Early evening summary
Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, has published the government’s universal credit and personal independence payment bill, claiming it represents “a new social contract” and that it will bring claimants “peace of mind”. (See 3.33pm.) She also claimed the three-month transitional payment for people who are losing Pip is “one of the most generous” transitional payments ever offered as part of a benefit change. (See 3.04pm.) Disability charities have restated their strong opposition to the plans, saying they will plunge hundreds of thousands of people into poverty. (See 4.48pm.)
9 out of 10 people currently getting Pip will still be getting it in 2029/30 despite cuts, DWP claims
The Department for Work and Pensions has published two impact assessments with its UC and Pip bill – here and here.
The one covering Pip says that, by 2029/30, nine out of 10 people who are currently getting Pip will still be getting it even though the bill is tightening the eligibilty requirement. It explains:
Before the change is implemented there will be around 3.6m people on Pip. The department has published an evidence pack which shows that currently around 46% of those receiving PIP daily living score fewer than 4 points on any daily living activity. This does not mean that over 1.6m would lose PIP, because it does not take into account:
-People’s health changes – some get better and no longer need Pip whereas 1 in 5 people see their award increase at an award review and some will leave benefit for other reasons.
-OBR assume a behavioural response so that around 50% of people will now qualify when the new rules come into effect.
-Not all current claimants will have been reassessed under the new criterion.
-Together these factors mean the OBR expects 370,000 people to have a lower award or lose Pip due to this policy by 2029/30 – so around 9 in 10 of the original caseload not affected.
Even with these reforms, the overall number of people of working age people on Pip/DLA is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23 billion in 24/25 to £31 billion in 29/30.
Home Office says it will consider how article 3 of ECHR (freedom from torture) used by courts to stop deportations
In its immigration white paper last month, the Home Office said it would get parliament to provide a framework for judges clarifying when they should be able to use article 8 of the European convention on human rights (the right to family life) to halt deportation proceedings. The Home Office said too many cases are being treated as “exceptional” (meaning deportation can be blocked).
Now the Home Office has said the government is also looking at how article 3 (freedom from torture) is being interpreted by the courts. A Home Office spokesperson told ITV News:
The home secretary has asked the Home Office to work with other government departments to urgently examine the way article 3 of the European convention on human rights is operating in these cases, specifically relating to prison standards overseas.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free to roam Britain’s streets, including removing them from the UK at the earliest possible opportunity. Extradition is a largely judicial process.
This is in response to an ITV report saying murder and child rape suspects have used human rights law to avoid deportation.
Radakin declines to answer question about whether UK would support US in attack on Iran
Q: Can you give any sense of whether the UK is considering deciding to support the US if it does attack Iran?
Radakin said that the support the UK was providing was predominantly “force protection for our people that are out in the region”. The UK wanted to assure its partners that “the UK is there, and it’s doing the best thing possible to protect them”.
He said he did not want to go into any more detail than that.
At PMQs Angela Rayner played down the idea that the UK might join an attack on Iran. (See 12.21pm.) Downing Street said the government was committed to de-escalating the conflict. (See 1.38pm.)
Chief of defence staff Tony Radakin ducks question about whether he thinks US will join attack on Iran
Adm Sir Tony Radakin is now taking questions.
Q: You have probably just come from the Cobra meeting. Are you worried the US will join the attacks on Iran?
Radakin says he cannot talk about what the US may hypothetically do.
He says the UK has strengthened its ability to protect its peope in the region. It has responsibility for coaliton bases, he says.
That is part of what the public has been able to see, he says.
He says what people are not seeing is “the international element – the conversations that go on with America to understand American thinking and how they’re providing additional defensive support in the region”.
He says he had a video conference with defence chiefs from Middle East countries on Saturday. They talk as the Dragon Group, a network set up by his predecessor. He describes that as part of “a collective international effort to ensure that our people are protected in the region”.
He says the fact those conversations take place should be “a reassurance to a British prime minister”.
Charities representing the disabled have restated their strong opposition to the government’s planned sickness and disability benefit cuts following the publication of the UC and Pip bill. Here are some of the statements they have put out this afternoon.
