Liz Bates

Every Chancellor just wants to get through a fiscal set-piece unscathed, but history tells us that’s not as easy as it seems. As Philip Hammond prepares for his Spring Statement, here are our best worst moment from the last few years.

Former Labour frontbencher Paul Flynn has come under fire over a tweet in which he said the Conservatives were sponsored by “nerve gas killers".

John McDonnell today said Labour politicians should no longer appear on Russia Today in the wake of the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal.

Labour grandee Harriet Harman is reportedly considering a bid to become Commons Speaker as John Bercow faces mounting calls to relinquish the role.   

Jeremy Corbyn has been handed a major boost as Labour took a seven-point lead over the Conservatives in a new poll.

Here is a summary of this morning's briefing for lobby journalists by the Prime Minister's official spokesman.

Theresa May is “concerned” over allegations of bullying made against the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow, Number 10 has said.

SNP firebrand Mhairi Black has revealed some of the shocking misogynistic abuse she receives online in a powerful speech in parliament today.   

England should ‘consider’ pulling out of the World Cup if the Russian state is implicated in the hospitalisation of a former spy, Emily Thornberry has said. 

DUP leader Arlene Foster has warned that her party will block any Brexit deal that divides Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

Theresa May’s landmark Brexit speech has been dismissed by EU officials as an attempt to win over the Tory party, according to a leaked report. 

Here is a summary of this morning's briefing for lobby journalists by the Prime Minister's official spokesman.

Controversial transgender model Munroe Bergdorf has stepped down as an equalities advisor to the Labour Party.

Theresa May’s ambition to secure free trade with the EU after Brexit by matching its standards was dismissed by a top EU official last night.

Councils are still waiting to use new powers to tackle empty homes that were announced in the Autumn Budget, it has been revealed.

Tory backbencher Bob Stewart has suggested that teachers in American high schools may have to be armed in the wake of the latest school shooting in Florida.

Theresa May landed gags about David 'Mad Max' Davis, David Cameron's "wheely shed" and the Matt Hancock app as she addressed the Westminster Correspondents Dinner last night. Here are some of the best.

New rules that will allow councils to keep more revenue from business rates could cause a widening funding gap between different areas, a leading thinktank has claimed.  

Top Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused Sir John Major of “propaganda” and “hypocrisy” after the former Prime Minister's key Brexit speech earlier today. 

Former minister David Jones has accused Brussels of trying to annex Northern Ireland through its latest Brexit offer.

An ex-senior civil servant who served under Liam Fox has described Brexit as “swapping a three-course meal for a packet of crisps”.

The row over post-Brexit customs arrangements on the island of Ireland has reignited after leaked plans look set to divide the UK.

Britain must not “sell out” and join a customs union with the EU after Brexit, Liam Fox will warn today.

Former communist and senior Unite figure Andrew Murray has been hired by Jeremy Corbyn to help shape strategy as the party develops its Brexit stance. 

David Davis has accused Jeremy Corbyn of “selling snake oil” after Labour pledged support for a post-Brexit customs union with the EU. 

The average council tax bill is expected to increase by £107 this year, according to new research by the Local Government Association.

Theresa May has been warned that backing down over a post-Brexit customs union with the EU would trigger a leadership contest.

Negative media stories about Jeremy Corbyn help boost membership of the left-wing campaign group Momentum, the organisation has claimed.

Shami Chakrabarti has left the door open for the return of Ken Livingstone to the Labour party, after an investigation over anti-Semitic comments he made has concluded.

Keir Starmer has warned Theresa May it is “crunch time” for her customs union plans as Labour pledges to join forces with Tory rebels in a bid to defeat the Government.

A former Tory health secretary has called on Theresa May to lift the visa cap limiting the number of foreign workers that can be recruited to the NHS every year, or risk a staffing crisis.

Theresa May’s de facto deputy has warned that the Scottish and Welsh governments could scupper Britain’s post-Brexit trade deals by demanding separate powers from Brussels.

Jeremy Hunt has insisted that the Government will not back a customs union with the EU despite the prospect of a humiliating Commons defeat.

Plastic straws could be banned in Britain in a bid to reduce environmental damage, Michael Gove has suggested.  

Theresa May is reportedly preparing to bow to Brussels and allow EU migrants who arrive in the UK during the Brexit transition period permanent residency.

Jeremy Hunt has said mistakes made by medical staff when prescribing drugs to patients must stop as they are causing up to 22,300 unnecessary deaths a year.