Politics

Environment Secretary Steve Reed has apologised for the “shock” suffered by farmers after the government upped taxes on farms. Ministers are battling backlash from farmers over various measures announced in last year’s budget, including introducing inheritance tax for agricultural businesses worth more than £1m, and a faster phaseout of EU-era subsidies in favour of environmental…

There are grooming gangs “in every single part of our country”, Jess Phillips has told Sky News. The safeguarding minister told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast she was issuing an “open invitation” to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to meet victims with her. Ms Badenoch’s spokesperson said she has not met…

The chancellor is under pressure because financial market moves have pushed up the cost of government borrowing, putting Rachel Reeves’ economic plans in peril. So what’s going on, and should we be worried? What is a bond? UK Treasury bonds, known as gilts because they used to literally have gold edges, are the mechanism by…

Liz Truss’ lawyers have sent a cease and desist letter to Sir Keir Starmer over his claims she “crashed the economy”. The letter says Sir Keir’s continued claim the former Conservative prime minister crashed the economy with the September 2022 mini budget is defamatory and will “likely continue to cause serious harm to her reputation”….

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has refused to condemn Donald Trump’s threat to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal. Mr Lammy told Wilfred Frost on Sky News he is “not in the business of condemning our closest ally” when asked if he would denounce the US president-elect’s rhetoric. On Wednesday, Mr Trump said he could “not…

👉Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam’s on your podcast app👈 Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard are back for 2025 with their guide to the day ahead in politics in under 20 minutes. How are global events like Trump’s moves, China’s policies, and the world economy shaping UK politics?…

A “world first” sanctions regime which specifically targets people smugglers will be introduced by the government this year, David Lammy will announce. The foreign secretary will confirm the measure in a speech on Thursday, saying it is part of Labour’s plan to reduce Channel crossings by targeting criminal networks organising the journeys. Politics latest: MPs…

A senior Conservative has called for a retrial for Lucy Letby, the nurse jailed for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others. Former minister Sir David Davis has said he believes a retrial will “clear” her, as her conviction was “built on a poor understanding of probabilities” and lacked “hard evidence”. He told…

So can you stop people smugglers by lumbering them with sanctions? That is the government’s latest idea, and it is bold and innovative. It will certainly get attention, even if that doesn’t mean it will work. But it is another effort by this government to differentiate itself from the leaders who came before. In a…

The grooming gangs scandal has been in the public eye for more than a decade, with multiple public enquiries and a string of prosecutions. All of that went apparently unnoticed by the world’s richest man, until a few days ago. Sky News analysis suggests just a handful of right-wing accounts on X prompted and developed…