“Downing Street has rebuked Emmanuel Macron over his criticism of the Rwanda policy after the French president described it as a “betrayal of values.” Mr Macron used a speech in Paris on Thursday to suggest the policy would prove “totally ineffective” and that using third countries to handle asylum seekers created a “geopolitics of cynicism”… James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, also hit back, saying that third-party agreements to tackle migration were “not anything new” and were recognised as international solutions to the illegal migration crisis… This week, Rishi Sunak revealed plans to get the first flights taking illegal migrants to Rwanda in the air in the next 10 to 12 weeks. The Prime Minister said this would begin a “drum beat” of multiple flights every month.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Home secretary James Cleverly has warned Conservative MPs considering a leadership challenge to Rishi Sunak after next week’s local elections that an attempted putsch would be a “catastrophic idea”. Cleverly on Thursday said Tory MPs who were plotting a move against the prime minister if their party crashes to heavy defeats in local and mayoral elections on May 2 had no plan beyond hoping a new leader would make things “randomly better”. “If you’re going to jump out of an aeroplane please make sure you have a parachute before you leave the aeroplane,” he told a Westminster press lunch. “Don’t say you’re going to work it out on the way down.”… Fifty-two Conservatives MPs would have to submit no confidence letters in Sunak to trigger a leadership contest.” – The Financial Times
>Today:
“Sadiq Khan has said more about Gaza than “black kids getting murdered in south-east London”, the Home Secretary has said. James Cleverly accused Mr Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, of being “asleep at the wheel” and cited his record on knife crime and policing in the capital. His comments came just a week before the London mayoral election, with polls predicting that Mr Khan will comfortably win a third term in office. Susan Hall, the Tory candidate in the mayoral race, is currently lagging far behind Mr Khan in the polls. But a recent poll by Savanta for the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University gave Mr Khan his smallest lead so far … In October, Mr Khan called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict, putting himself at odds with Sir Keir Starmer…” – The Daily Telegraph
“European nations including France and Germany must “step up to the plate” and match the UK’s defence spending plans, Jeremy Hunt has said. The Chancellor issued the Government’s sternest rebuke yet to Nato countries, which are failing to pull their weight. He was speaking during a trip to Kyiv after ministers unveiled a new £500m weapons package for Ukraine including long-range missiles Rishi Sunak announced on a visit to Poland this week that Britain will hike defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP – or £87bn a year – by 2030. The Prime Minister said that the commitment represented a “new benchmark”…Mr Hunt went further on Thursday, insisting that other European nations had a duty to adopt the same stance to send a message to Russia.” – The Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday:
“A Tory MP has warned that it could soon become “culturally unusual” for couples to have children. Miriam Cates, a leading member of the New Conservative group of backbenchers, said the UK’s declining birth rate was the “elephant in the room” when it came to discussions of Britain’s economic performance. She said increasing immigration would not solve the problem because other countries would increasingly want to keep hold of their young people. Ms Cates made her comments in a discussion with demography researchers at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, a global think tank… Ms Cates, the MP for Penistone and Stockbridge, warned that with global birth rates declining, immigration alone could not fix the problem.” – The Daily Telegraph
“The private sector will continue to play an important role in Labour’s promised state-owned UK railways after the party decided against nationalising the companies that own the thousands of trains that run on the network. Rolling stock companies, or roscos, operate out of sight of passengers but are the financial backbone of the rail industry, and have spent the past 30 years buying passenger trains and leasing them to privatised train operators. The passenger train companies spent £3.1bn — 26 per cent of their overall expenditure — on train leases in the financial year ending March 2023, the latest year for which data from industry regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, is available. The roscos…emerged from rail privatisation in the 1990s…” – The Financial Times
“Humza Yousaf is considering his position as Scotland’s first minister before a confidence vote caused by his decision to sack the Greens from government. A number of SNP sources said Yousaf’s future was in doubt as speculation intensified about whether he would remain in post after a chaotic day, in which his future was essentially left in Alex Salmond’s hands. Yousaf’s office has cancelled at least one planned visit prompting speculation about his itinerary for the coming days. “This appears to have been war gamed without anyone knowing how to count,” a source said. Another former ally and supporter of Yousaf was more blunt: “He’s done. Whether it’s today, tomorrow or later than that, he’s done.” However, one senior SNP source predicted that Yousaf would fight to remain…” – The Times