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Rwanda bill - latest: Rishi Sunak pleads with House of Lords to back deportation plan

PM prepares for showdown with peers as he is warned of ‘step towards totalitarianism’

Tory rebel Robert Jenrick says he is prepared to vote against Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill

Rishi Sunak is preparing for a showdown with the House of Lords, pleading with peers to back his Rwanda plan after it passed the Commons, suggesting it is what voters want.

The prime minister described the bill as a “national priority” and urged the upper chamber to “do the right thing”.

“There is now only one question,” he said. “Will the opposition in the appointed House of Lords try and frustrate the will of the people as expressed by the elected House? Or will they get on board and do the right thing?”

Mr Sunak went on the attack against Labour, saying Keir Starmer’s party had no plan to tackle migrant Channel crossings.

He also could not guarantee that flights to Rwanda would take off before the next election, expected in the spring or autumn.

But a prominent member of the Lords warned that the Rwanda Bill represented “a step towards totalitarianism”.

Lord Carlile, a former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said many peers feared the integrity of the British legal system was “under attack” from Tory infighting.

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Sunak heads for titanic battle with Lords

Defiant peers have rejected Rishi Sunak’s warning not to frustrate “the will of the people” by opposing his flagship Rwanda legislation as the prime minister heads for a showdown with the House of Lords:

PM set for titanic battle with Lords over Rwanda bill

PM warns peers not to ‘frustrate the will of the people’ by opposing his flagship stop the boats legislation — as support for Tories hits new low with poll putting Labour 27 points ahead

Jane Dalton18 January 2024 19:35
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Does a dire opinion poll mean it’s all over for the Conservatives?

How bad is it for the party supported by a mere 20 per cent of voters, asks Sean O’Grady:

Does the latest dire opinion poll mean it’s all over for the Conservative Party?

As a new survey by YouGov puts Labour a shocking 27 percentage points ahead of the Tories, Sean O’Grady asks whether Rishi Sunak should take it seriously – and if so, what happens next

Jane Dalton19 January 2024 02:00
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Voters care about economy far more than immigration, polling guru says

Voters will be more concerned about the state of the economy than immigration at the next election, top polling guru Sir John Curtice says:

Voters care about the economy far more than immigration, polling guru says

Sir John Curtice said government was focusing on wrong issue – as Citizens Advice saw number of people in financial crisis triple since 2023

Jane Dalton19 January 2024 00:59
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HS2 ‘intimidated landowners over compensation claims after contact with MP’

HS2 has been accused of intimidating landowners who raised compensation cases against the high speed rail company with their Tory MP:

Jane Dalton18 January 2024 23:59
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Home Office loses track of nearly 6,000 asylum-seekers

Almost 6,000 asylum-seekers whose claims have been withdrawn have gone missing in the UK, ministers have admitted:

Home Office loses track of nearly 6,000 asylum seekers

The migrants ‘remain in the UK and the Home Office is taking steps to urgently re-establish contact with them’.

Jane Dalton18 January 2024 22:59
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Ban on Islamist group as terror organisation becomes law

Plans to ban Islamist political group Hizb ut-Tahrir as a terrorist organisation have been approved by Parliament.

Hizb ut-Tahrir has organised rallies that took place in London alongside pro-Palestinian marches in recent months, following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

It has already been banned in Germany, as well as in several Arab and Asian countries because of what the Home Office has described as its “long-term goal of establishing a caliphate ruled under Islamic law”.

With headquarters in Lebanon, the group also operates in at least 32 countries including the United States, Canada and Australia.

Both the Commons and Lords backed plans to proscribe the group as a terror organisation on Thursday.

It paved the way for the ban to come into force on Friday.

It will mean belonging to, inviting support for and displaying symbols of the group in public will be a criminal offence.

Hizb ut-Tahrir

Jane Dalton18 January 2024 22:00
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I have no skeletons in cupboard, says Starmer

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he has “no skeletons in the closet” from his time in charge of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) ahead of the general election:

Keir Starmer says there are ‘no skeletons’ in his closet ahead of general election

Sir Keir Starmer has defended his record as a lawyer and the director of public prosecutions, saying the Tories will not find a ‘smoking gun’ in his past

Jane Dalton18 January 2024 21:10
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Analysis: What Labour’s new ‘campaign guide’ tells us about its policies

Labour’s Let’s Get Britain’s Future Back document might be best thought of as a pilot for the manifesto. Sean O’Grady looks at what it means – and what there is in it to worry about:

What does Labour’s new ‘campaign guide’ tell us about its policies?

The party’s newly published pamphlet is a frustrating mix of some highly specific initiatives and others that are either vague or raise huge practical questions. Sean O’Grady has read it so you don’t have to...

Jane Dalton18 January 2024 20:20
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Anger as ministers allow bee-killing pesticides fourth year running

Farmers have been given the go-ahead for the fourth year in a row to use a banned pesticide that kills bees – prompting anger among nature lovers:

Anger as government allows banned bee-killing pesticides for fourth year in a row

Decision branded ‘death blow for wildlife’ that ‘flies in face of ecological sense’

Jane Dalton18 January 2024 19:20
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No 10 pledges to consider stats chief letter

Downing Street said it would consider a letter by UK Statistics Authority chairman Sir Robert Chote, concerning the accuracy of a claim by Rishi Sunak that ministers had cleared the asylum legacy backlog, to “ensure we can be as clear and transparent as possible”.

The Prime Minister previously pledged to abolish a portion of older asylum applications awaiting an initial decision by the end of last year, tasking the Home Office with tackling 92,601 so-called legacy claims made before the end of June 2022.

But figures showed 4,537 applications were still outstanding as of December 28. Sir Robert said some people “may feel misled” by the Government claims the backlog had been cleared.

Asked whether there was a problem in No 10 with not being able to represent statistics accurately, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said: “I don’t think that is right. We publish a wide range of statistical information and continue to do so.

“We also linked through to the full story on Gov.uk with the details of our update on the legacy backlog and the PM was referring to a commitment he himself made and spoke about. But of course we will note the letter and consider it to ensure we can be as clear and transparent as possible.”

Jane Dalton18 January 2024 18:40

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