Politics latest: SNP demands probe into Labour donations row; new Scottish Tory leader elected - and makes joke at Starmer's expense (2025)

Russell Findlay, the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives, has pledged to "change" the party under his leadership.

Mr Findlay was elected to the post earlier today, taking 2,565 votes, while rival Murdo Fraser had 1,187 and Meghan Gallacher was on 403.

He said: "Thank you all. It’s an absolute privilege to be elected leader of the @ScotTories.

"The hard work starts now.

"Under my leadership, we are going to change. We'll represent everyone who wants some common sense for a change."

Russell Findlay's first task as the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives will be to bring his party back together.

It's been a bruising few months for Tories north of the border.

Former leader Douglas Ross left amida row over candidate selections- and ultimately failed to take any Commons seats.

The leadership race hasn't been much rosier, with briefing and backbiting between the various camps.

But in the long run, the bigger challenge is the looming elections to the Scottish Parliament in 18 months time.

Russell Findlay enters his new job as leader of the largest opposition party in Holyrood.

Department for Work and Pensions figures released today showed the government received around 74,400 pension credit claims in the eight weeks since 29 July, when Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced means testing for the winter fuel payment.

This is up from 29,500 claims in the eight weeks before the announcement.

But in the seven days beginning on 16 September, the department received 11,800 claims, down from 13,400 the week before.

The vast majority (91.8%) of claims made in the week beginning 16 September were made online.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has previously urged pensioners to check if they are eligible for the benefit, which would unlock winter fuel payments of up to £300.

The Labour government scaled back the previously universal cash packages so only claimants of certain benefits, including pension credit and universal credit, will receive them, after Ms Reeves described a £22bn "black hole" in the public finances, made up of unfunded spending commitments.

"It's easier than ever to check if you are eligible, including with our online calculator, and if your circumstances have changed since the last time you looked I urge you to check again," Ms Kendall said during her department's Pension Credit Week of Action, held during the first week of September.

"Thousands of pensioners are missing out on pension credit worth on average £3,900 per year. That needs to change."

Wales has been "short-changed" when it comes to funding for railways, the first minister said, as she pledged to beat a path to the chancellor's door.

Eluned Morgan said she had discussed consequential funding for the HS2 project with Rachel Reeves during the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, adding that the chancellor was in "listening mode".

The HS2 project has caused tensions in Wales since it was first announced, largely due to the fact it was designated an England and Wales project despite the scheme not including any Welsh territory.

Plaid Cymru has called for Wales to receive £4bn in consequential funding, in line with the proportional funding that both Scotland and Northern Ireland received as a result of the project.

Ms Morgan said: "Well it's definitely an issue that we haven't given up on, an issue that I raised with the chancellor.

"I think it is important for there to be recognition that when it comes to rail infrastructure we do feel that Wales has been short-changed, and it'll be interesting to see how that conversation develops.

"But already the UK government has made massive commitments to better infrastructure, rail developments in particular, in North Wales. So again, that's UK Labour helping out directly, in a way that didn't happen under the Tories."

With Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in New York and the Labour Party conference over, Beth, Ruth and Harriet discuss if it's all been overshadowed by the ongoing freebies row.

Harriet suggests Sir Keir should watch football on TV to end the row, while Beth explains her interview with the prime minister and how it went for her.

Plus, Beth, Harriet and Ruth talk about the UK response to the conflict in the Middle East.

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Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

One moment at Labour conference stuck in my mind, and it wasn't a big set piece address or a particularly hard-hitting interview.

It was a fleeting, behind the scenes exchange with the prime minister's spokespeople who were briefing the pressafter his speech.

Having just heard him, once again, talk about his humble beginnings, I asked them: "DoesKeir Starmerstill consider himself working class?"

The pair looked at each other. One replied: "He's from a working class background."

I tried again: "And is he still working class?"

The other spokesperson responded this time: "He represents working class people."

"And is he one of them?" I asked.

To that, there was no answer and we moved on.

Is PM failing the authenticity test?

It seems trivial but, on reflection, it gets to the heart of whythe story about donations and giftsresonates and won't go away.

It isn't, as so many journalists are willing it to be, about corruption or cover-up.

The prime minister's biographer Tom Baldwin put this best when he said reading through the register of interests is hardly Watergate.

Political opponents trying to seize the advantage say "it's bad optics" and "it doesn't pass the sniff test" - convenient Westminster phrases to mask the lack of any real substance.

But what is significant in politics is the picture you paint of yourself and whether it matches up to who you really are - the authenticity test.

During the election campaign,Sir Keir made a virtue of his ordinarinessand this has continued into government.