From the learning disability charity Mencap
Mencap’s recent survey of people with a learning disability found an alarming 70% would need to cut down on food if they lose Pip, while over half (60%) said they would need to cut back on heating and nearly half (45%) were worried they would be unable to leave their home. These stats paint a very grave picture of what’s to come for those who will lose Pip under the government’s plans.
From the disability equality charity Scope
This bill will be catastrophic for disabled people.
Cutting benefits will plunge hundreds of thousands into poverty. Over 800,000 will lose at least some financial support from Pip. It will have a devastating effect on disabled people’s health, ability to live independently or work.
A transition period will only temporarily delay a cut and disabled people will continue to be living with extra costs when it comes to an end.
From the Mental Health Foundation
This bill is a disaster for disabled people, and we urge MPs to reject this legislation in its current form. It will take vital financial support away from hundreds of thousands of disabled people, many of whom have mental health problems. Previous austerity measures worsened people’s living conditions, undermined their mental health and increased the risk of suicide and premature deaths – and that’s likely to be the case here too.
From the multiple sclerosis charity MS Society
The welfare bill’s first reading today takes us a step closer towards disastrous benefits cuts. The government claims this bill is about protecting people, but in reality it will take thousands of pounds a year from disabled people, including many living with MS – pushing more into poverty and worsening people’s health.
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Adm Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, is speaking now at a Rusi conference. There is a live feed here.
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Shabana Mahmood says ECHR must change because of 'growing perception, sometimes grounded in reality' it helps criminals
Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, has warned that there is a “growing perception” that the European convention on human rights (ECHR) protects criminals. And sometimes people are right to think that, she said.
She made the comments in a speech to the Council of Europe, the international body that oversees the ECHR, in Strasbourg. The full text of the speech, which was trailed this morning (see 9.19am) has is on the MoJ’s website.
Mahmood did not say how the convention should be changed. And she made a point of being diplomatic, saying at one point that she agreed with Alain Berset, secretary general of the Council of Europe (whose enthusiasm for reform seems limited – see 10.10am) and at another point that her speech should not be read as criticism of judges European court of human rights, who enforce the ECHR.
But she did argue change was needed. She said:
The successes of our convention cannot be taken for granted. Because when rules are broken with impunity, trust collapses – not just in states, but in the idea of democracy itself.
And across Europe, public confidence in the rule of law is fraying.
There is a growing perception – sometimes mistaken, sometimes grounded in reality – that human rights are no longer a shield for the vulnerable, but a tool for criminals to avoid responsibility.
That the law too often protects those who break the rules, rather than those who follow them …
When the application of rights begins to feel out of step with common sense – when it conflicts with fairness or disrupts legitimate government action – trust begins to erode.
Mahmood cited two areas of policy where the convention was causing problems in the UK: immigration and criminal justice.
If a foreign national commits a serious crime, they should expect to be removed from the country.
But we see cases where individuals invoke the right to family life – even after neglecting or harming those very family ties.
Or take prison discipline. Being in custody is a punishment. It means some privileges are lost.
But dangerous prisoners have been invoking Article 8 to try to block prison staff from putting them in separation centres to manage the risk they pose.
It is not right that dangerous prisoners’ rights are given priority over others’ safety and security.
That is not what the Convention was ever intended to protect.
Mahmood said in the UK the government has intends to issue guidance clarifying for the court how parliament thinks convention rights should be interepreted.
But she also said there was a need for a “shared political endeavour amongst us as member states – to preserve our convention by renewing its moral and democratic foundation”. She said she looked forward to that conversation in months to come.
When rights feel remote from fairness, or we appear to protect the rule-breaker over the rule-follower, trust disintegrates - and with it, the foundations of democracy.
That is why this dialogue matters. Because the convention matters so much.
We can preserve rights by restoring public confidence in them rather than give ground to populism.
The European convention on human rights is one of the great achievements of post-war politics.
It has endured because it has evolved.
Now, it must do so again.
Scottish government condemns bill cutting sickness and disability benefits
The SNP government in Scotland has restated its opposition to the UC and Pip bill. Its social justice seceretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said:
The UK government’s proposed reforms will be hugely damaging to those who rely on social security support, particularly during the ongoing cost of living crisis …
The reforms do not reflect the Scottish government’s values. We will not let disabled people down or cast them aside as the UK government has done. We will not cut Scotland’s adult disability payment.
