“Rishi Sunak has declared he is “up for the fight” with judges in Europe over plans to detain and deport almost all migrants who arrive in small boats. The prime minister accused the European Court of Human Rights of abusing “natural justice” by issuing last-minute injunctions without a right of appeal that have stalled the government’s Rwanda deportation scheme. He insisted legislation was the only way to stop the Channel crisis, even if it led to a clash over human rights. “We’re up for the fight and we’re confident that we will win,” he said. “If challenged we will fight that hard, because we believe that we’re doing the right thing and it is in compliance with our obligations.”… The law will be retroactive, applying to anyone who enters the country from now on… – The Times
>Today:
“Deportation flights to Rwanda could start as soon as this summer, Rishi Sunak has said, as he maintained that thousands of migrants could be removed to the central African state under the scheme. The Prime Minister indicated he was “confident” the Government would fend off legal challenges to the scheme which have prevented any flights taking off since the first was blocked by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) last June. The case is currently before the Court of Appeal, after the High Court backed the legality of the Rwanda flights, under which migrants are sent…to claim asylum in the African state…Mr Sunak said ministers will “look to start operationalising” the Rwanda partnership once the UK legal proceedings are complete.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Suella Braverman yesterday said that Britain’s patience over migrant crossings has run out as she unveiled the details of new laws to “stop the boats”. The home secretary announced that nearly all migrants who cross the English Channel will be barred from claiming asylum and that she will have a legal duty to remove them. The government has admitted that the new laws will put the UK at the “outer limits” of Britain’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The government hopes to push the illegal migration bill through parliament by September… To do this the home secretary’s duty to remove migrants will take “primacy” over their ability to appeal against their removal using the Human Rights Act or UN Refugee Convention.” – The Times
“Rishi Sunak has refused three times to say he has confidence that Simon Case will remain the Cabinet Secretary until the next election, amid a growing backlash to his pandemic-era WhatsApp messages. The Prime Minister was on Tuesday night asked to comment on speculation that Britain’s most senior civil servant was preparing to stand down, but initially said only that he “continues to support the government’s agenda,” including on small boat crossings. It came as Labour sources said Sir Keir Starmer would sack Mr Case if he was to win the next election and The Telegraph revealed new WhatsApp messages in which he criticised “bouncing Boris” Johnson for being too optimistic about the economy during the pandemic.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will use next week’s Budget to set out a new capital allowances regime for businesses, to offset a sharp rise in corporation tax and the end of a £25bn “super-deduction” tax break for investment. Conservative MPs have urged Hunt to be bold and unveil tax cuts to offset headwinds caused by the increase in corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent in April, even if the fiscal situation is tight. Hunt recently told business groups the new tax regime would not be anything like as generous as the “eye-wateringly expensive” one it replaces: the super-deduction is estimated to have cost £25bn over two years… Hunt’s consultation included “full expensing”, which would allow all qualifying capital expenditure to be written off by companies…” – The Financial Times
>Today:
“The Treasury is pressing the NHS to water down plans to increase the numbers of doctors and nurses. Senior officials are understood to have suggested removing all numbers from a blueprint for training doctors and nurses over the next decade. While Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is unlikely to accept this, Treasury officials are pushing NHS chiefs to include lower estimates of the need for doctors and nurses for fear that the present shortages will commit the taxpayer to higher spending for a decade. NHS bosses are preparing to resist the call and believe that publishing the plan offers a rare opportunity to put public pressure on the chancellor for a bigger training budget. Senior doctors said it would be “deeply concerning” to backtrack on the plans.” – The Times
“Only a handful of “investment zones” based mostly around UK universities will get approval in next week’s Budget in a much more restrictive approach than that envisaged by former prime minister Liz Truss when she announced them last year. During her shortlived tenure in Downing Street, Truss wanted to introduce as many as 200 of the low-tax, low regulation sites across the country in a demonstration of the government’s “levelling-up agenda” designed to narrow regional inequalities. But Jeremy Hunt, the UK chancellor, has decided to scale back the plans sharply and is taking a more traditional Treasury approach by aiming to use the scheme to “catalyse” a limited number of growth clusters around research bases such as universities.” – The Financial Times
>Today:
“The UK government has launched a new strategy to advance gender equality around the world on the same day that MPs announced plans to investigate the impact of UK aid cuts on women…The global strategy, launched by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on International Women’s Day…will, it says, put more focus on gender equality in its work, while also supporting sexual and reproductive health programmes and funding grassroots women’s rights groups. “Advancing gender equality and challenging discrimination is obviously the right thing to do, but it also brings freedom, boosts prosperity and trade, and strengthens security – it is the fundamental building block of all healthy democracies,” said…James Cleverly…” – The Guardian
