Politics

Andy Burnham has backed Labour’s newly announced candidate for the Gorton and Denton by-election, after being blocked from standing himself by the party’s governing body. In a post on X, the Greater Manchester mayor congratulated Angeliki Stogia, a city councillor for Whalley Range, and said she would do “a great job”. He added: “I will…

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 Beth joins the prime minister on his historic trip to China, where he has met the country’s president, Xi Jinping. It’s a trip that has sparked debate back in the UK, amid worries over espionage and security. But has it helped reset…

Jeffrey Epstein wired thousands of pounds after Lord Peter Mandelson’s husband asked him to pay for his osteopathy course fees, according to emails included in newly released Epstein files. More than three million documents were published by the US Department of Justice on Friday relating to disgraced paedophile financier Epstein. On 7 September 2009, Lord…

Keir Starmer describes himself as a “British pragmatist” who takes a “common sense” approach. When it comes to global affairs, and domestic ones too, he isn’t one to grandstand, he’d rather try to get things done. That has been the entire tenor of his three-day visit to China as the former human rights lawyer-turned prime…

China has lifted restrictions on some British MPs and peers and will now allow all parliamentarians to visit the country, Sir Keir Starmer has said. Speaking to Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby, the prime minister said the sanctions have been a “real cause for concern across parliament”, and he had raised the issue with…

Eleanor Dalley didn’t think she’d live to see 50 after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2019. There is no cure, and most people die within a few years as they lose their ability to move, eat, talk and breathe. But for Eleanor, there was a lifeline – a breakthrough drug that has…

The government has restated its rejection of the campaign from women who claimed they were owed billions after their state pensions age was changed. The Women Against State Pension Inequality – WASPI – campaign has lobbied extensively after claiming they were not given sufficient warning of the state pension age for women being lifted to…

A fifth man has been arrested in relation to arson attacks on properties and a car linked to Sir Keir Starmer last year. The 19-year-old was taken to an Essex police station on Wednesday and subsequently released under investigation, pending further enquiries. It comes after a Toyota RAV4, which Sir Keir had previously sold, was…

Scotland’s health secretary has assured MSPs that he has “no doubt” the scandal-hit Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is “safe” after being repeatedly questioned during a Holyrood debate. It comes as the super hospital remains under intense scrutiny amid long-running infection concerns as the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry continues. In closing submissions earlier in January, NHS Greater…

Kemi Badenoch has said the Conservatives have “values of the right” but that “will appeal to the majority”. The Tory leader listed policies including lower taxes on business and improving education standards as ones that define her party. Politics live: Follow the latest updates Speaking to Sky’s political correspondent Mhari Aurora, Ms Badenoch said: “Delivering…