“Rishi Sunak has announced an “emergency” law to overcome the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling that his plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful. At a Downing Street press conference, the Prime Minister vowed to strike a new treaty with Rwanda and pass “extraordinary” legislation declaring the country was “safe” for refugees. Downing Street argued the new treaty and law would address the Supreme Court’s concerns by making clear no asylum seeker deported to Rwanda would then be sent to their home country. In a threat to European Court of Human Rights judges, who previously grounded deportation flights to the east African nation, Mr Sunak said: “I will not allow a foreign court to block these flights.” Mr Sunak said he wanted Rwanda flights to take off next spring but failed three times to guarantee it would happen before the general election, which is expected next autumn.” – Daily Telegraph
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>Yesterday:
“The Prime Minister’s plans for a treaty with Rwanda to add legal weight to the partnership and bring in emergency legislation are welcome. But they may prove to be harder and longer to implement than suggested. Both those options risk being bogged down in Parliament, especially in the House of Lords, and again in the courts. Claims of a quick solution are sometimes easier said than done, but will have my support in being pursued.” – Priti Patel, Daily Telegraph
Other comment
“Sir Keir Starmer suffered the biggest rebellion of his leadership as nearly a third of his MPs, including eight shadow frontbenchers, defied their leader to back a ceasefire in Gaza in a Commons vote. Jess Phillips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, was the most high-profile resignation from Starmer’s team, after the party’s refusal to support a full ceasefire caused deep divisions. Phillips said she was resigning as shadow minister for domestic violence with a “heavy heart” after “one of the toughest weeks in politics” she had been through.” – The Times
“New Foreign Secretary David Cameron has made his first working visit to Ukraine, meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Mr Cameron reiterated the UK’s commitment to Ukraine through the war. He promised to continue the Britain’s “moral support, the diplomatic, economic, but above all, military support”. Mr Zelenksy thanked Mr Cameron for the UK’s continued backing.” – BBC
“Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt have drawn up plans to cut inheritance tax at next week’s Autumn Statement, The Telegraph understands. The Prime Minister and Chancellor have discussed cutting the rate from 40 per cent after months of publicly downplaying expectations. Treasury officials have concluded the move would not be inflationary, meaning it passes a critical test that Mr Hunt has set for tax cuts this autumn.” – Daily Telegraph
“The official price tag for the London to Birmingham section of the UK’s HS2 high-speed rail line has jumped by £3bn in just a month, highlighting the continuing issues in containing the cost of the controversial project. In a statement on Wednesday, rail minister Huw Merriman said HS2’s management had increased the upper estimate for the project to £57bn in 2019 prices. Just weeks earlier, the transport department had put a price tag of up to £54bn on the London to Birmingham stretch, a big increase from the previous figure of £45bn published in June.” – Financial Times
“Cops scrambled to protect the Cenotaph as protestors shouted “ceasefire now” and climbed a war memorial in London. The footage which has been shared online shows Metropolitan Police officers surrounding the Royal Artillery Memorial near Hyde Park on Wednesday. It comes as another video surfaced of cops scrambling to defend the Cenotaph from an approaching crowd of protesters. They can be heard chanting “Free Palestine” and “Ceasefire Now” as onlookers filmed the dramatic moment.” – Daily Express
“Were Florida a member of the European Union, it would be the bloc’s fourth-largest economy, between Italy and Spain. Globally, it would come in at around number 16, roughly on a par with Mexico and Indonesia. It should be big news, then, that Britain has just agreed a trade deal with the Sunshine State. Kemi Badenoch, the trade secretary, signed the accord in Jacksonville on Tuesday with a visibly delighted Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor, who hopes the deal might lift his sagging campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, talked excitedly about how it would ‘strengthen the economic partnership between our state and the United Kingdom’. On this side of the Atlantic, the response has been more muted — and for the most obvious and depressing of reasons. A large chunk of our political class cannot bear the thought of any good having come from Brexit.” – Daniel Hannan, Daily Mail