May demands solution from ministers as net immigration remains high
“Theresa May is under intense pressure to find ways of curbing immigration after it emerged numbers are still running at more than triple the government’s target. Net migration in the year to March was 327,000, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – the third highest level on record.” – Daily Mail
- Prime Minister urged to get a grip – The Sun
- IPPR says 57,000 EU nationals in NHS must be allowed to stay – Daily Mail
- Poles now UK’s biggest migrant group – The Times (£)
- Babies born to foreign mothers hits record high – Daily Express
- Passport applications from EU nationals rise 14 per cent – The Guardian
More May:
- Prime Minister says Brexit can boost tourism by encouraging ‘staycations’ – Daily Telegraph
- May unveils £40m fund to boost post-Brexit UK tourism – The Guardian
- Hinckley alternatives offer huge savings, claims think-tank – FT
Comment:
- Is this peak Tory? – Kate Allen, FT
Fraser Nelson: We don’t want silly promises from May on migration, just an honest debate
“An inability to talk plainly about immigration is the great British political disease. Bad thinking leads to bad policy, and it persists. The “tens of thousands” target will come to be just as toxic for Mrs May as it was for Mr Cameron. Yesterday, we heard that the figure is bobbing away near its record high, with net migration from the EU having trebled over the past six years. Brexit won’t help. It will take two, perhaps three years for Britain to leave the EU – and any new system will take years to have any effect. So by the 2020 election, Mrs May risks being the woman who has spent an almighty 10 years missing this target.” – Daily Telegraph
- Brexit offers opportunities for UK scientists – John Bell, FT
- Lobbying looms over May’s Government: she must tackle it – Tamasin Cave, The Guardian
Editorial:
- Making it harder to study here is the worst migration control – The Times (£)
- Help Britain bear the burden of migration – Daily Telegraph
>Today: Tom Clarke in Comment: As we escape the Common Agricultural Policy, we need new ways of thinking about farming
>Yesterday:
- ToryDiary: Brexit means politics
- Lee Rotherham in Comment: Unravelling the tangled web of EU policies and regulations will take time and careful planning
McDonnell calls for suspension of Labour’s biggest donor
“Labour should suspend its biggest private donor from the party, the shadow chancellor has suggested. John McDonnell made the claim yesterday after it was revealed that Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the Blairite Labour peer who has given the party more than £15 million since 2002, had also donated £2 million to the Liberal Democrats.” – The Times (£)
- Peer backs Labour and Lib Dems with millions – Daily Mail
- Sainsbury emerges as UK’s largest donor – FT
- Supermarket heir spent nearly £8m against Brexit – Daily Telegraph
- Luxembourg-based businessman gave Tories £400,000 – The Guardian
More Labour:
- Conference faces cancellation as G4S turn down security contract – The Times (£)
- Shadow Chancellor accuses Party of ‘rigged purge’ of members – The Guardian
Putin would ‘celebrate’ Corbyn’s election, warns ex-NATO chief
“A former Nato secretary general has condemned Jeremy Corbyn for refusing to say if he would defend allies from invasion by Russia. Anders Fogh Rasmussen accused the Labour leader of betraying his party’s fundamental principles, jibing that Vladimir Putin would ‘celebrate’ if he ever became PM.” – Daily Mail
- Refusal to commit to treaty obligations betrays Labour values, critics say – The Sun
More Corbyn:
- Not one Labour MP nominates leader as ‘most impressive’ Parliamentarian – Daily Telegraph
- ‘Deluded’ Corbyn thinks train row has helped him – The Sun
- Challenger accuses leader of lying about voting Remain – The Guardian
Sketch:
- Corbyn and Smith in their bitterest showdown yet – Michael Deacon, Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: LeftWatch: A very British cult
Philip Collins: Why the Labour leader’s train photo stunt backfired
“There is a truth underlying Mr Corbyn on the floor of a train carriage. Trains in Britain are often packed. It is frequently impossible to get a seat. On some commuter lines the service is a daily horror. Though I do not share Mr Corbyn’s nostrum that nationalisation is the answer, his stunt would have connected to the broader truth if only his team was not so inept at setting it up. However, this defence will only go so far for Mr Corbyn.” – The Times (£)
- Train stunt shows a man stuck in the 70s… who’s really rather dim – Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Mail
- Training lessons from the Book of Corbyn – Robert Shrimsley, FT
>Today: Iain Dale’s column: Short-tempered Corbyn’s mask is slipping
SNP accused of spinning ‘utter fantasy’ over Scottish deficit
“The Scottish Government has been accused of spinning voters an “utter fantasy” after ministers played down Scotland’s £15 billion deficit and insisted it would be no obstacle to an independent Scotland joining the EU. Derek Mackay, the finance minister, said the deficit, which is the largest in the EU, amounting to 9.5 per cent of GDP, would be no bar to joining the European Union.” – Daily Telegraph
- Sturgeon appoints Brexit minister – FT
- Nationalist Brexit minister wants to keep Scotland in ‘no matter what’ – Daily Express
More Scotland:
- BBC works to restore trust in Scotland – FT
Editorial:
- Enough Nationalist bleating about independence! – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: The oil revenue collapse sharpens the horns of Sturgeon’s dilemma
News in Brief:
- NHS bosses plotting ‘glut’ of service closures to plug £460m black hole – Daily Mail
- Rail commuters face two strikes on the same day – The Times (£)
- Sarkozy launches Presidential campaign with call for nationwide burkini ban – Daily Telegraph
- Europe plans new levy on search engines – FT
- Suspected assassination attempt against Merkel thwarted in Prague – Daily Express
- Number of youngsters not in work or education falls to lowest level in 14 years – Daily Mail
- ‘No drink is safe’: health chiefs refuse to budge over limits – The Times (£)
- Fury at Government’s killjoy warning – The Sun
And finally… BBC plan comedy about Farage
“Nigel Farage’s life after politics will be the subject of a new TV comedy screened this autumn. ‘Nigel Farage Gets His Life Back’ will see comedian Kevin Bishop portray the outgoing Ukip leader. The half-hour show, commissioned by BBC Two, will be a combination of direct pieces to camera and footage detailing the ‘day-to-day reality of being Nigel Farage’.” – Daily Mail
- Life after quitting UKIP leadership to be lampooned – The Sun
- Farage a ‘Putin-style extremist’, says Clinton – The Times (£)
Comment:
- Politicians are to blame for Brexit and Trump – Ed Conway, The Times (£)
- Farage is gone, but the people he spoke for can’t be ignored – John Harris, The Guardian