Newslinks for Monday 5th June 2023 | Conservative Home

Sunak 1) The Prime Minister ‘hails success’ of ‘stop the boats’ campaign

“Rishi Sunak is set to claim that the Government’s crackdown on illegal migration is starting to work, with figures understood to show Albanians now make up as few as one per cent of those crossing the Channel. On Monday, in an update on progress on his pledge to stop the boats, the Prime Minister will cite a sharp decline in the number of Albanians arriving as evidence that a tough stance on deportations will deter illegal migrants. The numbers are down from around 30 per cent of Channel arrivals last year to one or two per cent in the first four months of this year. It is understood that thousands of Albanians are being tracked down and targeted by Home Office immigration enforcement officers for deportation…” – The Daily Telegraph

  • He seeks to ‘regain migration initiative’ with Dover visit – The Guardian
  • His migration plan is ‘based on demented assumptions’ – The Times
  • ‘Pressure grows’ on Prime Minister after it is revealed that only ‘hundreds’ of Albanians are sent home – The Daily Mail
  • UK ‘may not have to comply’ with EU injunctions blocking Rwanda flights – The Daily Telegraph
  • Two-thirds of UK think migration is too high – The I
  • Time to end the ECHR’s misuse of power – Editorial, The Daily Telegraph
  • Blame-dodgers have dominated for too long – Trevor Phillips, The Times

Sunak 2) His approval rating ‘plummets’ as he ‘loses nearly half of 2019 Conservative voters’, poll suggests

“Rishi Sunak’s personal approval rating among voters has fallen dramatically since the Conservatives’ disastrous local election results, a new poll for i reveals on Sunday. In figures which will cause alarm in Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s net satisfaction score for May is -21 per cent, down from -14 per cent in April, the BMG Research survey shows. This is Mr Sunak’s second-lowest approval rating since becoming Prime Minister last October, with only one worse figure of -23 per cent in January. He is least popular among Generation X voters, with a rating of -34 per cent in the 45 to 54-year-old age group, and -29 per cent among those aged 55 to 64. The PM is most popular with those aged over 65, however, with a comparatively better score of -4 per cent.” – The I

Sunak 3) He ‘will lobby Biden’ to make Wallace the next head of NATO…

“Rishi Sunak will lobby Joe Biden this week to make a Brit the next head of NATO after the UK led the world on arming Ukraine. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace’s campaign to be the next boss of the western alliance will step up a gear at the PM’s talks with the US President. Wallace would be the first Brit as NATO Secretary General in two decades, with Mr Sunak promoting his pitch at the White House. The PM’s visit to Washington DC will also see discussion on regulating Artificial Intelligence and drumming up inward investment to the UK. But talks on a US trade deal before next year’s General Election have been shelved. The PM could also be honoured by throwing the opening baseball pitch at a Washington Nationals game on Wednesday evening.” – The Sun

  • He also spent some time on the margins of the G7 meeting in Hiroshima last month lobbying for the Defence Secretary – The Daily Telegraph
  • Biden seeks to dispel ‘anti-British’ label with Sunak visit – but there’s no sign of a trade deal – The I
  • Will Sunak be pitch perfect or a baseball flop? – The Times
  • Britain and America’s relationship is still so special, says deputy US ambassador to the United Kingdom – The Daily Mail

Sunak 4) …and will aim for a UK ‘leadership’ role in AI development in Washington trip

“Rishi Sunak will fly to Washington this week for talks with US president Joe Biden, as the prime minister seeks to exert British “leadership” in the debate over the development and regulation of artificial intelligence. Sunak is expected to discuss a mooted “Cern for AI”, modelled on the international particle physics project, which conducts international research in a tightly controlled ethical and physical environment. He also plans to raise with Biden the idea of a global AI regulatory body, possibly based on the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA). Last week Sunak said he thought the UK could “play a leadership role” in AI and Downing Street insiders suggested Britain could be a host for any new international regulatory body.” – The Financial Times

Sunak 5) He will pledge £1 billion to train tens of thousands of extra nurses, midwives, doctors, and dentists over next five years

“Rishi Sunak will pledge £1billion to train tens of thousands of extra nurses, midwives, doctors and dentists over the next five years. The Prime Minister hopes the extra funding will help fix the NHS staffing crisis as it battles to meet demand with 112,000 vacancies. Proposals still under discussion include a doubling of medical school places for doctors to 15,000 by 2028/29. As part of the workforce plan, 24,000 nurses and midwives would be trained by 2030, with 2,000 more trainee GPs and thousands more dentists. Doctors and nurses degree apprenticeships will increase, with those enrolled learning on the job. However, the Treasury is understood to have resisted calls for the 15-year plan to be fully funded…” – The Daily Mail

