Latest news with #Tory-style
Daily Mirror
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Major immigration crackdown unveiled with huge change to citizenship rules
Prime Minister Keir Starmer will declare a 'clean break from the past' as the Government publishes a long-awaited immigration blueprint on Monday Keir Starmer will announce plans to make it harder for people to permanently settle in the UK as part of a major immigration crackdown. People will need to live in Britain for a decade before they can apply for citizenship rather than the current five year threshold. However, high-skilled workers such as nurses, doctors, engineers and AI leaders could be fast-tracked under the plans, No10 said. English language requirements will be tightened across all visa routes - and all adult dependents will be required to demonstrate a basic understanding of English. The Prime Minister will declare a "clean break from the past" as the long-awaited immigration white paper is published on Monday. The Government is battling to slash net migration - the difference between people arriving in the UK and leaving it - which ballooned to 728,000 in 2024 despite a string of Tory PMs promising to get numbers down. It comes as Labour seeks to neutralise the threat from Nigel Farage after Reform UK swept to power in 10 councils in England and snatched a by-election win in Labour-held Runcorn and Helsby by six votes. But the strict crackdown is likely to be controversial - with care providers branding a ban on overseas recruitment "cruel". Under the plans, skilled foreign workers will need a degree to get a job in the UK unless they work in critical sectors like IT and construction. Care homes will be ordered to recruit from the UK as a dedicated visa route will be closed. Deportation rules will be reformed so the Home Office is notified of all foreign nationals convicted of offences, which officials say will make it easier to remove people who commit offences. Mr Starmer will say: 'Every area of the immigration system, including work, family and study, will be tightened up so we have more control. "Enforcement will be tougher than ever and migration numbers will fall." He will promise to create a system that is controlled but fair, recognising those who contribute to Britain while "restoring common sense and control to our borders". The PM will add: 'This is a clean break from the past and will ensure settlement in this country is a privilege that must be earned, not a right. "And when people come to our country, they should also commit to integration and to learning our language. 'Lower net migration, higher skills and backing British workers – that is what this White Paper will deliver.' On Sunday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she was aiming for a "substantial" reduction in net migration figures but refused to set a Tory-style target. She said: "We're not going to take that really failed approach, because I think what we need to do is rebuild credibility and trust in the whole system." Ms Cooper said around 50,000 fewer lower skilled visas would be approved next year due to changes to the skilled worker visa and the care visa. She said the care sector needed to end the reliance on overseas staff and companies would still be able to recruit from a pool of people who came to the UK on care visas for jobs that did not exist. Over 470 rogue care providers have had their licence to sponsor international staff suspended since 2022. The Home Office estimates around 40,000 workers have been displaced, who will be able to rejoin the workforce. Ms Cooper added: "We're doing it alongside saying we need to bring in a new fair pay agreement for care workers." But the move was branded a "crushing blow to an already fragile sector", as care operators warned the move could deepen staffing shortages, risking harm to older and disabled people. The Homecare Association said the sector was struggling to fill over 130,000 vacancies - despite more than 185,000 overseas recruits who joined the workforce between 2021/22 and 2023/24. Chief Executive Dr Jane Townson said: "We urge the government to consult with the sector and agree interim measures allowing care providers to recruit sufficient staff. "Otherwise, we risk repeating the chaos of 2021, when care shortages increased hospital admissions, delayed hospital discharges and left thousands without the help they needed.' Martin Green, Care England's chief executive, accused the Government of "kicking us while we're already down". "For years, the sector has been propping itself up with dwindling resources, rising costs, and mounting vacancies," he said. "International recruitment wasn't a silver bullet, but it was a lifeline. "Taking it away now, with no warning, no funding, and no alternative, is not just short-sighted - it's cruel." Unison General Secretary Christina McAnea said: "The NHS and the care sector would have collapsed long ago without the thousands of workers who've come to the UK from overseas." She urged ministers to get on with fixing social care funding and implementing a promised fair pay agreement. She added: "Politicians must stop describing care jobs as low-skilled. They are anything but that."
