Politics

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

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

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

Unions are threatening to hold co-ordinated strikes in the coming months as they attempt to secure inflation-matching pay rises for workers struggling with the cost of living crisis. According to the Observer, a series of motions will be tabled at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in September, calling for unions to work together to increase

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

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has admitted that the soaring energy price cap will cause “stress and anxiety for many people” – but added that “help is coming” from the government. This morning, energy regulator Ofgem announced the price cap for an average household will rise to £3,549 a year in October, £800 more than the forecast

Boris Johnson has pledged the government will announce “extra cash” in September to support households further with energy bills – after Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi suggested people should cut back on their usage. The outgoing PM said: “There’s a pipeline of cash coming through over the next few months and through the autumn and the winter.

Liz Truss refused to say if Emmanuel Macron is a “friend or foe” during the penultimate leadership hustings which also saw her take aim at “extremely boring” Keir Starmer. The foreign secretary did not pull any punches when faced with quick-fire questions from TalkTV host Julia Hartley-Brewer at the event in Norwich. Asked if the French

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

Rishi Sunak has said it was “wrong to empower scientists” during the pandemic and claimed lockdown “trade-offs” were never properly discussed. In an interview for The Spectator on the “inside story of lockdown”, the former chancellor attacked the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) for having too much influence over government decision-making during the COVID

Police are investigating a social media post which appeared to show a Plaid Cymru councillor posing with a gun while commenting that he was making sure “there wasn’t any English people trying to cross the channel”. Jon Scriven, who represents Penyrheol in Caerphilly, subsequently deleted the Facebook post and apologised. A Plaid Cymru spokesman said

It was a 3am rise for a dawn police raid in Surrey. But the home secretary – a regular at these kind of events – wanted to project a steady hand at the Home Office, getting on with business as usual when everything else is in a state of flux.  On this occasion, the raid was a

Liz Truss has been accused of presiding over budget cuts to the Environment Agency that have resulted in “doubled sewage discharge”. Labour Party analysis of official figures shows that since 2016, when the Tory leadership hopeful was in charge of Defra – raw sewage discharge more than doubled from 14.7 per overflow in 2016 to

Families who have taken in Ukrainian refugees should receive double the funding amid the cost of living crisis, the minister in charge of the scheme has said.  Lord Harrington, the refugees minister, said he fears around a quarter of households hosting people who have fled the war could pull out after the first six months

Rishi Sunak vowed to make Britain a “science superpower” while Liz Truss pledged to put the West Midlands “at the heart of our economic revival” in their latest policy announcements. The Tory leadership contenders are continuing to set out their visions for the country as the leadership race enters its final fortnight, with the pair

Liz Truss is preparing to hold a budget next month without an official economic forecast – despite one being ready should she ask for it. Having an emergency budget in September – in which she will make long-term funding pledges – has been a key part of the frontrunner’s campaign to get into Number 10.