This Is Why

Mark Rutte has spent years quietly building a reputation as one of Europe's most effective political operators. Now, as NATO secretary general, he's trying to keep the world's most powerful military alliance together at a time of growing global uncertainty. So, who is Mark Rutte? Niall looks at the leadership style that's defined his career, how he's navigating some of the biggest challenges facin...

Everybody has a bad week from time to time - but for Prince Harry the last few days have been something of a royal disaster. The King's wayward son lost his High Court battle against the publisher of the Daily Mail before accusing the judge of a "complete and obvious whitewash". Days earlier Buckingham Palace denied he would be staying there after the duke's team said he was. And as things stand,...

The US and Iran are trading strikes again as Donald Trump turns to his weapon of choice - sitting down at press conferences and calling people names. America’s insulter-in-chief has used a NATO summit to say Iran are “sick people" and "scum" and that the ceasefire is now "over”. It was a fragile agreement that has broken down after tankers were targeted in the Strait of Hormuz - so who is to blame...

A fight for his political future or nothing more than a publicity stunt? Nigel Farage has announced he’s resigning as MP for Clacton only to stand to again in the by-election he’s triggering. Mr Farage calls it a case of the “people versus the establishment” but did he jump before he was pushed? He has faced intense scrutiny over his financial affairs, after it was reported he had received support...

Cancel Corrie? No chance! ITV will remain free-to-air and continue to show fan favourites, such as Coronation Street and Love Island, following a deal to sell the broadcaster to Sky. Both Sky and ITV insist the move will make it easier to compete with global streaming giants like Netflix. And there’s a commitment to buy programmes from ITV Studios – which is not included in the sale – until 2034....

Brothers, rivals, cabinet colleagues? When Ed Miliband beat brother David to the Labour leadership in 2010, it looked as if their relationship had been fractured beyond repair. But it appears Andy Burnham is giving serious consideration to offering them both big roles in his administration. Can the Milibands really work together again in government after years of estrangement? Will it be senior wo...

He’s a convicted child rapist who’s been stripped of his British citizenship. But the ringleader of a notorious Rochdale grooming gang – released from jail this week – cannot be removed from the UK. Shabir Ahmed was sentenced in 2012 for multiple counts of rape and sexual offences against girls as young as 12. But provisions in the Immigration Act 1971 mean he is safe from deportation. Politicians...

Whether you’ve been enjoying or enduring the summer heatwave, running that new air-con unit has just got a whole lot more expensive. For millions of people across England, Scotland and Wales the cost of household energy has soared by 13% from the 1 July – following the latest rise in the energy price cap. The war in Iran is largely to blame, thanks to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and subseq...

Every prime minister promises ambitious plans to build new homes – every prime minister in more than half a century has failed. Andy Burnham says he’ll be different. The former Manchester mayor is on the verge of becoming the new tenant in Number 10 and wants to oversee the biggest council house construction programme since the post-war boom. But you have to go back to 1970 for the last time any g...

Drones in, destroyers out. The Royal Navy looks set to be the biggest losers when the Defence Investment Plan is finally published. Instead of building a new fleet of state-of-the-art warships, we will have to rely on cheaper ‘common combat vessels’ to serve as hubs for a hybrid response to the threat from Russia. How will the change in military spending be received when Sir Keir Starmer makes his...

The King has revealed how much income tax he pays, becoming the first monarch to ever do so. The Palace said the move was “increasing transparency”, but have the royals given us the full picture? Niall Paterson is joined by Sky’s royal correspondent Laura Bundock and forensic accountant Professor Atul Shah, who have been combing through the tax releases. They explain exactly what was revealed and...

It's all a little awkward. Sir Keir Starmer is set to deliver his defence spending proposals to NATO next month, despite having lost both his job and his defence secretary. But the outgoing PM seems determined to push through with his plans just days before Andy Burnham potentially moves into Downing Street. The man whose resignation helped hasten Starmer's departure - ex-defence secretary John He...

