Home Secretary: Illegal migration is causing “huge divides” Politics Illegal migration is causing “huge divides” in the UK and must be brought under control to maintain consent for any form of asylum system, the Home Secretary has said. Shabana Mahmood said the Government needed to “deal with the pull factors that draw people in the first place” as she plans to announce a new [...]
Spending review: Rachel Reeves in standoff over police budgets Politics Just 48 hours out from the government’s spending review on Wednesday, Rachel Reeves faces a tax and spend tug-of-war between senior Cabinet ministers and the realities of the public finances. Yvette Cooper looks to be the major remaining holdout, with substantial cuts to Home Office funding expected at the spending review and no funding deal [...]
Cut net zero and welfare spending instead of police budget, Tory MP blasts Politics The shadow home secretary has slammed the Labour government amid mounting speculation police budgets are on the chopping block in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spending review. Chris Philp told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg he believes police funding should be protected from cuts following concerns of a shrinking workforce. “I think I’m very concerned that [...]
Labour and Tories fight for credit on lowering migration May 22, 2025 Long-term net migration to the UK was halved in 2024, official data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed, triggering a battle between the Labour government and the previous Conservative administration to claim credit for the fall. Total net migration fell from 860,000 in 2023 to 431,000 in 2024, the report found. The data [...]
Starmer’s immigration plans dealt surprise blow by Albania May 15, 2025 Keir Starmer’s plans to “take back control” of immigration rules in the UK were dealt a fresh blow after Albania’s prime minister ruled out hosting failed asylum seekers, a proposal widely seen as acting as a deterrent to illegal migration. In a visit to the capital city Tirana, Starmer was told by Albania’s Edi Rama [...]
Home Office to clamp down on visa overstays amid pressure from Farage May 6, 2025 New Home Office rules would put curbs on work and study visas from nationalities most at risk of overstaying and going on to claim asylum as part of Labour’s push to reduce net migration. Applications from Pakistanis, Nigerians and Sri Lankans are among those set to be restricted, according to a report in The Times. [...]
Poor co-ordination was ‘open invitation’ for small boats, Starmer says March 31, 2025 Poor co-ordination between policing and intelligence agencies was an “open invitation” to people smugglers transporting arrivals in small boats, Sir Keir Starmer has claimed. The Prime Minister has said his government “inherited this total fragmentation between our policing, our Border Force and our intelligence agencies” and warned there were “gaps in our defence, an open [...]
Britain needs to work harder to ‘compete globally’, Chris Philp says January 31, 2025 Brits need to work harder in order to “compete globally” with rival nations, Chris Philp has argued. The Conservative shadow home secretary told BBC Radio 4’s Political Thinking podcast that the UK “needs everyone to make a contribution” to keep up with states like China and India. He told presenter Nick Robinson that there were [...]
Tulip Siddiq: City minister referred herself to watchdog over property questions January 6, 2025 Tulip Siddiq has referred herself to the government’s standards watchdog over questions about her use of properties linked to the deposed Bangladeshi leader, Keir Starmer said. The City minister has come under increasing pressure after it emerged she had been given a London flat and lived in another property with links to her aunt, former [...]
Small boats: Crackdown on suspected smuggling gangs as migrant numbers up January 2, 2025 Suspected people smugglers could face travel and social media bans as the government announced a fresh crackdown in its bid to “smash the gangs” and cut arrivals on small boats. Court orders to restrict the activity of those under investigation for such crimes will be strengthened as part of draft legislation to be introduced in [...]