The UK government should follow our lead and protect the social security safety system, rather than dismantling it. If they do not, then disabled people can draw no other conclusion than the UK government remain content to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable.
Liz Kendall claims UC and Pip bill represents 'new social contract' and will 'give people peace of mind'
More than 3m households will lose out from the benefit cuts in the UC (universal credit) and Pip (personal independence payment) bill published today. On average, they will lose £1,720 a year. But people losing Pip will lose on average £4,500 a year. The figures are in the DWP’s impact analysis published in March, and we wrote them up here.
Today, in its news release about the bill, the Department for Work and Pensions has been keen to talk up the good news in the plans. It says:
Almost 4 million households will gain because the standard rate of universal credit (paid to people out of work who are not sick or disabled) is going up. A single person could gain £725 a year by 2029/30, £250 more than if it was just uprated with inflation, the DWP says.
More than 200,000 people with the most severe disabilities will not have to face regular UC reassessments, the DWP says. It says this measure will give them “peace of mind”.
The DWP confirms it is spending £1bn on support to help people get back to work.
It says it will soon legislate for a “right to try” guarantee, so that people on sickness benefits who get a job will not automatically face reassessment. This is to allow them to return to claiming benefits if the job does not work out.
Commenting on these measures, Liz Kendall, the work and payments secretary, says:
This legislation represents a new social contract and marks the moment we take the road of compassion, opportunity and dignity.
This will give people peace of mind, while also fixing our broken social security system so it supports those who can work to do so while protecting those who cannot - putting welfare spending on a more sustainable path to unlock growth as part of our Plan for Change.
People claiming the UC sickness benefit, or Pip, will almost certainly see it differently.
DWP says transitional payments scheme for those losing Pip 'one of most generous' ever as bill cutting benefits published
The Department for Work and Pensions has now published the text of the universal credit and personal independence payments bill. It runs to 16 pages, and it’s here.
Here are the explanatory notes.
And there are two impact assessments – here and here.
In its news release, the DWP confirms that the plans include a three-month transitional payment for people who are losing the personal independence payment. It claims this is “one of the most generous” transitional payments ever offered as part of a benefit change.
It says:
The universal credit and personal independence payment bill will provide 13-weeks of additional financial security to existing claimants affected by changes to the Pip daily living component, including those who their lose eligibility to carers allowance and the carer’s element of universal credit.
The 13-week additional protection will give people who will be affected by the changes time to adapt, access new, tailored employment support, and plan for their future once they are reassessed and their entitlement ends.
This transitional cover is one of the most generous ever and more than three times the length of protection provided for the transition from DLA to Pip.
UPDATE: This has been corrected because there are two impact assessments, not one.
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HS2 delayed beyond 2033 as minister attacks ‘appalling mess’
The high-speed rail network HS2 cannot be delivered on its current schedule and budget and will be delayed beyond 2033, the government has admitted, blaming mismanagement by the previous Conservative administration for schedule and cost overruns. Gwyn Topham has the story.
No 10 not telling Britons in Israel to get out of country, even though relatives of embassy staff have left
Relatives of British officials working in the embassy in Israel have left the country. But, as PA Media reports, this has led to questions about why other Britons in Israel have not been advised to leave the country. PA says:
Today’s Cobra meeting (see 1.26pm) comes amid confusion over whether British nationals should remain in Israel after the Foreign Office withdrew family members of embassy staff from the country.
The Foreign Office said the withdrawal was temporary and a “precautionary measure”, with staff remaining at both the embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “Our embassy in Tel Aviv and consulate in Jerusalem remain fully staffed and continue to provide consular services to those who require assistance.”
But Downing Street would not say whether British nationals should attempt to leave the country.
Asked whether British nationals should leave Israel, a Number 10 spokesman would only say that the government’s “key message” was to “follow the advice of local authorities on staying close to shelter”.
Britons have already been advised against all travel to Israel, and those already in the country have been urged to register their presence with the embassy.
