Sunak ‘rebukes’ Macron’s criticism of Rwanda plan
“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 says he doesn’t know how many Channel crossings the Rwanda plan can stop – The I
- Rwanda bill ‘driving fearful migrants to cross into Ireland’ – The Times
- Not only is Cameron talking nonsense about Brexit and migration, his own catastrophic blunders in Libya and Syria have fueled the crisis – Andrew Neil, The Daily Mail
- The Rwanda plan is a staggering waste of government time and money – Lewis Goodall, The I
- Asylum crisis is about to migrate to Starmer – Lara Spirit, The Times
- The Tories could turn things around if they keep fighting like this – Leo McKinstry, Daily Express
Cleverly likens Tory plots against Sunak to leaving a plane without a parachute…
“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
- He has a pop at the Prime Minister’s height – The Daily Mail
- At last Sunak shows he’s a Prime Minister with a plan – whilst Starmer’s policy-light vibe is starting to look pretty woolly – Harry Cole, The Sun
- We know the local elections will be tough but we are making progress – Craig Tracey, Daily Express
>Today:
…as he suggests Khan talks more about Gaza ‘than black kids getting murdered in London’
“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
- Hall pledges ULEZ will go on her first day in City Hall – Daily Express
France and Germany must match UK defence spending plans, says Hunt
“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
- Labour must match the Tories on defence spending, former Army chief warns Starmer – The Daily Mail
- If Europe believes Putin is going to unleash a Third World War, step up and spend some money, demands Bannon – The Sun
>Yesterday:
Couples having children could become ‘culturally unusual’, warns Cates
“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
Labour ‘plans to retain’ key private sector role in Britain’s nationalised railways
“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
- Labour refuses to guarantee lower train fares under potential government – The Daily Telegraph
- ‘Anti-car targets’ to be set by Labour to slash carbon footprints – The Sun
- What Labour’s rail nationalization would mean for commuters – The Times
- Why Labour’s plan to revive British rail won’t bring down ticket prices – The Daily Telegraph
- The trap facing Starmer over Labour’s rail nationalization plan – The I
- Labour says UK nature under threat and pledges to halt decline – The Guardian
- MP who accused Israel of genocide could have the whip restored within days – The Daily Telegraph
- Is Labour ready for a general election? – The I
- Farage will be Prime Minister after Starmer is swept away by a financial crisis, claims Bannon – The Sun
- Renationalisation won’t fix the railways – Editorial, The Daily Telegraph
- Nationalisation is no answer to rail chaos – Editorial, The Daily Mail
- An optimist’s guide to the next Labour government – Chris Giles, The Financial Times
- No one will miss Avanti – Labour’s train plans make perfect sense – Simon Kellner, The I
- Britain’s trains are a global embarrassment. The only way Starmer will fix mess is by getting tough on union Fat Controllers – Colin Robertson, The Sun
Yousaf on the brink as Green gamble backfires
“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
- He is ‘out of allies’ for knife-edge vote on his future – The Times
- Yousaf’s future to be determined by Alba Party – The Daily Telegraph
- What the end of the SNP-Green coalition spells for Holyrood – The Times
- Why the SNP’s fatal pact with the Greens will end up pushing them to the Right – The Daily Telegraph
- SNP risks election annihilation with or without Green Party pact – The Times
- Rowling may have the last laugh on SNP’s obsession with trans rights – The Daily Telegraph
- The demise of the SNP-Green coalition promises an era of uncertainty at Holyrood – Editorial, The Times
- The collapse of Yousaf’s coalition may be bad news for Labour – Editorial, The Daily Telegraph
- Goodbye and good riddance to the winebar revolutionaries of the toxic Scottish Greens – Jonathan Brocklebank, The Daily Mail
- Yousaf has united Scotland – almost everyone hates him now – Madeline Grant, The Daily Telegraph
- The crisis is entirely of Yousaf’s own making – Tom Harris, The Daily Mail
- How the coalition breakdown will affect the SNP’s election chances – James Mitchell, The Times
- The collapse of the SNP-Green coalition was a political farce made in Scotland – Eddie Barnes, The Daily Mail
- The SNP is finally paying a political price for its breathtaking failures – Fraser Nelson, The Daily Telegraph
News in Brief:
- Yousaf’s time is running out – Henry Hill, UnHerd
- Sunak’s defence commitment is a paltry offering – William Atkinson, CapX
- Make architecture art again – Henry Oliver, The Critic
- The end of mainstream Christianity in Britain – Neil O’Brien, Neil’s Substack
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