“Sir Keir Starmer is facing a backlash from senior Labour figures and female MPs for allowing the right-wing Conservative Natalie Elphicke to join the party. Elphicke crossed the floor and defected to Labour just before prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, criticising the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government”. Labour frontbenchers and female MPs are concerned that Elphicke publicly defended her husband, Charlie, a former Tory MP, after he was convicted of sexually assaulting two women. She claimed that he was a victim of a “miscarriage of justice” and that he was being punished for being “charming, wealthy, charismatic and successful”. The couple have since divorced.” – The Times
>Yesterday:
“Is it really fair, for example, to claim that “the centre ground has been abandoned” on the Prime Minister’s watch? The Safety of Rwanda Act has put progressive backs up, certainly. But beyond that, there is precious little of the radical right (or any radicalism of any flavour) in Sunak’s technocratic policy offer. And while it’s perfectly reasonable to be angry at the Government for “failing to keep our borders safe and secure”, it’s quite a leap to join Labour on that basis – as Elphicke herself knew just a year ago, when she warned that the party was out to “defy” the British people in their attempts to bring immigration under control, and said Labour backed “fewer and weaker border controls”.” – Daily Telegraph
Sketches:
Editorial:
>Today: ToryDiary: Are Starmer and Reeves the heirs to Cameron and Osborne?
“Nadhim Zahawi has announced that he will stand down as a Conservative MP at the next election. The former chancellor said that he had “come to feel that the time is right for a new, energetic Conservative to fight for the honour of representing Stratford-on-Avon and assuming the mantle of MP for Shakespeare”. He has become the 64th Conservative MP to declare they will not stand again at the next election, as Rishi Sunak faces a Tory exodus in the run-up to the contest… He has represented the seat of Stratford-on-Avon since 2010, and has become the latest in a growing number of senior Conservative MPs to announce they will be stepping aside at the next election, including Sir Sajid Javid, Kwasi Kwarteng, Theresa May and Dominic Raab.” – Daily Telegraph
“Labour has secured its largest polling lead since the Liz Truss era, a poll for The Times has found. The YouGov poll puts Labour 30 points ahead of the Conservatives – the worst reading for Rishi Sunak since he became prime minister. The Conservatives are on 18 per cent and Labour on 48 per cent. Reform UK, who narrowly missed out on second place in the recent Blackpool South by-election, is on 13 per cent. In the first survey of voting intention by the pollster since the Tory party suffered a series of difficult losses in last week’s local and mayoral elections, the gap between the two parties is the largest it has been since October 2022, weeks after Truss’s mini-budget. The Conservative share of the vote is now lower than it was even during Truss’s nadir, with one in four 2019 Conservative voters now backing the right-wing Reform party.” – The Times
>Yesterday: James Crouch in Comment: The local elections point to a Labour majority – but not to a Conservative wipe out
“A farming visa scheme that allows 45,000 migrants a year into Britain will be extended until the end of the decade despite a vow to reduce numbers. Steve Barclay, the Environment Secretary, has announced that the programme for foreign crop and fruit pickers will run until at least 2029. His announcement comes after Rishi Sunak pledged to tighten up work visas in response to Tory anger over record net migration. The move comes amid concern that staff shortages on farms, especially around harvest time, and in the supply chain will put food production at risk. Mr Barclay announced that 45,000 seasonal worker visas would be made available next year, the same number that has been on offer for 2023-24.” – Daily Telegraph
Comment:
>Today: Neil O’Brien MP in Comment: Migration is not making Britain better off. Ministers must listen to voters – and act now.
>Yesterday: Daniel Hannan’s column: Why the next Tory leader will say all the right things – from the safety of opposition
“University leaders have a “moral duty” to protect Jewish students from intimidation and harassment on campuses, Rishi Sunak has said. On Thursday the prime minister will host a meeting in No 10 with vice-chancellors from leading universities and urge them to take a “zero-tolerance” approach to antisemitism. Students around the country, including at Oxford and Cambridge, have set up encampments in protest against the universities’ alleged complicity in the war in Gaza. Inspired by similar protests in the United States, about a dozen protest camps have been set up on British campuses in the past fortnight. Those taking part in the protests at Oxford have been asked to sign up to a pro-Palestinian manifesto that refers to the “right of colonised people to resist against occupation”.” – The Times
>Yesterday: James Johnson’s column: How a tiny minority of students (and TikTok) is driving America’s campus protests
“Britain is at risk of being taken over by dangerous sectarian politics, the Tory chairman warned last night. Richard Holden accused Labour of exploiting the Middle East conflict to win votes, and attacked candidates at last week’s elections who campaigned for Palestine instead of for residents. He said four Green Party councillors were facing anti-Semitism allegations, and the Labour Party was ‘pandering to this new sectarianism’ in order to win elections in areas with large Muslim populations. His forthright comments in an article for the Daily Mail come as Rishi Sunak summons university vice-chancellors to Downing Street today to tell them to protect Jewish students from harassment, while pro-Palestinian protests spread from the streets of London to at least 11 campuses.” – Daily Mail
>Today: Clare Golby in Local Government: The lesson from the local elections? We need to give a reason to our natural supporters to vote.
