Labour ‘promoting age-old message of fear and hostility’ over migrants, says charity – as it happened
Labour promoting ‘age-old message of fear and hostility’, charity says after ministers pledge to return more illegal migrants
Steve Valdez-Symonds, refugee and migrant rights programme director at Amnesty International UK, has responded to the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, vowing to increase removals to levels not seen since Theresa May’s government (see earlier post at 10.12 for more details).
Plans include 100 more new intelligence officers to target people smuggling gangs and reopening immigration removal centres in Hampshire and Oxfordshire.
Valdez-Symonds said Labour is simply “reheating” the previous government’s rhetoric and should instead focus on establishing safe routes to reduce the dangers of border crossings and reduce the risk of vulnerable people being exploited by criminal gangs.
He said the government is “promoting an age-old message of fear and hostility regarding some of the most victimised and traumatised people”. While the vast majority of people come to the UK legally, it is dangerous Channel crossings in small boats that have become politically central. This was notably the case for the former prime minister Rishi Sunak who made “stop the boats” his flagship immigration policy.
Valdez-Symonds said:
It’s dismaying to see the new government reheating the last government’s rhetoric over ‘border security’ and ‘smashing gangs’ even while neglecting the pressing need to provide safe asylum routes and a clear guarantee of asylum to refugees arriving here.
People in urgent need – including those fleeing war and persecution in places like Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria and Iran – will keep coming to the UK and other countries, and the government needs to establish safe routes that reduce the perils of dangerous border crossings and the risk of exploitation by ruthless smuggling gangs.
This ‘securitised’ approach to asylum and immigration will simply deter and punish many of the people most in need of crossing borders, people who are therefore often most vulnerable to criminal exploitation.
Increasing immigration powers – including to detain people – rather than making sure existing powers are only used where that is necessary and fair has for decades rewarded Home Office inefficiency and injustice.
A new set of ministers promoting an age-old message of fear and hostility regarding some of the most victimised and traumatised people who may ever arrive in the UK, means that smuggling gangs and racist and Islamophobic hate-mongers at home are likely to feed off this to everyone’s detriment.
Key events
Closing summary
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First minister John Swinney said that Scotland has a “deep problem” with drugs and the government will “consider attentively” action to address an increase in deaths. He was speaking the day after national statistics revealed a 12% rise in drug deaths during 2023, claiming a total of 1,172 lives.
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Social housing rents will rise by more than inflation over the next decade as part of UK government plans to boost affordable housebuilding and shore up the finances of struggling landlords. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is working on plans to introduce a 10-year formula to calculate social rent on homes that will result in rents increasing every year by the rate of the consumer prices index – which is now 2.2% – plus 1%, removing an existing cap on rises.
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Reeves is facing further challenges ahead of her first Budget in October after official figures revealed government borrowing jumped by far more than expected in July. The ONS said public sector net borrowing stood at £3.1 billion last month – £1.8 billion more than a year ago and the highest July borrowing since 2021. Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones said the unexpected increase in government borrowing means abolishing the two-child benefit cap is unaffordable.
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Yvette Cooper indicated she will press ahead with the previous government’s plan to reopen two immigration centres in an attempt to achieve the highest rate of removals since Theresa May’s premiership. The plans include 100 more new intelligence officers to target people smuggling gangs. Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International’s refugee and migrant rights programme director, described Cooper’s new package as “dismaying”, and warned a “securitised” approach could put off genuine asylum seekers from crossing borders if they needed to. The Green party’s co-leader, Carla Denyer, described Labour’s plans to reopen immigration removal centres in Hampshire and Oxfordshire as “shocking”.
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The chief inspector of probation, Martin Jones, said that staffing levels and excessive caseloads could cause problems for the overstretched and under-resourced probation service when thousands of prisoners are released early next month.
Thank you for reading and all your comments today. This blog is closing now but you can read all of our politics coverage here.
Green party co-leader says it is ‘shocking’ that Labour plans to reopen detention centres
The Green party’s co-leader, Carla Denyer, has reacted to Labour’s announcement that it will reopen immigration removal centres in Hampshire and Oxfordshire (which will add 290 beds).
The MP for Bristol Central posted on X:
Shocking that government is planning to reopen detention centres, one of which was closed after it was found to be “damaging to detainees”.
Labour must end the cruel widespread use of immigration detention centres, and open safe routes to sanctuary.
Shocking that government is planning to reopen detention centres, one of which was closed after it was found to be “damaging to detainees”.
Labour must end the cruel widespread use of immigration detention centres, and open safe routes to sanctuary.https://t.co/H741N8s4WZ
— Carla Denyer (@carla_denyer) August 21, 2024
The Green party’s manifesto pledges included ending immigration detention and allowing asylum seekers to work while their applications were being processed by the Home Office.
Scotland has a ‘deep problem’ with drugs, John Swinney says as deaths rise 12%
First minister John Swinney has said that Scotland has a “deep problem” with drugs and the government will “consider attentively” action to address an increase in deaths.
