Latest news with #Conservatives'
Euronews
2 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Daily number of migrants reaching UK on small boats hits 2025 high
Nearly 1,200 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats from France on Saturday — the highest daily total so far this year, according to UK government figures. The Home Office reported that 1,194 people arrived in 18 vessels during favourable weather conditions, bringing the provisional number of arrivals to 14,811, a 42% increase compared to the same period last year. The rise has increased political pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government, which took office nearly a year ago amid growing public dissatisfaction with the previous Conservative administration. Despite promising to do so, the last government failed to reduce the number of Channel crossings. Since assuming power, Labour scrapped the Conservatives' controversial Rwanda deportation scheme, instead pledging to tackle the small boats issue by dismantling the people smuggling networks fuelling illegal migration. Starmer's government has prioritised international intelligence cooperation and tightened immigration rules. Despite joint efforts by both the British and French governments, the English Channel remains a prominent route for people fleeing war or poverty. Many migrants choose the UK due to linguistic ties, existing family connections or perceptions of easier asylum procedures and employment access. Footage taken on Saturday showed French police watching as migrants launched boats from Gravelines, situated between Calais and Dunkirk, before escorting them out to sea. French authorities confirmed they rescued 184 individuals. Defence Secretary John Healey told British media the scenes were 'pretty shocking,' and described the inability of French officers to intervene in shallow waters as a 'really big problem". 'They're not doing it, but, but for the first time for years…we've got the level of cooperation needed," he added. According to the British Home Office, 36,816 individuals crossed the Channel in small boats during 2024, marking a 25% rise on the previous year. The peak year remains 2022, when 45,774 people arrived via the route.
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Swinney says Presiding Officer ‘always acts impartially' after Ross ejected
First Minister defends Alison Johnstone against accusations of bias following row in Holyrood chamber Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... John Swinney has backed Holyrood's Presiding Officer after the Scottish Conservatives accused her of bias for kicking their former leader Douglas Ross out of the debating chamber. Mr Swinney said she 'always acts impartially' and upholds the rules of the Scottish Parliament. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad During a fiery session of First Minister's Questions on Thursday, Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone took the rare move of ordering Mr Ross to leave the chamber and barring him for the rest of the day. Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone and Tory MSP Douglas Ross | Getty She said Mr Ross had 'persistently refused' to abide by Holyrood's standing orders, which make clear MSPs should treat each other courteously. Her intervention came as Tory MSPs heckled the First Minister as he clashed with Russell Findlay over the Scottish Government's net zero policies. But the decision to expel Mr Ross angered his Tory colleagues, who said Ms Johnstone was regularly treating them unfairly. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Scottish Conservatives said they would be 'seeking discussions to reiterate that the Presiding Officer should not show blatant bias'. Ms Johnstone was elected as a Green MSP, but Holyrood's Presiding Officer is expected to be neutral and incumbents give up their party affiliation when taking on the role. The First Minister was asked about the Conservatives' claims as he visited a distillery near Glasgow on Friday. Impartial 'on all occasions' Mr Swinney said: 'The Presiding Officer has got to make very difficult decisions about the conduct of parliamentary business, and it's important that at all times – and this is what the presiding presiding officer does at all times – is to reflect the rules and the Standing Orders of parliament. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I'm absolutely certain that the Presiding Officer exercises that judgement impartially on all occasions.' Pressed on whether Ms Johnstone is biased in her role, Mr Swinney said: 'The Presiding Officer acts impartially on all occasions, and there is absolutely nothing that anybody could suggest otherwise. 'The Presiding Officer has a difficult job to do to make sure that Parliament operates to the rules that parliament itself has directed. 'And I think it's very clear from the conduct of the Presiding Officer on all occasions that she always acts impartially.'
Toronto Star
5 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Pierre Poilievre's campaign was faltering — but Mark Carney's was vulnerable too. The inside story of how the Conservatives and Liberals both fumbled the 2025 federal election
In a three-part series, based on interviews with 106 political insiders, candidates and staff members, the Star's Althia Raj explores how mistakes and missed opportunities saw a near-certain victory slip from the Conservatives' grasp, while the Liberals experienced a political rebirth that stalled just three seats shy of a majority government.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Starmer has just revealed his strategy to take on Farage
Asking voters if they genuinely trust Nigel Farage with the economy was a bold strategy by this Prime Minister. Keir Starmer was setting out the Labour case against the insurgent force of Reform UK following a series of opinion polls giving Farage's party a decisive lead over the main parties, and after its narrow but devastating victory in the Runcorn by-election earlier this month. 'That's the question you have to ask about Nigel Farage,' the Prime Minister told an audience of business leaders in the north-west. 'Can you trust him? Can you trust him with your future? Can you trust him with your jobs? Can you trust him with your mortgages, your pensions, your bills? [Farage] set out economic plans that contain billions upon billions of completely unfunded spending – precisely the sort of irresponsible splurge that sent your mortgage costs, your bills and the cost of living through the roof. It's Liz Truss all over again.' Strong stuff, and handily exploiting the focus group-identified anger that many voters still feel about the Truss Interregnum, which many still blame for the country's current economic woes. And there is no denying that Starmer is at least party right in his criticisms of Reform and its implausible programme for government (although it feels like a day trip through Alice in Wonderland when the Labour Party is accusing a party to its right of irresponsibility by advocating for the scrapping of the Conservatives' two-child benefit threshold). But the event, rather than presenting solid alternative policies to Farage, saw Starmer merely reheating phrases and sound bites that have been well-aired since last year's general election, despite signs that fundamental policy reforms – the scrapping of the Winter Heating Allowance for wealthier pensioners, for