The Number 10 spokesman added: “This is a fast-moving situation. We are keeping all our advice under constant review and the FCDO [Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office] continues to plan for a variety of developments as you would expect.”
The decision to withdraw family members of embassy staff comes as Israel’s air campaign against Iran entered its sixth day, with jets striking the Iranian capital Tehran overnight.
At its post-PMQs lobby briefing Downing Street said that, although the government is calling for reform of the European convention on human rights (see 9.19am), it is committed to remaining signed up to it.
Asked about Shabana Mahmood’s speech, a No 10 spokesperson said:
Our immigration white paper sets out new plans through legislation to tighten the application of article eight on the ECHR, giving courts the clarity they need so our immigration rules are no longer abused
The lord chancellor is making broader point that now is the time for countries to work together to ensure the ECHR can evolve to meet the challenges facing modern policies.
It should be for parliament and the government to decide who has the right to remain in our country.
But the ECHR underpins critical international agreements … with Germany and France on tackling illegal migration. It underpins the Belfast/Good Friday agreement. So that’s why the government has been clear that Britain will remain a member of the ECHR.
The Ministry of Justice has now published the text of Mahmood’s speech on its website. I will post extracts from it soon.
No 10 says Starmer remains committed to de-escalating Israel/Iran conflict
Yesterday Keir Starmer told reporters that he did not believe President Trump would join Israel in attack Iran. A few hours later Trump posted a message on social media saying he was not going to kill Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “at least not for now”, suggesting that a US attack on Iran was not entirely being ruled out.
At the post-PMQs lobby briefing, asked if Starmer was still confident that Trump would not join the conflict, a No 10 spokesperson said:
You have the PM’s words but the position remains that we want to de-escalate the situation, we want to de-escalate rather than escalate.
We are clear that de-escalation is the right outcome for the Middle East, we are conscious, as the PM has said, that this has an impact on the lives of people in the United Kingdom. That is why the prime minister’s been focused in recent days at the G7 on de-escalation and we will continue to be focused on de-escalation.
This is an extremely fast-moving situation and we are working with partners to reiterate the need to return to diplomacy.
Starmer to chair meeting of government's Cobra emergency committee to discuss Israel/Iran conflict
Keir Starmer will chair a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee this afternoon to discuss the security situation in the Middle East, PA Media is reporting.
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PMQs - snap verdict
In her first response to Chris Philp, Angela Rayner thanked him for the “tone” of his question, which was about the grooming gangs inquiry and relatively non-partisan. It sounded as if she might even have meant it. But after that it all went down hill rapidly. Philp used his second question to revive the ‘Keir Starmer smeared rape gang victims’ charge – a smear about a smear which the evidence does not support, but which plays well on GB News etc. And after that Philp devoted the rest of his questions to small boats and asylum policy. The exchanges were entirely predicatable, and the points raised (on both sides) were largely crude, negative and unenlightening. Unfortunately, given the saliance of the small boats issue, this is what politics may well end up being like from now until the next election.
Rayner and Philp both set out their respective parties’ position reasonably effectively, but without any flair or surprises. Philp certainly did a better job than Alex Burghart, the last shadow minister to serve as a Kemi Badenoch stand-in, and maybe he will be invited back. He sounded like a slightly under-powered version of his leader; not quite as haughty or harsh, but just as hardline. She won’t feel upstaged. Rayner did not manage the sort of impressive win she has pulled off at PMQs in the past, but no one on her side will be complaining either.
Just as Starmer does when he is in the Commons on Wednesdays, Rayner fended off most of the asylum questions with a reminder of the Tories’ own damning record. Mostly this works every time (just ask Sky News – see 11.42pm). But at some point that will stop. Nick Timothy, who is one of the cleverer attack merchants on the Tory benches, had a more difficult question for Rayner on immigration.
The home secretary says we should judge our success in smashing the gangs by whether the number of Channel crossings falls. But under this government, the numbers are up by more than 30%. So by which date should we judge the home secretary? And if she fails, will she be fired?
Rayner said the Tory record had been “abysmal”. But she would not go near trying to predict when small boat numbers might go down, for obvious reasons.
Adam Thompson (Lab) asks what the government will do to improve maths education. He recently came across a 61-year-old man who said he had counted £7bn of government spending, when it was only £27m. What will be done for people like Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, who cannot add up?
