Politics

Since last year’s general election, Sir Mel Stride has become a familiar face for those of us who like our politics. During the campaign, he regularly found himself on breakfast TV and radio. So much so, Sir Mel was referred to as the “minister for the morning round” by some of our industry colleagues. By…

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈 Nigel Farage’s Reform won more than 40% of seats at May’s council elections. The Conservatives lost control of 16 English councils and won 20% of seats – one of the lowest proportions in the past two decades. How do the Tories make…

Growth figures for the second quarter of the year have something for everyone. A better-than-expected outturn of 0.3% over three months, helped by a healthy 0.4% bounce in June, put a little spring in the chancellor’s step on the long road to the autumn budget. For her critics, meanwhile, any slowdown from the 0.7% recorded…

More migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the 13 months that Sir Keir Starmer has been in power than that did during the whole of Rishi Sunak’s 20-month premiership. The total number of people who have arrived under Sir Keir’s time in government has now reached 50,716 – equivalent to 126…

Former Scottish parliament presiding officer Sir George Reid has died at the age of 86, his family have announced. Sir George died in the early hours of Tuesday at Strathcarron Hospice near Denny, just a few miles from where he was born in Tullibody, Clackmannanshire. First Minister John Swinney paid tribute, saying: “I am desperately…

The police’s use of facial recognition technology is to be significantly expanded in an attempt to catch more offenders, ministers have announced. Under the plans, 10 live facial recognition (LFR) vans will be used by seven forces across England to help identify “sex offenders or people wanted for the most serious crimes”, according to Home…

Police should consider disclosing the ethnicity and nationality of suspects when they are charged in high-profile and sensitive cases, new national guidance says. Coming into force today, it says there must be a policing reason to release the information, such as where there are high levels of disinformation, if it will improve public safety, or…

Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has called her anti-corruption trial a “farce” which is “driven by a clear political agenda” as proceedings began on Wednesday in Bangladesh. In a statement seen by Sky News, Ms Siddiq has said the case was “built on fabricated accusations”. Ms Siddiq was formerly the UK government’s anti-corruption minister but stood…

David Lammy has referred himself to the environment watchdog after an “administrative oversight” meant he went fishing with JD Vance without a rod licence. The foreign secretary failed to catch any fish when he hosted the US vice president at his grace-and-favour retreat in Kent on Friday. “The Foreign Secretary has written to the Environment…

The US State Department has accused the UK of having “significant human rights issues”, including restrictions on free speech. The unflattering assessment comes via a new version of an annual Human Rights Practices report, with its publication coinciding with Vice President JD Vance’s holiday in the Cotswolds. Politics Hub: Follow latest updates and analysis It…