“Volodymyr Zelensky flew into the G7 summit to clinch a deal on fighter jets yesterday, as it emerged Britain will begin training Ukrainian pilots this summer. The Ukrainian President arrived in Hiroshima to a hero’s welcome from world leaders. Rishi Sunak embraced his fellow leader shortly after landing, saying; ‘Good to see you. You made it.’ Asked by reporters if it was a good day for Ukraine, Mr Zelensky smiled, nodded and said: ‘Thank you so much.’ Government sources last night revealed that the Prime Minister played a pivotal role in arranging the surprise visit. He is understood to have suggested the idea to President Zelensky a month ago, arguing it would help him clinch a deal to secure Western jets and give him a golden opportunity to pressure the leaders of neutral states like India and Brazil – both of whom are attending the G7 – to side with Ukraine.” – Mail on Sunday
“The upcoming announcement will feature a crackdown on postgraduate students bringing their dependants to the UK…Senior government sources say there will also be other efforts to plug loopholes that have been exploited by new arrivals…Other areas where action could follow include the income threshold in the points-based system, which lets anyone with a job paying £25,600 a year come into the country. “Sunak has also begun twice-weekly cross-Whitehall meetings to tackle immigration, consciously modelled on Boris Johnson’s XO committee, chaired by Michael Gove, which prepared the country for Brexit in 2019 and 2020. But the prime minister is under increasing pressure to deliver. A dozen Tory MPs from the “red wall” seats…have announced the creation of New Conservatives. ” – Sunday Times
“The conversion therapy ban will not affect parents, teachers, religious leaders or health professionals having ‘exploratory or even challenging conversations’ with young people about gender, the Mail On Sunday has been told. Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch has vowed that the long-awaited legislation, expected to be published as early as next week, will neither inadvertently criminalise nor have a ‘chilling’ effect on such therapy or discussions. Ms Badenoch’s assurances come after the Government announced in January that it would legislate to ban conversion therapy relating to gender identity as well as sexuality. This pledge came after Boris Johnson’s government signalled the year before that it was dropping plans to include transgender people in the bill due the ‘complexities’ involved in this area.” – Mail on Sunday
“Street, the West Midlands mayor, said nimby MPs must not be allowed to stand in the way of construction and urged Rishi Sunak to be less “dogmatic” about building on the green belt…In an interview with The Sunday Times, Street, a former managing director of John Lewis, urged Sunak to tell the Conservative Party it has “got to demonstrate that it is pro-growth and . . . actually does deliver homes”. He added: “And putting it extremely bluntly . . . I do think in terms of some of the nimby MPs . . . we need to be clear, as a government that we are going to face that down. Because ultimately, my view is you’ve got to show young people that as a party, we are able to produce the homes that they need for their ambitions.” – Sunday Times
“The final seats have been declared in the council election, with Sinn Fein emerging as the biggest party for the first time in local government. Counting finished just after midnight, with People Before Profit’s Michael Collins in Belfast the 462nd and last councillor to be returned. The final tally saw Sinn Fein finish with 144 councillors, up 39 from the last council election in 2019, with the DUP second with 122 (unchanged). Alliance was third with 67 seats (up 14)…DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it was a strong performance in challenging circumstances. Speaking in Belfast, Sir Jeffrey said unionism had to take a “long, hard look” at how it manages elections, citing the “splintering” of the unionist vote and turnout in some unionist heartlands.” – Belfast Telegraph
Other news:
“When I was appointed schools minister in 2010, with the wholehearted support of Michael Gove, we swiftly changed the national curriculum, putting phonics at the heart of teaching children to read. In 2012 we introduced the phonics screening check to ensure that every six-year-old was on track with their reading. In that first year 58 per cent of pupils correctly read at least 32 of the 40 simple words in the test. By 2019, just before the pandemic, that had risen to 82 per cent. Last week the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study was published, assessing the reading ability of nine and ten-year-olds. England came fourth out of 43 countries that tested children of the same age.” – Sunday Times
Other comment:
“Keir Starmer will tomorrow pledge to tackle the NHS bed-blocking crisis amid new claims that keeping patients in hospital beds they don’t need cost at least £1.7 billion last year. Blaming the ‘eye-watering bill’ on 13 years of Tory failure, Labour will pledge instead to boost the care sector ‘so that people can be cared for in the comfort of their own home’. But launching Labour’s health mission, Sir Keir will tell his party that he will not ‘put the NHS on a pedestal’ and warned that along with more money, fundamental reform was also needed. tomorrow pledge to tackle the NHS bed-blocking crisis amid new claims that keeping patients in hospital beds they don’t need cost at least £1.7 billion last year.” – Mail on Sunday