He was speaking the day after national statistics revealed a 12% rise in drug deaths during 2023, claiming a total of 1,172 lives. It means Scotland’s rate of recorded drug deaths remain higher than other parts of the UK and European nations.
Swinney’s comments come as the opening date was announced for the UK’s first facility allowing the safe consumption of illegal drugs.
Glasgow city council said it expects the facility on Hunter Street to open on 21 October. On Wednesday, Swinney visited the Edinburgh Cancer Centre at the western general hospital.
The Scottish first minister told reporters that his government is working to “strengthen our response to the drug deaths crisis”.
He said: “The level of drug deaths is wholly unacceptable and I’m very sorry for the heartache it has caused to families who lose loved ones.”
Swinney added:
There’s a huge amount of work going on to do that, but we do have a deep problem in Scotland with drugs deaths and I would reassure members of the public that tackling that issue is fundamentally at the heart of the government’s agenda and we will sustain the measures that we’re taking forward to deliver better outcomes.
Swinney highlighted investment in rehabilitation services and the rollout of naloxone kits.
But in its own evaluation of treatment available across the country, the Scottish Drugs Forum published asked why targets to improve services and increase the number of people in treatment had not been met three years after the former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced a “national mission” to tackle the country’s chronic and epidemic fatality rates.
Up to a quarter of the UK population are worried they might have to turn off their heating and hot water this winter due to an expected rise in household energy bills, according to a survey by Citizens Advice. The survey found that 31% of households with children and 39% of people on low-incomes expect to take such action.
The survey comes after forecasts predicted that energy bills across Great Britain could rise by 9% from October to an average of £1,714 a year for the typical household’s gas and electricity. Winter energy bills will likely remain well above the levels paid before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered a global energy market shock.
The energy regulator, Ofgem, is expected to set out the next price cap for October until the end of December by Friday.
ITV boss Kevin Lygo has defended Reform UK leader Nigel Farage competing on the channel’s reality series I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The MP for Clacton has been accused of making a “deeply irresponsible and dangerous” intervention on the riots in recent weeks.
Farage made remarks on a social media video in which he questioned “whether the truth is being withheld from us” following the killings of three girls in a knife attack at a dance class in Southport last month.
Lygo told the Edinburgh TV Festival:
I think it’s a very industry-focused judgmental attitude… it’s a very broad show… and people can make up their own minds, audiences are sophisticated now, they’re clever. They can see what’s going on most of the time.
Lygo added that they will see if it is “a good idea” to have others politicians on the show.
He also said he is “an elected MP”, when asked about his views on the riots.
“The audience is smart enough to make up their own mind,” he added. “Honestly, it wasn’t meant to offend anyone.”
Social housing rents to rise as part of UK push to build affordable homes
Social housing rents will rise by more than inflation over the next decade as part of UK government plans to boost affordable housebuilding and shore up the finances of struggling landlords.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is working on plans to introduce a 10-year formula to calculate social rent on homes that will result in rents increasing every year by the rate of the consumer prices index – which is now 2.2% – plus 1%, removing an existing cap on rises.
Reeves is expected to announce the plan at her first budget, on 30 October, alongside measures to raise taxes and cut spending.
The plan for social rent homes – those rented usually at 50% of market rate – will be welcomed by the councils and housing associations who are now facing a squeeze on their finances, which has put the brakes on housebuilding.
Bodies such as the National Housing Federation, which represents England’s housing associations, and the Local Government Association, the national membership body for local authorities in England and Wales, have lobbied for a 10-year rent settlement to give landlords more certainty over cashflows, and the confidence to invest in new stock.
The changes were designed to provide long-term certainty to landlords, a government source told the Financial Times, which first reported Reeves’s rent plan.
My colleague, Jack Simpson, has the full story here:
Higher borrowing makes scrapping two-child benefit cap unaffordable, minister suggests
Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones has said an unexpected increase in government borrowing means abolishing the two-child benefit cap is unaffordable.
His comments come after official figures – release by the Office for National Statistics – showed the rising cost of public services and benefits pushed government borrowing to higher levels than expected last month.
Analysts warned that the disappointing borrowing figures would result in a tough budget from the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, on 30 October (you can follow our business live blog for the latest reaction to the newly released public finances data).
Asked about the prospects of abolishing the two-child benefit cap at the Budget, Jones told the BBC’s World At One programme: “You have to just look at the economic statistics that we’re talking about today to understand why we just can’t afford to do that right now.”
He said abolishing the cap would cost £2 billion to £3 billion per year, while borrowing for the first four months of the financial year was already £4.7 billion more than expected.
Saying the public expected the government to get public spending “back under control”, he added: “That means that we have to make very difficult decisions that in our hearts we wouldn’t want to have to make, and that includes on the two-child cap as well.”
Introduced by the Conservatives in April 2017, the two-child benefit limit prevents households from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for a third or any subsequent child born after this date. There are an estimated 450,000 households and 1.6 million children affected by the two-child cap when they claim universal credit and child tax credit.