Daily Mirror
11-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Care homes face ban on recruiting workers from abroad in huge visa crackdown
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Government will close the care worker visa route to end the reliance on overseas staff in a crackdown on immigration unveiled on Monday Care homes will be ordered to recruit from the UK under a major shake-up of immigration rules. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Government will close the care worker visa route to end the reliance on overseas staff as part of a package of reforms due to be unveiled on Monday. But care operators warned the move could deepen persistent staffing shortages, risking harm to older and disabled people. The Homecare Association, which represents operators, said the sector was struggling to fill over 130,000 vacancies - despite more than 185,000 overseas recruits who joined the workforce between 2021/22 and 2023/24. Ms Cooper told the BBC: "We will allow them [care operators] to continue to extend visas and also to recruit from – there's more than 10,000 people who came on a care worker visa where the sponsorship visa was cancelled. "Effectively they came to jobs that weren't actually here or that were not of the proper standard, they are here and care companies should be recruiting from that pool of people rather than recruiting from abroad. So we are closing recruitment from abroad." Dr Jane Townson, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association, said international recruitment was "a lifeline" for providers. She said: "Care providers are already struggling to recruit within the UK. We are deeply concerned the Government has not properly considered what will happen to the millions of people who depend on care at home to live safely and independently.' She warned ministers the plans were being introduced in a "vacuum" as promised fair pay agreements for the sector designed to encourage Brits to join the workforce are still being worked on. Dr Townson said: "We urge the government to consult with the sector and agree interim measures allowing care providers to recruit sufficient staff. Otherwise, we risk repeating the chaos of 2021, when care shortages increased hospital admissions, delayed hospital discharges and left thousands without the help they needed.' It comes as the Government prepares to unveil long awaited plans for a crackdown on immigration on Monday. The Home Secretary said she was aiming for a "substantial" reduction in net migration figures - the difference between the number of people arriving in the UK and leaving each year. Net migration reached 728,000 in 2024, despite a string of Tory PMs promising to bring it down. Ms Cooper refused to set a Tory-style target on the numbers, saying: "We're not going to take that really failed approach, because I think what we need to do is rebuild credibility and trust in the whole system." But she said she expected around 50,000 fewer lower skilled visas to be approved next year due to changes to the care visa and the skilled worker visa. Today, the Home Office confirmed that the skills threshold for visas will be increased to graduate level, with salary thresholds increasing to match. Officials will also set up a labour market evidence group to examine which sectors are reliant on overseas workers. Ministers will also reform deportation rules so the Home Office is notified of all foreign nationals convicted of offences, which officials say will make it easier to remove people who commit offences. It comes as Labour seeks to neutralise the threat from Nigel Farage after Reform UK swept to power in 10 councils in England and snatched a by-election win in Labour-held Runcorn and Helsby by six votes.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Comparing Port Talbot with Scunthorpe ‘not entirely fair', says union official
Comparing Port Talbot with Scunthorpe is 'not entirely' fair, a trade union national secretary has said, as he accused the previous government of being 'asleep at the wheel' over steel. GMB national secretary Andy Prendergast said the Labour Government in Westminster was 'willing to take the bull by the horns' to keep the Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, plant going. His comments followed an extraordinary sitting of Parliament on Saturday – the first of its kind since 1982 – when MPs agreed to give Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds new powers to control steelworks in England. Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts described Saturday as a 'bitter day for the people of Port Talbot' and accused Labour of paying back its voters in the town 'by Tory-style deindustrialisation'. Mr Reynolds told the Commons that blast furnaces in South Wales 'are not available to be saved', after they closed last September. The Government has backed plans for a new £1.25 billion electric arc furnace at the Tata steelworks in South Wales, with the switch-on due in 2027. Asked whether it was 'unfair' of the Government to take control of the works in Scunthorpe but not in Port Talbot, Mr Prendergast told the PA news agency: 'The difficulty is it's not entirely a fair comparison largely on the basis of the majority of stuff that under Port Talbot happened under the previous government. 