Rayner says Reform’s sums don’t add up. She says the government is investing in skills boot camps.
Thompson was referring to a Byline Times report saying that Reform is massively exaggerating the amount it says can be saved by getting rid of government DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) initatives. In his story Josiah Mortimer says:
Nigel Farage’s party faces embarrassment today as new figures appear to discredit Reform UK’s claims about ‘wasteful’ public sector spending on diversity schemes.
Farage’s party has repeatedly claimed that it could save £7bn a year by scrapping government spending on ‘DEI’ programmes – representing diversity, equality and inclusion schemes designed to reduce discrimination and create more welcoming, representative workplaces.
But new government figures – which have yet to be refuted by the far-right party – show that just £27m was actually spent on so-called DEI measures in 2022-23 by the civil service – suggesting leader Nigel Farage’s claims are off by a factor of about 250.
The civil service spend amounts to less than a penny a week per person living in Britain.
Peter Fortune (Con) asks about a private school which he says is closing because of Labour’s VAT on fees policy.
Rayner says she supports all schools that give a good education, but she backs the policy because it will mean state school pupils get a decent education.
Joe Powell (Lab) says it is eight years since the Grenfell Tower fire. Will the government set up some independent oversight so that inquiry recommendations are followed up?
Rayner says the the government will introduce a duty of candour; she knows this is important to Grenfell Tower victims, she says.
Andrew Pakes (Lab) asks Rayner to confirm that places like Peterborough (his constituency) are now top of the government’s agenda.
Rayner says she can confirm govenrment funding for a new city centre area and a refurbished station for Peterborough.
Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru) says Welsh farmers are taking “hit after hit” from government policies on tax and trade deals. Will the government compensate them?
Rayner says Plaid Cymru did not support Wales when it voted against extra money for the Welsh government.
Edward Leigh (Con) says the settlement policy on the West Bank is not in Israel’s interests. He says the Palestinian people deserve their own homeland.
Rayner says the government has sanctioned settlers. And it is pushing for a two-state solution.
Kirith Entwistle (Lab) asks about a constituent waiting for a social home. When will the government’s spending on this make homes available?
Rayner says the government inherited a “dire” situation. It is spending much more on this.
Nick Timothy (Con) says says Channel crossings are up 30%. When will they start to fall? And if they don’t, will the home secretary be fired.
Rayner says the Tories have not backed Labour’s measures on this. And she says Timothy should apologise for the Tories’s record on this, which was “abysmal”.
Pete Wishart (SNP) asks if Labour MPs who vote against the disability cuts will lose the whip?
Rayner does not address the question, and instead just argues Labour’s record is better than the SNP’s.
Jodie Gosling (Lab) asks about a decision to remove fire engine cover for Nuneaton.
Rayner says the fire minister will discuss this with Gosling further. But this is a matter for Warwickshire county council, now led by Reform. Nigel Farage should explain why Reform are cutting services, she says.
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Sarah Champion (Lab) says victims of grooming gangs are being denied compensation for technical reasons.
Rayner says victims deserve support. She says the government is making it easier for them to get compensation in the civil courts.
Rayner signals UK would not join US if it were to attack Iran, saying government wants diplomatic solution
Daisy Cooper, the deputy Lib Dem leader, says the Lib Dems were proud to lead the campaign against the Iraq war in 2003. Given the reports President Trump might join a war against Iran, can the government rule out the UK following?
Rayner says the UK agrees with Trump that Iran must not have nuclear weapons. But the government wants a diplomatic approach, she says.
The one thing I will say is we agree with President Trump that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon, but we’ve been consistent in urging Iran to engage in the diplomatic process and work with the United States, and we continue to support that diplomatic approach.
Cooper asks about the proposed Pip cuts. Analysis suggests 1.3 million disabled people could lose some support.
Rayner says Labour is the party of work. Those who want to work should be able to work. And those who can’t should be protected, she says.
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Rayner says the government is fully committed to a Hillsborough law. It is focusing on getting the measures right.
Philp asks about a paeodophile from Zimbabwe who cannot be deported because of the Human Rights Act. It needs to be scrapped, he says.