Campaigners, charities and MPs across the political spectrum have said the policy has become the UK’s biggest single driver of child poverty.
Resistance to abolishing the limit brought the government’s first rebellion, with seven MPs voting in favour of an opposition amendment to the King’s Speech calling for an end to the policy.
Those MPs – including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and former leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey – had the Labour whip suspended after their rebellion.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has reportedly described some of his party colleagues as “calculating bastards” and said there were people in the Scottish Conservatives who never wanted him in charge.
The Highlands and Islands MSP, who will step down as leader next month, accused some of his MSPs of regularly briefing against him to the press.
During the general election campaign, Ross announced his surprise resignation amid growing internal pressure over his multiple roles in the party.
He had faced sustained criticism for his decision to serve as an MP at Westminster and as an MSP at Holyrood in north-east constituencies while retaining his part-time role as a match official for the Scottish FA. Ross has said he would have been ousted as Scottish Tory leader even if he did not stand for a Westminster seat.
Five candidates are in the race to replace him, but the leadership contest has been marred by infighting.
According to reports, Ross was asked at the Edinburgh fringe festival if the leader of the Scottish Conservatives had to be a “calculating bastard”.
He replied: “I was going to say some of the ones that won’t be leader of the Scottish Tories are calculating bastards. But look, all politics is rough and tumble at times.”
“You’ve got to be aware of what you’re getting yourself into. And I think maybe even I was not quite as aware of the full intensity of being a party leader,” he said.
Resigning Ulster Unionist party leader Doug Beattie has ruled out standing again for the vacant leadership, the PA news agency reports.
In a statement, Beattie addressed speculation that he might put his name forward as a candidate amid an acrimonious dispute with party officers that prompted his resignation on Monday.
“Resigning as leader of the Ulster Unionist party was one of the hardest decisions I have made. However, for the good of the party I had no choice but to step down,” he said.
“Throughout my time as the leader I have always been honest and open. I have not always got things right, but I have accepted responsibility for my failings and I expect others to do similar.
“It would simply not be credible, or right, for me to put my name forward to be re-elected as the party leader. I must accept that while a large number would like me to stay as leader there is an equal number that may not.
“Going forward, I hope that the new leader can continue to modernise the party. They must promote a moderate, inclusive and positive pro-union message, and ensure the Ulster Unionist party is seen as a forward thinking and progressive party.
“Such a new leader will be guaranteed my full support and loyalty.”
The government has pledged a £3.1m package to tackle mpox that will “ultimately benefit us all”, the Africa minister has said.
PA Media reports than on a visit to the Institute National de Recherche Biomedical in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lord Collins of Highbury pledged money to prevent the spread of the disease, which was previously known as monkeypox.
Lord Collins said on his visit to Kinshasa: “Working together with our partners and using the expertise and dedication of Congolese scientists, including those at the world-leading research centre I have visited in DRC, our support will play an important role in ensuring global health security for all.
“By protecting the health and wellbeing of communities across DRC, and by helping contain these outbreaks, we reduce the risk of diseases spreading further afield. This will ultimately benefit us all.”
According to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the cash package will benefit more than 4.4 million people in already-affected communities, as part of a partnership with Unicef.
We reported earlier that the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has committed to open 290 beds at immigration removals centres which had closed down between 2015 and 2019 – at Campsfield near Oxford and Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire.
The PA news agency is reporting that this is the first phase of a long-term plan to open a total of 1,000 beds across the two sites, a scheme which began under the previous Conservative administration.
Earlier this month, the chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, warned that the safety of immigration removal centres across the country was deteriorating and that the government’s use of them is potentially traumatising vulnerable people.
A scheme which cut rail fares for travellers in Scotland at peak times could return in the future, the Scottish transport secretary, Fiona Hyslop, has indicated.
The government has spent £40m on the year-long scheme, which sees all travellers pay off-peak charges on ScotRail services regardless of the time they travel.
Ministers were criticised after it was announced on Tuesday that the trial will come to an end on 27 September 2024 – with a report saying it had only achieved a “limited increase” in rail passenger numbers and did not result in a “significant modal shift” away from the car.
Trade unions and opposition parties condemned the decision, and accused the Scottish government of presiding over a shambolic rail service and of failing to adequately tackle the climate crisis (you can read more on this here).
On Wednesday, Hyslop suggested the scheme could return at some point in the future – if finances permit.
She said she is “prepared to go back to this” as she conceded it will “take years” to shift commuters from cars to public transport.
The transport secretary told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “At this present time we cannot afford the level of public investment, subsidy, call it what you will, to put into the sector at this time.”
She said ministers had twice extended the trial, which was initially only due to run for six months, in a bid to give it the “best chance of success”.
She added:
If we are using public funding and public subsidy to cut prices, we need to demonstrate it is having the impact that the pilot was meant to achieve, which was to try to shift more people to rail, to choose to use rail, not their car.
Now that hasn’t shown evidence to the level that would justify that level of investment and we are living in tough financial times.