'Frankly, when it came to the industrial strategy, they were asleep at the wheel. 'You know, when you look at steel specifically, they oversaw our steel industry shrink to half the size it was. 'I think the steps being taken in Port Talbot were belated but welcome by the current Government, but I think it's a little bit of an unfair comparison. 'This was our last blast furnace, it was a different situation, and we have a different government at the wheel, and we're thankful that we actually have one willing to take the bull by the horns and actually do something which was notably lacking under the last government.' Ms Saville-Roberts criticised the Government's decision on Saturday, when she told MPs: 'People in South Wales have been loyally voting for Labour for decades. 'Does this Labour Government therefore feel proud that those votes have been paid back by Tory-style deindustrialisation in Port Talbot? 'Plaid Cymru has consistently called for nationalisation, but the Labour First Minister of Wales (Eluned Morgan) rejected our calls.' Plaid's Commons leader had earlier said that the Government 'could have taken exactly the same legislative action' in Port Talbot as they did in Lincolnshire. 'The blast furnaces have already closed at Port Talbot,' Mr Reynolds replied. 'They are not available to be saved. That situation has moved on.' Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith accused the Government of pursuing a 'botched nationalisation plan', adding: 'This is a failure on the Government's watch, let's be crystal clear what today means: we are entering a tunnel with only one exit. This is a botched nationalisation plan revealing the Government has no plan. 'In government we acted to secure Port Talbot and were negotiating a plan, including British Steel's preferred option of an electric arc furnace in Teesside. That would have limited job losses and kept Scunthorpe running in transition.' Cardiff Bay's economy, energy and planning minister Rebecca Evans MS said in response to the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act that she recognised 'the UK Government needed to take action'. Ms Evans said: 'The transition to an electric arc furnace at Port Talbot builds a bridge to a more sustainable future for the company. 'We want our steel sector in Wales to thrive and the transition now taking place at Port Talbot provides a clear and set path for a long-term future.' The Welsh Government minister added that from the UK-wide £2.5 billion national wealth fund for steel, 'it is critical that Welsh-based steel companies benefit from the fund through capital investments and through policy developments that can further secure the future of the industry and create meaningful jobs'.
The Independent
14-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Comparing Port Talbot with Scunthorpe ‘not entirely fair', says union official
Comparing Port Talbot with Scunthorpe is 'not entirely' fair, a trade union national secretary has said, as he accused the previous government of being 'asleep at the wheel' over steel. GMB national secretary Andy Prendergast said the Labour Government in Westminster was 'willing to take the bull by the horns' to keep the Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, plant going. His comments followed an extraordinary sitting of Parliament on Saturday – the first of its kind since 1982 – when MPs agreed to give Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds new powers to control steelworks in England. Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts described Saturday as a 'bitter day for the people of Port Talbot' and accused Labour of paying back its voters in the town 'by Tory-style deindustrialisation'. Mr Reynolds told the Commons that blast furnaces in South Wales 'are not available to be saved', after they closed last September. The Government has backed plans for a new £1.25 billion electric arc furnace at the Tata steelworks in South Wales, with the switch-on due in 2027. Asked whether it was 'unfair' of the Government to take control of the works in Scunthorpe but not in Port Talbot, Mr Prendergast told the PA news agency: 'The difficulty is it's not entirely a fair comparison largely on the basis of the majority of stuff that under Port Talbot happened under the previous government. 'Frankly, when it came to the industrial strategy, they were asleep at the wheel. 'You know, when you look at steel specifically, they oversaw our steel industry shrink to half the size it was. 'I think the steps being taken in Port Talbot were belated but welcome by the current Government, but I think it's a little bit of an unfair comparison. 'This was our last blast furnace, it was a different situation, and we have a different government at the wheel, and we're thankful that we actually have one willing to take the bull by the horns and actually do something which was notably lacking under the last government.' Ms Saville-Roberts criticised the Government's decision on Saturday, when she told MPs: 'People in South Wales have been loyally voting for Labour for decades. 'Does this Labour Government therefore feel proud that those votes have been paid back by Tory-style deindustrialisation in Port Talbot? 