Rayner says the Tories have 14 years of failure on this issue.
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Philp accuses Rayner of “brass neck”. And he says Rayner was not listening; the Rwanda scheme never started. Illegal immigrants in Calais were saying they wanted Keir Starmer to be elected.
When Australia launched its scheme, it worked within months.
He says the Home Office is offering above-market prices to landlords to find housing for illegal immigrants?
Rayner says immigration increased four-fold under the Tories. And 400 hotels were being used under the Tories; that is now down to 100. She says under the Tories £1m a day was “spiffed” up the wall (not quite Boris Johnson’s word).
Philp says the government has admitted that the situation in the Channel is deteriorating. Will the government commit to a removals deterrent?
Rayner says, if the Tories think the Rwanda scheme worked, they need to explain why more than 40,000 people arrived after the scheme was announced.
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Philp claims Starmer smeared victims too.
He says the Casey report said some offenders were asylum seekers. Does the government accept that the small boats crisis is a public safety crisis.
Rayner ways Philp was a Home Office minister when immigration soared. And the last government spent £700m on a Rwanda policy that led to just four people being deported.
Philp says scandals must never be covered up because of the ethnicity of offenders.
He says Keir Starmer smeared victims in January when he said this was a far-right bandwagon.
Rayner says Starmer did not just raise issues. He acted on them as DPP in 2012.
She says Starmer was talking specifically about Tory ministers who did nothing about this issue.
Chris Philp says the Tories are also calling for de-escalation in the Middle East.
He says yesterday he and Kemi Badenoch met with victims of the grooming gang scandal. He says gangs of predominately Pakistani men were to blame, and the crimes were covered up. He says the inquiry must cover all towns affected. It must be set up before the summer recess, and victims must be involved.
Rayner thanks Philp for his tone, and for putting the interests of victims and survivors first.
The government will take plans for a national inquiry forward “at speed”.
She says she hopes all MPs put the victims first.
Olivia Bailey (Lab) asks about housing.
Rayner says she can announce a national housing bank, backed by £16bn of public finance.
Adrian Ramsay, the Green party co-leader, asks Rayner if the government will commit to giving MPs a vote on any decision to offer military support to Israel.
Rayner says there is a clear potential for “rapid worsening” of the situation in the Middle East. She says jets have been transferred to supply contingency support for British forces. The government will act in the national interest, she says.
Angela Rayner starts by saying she has been asked to reply. Keir Starmer has been at the G7. She says the UK is working with partners to urge de-escalation in the Middle East, to get a ceasefire in Ukraine and to work in the national interest.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Angela Rayner faces Chris Philp at PMQs
Angela Rayner, the deputy PM, will be taking PMQs shortly. And she will be up against Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary.
When Kemi Badenoch became Tory leader, she did not appoint a deputy (or even a “de factor deputy”, a post that has existed in Tory politics in recent years) and she said she would decide who would stand in for her at PMQs on a case by case basis. Alex Burghart, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, got the gig the first time Starmer was away.
Maybe Badenoch has decided Burghart is no good. (Last time he bombed, but partly because he was not used to the shouting.) Or maybe she had decided that today is a day to ask about small boats. For whatever reason, she has nominated Philp.
This is from James Heale from the Spectator.
Chris Philp follows Alex Burghart in rotating for Kemi Badenoch at PMQs. One Westminster wag asks “When is it going to be Robert Jenrick’s turn?”
Shadow defence minister James Cartlidge backs Labour's decision to spend £6bn nationalising MoD's housing stock
The Conservatives are normally seen as the party of privatisation, but James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, has backed one of Labour’s biggest nationalisation policies – its decision to spend £6bn buying back 36,000 houses for armed forces personnel that were sold to the private sector in 1996. In fact, Cartlidge has claimed credit for the idea.
In an interview with Sky News this morning, Cartlidge said that as minister for defence procurement in the last government he developed plans for the government to buy back the housing estate. He said he was glad that Labour had been able to conclude this.
Cartlidge told Sky he was now pushing for the creation of an armed forces housing association to oversee the regeneration of the defence estate. He said he would like it to have a budget ring-fencing for housing improvements.