example, or potential swingeing cuts to benefits – are on the cards following a public backlash and back bench unhappiness. And given Starmer's own appalling approval ratings and the many accusations against him of broken promises, right from the very start of his leadership of his party, can he afford to accuse anyone else of being untrustworthy? More significant than actual policy solutions to the Reform threat was the fact that the event was taking place at all. Like John Swinney, the Scottish first minister, who last month held a cross-party summit to discuss how to deal with the 'far-Right' threat to democracy, Starmer chose to confront the threat of Reform head-on in an attempt to calm the nerves of his supporters who view Farage's progress since last year with increasing alarm. But so far, Labour's response, as exemplified by today's speech, lacks political coherence. And that may well be rooted in a failure to understand what Reform actually is and what it represents. Starmer has been accused of allowing Reform too much of his own head space, and it is certainly true that it takes up a lot of his time. But what are the results of such contemplation? This week we saw the latest attack on Farage personally from Labour, which accused the Reform leader of being a 'privately-educated stockbroker'. A couple of points worth mentioning here is that this is not the first time Labour has attacked Farage for his personal wealth, and we may assume it will have exactly the same impact as on previous occasions – ie, none. It reminds me of Labour's woeful attempts to smear the Conservative candidate in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election in 2008 by dressing Labour activists up in top hats and tails to emphasise his privileged background. Inevitably he won the contest. Well, of course he did: Labour never prospers when it attacks opponents for their wealth or the educational decisions taken by their parents. It was telling that less than a year after Tony Blair's departure from Number 10, the party had already forgotten the importance of working-class aspiration that the party's most successful leader (himself privately educated) had exploited. Yet here we are with another Labour Government hitting out at a charismatic political leader for his educational background and his wealth, as if ministers believe that voters considering switching their allegiance to Reform were unaware of Farage's background, or even cared about it. Those considering voting Reform, whether former Labour or Conservative voters, are not doing so because they have analysed Farage's policies and found them adequate to the task of government; they have not decided that Reform has a plausible alternative programme to steer the country right. They are simply sick of the litany of failures and disappointments which have been served up by successive governments, particularly on cultural issues like immigration, DEI initiatives and trans ideology. It is a consistent under-estimation of that anger that has steered both main parties so drastically wrong. Voters don't support Reform because of their policies; they support Reform because it is not one of the old parties. 'A plague on both your houses' was never more enthusiastically deployed as a political strategy than by today's disillusioned electorate. Where does that leave Labour – or the Conservatives – in terms of a political response to this insurgency? Certainly it should rule out any more silly attacks on Farage's personal finances or educational background, which sound increasingly panic-infused. Even attacks on the few policy announcements already made by Farage will have limited impact so long as Reform's chief appeal is to that section of the electorate who are now tainted with the stain of anti-politics. Radical and unprecedented though it may sound, perhaps some solid, positive policies from the main parties could help turn the tide. Reform of the immigration appeal system, for example, to stop judges allowing paedophile rapists to remain in the country lest they be ill-treated in their homeland? Or how about halting and reversing the capture of schools and teachers by the genderist activists who have successfully peppered the curriculum – even for toddlers – with rainbow flags and advice on how to change gender? There are plenty of other areas where the main parties could actually address the concerns of voters actively considering Reform. Repeating the Government's economic mantra since last year won't cut it, and neither will personal attacks on Nigel Farage. They had better think of something: the next electoral tests will roll round soon enough, and Labour at some point will run out of time. And excuses. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Daily Mirror
27-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Almost half fear unexpected £100 bill 'would leave them struggling to pay rent'
The Salvation Army's Captain John Clifton said: 'When nearly half of people are so financially fragile that they are living in fear of a £100 bill, something has gone very wrong' Almost half of adults fear an unexpected £100 bill would leave them struggling to pay their rent or mortgage. The survey for the Salvation Army found 48% of people were extremely or very concerned over an extra expense. A further 22% of the 1,000 people polled said they were "fairly concerned" while 29% said they were not concerned, the charity said. The Salvation Army's Captain John Clifton said: 'When nearly half of people are so financially fragile that they are living in fear of a £100 bill, something has gone very wrong — and the Government must take notice." He said to protect those who are struggling the government must unfreeze housing benefit or risk pushing "thousands more over the cliff edge into homelessness". At the Budget last year Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the local housing allowance (LHA) will remain at existing levels until 2026. It was also frozen multiple times during the Conservatives' 14-year spell in government. Mr Clifton added: 'Rent and bills have gone up and welfare support has gone down. Every day at our food banks, debt and employment advice services, churches and community centres we see the reality of what it's like for people who can't afford to feed, clothe and house themselves and their families. 'With so many living on a knife-edge, the risk of homelessness is no longer something that happens to 'other people' — it's becoming a real concern for ordinary households across the country.' A government spokesman said: 'No one should be in poverty. That's why we've extended the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments for 2025-26 to protect the most vulnerable while we fix the fundamentals of the social security system, so people don't rely on crisis support. 'Alongside this, we have increased the National Living Wage, uprated benefits and are helping over one million households having introduced a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions, on top of reviewing Universal Credit to ensure it can best contribute to our aims from tackling poverty and making work pay. "Meanwhile, we are boosting the Affordable Housing Programme by £2bn which will build 18,000 new social and affordable homes – getting families into safe and decent homes while supporting our Plan for Change milestone of 1.5 million new homes by the next Parliament and driving economic growth.'
