37 m. ago Chinese spying amounts to interference in UK democracy, minister says, after MI5 warns MPs – politics live

Dan Jarvis, the security minister, says China is trying to contact MPs and peers to get sensitive information about parliamentBack at the Reform UK press conference, Zia Yusuf, the party’s head of policy, has just finished outlining his plan to cut spending on foreignersAs he finished, Yusuf claimed this was “treachery”.Labour is making the conscious and deliberate decision to continue funding extortionate amounts to foreign nationals, to the detriment of British citizens.And I don’t know what to call that. Frankly, in my view, it’s treachery. I think it’s appalling. British people are sick and tired of it.Just a few months ago, Rachel Reeves was saying she couldn’t afford to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Now it looks like becoming her latest U-turn.This isn’t because the economic circumstances have improved. Quite the opposite. Continue reading...

Politics

87 m. ago What are the changes in Shabana Mahmood’s asylum crackdown – and how serious is Labour backlash?

Inspired by Denmark’s strict system on asylum seekers, Shabana Mahmood has unveiled her own version to the Commons – but what will it mean, and what has the reaction been to it so far?

Events

1 hour ago POLL OF THE DAY: Are Labour right to offer asylum seekers more than £3,000 to leave Britain?

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled a series of controversial asylum reforms yesterday, which came under fire from many within her own party.

Economics

2 h. ago Prisoner sues for his 'human right' to eat Vegemite, claiming it is 'his culture as an Australian'

Andre McKechnie, 54, serving a life sentence for murder, took his battle to the Supreme Court of Victoria, according to documents released on Tuesday.

Events

2 h. ago Is Shabana Mahmood’s plan to seize the jewels of asylum seekers a joke? | Zoe Williams

The home secretary’s idea makes her sound so much like a cartoon villain that I initially assumed it couldn’t be true ...You can’t react to every piece of flotsam on the unending tide of nastiness that emanates from Westminster on the subject of immigration, or you’ll start to feel like you’re the idiot. Are we surprised that a Labour home secretary would want to remove any prospect of permanent citizenship for all refugees, thereby ending Britain’s standing as a place of sanctuary? Petty, vindictive, counterproductive, narrow-minded, yes, but you could hardly call this surprising.But, finally, a policy arrived that was so out of the normal run of things that I assumed it was a joke – a piece of satire, floated on X by some member of the wokerati, to make Shabana Mahmood sound truly heinous. Apparently, she wanted to seize the jewellery and other valuables to pay for their accommodation.Deploying exaggeration to underscore how much like a cartoon villain a politician sounds is a lit...

Politics

3 h. ago Farage backs Labour’s asylum crackdown after Mahmood tells Reform leader to ‘sod off’

Reform UK leader also quips that home secretary’s sweeping overhaul of asylum system could have been pitch to be ‘next defector’ to his party

Politics

3 h. ago Scottish Lib Dems MP apologises for referring to asylum seekers as 'coloured people'

The Highlands MP has said he will undertake diversity and inclusion training after making the comments.

Events

3 h. ago Dublin promises tougher asylum rules to counter any new measures Labour bring in, to ensure migrants continue heading to Britain and not Ireland

Jim O'Callaghan said the UK's new proposals could alter the flow of asylum seekers between the two countries and insisted Ireland would not become a more attractive destination than Britain.

Events

4 h. ago Reform’s plan to cut EU citizens’ benefits would risk trade war with Europe, Labour claims – UK politics live

As Reform announces what it claims are £25bn in savings through cuts, Labour says ‘Farage’s fantasy numbers don’t add up’ Good morning. Yesterday, as the government announced drastic plans to curb the number of asylum seekers able to stay in the UK, it was accused of adopting the politics of Reform UK, the anti-immigration party with a big lead in the opinion polls. In response, ministers argued that Labour would be doing even worse if it just ignored the legitimate concerns of voters who are supporting Nigel Farage’s party.But, when mainstream parties move on to the territory of the more extreme parties, those parties often respond with a further lurch to the right, and we will see an example of that today. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, is holding a press conference where he is going to announce proposals that cover immigration and the budget (the other huge story preoccupying Westminster politics at the moment). As Peter Walker reports, Farage will propose spending cuts whic...

Events

4 h. ago Labour peer accuses Shabana Mahmood of ‘using children as a weapon’ in her asylum crackdown

Comes as home secretary tells Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson to 'sod off'

Events

6 h. ago Labour MPs accuse Mahmood of ‘chasing Reform’ with ‘repugnant’ asylum reforms

Mahmood has outlined a raft of sweeping asylum reforms

Events

8 h. ago ‘No safe place to go’: people sent back to France under ‘one in, one out’ deal tell of desperation

In Paris, a group of those returned from UK as part of the immigration scheme say they feel frightened and hopelessAfran, an Iranian asylum seeker, sits forlornly across the road from a Paris shelter, hemmed in between vast slabs of concrete and thundering trains above. He has been here before – seven weeks ago, to be precise. The second time, he says, is as terrifying as his first.Afran – not his real name – hit the headlines when he became the first asylum seeker to return to the UK in a small boat after being removed to France under the controversial “one in, one out” scheme on 19 September. He was sent back to Paris for the second time on 5 November. Continue reading...

Economics

12 h. ago Fury over plans to evict troops from barracks to make way for 300 male asylum seekers

The Queens Own Highlanders Regimental Association, based at Cameron Barracks in Inverness, will be moved from the site as part of the Home Office's proposal.

Events

15 h. ago Shabana Mahmood rules out joining Reform after MP praises ‘rhetoric’ on asylum seekers

The Home Secretary’s proposals were praised by both Reform and Conservative MPs

Events

17 h. ago What is asylum metering? Supreme Court to review immigration policy axed in 2021

President Joe Biden formally rescinded the use of metering in 2021

Events

17 h. ago Shabana Mahmood warns of asylum 'uncomfortable truth' as plan sparks backlash

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the UK has not been tough enough at removing failed asylum seekers as she unveiled the biggest shake-up in a generation - but faced criticism over the plans

Events

18 h. ago Mahmood says UK asylum system ‘out of control’ as she defends Labour crackdown amid growing backlash

Labour backbenchers accuse government of ‘chasing Reform’ with new measures

Events

18 h. ago Labour faces growing revolt from own MPs as Shabana Mahmood sets out reforms to 'out of control' asylum system

One Labour MP branded the immigration reforms ‘dystopian’ as Home Secretary announces reforms aimed at deterring illegal migration

Events

19 h. ago Labour faces growing revolt from own MPs over tougher asylum system as Shabana Mahmood sets out plans

One Labour MP branded the immigration reforms ‘dystopian’

Events

19 h. ago Shabana Mahmood tells MPs asylum system is ‘out of control and unfair’ amid Labour backlash over proposals – UK politics live

Labour MP calls government’s asylum plans ‘dystopian’ as home secretary announces measures in CommonsMomentum, the leftwing Labour group, has also denounced the government’s asylum plans. In a statement it says:The home secretary’s new immigration plans are divisive and xenophobic.Scapegoating migrants will not fix our public services or end austerity.Draconian, unworkable and potentially illegal anti-asylum policies only feed Reform’s support.The government has learnt nothing from the period since the general election.Some of the legal changes being proposed are truly frightening:Abolishing the right to a family life would ultimately affect many more people than asylum-seekers. Continue reading...

Politics