Cartlidge said the quality of MoD housing was ultimately a recruitment issue.
We have this profound challenge of the number of people joining the armed forces being outweighed by the outflow the people leaving. So ultimately its about retention.
And the number one issue reason cited in last month’s attitude survey for the armed forces for leaving was family life. We know the quality of housing is unfortunately poor. It’s due to the basically to the structural nature of those homes.
Cartlidge said the only effective way to improve the housing was to rebuild it, and that was why the MoD needed ownership.
But, in the interview, Cartlidge faced the question that dogs most shadow ministers giving interviews on policy now. The presenter, Wilfred Frost, asked:
To wrap up this topic, the state of housing for the armed forces is in a poor state because your government did not do enough for it?
Cartlidge said the problem was the poor state of the housing in the first place. And Frost replied:
[The housing] which is not in a good enough state because of your government?
Cartlidge said the houses were built many decades ago. The Tory government spent £400m repairing homes. But buying back the homes was a better approach, he said, and he insisted he was “delighted” that had happened.
When Frost pressed him a third time to admit the last government should have done more, Cartlidge said that the money was not available. But he claimed his personal record as a minister was good. He said:
What did I do about it? I did something that hasn’t been done for 30 years – yes, it completed under Labour – and now we would recommend to the government, when they bring forth their housing defence white paper, that we set up a housing association.
On Monday Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, had an equally torrid time when being interviewed by Frost defending the Tories’s decision not to set up a dedicated grooming gangs national inquiry when they were in office.
Green party calls for Home Office to be broken up, with responsibility for immigration handed over to new department
The Green party is calling for the Home Office to be broken up, with responsibility for immigration handed over to a new department.
Carla Denyer, the Green party’s co-leader, has published a report she commissioned saying it should be replaced by a Department for Population, Infrastructure and Immigration, and a Department for Community Security. She says:
Whether for it’s for work, for love, or to flee danger – people move, and it’s government’s job to make it work for us and our communities.
But decades of finger-pointing at migrants as a cover for government failure and neglect have broken this country’s relationship with migration – and the Home Office sits at the heart of the problem.
Rather than harnessing benefits of migration and effectively managing the challenges it throws up, the Home Office is designed to simply treat movement as a crime – resulting in families torn apart, taxpayer money wasted, and communities divided.
It’s time to get rid of the failing Home Office and replace it with a common-sense system to properly manage migration – one driven not by an imperative to drive down numbers or grab headlines but which instead is concerned with integration, infrastructure, and this country’s economic needs.
See Diane Taylor’s story at 10.54am for a timely example of why Denyer thinks the Home Office’s record on immigration cases is so poor.
UK Home Office tells parents their children should return to Brazil alone
A Brazilian mother and father have been left distraught after being told by the Home Office that their young children have no right to stay in the UK and should return to Brazil alone, Diane Taylor reports.
There has been a lot of comment and reporting (including here) on one of the pictures of Keir Starmer that emerged from the G7 summit in Canada. It even provided the Morning Star with its splash. But, in his end of summit analysis, Peter Walker argues that another, more flattering, picture may have provided a more accurate insight into what the PM achieved.
In the Politico article on ECHR reform quoted earlier, Keir Starmer gets a surprise endorsement from Jeremy Hunt, the Tory former chancellor and former foreign secretary. Hunt says Starmer would be the ideal person to get international agreement on updating the convention because of his background as a human rights lawyer. He says:
[Starmer] won’t thank me for saying it but literally no one is better placed or more respected in legal circles to do a long overdue reform. Far better to fight Reform with substance than empty rhetoric on ‘working people’.
UK inflation eases to 3.4% amid falling fuel and air fare prices
Inflation in the UK eased to 3.4% last month after rises in the cost of food and furniture were offset by a steep fall in air fares and petrol prices, Phillip Inman reports.
Council of Europe chief says ECHR should not be 'scapegoat' in domestic politics and he's not calling for its reform
Alain Berset, secretary general of the Council of Europe, the international body which is guardian of the European convention on human rights (and the European court of human rights, which enforces the convention), has given mixed messages this year about his willingness to back ECHR reform.