He sold the public the dream of a prime minister, not from Eton and Oxbridge, but a pebble-dashed semi, the son of a toolmaker, who was one of them.

In his conference speech he did it again, referencing "people of a completely ordinary working-class background like mine".

His deputy,Angela Rayner, did the same, describing being a single mum working nights as a home help, saying: "[It was] tough at times. I started on casual terms, and I wasn't paid for travel. Insecurity at work is the daily reality for so many."

The fact that they now take a bit of free stuff is not the issue. As one (fellow northern, state school educated) colleague said to me: "There's nothing more working class than liking freebies."

It's that their struggle is now a distant memory, fodder for worthy anecdotes in conference speeches.

Watch: PM defends flat donation

No longer one of their own

But more than that, when you look at the detail, you see they are living a life of privilege - free clothes, free tickets, parties paid for, the use of million-pound properties whenever they need them.

They may have started off trying to make ends meet, but now whatever they want is at their fingertips, and they are making the most of it.

Voters, promised one of their own in Number 10, see someone whose life could not be further from theirs - and it's jarring.

Using your background as political currency doesn't work any more when you have so definitively left it behind.

If even Sir Keir Starmer's own team can see that, the public can too.

The race to succeed Rishi Sunak as Tory leader could be won and lost in Birmingham over the next few days.

The "beauty contest" involving the remaining candidates at the party conference has the potential to transform one ofthe not-so-famous fourfrom also-ran to front-runner.

Robert Jenrick, ahead among Conservative MPs, has the early momentum and is a slick performer. But could one of his rivals - Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly or Tom Tugendhat - dramatically upset the odds?

It has happened before, spectacularly, when outsiderDavid Cameronmade the speech of his life at a leadership "beauty contest" in 2005 and overtook the early favourite, David Davis, to snatch victory and seize the Tory crown.

Looking ahead to Birmingham, one conference veteran has told Sky News it'll be "shine - or crash!" and is almost salivating at the prospect of the foursome facing Tory activists under the glare of live TV cameras and the scrutiny of party grandees and power brokers.

No pressure, then, on the one lady and trio of gentlemen on parade. This is crunch time in the leadership battle: a penalty shoot-out in a long - critics claim too long - and bruising campaign.

Unite has welcomed reports that the Treasury could adjust its fiscal rules to allow for additional borrowing for investment in industry and infrastructure.

It has been claimed that this change in Chancellor Rachel Reeves' fiscal rules could be formally confirmed in the upcoming budget, which is set for 30 October.

The union has been campaigning for Labour to alter these rules.

Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, said: "It seems that the government has listened and will now reform its fiscal rules to allow borrowing to invest.

"This is a move we have been calling on Labour to make for a long time.

"If this government is going to achieve its aim of making the UK a fairer society that delivers for workers and their communities then it needs make serious investment in infrastructure and new job creating industries."

The reports come after the chancellor and the prime minister both ruled out "austerity mark two" in their speeches to Labour Party conference.

Britain's defence chiefs have taken on a semiconductor factory near Darlington after fears its closure could leave projects in the lurch.

Defence Secretary John Healey visited the site today, which the Ministry of Defence has said is the only secure facility with the capability to produce gallium arsenide chips, used in electronic devices.

It was reported in August that Italian aerospace company Leonardo was among the previous firm Coherent's customers, alongside Apple, which had ceased orders with the business and left the plant's future in doubt.

Coherent was not thought to have any outstanding orders with Leonardo, according to the newspaper, but its sources suggested the plant may still be needed for future, unspecified programmes.

"Semiconductors are at the forefront of the technology we rely upon today, and will be crucial in securing our military's capabilities for tomorrow," Mr Healey said.

"This acquisition is a clear signal that our government will back British defence production.

"We'll protect and grow our UK defence supply chain, supporting North East jobs, safeguarding crucial tech for our Armed Forces and boosting our national security."

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed it would name the factory, at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham, Octric Semiconductors UK, and that the acquisition would secure up to 100 roles.

Russell Findlay has been confirmed the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives, taking around half of the vote.

He began his acceptance speech with a joke at Sir Keir Starmer's expense, referring to the prime minister's slip of the tongue in his Labour conference speech.

He had called for the return of the "sausages", rather than "hostages", from Gaza.

Mr Findlay received 2,565 votes, while Murdo Fraser had 1,187 and Meghan Gallacher was on 403.

He said: "Let's start the hard work right now to win back public trust."

The new leader insisted that under his leadership, the Scottish Conservatives will change.

"We know that you don't expect miracles from politicians, we know you want some common sense for a change - and we are determined to deliver it."