“MPs have rejected the House of Lords’ changes to the Rwanda Bill, which aims to deport asylum seekers to the east African country. All 10 amendments were rejected, including allowing courts to question Rwanda’s safety. The government insists Rwanda is safe. The Supreme Court previously ruled the Rwanda plan unlawful, on the grounds it could lead to human rights breaches. Labour says each deportation will cost as much as sending six people to space. The proposed law aims to ensure the UK can deport asylum seekers to Rwanda by declaring it to be a safe place.” – BBC
“The votes set up a showdown with the upper chamber, which can delay the bill’s passage until after Easter and push back the first flights until June at the earliest if it refuses to back the legislation when it votes on a series of further changes. Labour is planning to stand firm in its opposition to the bill along with other parties and dozens of crossbench peers. Five Conservative peers who voted against the government this month also threaten to help to prevent the bill’s passage. The bill must be approved in the same form by both houses of parliament before it becomes law and flights cannot begin until that has happened.” – The Times
“Barack Obama made a surprise appearance in Westminster on Monday as he dropped into Number 10 for “informal” talks with Rishi Sunak. The former US president was seen strolling along Downing Street, and briefly posed for the cameras in front of the famous black door. He then went inside for an hour-long meeting with the Prime Minister, during which the pair discussed artificial intelligence over cups of tea.” – Daily Telegraph
“Libraries, parks and road repairs are at risk as councils say they are now spending two thirds of their budgets on social care and children’s services…They are calling for an “honest conversation” about cuts and reforms to a system which has seen costs for caring for vulnerable children and adults spiral in recent years, and led to accusations that private providers of children’s services are profiteering at taxpayers’ expense. Every resident is now paying an average of £212 a head for children’s services, up from £120 a decade ago, while the cost of providing adult social care has risen from £252 to £373 a head, according to estimates for the County Councils Network (CCN).” – The Times
“Three Cabinet ministers are facing court action over allegations that British kids are being indoctrinated by woke activists at school. Two parents and maths teacher Kevin Lister are seeking a High Court ruling that trans campaigners are “running riot” promoting gender identity ideology in classrooms, in breach of the law. Political indoctrination is banned under the Education Act. The Bad Law Project, which is supporting the court action, has argued gender ideology is a political matter. Mr Lister – who was sacked for using the wrong pronouns on a pupil – wants a judicial review of alleged failures to uphold the law by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Women and Equalities Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Attorney General Victoria Prentis.” – The Sun
“Britain faces a 1979 moment, Rachel Reeves will argue on Tuesday as she vows that a Labour government would work with businesses to create a decade of “national renewal”. Delivering the annual Mais Lecture in the City of London, Labour’s shadow chancellor will liken the economic challenge awaiting the next government to that faced by Margaret Thatcher. She will promise to “hard-wire” economic growth into future budgets by giving the Treasury’s Enterprise and Growth Unit an enhanced role in policy-making.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: Emma Marshall on Local Government: Conservative policies are the most practical for reducing air pollution
“Labour would ‘damage’ the education system with its proposed tax raid on private schools – which would cost the taxpayer £1.6billion a year, a think-tank has warned. Research from the Adam Smith Institute suggests the policy could force a quarter of pupils into the state sector, creating more costs than it saves. Sir Keir Starmer’s party wants to introduce VAT on independent school fees, claiming it would generate £1.7billion to spend on state education. Recent projections had suggested 3 to 7 per cent of children would move to the state sector if they could not afford raised fees.” – Daily Mail
>Today: Sam Bidwell on Comment: How Labour’s planned tax hike on private schools will just end up hurting state pupils
“The Victoria and Albert Museum was facing calls last night for it to be stripped of its public funding after naming Margaret Thatcher in a list of ‘unpopular public figures’ alongside Hitler and Osama bin Laden. Britain’s first female prime minister is described as a ‘contemporary villain’ in a current display on British humour through the ages.” – Daily Mail
“Penny Mordaunt has built up a £26,000 campaigning war chest from donations since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, as speculation continues about whether he could be toppled. The money was given to the House of Commons leader’s local party in Portsmouth North, the seat she has represented as an MP since 2010. Some £20,000 was donated by a company run by Terence Mordaunt, a businessman not related to the MP, who gave similar amounts before she bid for the Tory leadership in 2022.” – Daily Telegraph
“It is surely hard to deny that DEI is becoming a Trojan horse for the hard-Left to promote ideologies designed to destroy the idea of the nation state. That it has become an excuse to peddle “critical race theory” and the idea that some races cannot be subject to discrimination. We ought to have a shared language, history, culture and territorial integrity; a settled social and cultural construct. If DEI celebrates and protects some cultures but excludes others, it is open season on everything traditionally British. If some groups are being discriminated against, how can we describe multiculturalism as anything but a failure?…We must dramatically reduce immigration, institute a programme of integration for people living in the UK, require the primacy of our British culture, end the obsession with DEI, require all are treated equally and proudly teach our children the truth about our wonderful history.” – Ben Habib, Daily Telegraph
>Today: Columnist Peter Franklin: Just how bad is the new definition of extremism?
“London is now trapped in a doom loop of stagnant output, rising taxes, and deteriorating services. Our capital needs a pro-enterprise, pro-growth Mayor. It needs someone who welcomes new buildings, and will stand up to central government when it gets in the way of that; who recognises that London is where the jobs are, and the much of the green belt is obsolete; who understands that no one drives around the capital for fun, but small businesses and workmen need their vans; who believes in cracking down on crime, and will make sure the police are committed to that; and who will deliver value for money for taxpayers. Another four years of Sadiq Khan could be a catastrophe not just for London, but the UK as a whole.” – Matthew Lynn, Daily Telegraph
“Fewer than one in four teachers in the UK are men: increasing that is not only a big opportunity but a chance to create more contact with men who boys can respect. A new scheme could be modelled on the former Reach programme for black men, using national and local role models to inspire young men of all ethnicities. Efforts to bring women into science and engineering professions could be mirrored by campaigns to encourage men into health, education and social care. Such measures would only be a beginning, but the case for focusing on the alarming number of troubled young men is becoming clear. It may seem easy to ignore them, but the future health of politics, society and countless human relationships will depend on understanding their problems.” – William Hague, The Times