Politics

Thousands of beds in shelters and new supported living accommodation in England will be provided as part of a strategy to end rough sleeping. An extra 14,000 emergency beds for rough sleepers and 3,000 support staff roles will be created this year as part of a three-year £500m plan, according to the Department for Levelling

Whether it is Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak who becomes Conservative leader on Monday, they will be the third in six years to become UK prime minister by the grace and favour of the Tory party membership and without the other 99% of the electorate giving their endorsement at a general election. Liz Truss, and

Voting in the Conservative leadership contest has ended, with the party’s next leader to be announced on Monday. After a long and bitter summer of campaigning, there is nothing more Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak can do to try and win the keys to Number 10. The winner of the race, and subsequently the next

A cabinet minister and a top Number 10 aide serve at the heart of Boris Johnson’s government despite allegations of sexual misconduct, a Sky News investigation can reveal. Sky News has published testimony from two women who give detailed, first-hand accounts of what they claim happened to them when one was assaulted and the other

Boris Johnson has given his support to the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk, promising £700m of government funding for the project. He confirmed the move during a speech from the site in one of his final acts as prime minister – and amid the rising cost of living crisis – saying he was

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has told Sky News that nobody should be cut off this winter because they can’t pay their energy bills. In an exclusive interview with Kay Burley, he accused Russia of using energy to divide Western countries, but he insisted the UK must continue to support Ukraine. Mr Zahawi promised there would be

The Queen will receive the new prime minister at her Balmoral estate in Scotland for the first time in her long reign. Her Majesty will meet either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak on 6 September, a day after one of them is announced as the winner in the race for 10 Downing Street. She would

After Tory MPs sprinted through five rounds of voting for a new party leader in just a week, the battle for the votes of party members has already been a six-week marathon. For Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak it’s almost the end of the road as they prepare for the 12th and final Conservative Party

The government’s target to bring gigabit broadband to “every home and business across the UK” by 2025 seems to have been scaled back to reach 85% of the country instead. Boris Johnson made the initial pledge as part of his 2019 manifesto, with £5bn of funding behind the scheme. However, in a press release published

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi will travel to the United States this week to meet top bankers and US government officials to try and seek joint solutions to the cost of living crisis. Mr Zahawi is expected to push for co-operation on energy security, financial services and tackling spiralling prices as the government faces growing pressure to

Liz Truss has cancelled a scheduled interview on the BBC with just a week to go before the next Conservative Party leader is announced. A BBC spokesperson said: “Liz Truss has cancelled her BBC One interview with Nick Robinson which was due to air this Tuesday evening (30 August) at 7pm. “Ms Truss’s team say

Four new bank holidays should be created in the UK to reward a “nation of grafters”, according to a union. Workers in England and Wales typically get eight bank holidays a year – but some European countries have 15, almost twice as much. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is calling for a “national conservation” on

People relying on the state pension could be left with less than £11 a day to live on from next April because of the soaring cost of energy, according to Sky News analysis. A leading charity working with older people said it is “seriously worried” and called on the government to step in urgently. According

Boris Johnson has admitted that energy bills will be “eye-watering” this winter – and the cost of heating is already “frightening” for some. Writing in The Mail on Sunday, the outgoing prime minister blamed Vladimir Putin for the worsening crisis – and claimed the Russian president “likes it”. And although Mr Johnson warned the months

Emmanuel Macron has responded after Liz Truss refused to say if he was a “friend or foe” during the penultimate Conservative leadership hustings on Thursday. Asked if Mr Macron, the French president and leader of the UK’s closest neighbour, was a “friend or foe”, the Conservative leadership race frontrunner replied: “The jury is out.” She

Pressure is mounting on the government to put forward detailed proposals to curb rocketing gas and electricity prices after energy regulator Ofgem announced the price cap for an average household will rise to £3,549 a year in October. The figure is £800 more than the forecast figure that was provided to Rishi Sunak in May