that an amendment to the Online Safety Bill would see police and prosecutors awarded with more powers to bring perpetrators to justice. Under the new proposals, individuals who share “deepfakes” – explicit images or videos which

Dominic Raab has insisted he has “behaved professionally at all times” despite facing growing allegations of bullying and intimidating behaviour. Yesterday, a number of the deputy PM’s former private secretaries told the BBC they were preparing to submit formal complaints about his behaviour. Newsnight was also told that Mr Raab used his personal email account