In May, after the leaders of nine European countries (not including the UK) signed a letter calling for an “open-minded conversation” about the interpretation of the convention, Berset responded by saying:
No judiciary should face political pressure. Institutions that protect fundamental rights cannot bend to political cycles. If they do, we risk eroding the very stability they were built to ensure.
That was interpreted as a firm no.
But in June, in an interview with the Times, Berset said the council should “adapt” and there should be “no taboo” when looking at the ECHR. The interview was published in the UK on day Kemi Badenoch announced the Tories were setting up a commission looking at how the UK could leave the convention.
But now Berset has clarified that he is not calling for ECHR reform. He told Politico for the Sam Blewett story published today:
I am not calling for reform of the European convention on human rights, nor do I support any effort that would weaken it.
It should never be used as a scapegoat in domestic political debates. When states face complex challenges, the answer is not to dismantle the legal guardrails they themselves helped build. The proper place for dialogue is through our institutions, not through pressure on the European court of human rights or attempts to bypass the system.
These comments suggest that Badenoch was right when she told a press conference in June that she did not think the Berset interview in the Times meant he was serious about reform.
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Yesterday two Labour MPs, Jake Richards and Dan Tomlinson, published an article in the Times calling for ECHR reform. Arj Singh also has a story today in the i previewing what Shabana Mahmood will say on this topic in her speech later (see 9.19am), and he quotes the Labour MP Steve Yemm saying the UK should be at the forefront of efforts to update the convention. Yemm says:
I do think the UK should now put itself at the forefront of making the case for reform of the ECHR. Articles 3 and 8 have unintended consequence and are clearly creating barriers for example in deporting foreign criminals.
It can’t be right if a treaty that we signed 75 years ago means that we are struggling to enact policy on migration that the voters favour. The best way to safeguard the convention is to make it fit for purpose.
But Singh also quotes an unnamed minister saying that pushing for ECHR reform is risky because it could raise expectations that don’t get met, just as David Cameron did when he tried to renegotiate the terms of the UK’s membership of the EU before the Brexit referendum. Cameron did secure some changes, but they were widely viewed as minimal and disappointing.
Shabana Mahmood calls for ECHR reform, saying it has ‘endured because it has evolved’ and must do so again
Good morning. Keir Starmer is on his way back from the G7 in Canada, and he won’t be in the Commons for PMQs, where Angela Rayner will be taking the questions instead. With the government also publishing its bill to slash sickness and disability benefits, Starmer may feel its a good day not to be around. As Pippa Crerar and Jessica Elgot report, ministers are expecting a big revolt when MPs debate the legislation, probably in early July.
There will be no statement on the bill in the Commons, but we are getting one on HS2.
Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, is also floating reform plans in another area. She is giving a speech in Strasbourg where she will argue that the way the European convention on human rights – the international human rights law which is embedded in UK statute in the Human Rights Act and which has angered ministers of all parties because of the way it restricts the deportation of refused asylum seekers – must evolve. According to a preview by Sam Blewett for Politico, she will say:
If a foreign national commits a serious crime, they should expect to be removed from the country …
The European convention on human rights is one of the great achievements of postwar politics. It has endured because it has evolved. Now, it must do so again.
Getting Labour MPs to vote for benefits cut is probably easier than trying to overhaul the ECHR. Previous governments have tried, with very limited success. But Starmer’s government is pushing on this when many other European governments also want to see the ECHR “evolve”.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, holds a press conference to announce plans to improve armed forces’ housing.
11am (UK time): Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, gives a speech at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on reforming the European convention of human rights.
Noon: Angela Rayner, the deputy PM, takes PMQs, because Keir Starmer was away at the G7 in Canada. Alex Burghart, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, stood in for Kemi Badenoch the last time Starmer was away, but it has not been confirmed yet that he will do so again today.
After 12.30pm: Heidi Alexander, transport secretary, makes a statement to MPs about HS2. As Kiran Stacey and Gwyn Topham report, she will say that the Conservatives wasted billions of pounds on the project through poor management, badly negotiated contracts and constant design change.
4.30pm: Adm Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, speaks at a Rusi conference.
And at some point today Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, is publishing the univeral credit and personal independent payment bill.
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