When an event discussing extreme heat at London Climate Week is called off due to... extreme heat, you know things are bad. In the words of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, “London is cooking.” Yes, it’s summer and heatwaves are hardly a rarity. But as record temperatures in June follow record temperatures in May – it's the frequency and severity of these weather events that are frightening...

A decade to the day since the Brexit referendum, the European Union has postponed a proposed summit to reset the UK’s relationship with Europe. Following the fall of the Starmer premiership, Brussels will now wait and see what a new Labour leader – likely to be Andy Burnham – wants to achieve from any potential EU negotiation. But as every prime minister over the past 10 years has discovered, tryi...

It's become a familiar sight in British politics - the lectern outside 10 Downing Street, ready for another resignation speech. On Monday morning, Sir Keir Starmer became the sixth prime minister to stand down in almost a decade, despite on paper commanding a huge Labour majority. So, why was his departure inevitable? And what will be the Starmer legacy following his two years in office? Niall Pat...

Serena Williams has nothing left to prove. She's won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, inspired generations of players and built a legacy that reaches far beyond tennis. But after nearly four years away from the sport, she's returning to Wimbledon. So, Niall asks why one of the greatest athletes of all time is making a comeback. He is joined by Charlie Eccleshare, senior tennis writer for The Athletic...

End the war, get the oil tankers moving, and the world’s economy returns to normal. It sounds easy. It really isn’t. Donald Trump and the Iranian regime have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the hopes of bringing the four-month conflict to an end. But the key objective of allowing global shipping to pass freely through the currently Iran controlled Strait of Hormuz is far less straightforwa...

"Just one of those things." A typically British response to an unprecedented act of belligerence. When Alan and Jane Kelvey took their yacht out for a sail across the English Channel, the last thing they expected was to be at the centre of a huge diplomatic incident. But when a Russian-flagged frigate fired warning shots as the couple sailed nearby, it was yet another sign of the breakdown in rela...

It's not just teenagers having tantrums over TikTok, a social media ban for under-16s could have unforeseen consequences for anyone who uses the internet. The government's decision to crack down on everything from YouTube to AI chatbots was announced on Monday – but remained short on detail. How will any ban work in practice? Is this all being pushed through to provide a legacy for the prime minis...

It was Donald Trump’s 80th birthday present to himself – announcing the US had finally agreed a peace plan with Iran. But is it really a done deal, especially when it comes to Iran’s nuclear ambitions? In fact, is it a deal at all? The two sides are understood to have reached a Memorandum of Understanding, bringing an end to the fighting and a start to 60 days of further negotiations. But whilst I...

LEDs were supposed to be one of the great environmental success stories: a revolutionary technology that uses a fraction of the energy of traditional light bulbs. But have they really saved the world? In our new podcast Stuff Matters, economics and data editor Ed Conway takes an object, cracks it open and reveals the world shaping forces hidden inside. Each episode follows a trail of ideas that st...

He’s the former Marine who served in the special forces, climbs mountains for fun, and now could hold the keys to Downing Street. Following an astonishing interview on Sky News, Al Carns quit as Armed Forces minister over doubts the long-delayed Defence Investment Plan was going to be fully funded. It was yet another blow for a prime minister still reeling from the resignation of his defence secre...

Americans are finally feeling the pinch due to Trump’s war in Iran, with inflation surging to a three-year-high. There’s no end to hostilities in sight, and with the Strait of Hormuz – which handles a fifth of global oil and gas supplies – still closed, it looks like prices will continue to rise. With any economic pain the US experiences amplified across the pond, how will the UK cope with yet mor...

The riots which brought mass disorder to the streets of Belfast on Tuesday night weren’t just a reaction to a brutal stabbing in the city the night before. According to Professor Ian Acheson, they were also an expression of the rage and anger felt by a divided community ignored by politicians and policy makers. The violence has been rightly condemned after houses were set alight and police cars at...

Swindon. The epicentre of the global drone industry? As unlikely as it might seem, the Wiltshire town could soon be just that. But instead of taking advantage of the cutting-edge weaponry being developed in the area, the UK is falling behind in the deployment of this potentially decisive technology. Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have shown just how vital drones are in modern warfare – u...