“New measures making it easier for ministers to protect the embattled steel industry – by overruling independent advice on tariffs – are set to be announced by Kemi Badenoch. They will allow the Business and Trade Secretary greater discretion when following recommendations by the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), the Mail understands. The body was set up in 2021 as Britain took over responsibilities handled by the EU to combat unfair practices. But its authority was called into question when then international trade secretary Liz Truss rejected some recommendations on steel tariffs amid an outcry from UK industry about Chinese ‘dumping’ of cheap exports. The TRA had said protectionist tariffs and quotas on ten types of product should be maintained…” – The Daily Mail
“Ministers in the newly formed energy department faced a ban on foreign trips due to a mounting backlog of issues raised with them by MPs, the Guardian can reveal. Grant Shapps issued the edict last month in a bid to speed up the “outrageously” slow response to cases raised on behalf of constituents, some of whom were struggling to claim support with their energy bills during the cost of living crisis. A disabled woman in Cumbria was said to have been left without advice from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero when she struggled to claim financial assistance. According to the local MP, Tim Farron, she was told she was eligible for the warm homes discount, having been forced to give up her job due to a degenerative health condition.” – The Guardian
“Conservative backbench chief Sir Graham Brady will step down at the next election, he has announced. As chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, he has overseen the election of three party leaders and prime ministers – Theresa May, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. He also oversaw the no-confidence votes against Mrs May and Boris Johnson. One of Sir Graham’s roles was to amass letters of no confidence from disgruntled MPs, keeping the number a closely-guarded secret until the threshold to trigger a vote was reached. The MP for Altrincham and Sale West in Greater Manchester said in a statement that his time in Parliament had been an “immense privilege”… He joins a slew of senior Tories…announcing their exit plans amid a polling slump.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Lee Anderson will become the latest Conservative MP to host a show on GB News, the channel has announced. The Conservative party deputy chair and MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, will join fellow Tories Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Philip Davies as a GB News host and contributor. He said: “GB News is the true voice of the great British silent majority. I’m joining the people’s channel to ensure their voice is heard.” The MP has proved controversial since his election in 2019, calling for the return of the death penalty and claiming people on universal credit were not in poverty. Even before his election, he was criticised for asking a friend to pose as a swing voter while being filmed by veteran political reporter Michael Crick.” – The Guardian
“Rishi Sunak is facing a Tory revolt over the failure to end “age-inappropriate” sex education in schools. Almost 50 Conservative MPs have written to the Prime Minister urging him to launch an independent inquiry after evidence emerged of the widespread teaching of contentious gender ideology and graphic sexual content without parents’ knowledge or consent. Signatories to the letter, co-ordinated by Miriam Cates, the Penistone and Stocksbridge MP, include Priti Patel, the former home secretary, Simon Clarke, former levelling up secretary and former education ministers Andrea Jenkyns, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Jonathan Gullis and Kelly Tolhurst. The Telegraph revealed last week that…primary school children in some schools are being taught about masturbation.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Rachel Reeves has argued that “boring” government is the way to boost growth as she urged Jeremy Hunt to resist “siren voices” calling for corporation tax cuts. The shadow chancellor argued that the way out of “enduring economic malaise” was through stable government with targeted incentives for business investment, saying predictability was better than low taxes. She ruled out nationalising “a whole swathe of industries”, suggesting that only train operators would be brought back into public ownership under a Labour government. Reeves was once criticised for being “boring snoring”, but speaking to manufacturers at the Make UK conference, she argued that business should welcome predictability under Labour after years of Conservative turmoil.” – The Times
“There is “no magic wand” that can deliver independence, the favourite to become Scotland’s next first minister has warned his governing Scottish National party, saying a sustained majority for leaving the UK was vital to overcome Westminster’s veto of a second referendum on the issue. The comments from Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s health secretary and the bookmakers’ frontrunner to replace Nicola Sturgeon as first minister, are likely to dismay those SNP members who are impatient with the party’s failure to make progress on ending Scotland’s 316-year union with England. In an interview with the Financial Times, Yousaf, 37, said he wanted an end to the “rotten union” as urgently as anyone, but also made clear he did not support Sturgeon’s plan…” – The Financial Times