The Tory leadership race is getting increasingly crowded: a dozen candidates are now bidding for the top job. Rishi Sunak remains the front runner, but can he hold off challenges from fellow favourites Liz Truss and Penny Mordaunt? Around half of Tory MPs have nailed their colours to the mast; you can read the exhaustive list of
It’s day three of the Tory leadership race. As things stand there are nine declared candidates: Rishi Sunak, Nadhim Zahawi, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Sajid Javid, Tom Tugendhat, Jeremy Hunt, Grant Shapps and Penny Mordaunt. All eyes are on Liz Truss to see whether she will choose to launch today or tomorrow, ahead of the
Nadhim Zahawi, Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt have declared their candidacy this evening. Ben Wallace, who had topped the poll among Tory activists, has announced that he won’t be standing in the Tory leadership race. Rishi Sunak is now leading the field in both MPs’ endorsement – he has 24 – and bookmaker’s odds (below). Sajid Javid has
Boris Johnson has announced his resignation but insisted he will stay on as Prime Minister until a new leader is appointed. Speaking on the steps of No. 10 this afternoon, Boris said he was ‘immensely proud’ of his achievements in office’. The PM’s decision to step down came after over 50 of his ministers resigned and Nadhim Zahawi,
Boris Johnson has announced that he is resigning as Prime Minister after facing a tide of ministerial resignations. Below is the full list of cabinet ministers, junior ministers and other government employees who resigned, forcing the Prime Minister to act. Cabinet ministers who have resigned from Boris Johnson’s government: 1. Oliver Dowden, party chairman (5.35 a.m. 24
Michael Gove has been sacked from the cabinet, as Boris Johnson attempts to reassert control after today’s 41 ministerial resignations. The Levelling-Up secretary had urged the Prime Minister to quit, a message later reinforced by a delegation of cabinet ministers who gathered in Downing Street earlier this evening. Nadhim Zahawi, the newly-appointed Chancellor, Michelle Donelan,
How can Boris Johnson survive this one? That’s the question all of Westminster is asking today after the resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid. A number of other colleagues have chosen to follow them out of the door: you can keep track of resignations here. But it’s not just ministers who want Boris gone:
Boris Johnson has appeared on 98 covers of The Spectator since his first in 2006. Below, we look at the best of the bunch from his political career July 2007 – Boris launches his mayoral campaign
The US Supreme Court has today officially overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling which gave women the constitutional right to have an abortion. The Court had been examining the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health, which was challenging a Mississippi law which banned abortion after 15 weeks. Following the Dobbs decision, some states will now serve as
Graham Brady, the chair of the Tory backbench 1922 committee, has announced that Boris Johnson will face a confidence vote at 6 p.m. this evening. He told the Prime Minister yesterday that the required 54 letters had been received and that would face a vote imminently. Voting for Conservative MPs finishes at 8 p.m. and
After 73 years of waiting, Prince Charles today delivered his first speech from the throne in the House of Lords to mark the State Opening of Parliament – watched on by Her Majesty in Windsor via television. Charles was escorted by Prince William, after the Yeoman Warders concluded their traditional search of the Palace of Westminster.
Boris Johnson last night addressed the 1922 committee, ahead of Thursday’s crunch vote on whether to conduct a parliamentary investigation into his handling of partygate. The Prime Minister received a warm reception from Tory MPs but many are still refusing him to back him publicly. Of the 357 Conservative MPs in the House, fewer than
Note: This article was written in advance of Tuesday’s vote. For a full list of those who actually did – or didn’t – rebel to vote against vaccine passports, please click here. On Tuesday, a vote will be held on Boris Johnson’s new Covid restrictions to tackle the Omicron variant. They will include vaccine passports for large gatherings, compulsory face
Boris Johnson’s long-awaited cabinet reshuffle is over (at least for today). After weeks of rumours that the Prime Minister would shake up his top team, today Boris finally made his move. Here are the changes to his top team: Dominic Raab has been demoted from Foreign Secretary to Justice Secretary, replaced by Liz Truss. Gavin
Dominic Cummings has given evidence to a joint meeting of the science and technology select committees about the government’s response to Covid-19. Below is how the bombshell session unfolded. The top lines: Cummings said the government’s response to Covid-19 meant that ‘tens of thousands of people died who didn’t need to die’. (14:12) Matt Hancock ‘categorically
For technology manufacturers, healthcare is already big business, and, with an ageing population increasingly comfortable with technologies that would’ve been unthinkable even a decade ago, the opportunities to innovate are only going to increase. The Future Health Index, a global report commissioned by Philips, supports the fact that it is not just the UK’s younger
The UK’s digital economy represents nearly one third of the UK economy, and if nurtured properly, it could transform government, society and culture. But are we doing enough to secure Britain’s digital future – and if not, what more can be done? This was the topic discussed by politicians and financial and technology experts at
With Britain’s exit from the European Union looming and no sign of trading instructions from Downing Street, Britain’s domestic producers and exporters are still in the dark as to whether Brexit will free them up or tie them down. Sugar is one of these sectors, but, with British sugar beet farmers already providing over half of
Isabel Hardman has been investigating the social care issue in Surrey for the Spectator in recent days. Yesterday, she spoke to the man whose texts Jeremy Corbyn quoted at PMQs today, the leader of Surrey County Council, David Hodge. Isabel and Hodge spoke just after Tory-run Surrey County Council had made the decision not to
