Since taking over the Home Office, James Cleverly has insisted at pains that the time for “talking” about the department’s key responsibilities is over — people are “sick” of it. Rather, he declares that it is past time ministers took “decisive action” on migration, legal and illegal. Cleverly’s emphasis here, of course, is a not-so-subtle swipe at Suella Braverman, his predecessor in the department. Announcing a five-point plan to curb legal migration in parliament on Monday, Cleverly asserted he is “taking more robust action than any government before” on the issue. On cue, the recently disp ..read more

Boris Johnson has begun giving evidence to the Covid inquiry, after arriving three hours early to the beginning of his two-day grilling. The former prime minister, who was at the helm throughout the pandemic, has apologised “for the pain and the loss” that families experienced during the pandemic. He has also accepted “personal responsibility” for all Covid-era decisions. It comes as previous witnesses, including former health secretary Matt Hancock, have conceded lockdown should have been introduced earlier than 23 March. Among the other officials who have said lockdown should have come in so ..read more

Boris Johnson has been accused of “the usual lies and bluster” ahead of his appearance before the Covid inquiry as unions and campaign groups respond to the former prime minister’s alleged “briefings” to the media, which he denies.   The former prime minister, who was at the helm throughout the pandemic, is facing a two-day grilling at the Covid inquiry. The former PM is expected to apologise on behalf of the government about the early handling of the crisis, while insisting he got the big calls right. It comes as previous witnesses, including former health secretary Matt Hancock, have co ..read more

Change is coming to Westminster, no matter the outcome of the next election.  Whether it’s a landslide Labour victory or a shock Sunak comeback, a new crop of aspirant MPs will be marching to Westminster in 2024/2025 as SW1’s retirees — feeling fatalistic, having served their time, or simply been thwarted by the Boundary Commission — exit stage left.  So far, 105 of 650 MPs have plans to retire from frontline politics, either voluntarily or at their party’s direction. But given the length of the current parliament, this level is expected to rise further in the coming months. The ..read more

In 2021 I was the victim of a crime that resulted in me being diagnosed with PTSD. I manage my condition – which I can expect to live with perhaps indefinitely – with venlafaxine, an antidepressant, benzodiazepines for my sleep, and regular therapy.  These drugs, at the moment, are about the best that the NHS can offer to people with PTSD. It is a similar picture for many, many other people in Britain who live with other mental health conditions – severe depression, addictions, eating disorders, and many others.  The odd thing is that there is an effective treatment for all of the co ..read more

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has this morning insisted he is “confident” that flights will be taking off to Rwanda before the next election.  It comes after home secretary James Cleverly has arrived in Rwanda to sign a new treaty with the country. He will meet his counterpart, Vincent Biruta, to sign the treaty and discuss key next steps, the Home Office has said. The government is attempting to make its flagship plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda legally sound in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling against the policy. Last month, the court’s five judges unanimously ..read more

A Conservative MP has suggested introducing Nigel Farage to the House of Lords. Jonathan Gullis, the MP for Stoke-on-Trent North and member of the New Conservatives, told GB News that the former UKIP leader would be an “asset across the Blue and the Red Wall”.  “I’d love to see it, personally”, Gullis said when the prospect of Farage joining the Conservative Party was raised.  He added: “I think Nigel has a lot to offer”.   “Number one: he is a big voice on the key issues like immigration that we know are a huge number one, if not number two issue for Conservative voters pa ..read more

The government has introduced measures it says will deliver the biggest ever cut in net migration after the release of figures last week showed levels had reached a record high.  Home secretary James Cleverly announced the “five-point plan” in a statement to the House of Commons yesterday in a bid to curb immigration, which he said was “far too high”. The figures published last month revised up previous estimates for net migration for 2022 from 606,000 to 745,000. The ONS said in the year to June net migration fell back to 672,000. Among the changes is the proposal to hike the minimum sal ..read more

James Cleverly has fallen from first to eleventh from bottom in a ranking of cabinet ministers based on the surveyed views of Conservative Party members.  The new home secretary, who replaced Suella Braverman in the post last month, had featured first when the survey was last conducted prior to the reshuffle.  The ConservativeHome survey of party members for November 2023, however, places the once-celebrated foreign secretary eleventh from bottom with 10.6 points. He is still some distance above prime minister Rishi Sunak who has fallen to his worst position in the ranking — last — i ..read more

Keir Starmer will accept that the decisions taken in the recent autumn statement will “constrain” what a government can do in a speech later today.  In an address to the Resolution Foundation, his first since the autumn statement, the Labour leader will insist his party will not “turn on the spending taps” in government. He will reflect on the future of public sector spending and how that has changed since last month’s autumn statement.  In his address to the commons last month, chancellor Jeremy Hunt put the UK on course for another round of sweeping public sector cuts after the ele ..read more