'Plaid Cymru has consistently called for nationalisation, but the Labour First Minister of Wales (Eluned Morgan) rejected our calls.' Plaid's Commons leader had earlier said that the Government 'could have taken exactly the same legislative action' in Port Talbot as they did in Lincolnshire. 'The blast furnaces have already closed at Port Talbot,' Mr Reynolds replied. 'They are not available to be saved. That situation has moved on.' Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith accused the Government of pursuing a 'botched nationalisation plan', adding: 'This is a failure on the Government's watch, let's be crystal clear what today means: we are entering a tunnel with only one exit. This is a botched nationalisation plan revealing the Government has no plan. 'In government we acted to secure Port Talbot and were negotiating a plan, including British Steel's preferred option of an electric arc furnace in Teesside. That would have limited job losses and kept Scunthorpe running in transition.' Cardiff Bay's economy, energy and planning minister Rebecca Evans MS said in response to the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act that she recognised 'the UK Government needed to take action'. Ms Evans said: 'The transition to an electric arc furnace at Port Talbot builds a bridge to a more sustainable future for the company. 'We want our steel sector in Wales to thrive and the transition now taking place at Port Talbot provides a clear and set path for a long-term future.' The Welsh Government minister added that from the UK-wide £2.5 billion national wealth fund for steel, 'it is critical that Welsh-based steel companies benefit from the fund through capital investments and through policy developments that can further secure the future of the industry and create meaningful jobs'.
The Independent
12-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Welsh Secretary asked if she would resign over benefit cuts
The Welsh Secretary has been asked if she will resign if benefit cuts are announced, after she broke the Labour whip a decade ago to vote against similar changes while in opposition. Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) said she had voted alongside Jo Stevens in opposition to Conservative government policy in 2015. Ms Stevens defied Labour Party directions to abstain on the vote on the Welfare Reform and Work Bill in the aftermath of that year's general election. The order by interim leader Harriet Harman lit the touchpaper on the then-Labour leadership contest. It helped propel Jeremy Corbyn, who also voted against the cuts, to the party's leadership. Ms Saville Roberts said: 'Back in 2015, the Secretary of State and I walked through the same voting lobby against what she then described as 'despicable Tory welfare cuts', and she dared to break the Labour whip to do so back then. 'Given this evidence of her strong convictions on the issue, how can she justify remaining in a Cabinet intent on implementing Tory-style welfare cuts?' Earlier this week, Sir Keir Starmer said the Government could not 'shrug our shoulders and look away' over reforms being considered for the welfare system. The overall bill is projected to reach £70 billion by 2023. Changes could be announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the spring statement on March 26. Charities, including the MS Society, mental health charity Mind and foodbank organisation the Trussell Trust have written to Ms Reeves urging her to 'think again' about cuts. They said analysis by Scope suggested 700,000 disabled households 'could be pushed into poverty' without Personal Independence Payments (PIP). Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has said there are 2.8 million people not in work due to ill health and one in eight young people not in education, training or employment. The sickness and disability bill for working-age people has risen by £20 billion since the pandemic. Ms Kendall has said an upcoming Health and Disability Green Paper will set out plans to support those who can work back into jobs, rather than write them off. Ms Stevens said: 'We have inherited a Tory welfare system that is the worst of all worlds. 'It has got the wrong incentives, it discourages people from working, the people who really need a safety net are still not getting the support that they need, and the taxpayer is funding an ever-spiralling bill. 'It's unsustainable, it's indefensible and it's unfair. Our principles for reform are clear, supporting those who need support, restoring trust and fairness in the system, fixing that broken assessment process and disincentives, and supporting people to start, stay and succeed in work. She should support that as well.' At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir said one in eight young people were not in education, work or training. Sir Keir said he understood the fears of disabled people, and their families and friends over the cuts. He said: 'I come from a family that dealt with a disability through my mother and brother over many years, so I do understand the concerns that have been raised by him, but we inherited a system which is broken, it is indefensible, economically and morally, and we must and we will reform it. 'We will have clear principles, we will protect those who need protecting. We will also support those who can work, back to work, but Labour is the party of work, we're also the party of equality and fairness.'