“I understand the strength of feeling over recent events in Israel and Gaza. No one is saying that students should not be able to express the very human angst that many of us feel about the terrible suffering of war. We will always protect freedom of speech and the right to protest – and our universities are a natural place for that expression, precisely because they are institutions of learning and exploration where challenging ideas are debated rigorously. But just as importantly, universities have a profound duty to remain bastions of tolerance, where such debate takes place with respect for others – and where every student feels safe and at home, whatever their faith or background. Right now, that is not the case.” – The Times
“European countries appear “unwilling” to invest in defence, Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton will say in a speech demanding that Nato raise its military spending target to 2.5 per cent of GDP. The foreign secretary will tell EU countries to make good on their promise to rebuild their armies following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, warning that the devastating two-year war shows what happens when you spend “too little, too late”. Echoing calls from Donald Trump for Europe to spend more on defence, Lord Cameron will say that the West is in a “battle of wills” with Russia… Only Poland, the US, Lithuania, Greece and Estonia currently spend more than 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.” – The Times
More:
Comment:
>Today: Garvan Walshe’s column: An indecisive Netanyahu is running out of the time for an Israel-Gaza ceasefire
>Yesterday:
“Britain is refusing to sign the World Health Organisation’s pandemic treaty while it insists the UK would have to give away a fifth of its jabs, The Telegraph understands. The UK is firmly against such vaccine-related commitments and will not sign any form of the pandemic agreement that undermines Britain’s sovereignty. Representatives of the WHO’s 194 member states are halfway through talks to try to agree to the WHO Pandemic Agreement, an initiative first announced in May 2021. At the peak of the Covid emergency, nations planned to sign a legally binding document, informally known as the pandemic treaty, or pandemic accord, that would force countries to tackle the next global health emergency in a united way.” – Daily Telegraph
“Tax rises are inevitable regardless of who wins the next general election, top economists have warned, as the Government is set to break its borrowing rules by racking up too much debt. Income tax could have to rise by as much as 3p in the pound if the next Chancellor is to hit his or her borrowing targets. Both Labour and the Conservatives have promised to stick to the fiscal rules, and analysts at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) warn this means the only way to feasibly meet the promises is to increase taxes… The economists predict the Government will fail to meet its goal to get annual borrowing below 3pc of GDP in five years’ time, and will also not manage to get debt falling as a share of GDP. Stephen Millard, deputy director at Niesr, said the most obvious way to raise more revenue is through higher income taxes.” – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: An election-year debate the Party has chosen to have: how many criminals should we let out of prison early?
“Unions are demanding Labour toughen its workers’ rights package after objecting to a series of concessions designed to reassure business leaders. Angela Rayner, the party’s deputy leader, will insist on Thursday that she is “doubling down” on workers’ rights as she promises new laws to protect interns and volunteers from sexual harassment. However, trade unions linked to the party are pressing for changes to a draft document outlining the proposals after it was presented to them this week. Unite, Labour’s biggest union backer, called the concessions a “betrayal” and is threatening to withhold general election funding unless Rayner ditches them. While more moderate unions vented frustration with Unite, many also believe that Labour has gone too far in its attempt to allay employers’ concerns.” – The Times
More:
Comment:
Editorial:
“John Swinney, Scotland’s new first minister, has appointed Kate Forbes as deputy first minister and economy secretary. Forbes, who was beaten by former first minister Humza Yousaf in last year’s leadership election, said being given the role was a “moment of extraordinary privilege”. She decided not to run for leader of the Scottish National party after Yousaf’s resignation just over a week ago. Swinney had promised her a significant government role as he seeks to reunite the party. Forbes will work with Swinney to support economic growth, invest in public services and eradicate child poverty, a statement said. Shona Robison has stepped down as deputy first minister but will remain in cabinet handling finance and local government.” – FT