>Today:

Nick Timothy: ‘Truth’ is being weaponised in our sinister new age of disinformation

“In our age of online news, declining trust and political polarisation, we have less confidence in what we judge to be the truth, and spend more time fighting over its meaning, than at any other time in the democratic age. And this is before the imminent mass deployment of artificial intelligence and deep fake technology. The consequences of these new technologies will be profound. We will need secure digital identity cards to protect us from sophisticated fraud and other crimes. We will need structures that ensure human control over weaponry and other means of coercion. We will need ethical safeguards over their use in whole fields of human activity. And we will need to find ways of discerning the truth.” – The Daily Telegraph

Johnson ‘at risk of losing Covid inquiry legal funding’, ‘Whitehall warns’

“Boris Johnson has been warned by Whitehall that he could lose publicly funded legal support if he undermines the government’s position on the Covid-19 inquiry. The Cabinet Office has written to Johnson to say it could withdraw the legal advice it provides to the former prime minister if he undermines the government’s handling of the inquiry. “The funding offer will cease to be available to you if you knowingly seek to frustrate or undermine, either through your own actions or the actions of others, the government’s position in relation to the inquiry unless there is a clear and irreconcilable conflict of interest on a particular point at issue,” the letter said. The former…prime minister…bypassed the Cabinet Office by handing over…unredacted WhatsApp messages…” – The Financial Times

  • Lockdown benefits ‘a drop in the bucket compared to the costs’, landmark study finds – The Daily Telegraph
  • Covid inquiry chair set to ‘take tough line’ on Government legal action over Johnson WhatsApps – The I
  • The three vital WhatsApp groups No 10 used to beat the pandemic – The Times
  • Cameron-Osborne austerity years ‘cost UK dearly’ when Covid struck, says TUC – The Guardian
  • Painful lockdowns a global policy failure that must never be repeated – Jonas Herby and Lars Jonung, The Daily Telegraph

Starmer says nuclear power is ‘critical part’ of UK’s energy mix

“Keir Starmer has described nuclear power as a “critical part” of the UK’s energy mix and pledged to get stalled projects over the line, as Labour positions itself firmly behind the technology. Before the Labour leader presents his net zero energy policies during a speech in Scotland early next week, the party said it would “push forward” nuclear to boost energy security, cut costs for consumers and create jobs. On Sunday Starmer accused the Conservatives of a “shambolic” failure to open any nuclear power plants during 13 years in power. On Monday he will visit Hinkley Point C in Somerset, one of a number of new plants still not operational despite having been identified in 2009 when Labour was last in power.” – The Guardian

  • Unions lambast Labour over ‘naïve’ green energy plan – The Times
  • Unions, industry bosses, and ‘even Labour MPs’ attack Starmer’s plan to block all new energy production in the North Sea – The Daily Mail
  • Labour ‘lands new magadonor’ in ‘£5 million boost’ for next election – The Financial Times
  • Burnham ‘takes on Starmer’ in row over far Left mayoral candidate – The Daily Telegraph
  • Starmer’s dangerous dash to Net Zero – Editorial, The Daily Mail

>Today:

‘Legal backlash’ threatens Yousaf’s Scottish rape trial reforms

“Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf is standing firm over government plans to introduce juryless rape trials after senior members of the legal profession threatened to boycott the proposal. Yousaf’s first weeks as leader of the Scottish National party have been marred by controversy after police launched an investigation into the SNP’s finances under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon shortly after he succeeded her in March. A prolonged conflict with lawyers would be a further unwelcome distraction for the first minister as he seeks to cement his leadership and stabilise the pro-independence party after a tumultuous period since Sturgeon stepped down… Edinburgh unveiled the proposal to address endemic low conviction rates in rape trials in April…” – The Financial Times

  • Scotland’s top civil servant is accused of ‘dodging basic questions; about when Sturgeon and the policy – The Daily Mail

News in Brief:

  • So long to Luton’s old stadium – Graham Miller, The Spectator 
  • Is anyone at home in Northern Ireland? – Aris Roussinos, UnHerd 
  • Our inquiry problem – Elijah Granet, The Critic
  • Why is there no Prevent strategy in Northern Ireland? – John Ashmore, CapX
  • How to survive a nuclear holocaust – John Gray, The New Statesman 

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