Politics

A former sex worker has told a Holyrood committee that Scotland needs to “put the not for sale sign out” and pass new laws on prostitution. Diane Martin was giving evidence to the Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday to support proposals put forward by Alba MSP Ash Regan which, if passed, could see those convicted…

Sir Keir Starmer has said the government will not relax visa rules for India, as he embarks upon a two-day trade trip to Mumbai. The prime minister touched down this morning with dozens of Britain’s most prominent business people, including bosses from BA, Barclays, Standard Chartered, BT and Rolls-Royce. Follow updates in the Politics Hub…

A Chinese spying trial collapsed last month after the UK government would not label Beijing a national security threat, a top prosecutor has said. Christopher Berry, 33, and former parliamentary researcher Christopher Cash, 30, were accused of espionage for China. But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced on 15 September that the charges would be…

Twenty Conservative councillors have defected to Reform this morning – on the Tories’ third day of their conference. This is on top of eight Tory councillors moving to Nigel Farage’s party since March this year, including notable defector Keith Prince, a member of the London Assembly who was a Tory party member for nearly 50…

Sir Keir Starmer has condemned plans for pro-Palestine protests two years to the day since the October 7 attacks on Israel, labelling them “un-British”. Writing in The Times, the prime minister said demonstrations set to take place at several universities today showed a lack of respect for others, claiming previous rallies had been used by…

The brutal findings of the YouGov poll suggesting Conservative members want leader Kemi Badenoch out and a pact with Nigel Farage confirm what the party’s gloomy MPs are telling Sky News here in Manchester. One MP, whose majority slumped from nearly 18,000 to less than 1,500 last year, said a deal with Reform UK was…

The Conservatives have promised to abolish business rates for high street shops and pubs if they win the next election. Unveiling the policy at the party’s conference in Manchester, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said the “burden of Labour’s tax rises” had been “simply too much to bear”. The party has said its policy is…

The Tories will pledge to make even further cuts to the foreign aid budget, as the party attempts to regain its reputation for fiscal responsibility in the wake of the Truss mini-budget. Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride will unveil plans to cut overseas development aid to 0.1% of Gross National Income (GNI), down from the…

Make no mistake. There is an active plot against Kemi Badenoch at this party conference in Manchester. The leadership will never be entirely sure which mishaps, bad stories and unfortunate events are the consequence of a deliberate strategy – and which are just another thing going wrong with a party straining to stay afloat. This…

Conservative Party conferences of old were packed out events bustling with ministers, MPs, lobbyists and members. Roll on just over a year after their biggest defeat ever, and the Tories’ gathering in Manchester, from 5-8 October, will be a more sober affair. Despite their recent loss, last year’s conference was anything but subdued as it…