15 h. ago Cocaine found at Tory party conference as investigators discover traces in the toilets

Just a week after traces of cocaine were found at a Labour Party conference event, a Daily Star Sunday investigation has discovered the Class-A drug in the toilets of the Tory conference in Manchester

Events

18 h. ago SNP backs Swinney’s ‘clear’ strategy for new independence referendum

Members overwhelmingly endorse leadership motion that majority at next Holyrood election is only route to second voteSNP members have overwhelmingly backed leader John Swinney’s “clear and unambiguous” independence strategy that a majority election win is the only route to another referendum.On the first day of the party’s annual conference in Aberdeen, the vast majority of members backed the leadership’s motion that next May’s Holyrood elections should be fought on a “clear platform of national independence” and that winning a majority in the Scottish parliament – by securing 65 seats or more – would be “the only uncontested way to deliver a new vote on Scotland’s future”. Continue reading...

Politics

19 h. ago John Swinney sees off SNP rebels to win conference backing for Scottish independence strategy

The First Minister faced a potential banana skin on the opening day of his party's conference in Aberdeen.

Politics

21 h. ago SNP conference LIVE as John Swinney sees off party rebellion on IndyRef2 plans

The Nationalists are determined to stretch their time in power at Holyrood into a third decade when a crunch Scottish election rolls around in May next year.

Society

24 h. ago Stephen Flynn kicks off SNP conference by painting John Swinney's stability as the party's strength

The big challenge for the SNP over the next three days is coming up with a strategy to win the 2026 election.

Politics

28 h. ago BRIAN READE: 'For their arrogance and shameless lying, Tories deserve to be in history's dustbin'

The Conservative Party Conference was almost pornographic with its passion for Margaret Thatcher, says Brian Reade, but clinging to the memory of a dead leader while in total denial of its disastrous recent past, speaks volumes

Politics

34 h. ago Inside Plaid Cymru's conference as party stands on brink of seismic change

Not since 1999 has the party had such a surge of excitement through the ranks, one member told me

Politics

36 h. ago Flynn: Starmer has pushed ‘broken’ Britain from ‘bad to worse’

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn will say Scotland needs a ‘fresh start’ with independence during his opening speech at the party’s conference.

Politics

47 h. ago Kemi Badenoch's masterstroke? ANDREW PIERCE on how the Tories could make a BIG comeback

Kemi Badenoch's barnstorming speech at party conference may have just turned the tide for the Conservative Party.

Politics

54 h. ago I saw desperation at the Tory conference – but all traditional parties may be in this position soon | Andy Beckett

The feeling of crisis in Manchester also afflicts Labour and the Lib Dems. It leaves voters facing a dangerously unstable political orderMuch of democratic politics is about getting people’s attention. That’s a particular problem for struggling, less-than-compelling leaders. The further your party falls in the polls, the larger the temptation to launch dramatic, supposedly transformational policies. It’s like speaking more and more loudly to someone who has stopped listening.Thus this week’s Conservative conference in Manchester, with the party at historic lows in the polls, featured a frenzy of policy announcements, on once-successful Tory themes such as tax cuts, law and order, welfare and immigration, that were often made to half-empty rooms. Expanses of blue carpet had been installed in the huge, barn-like convention centre – as if to reassure delegates that the party still had an identity – yet much of the time they were eerily deserted. The Conservatives, famed and feared for ...

Politics

60 h. ago Most Britons back Kemi Badenoch's £9billion plan to abolish the much

The Conservative leader electrified her party conference this week by unveiling a dramatic £9billion plan to abolish the hated tax.

Economics

2 d. ago Starmer’s days as PM ‘over’ if SNP wins majority at Holyrood, says Swinney

The First Minister was speaking ahead of his party’s conference in Aberdeen this weekend.

Politics

3 d. ago Kemi Badenoch emphatically sees off Tory leadership rivals with stunning 'big bazooka' promise to abolish stamp duty and 'save Britain' from Starmer's doom loop

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch electrified her party's annual conference in Manchester by announcing plans for an audacious £9 billion tax cut funded by a crackdown on welfare and waste.

Politics

3 d. ago Kemi Badenoch has put her stamp on the Tory leadership with big tax reveal – but will it be enough to save her?

After the Tories looked dead and buried in Manchester and Jenrick looked ready to take over as leader, Kemi Badenoch produced a speech which has breathed life into her party and leadership, says David Maddox

Politics

3 d. ago Absolutely massive world leaders to rival the 7'2" Never Ending Tory – and some bonus tiny ones

Wannabe Prime Minister James McAlpine has made waves at the Conservative party conference with his 7’2” frame. Now we look at some other political giants

Politics

3 d. ago Even the Conservatives can't stop talking about Andy Burnham

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch made sure to mention the Greater Manchester mayor in her speech at the party's conference

Events

3 d. ago All the weirdest, scariest and embarrassing things we saw at Tory conference 2025

It's been a rough few days for Kemi Badenoch and co at the Tory Party Conference in Manchester - from botched merch, rows of empty seats and Robert Jenrick being a bit odd

Politics

3 d. ago LIZZY BUCHAN: Empty seats at Tory conference underline grim reality for troubled party

'Kemi Badenoch has probably bought herself some time with the Tory party - at least until the looming nightmare of the local elections in May. But was anyone else listening?'

Events

3 d. ago Who is Kemi Badenoch's husband Hamish? Tory leader uses conference speech to thank 'Ham' as she tells party members she 'would not be standing here today' without him

In her keynote address to the Tory gathering in Manchester, Mrs Badenoch hailed the party as 'my family', adding this was 'in many ways quite literally'.

Politics

3 d. ago Kemi Badenoch pledges to scrap Stamp Duty as Tories desperately battle for attention

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch used her party conference speech to brazenly claim that the Tories were the only ones to undo the damage they inflicted in power

Events