The below content first appeared in Politics.co.uk’s Politics@Lunch newsletter, subscribe here and never miss this daily briefing. With the prime minister in Germany hoping to deepen defence ties with chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government, it was left to the B-team — composed of Oliver Dowden and Angela Rayner — to man the domestic front at PMQs today. As far as the Conservative Party was concerned, this meant an opportunity to pin down Rayner on her tax affairs — having persistently pilloried her boss about the matter in recent sessions. The deputy Labour leader, who is under investigation ..read more

Former Labour minister and crossbench peer Frank Field has died aged 81, his family has announced. According to statement from Lord Field of Birkenhead’s family, he passed away after a period of illness. “He will be mourned by admirers across politics but above all he will be greatly missed by those lucky enough to have enjoyed his laughter and friendship”, the statement said. Field was a member of parliament for Birkenhead between 1979 and 2019, during which time he served as minister for welfare reform. He also chaired the commons work and pensions select committee. ***Politics.co.uk is the ..read more

Sadiq Khan has called Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate for the upcoming London mayoral election, “the most dangerous candidate I’ve fought against”. Speaking in an LBC radio debate, the Labour mayor was asked whether he would “feel safe in a London run by” Hall. Khan responded: “I’ve thought long and hard about this. I’ve fought three council elections. I’ve fought three parliamentary elections. This is my third mayoral election. The Tory candidate is the most dangerous candidate I’ve fought against”. The question was raised after the Conservative candidate defended herself against criti ..read more

Rishi Sunak has announced that the UK will increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030 at a press conference in Warsaw, Poland. Sunak said: “We will increase defence spending to a new baseline of 2.5 per cent of GDP, by 2030. That starts today, and rises steadily in each and every year. “Over the next six years, we’ll invest an additional £75 billion in our defence”, he added. Speaking alongside the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, the prime minister also declared that European security is at a “turning point”. Sunak’s spending pledge comes on the heels of an announcement ..read more

The below content first appeared in Politics.co.uk’s Politics@Lunch newsletter, subscribe here and never miss this daily briefing. The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill finally cleared parliament just after midnight, ending a lengthy showdown between the House of Commons and House of Lords. The bill will now go for royal assent — the final step before it becomes law. You can relive the late-night action with my blow-by-blow live blog, which wrapped up not before time at 12.10 am. ***A message from Polimapper*** The 2024 general election represents the best opportunity to infl ..read more

It has been a fruitful few years for the Greens. Where back in 2011, just 7% of voters listed the environment amongst their top three concerns, YouGov polling now shows the figure to have reached 20% and rising. Against this background, the Green Party in England and Wales has seen its councillor base quadruple from 166 in 2015 to some 737 in 2023.   Where the party polled just 2.7% of the vote in 2019, opinion polls now repeatedly record Green support at around 8%.  In this year’s impending general election, for the first time, the Greens are talking about the prospect of field ..read more

The government’s Rwanda deportation plan is the “last substantial card” the prime minister has left to play against the Labour Party ahead of the next general election, a polling expert has said. Polling guru professor Sir John Curtice was reacting this morning to the passage of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill last night, which enables the full scheme.  The plan seeks to deport asylum seekers arriving in the UK via small boats to the African nation.  Sir John was asked how important a moment the legislation’s passage could be electorally for the Conservatives. ***P ..read more

I read Keir Starmer’s recent article claiming Labour is the true party of English patriotism with rising disbelief, both at his lack of vision for our country, and also his apparent reluctance to even name it. Because for all his stated expressions of love for the English flag, our football team and pubs, Starmer referred repeatedly to Britain instead of England, muddling both together as if the two terms were interchangeable. Perhaps he did not even notice himself doing it, so ingrained and automatic is the Left’s squeamishness to even talk about the concept of England and Englishness directl ..read more

MPs have voted to overturn the House of Lords amendments to the Rwanda Bill and send the legislation back to peers. The upper chamber has so far refused to pass the Rwanda Bill and had dug their heels in on two issues: Ensuring that Rwanda is not declared safe until an independent monitoring committee at work in the country confirms as much. Exempting people who have served and helped British forces abroad. Amendments on these points, in the names of Lord Hope and Lord Browne respectively, have now been rejected by MPs. It is now up to peers in the upper chamber if they want to insist on the ..read more

The below content first appeared in Politics.co.uk’s Politics@Lunch newsletter, subscribe here and never miss this daily briefing. Five months after Rishi Sunak first unveiled the Safety of Rwanda Bill as a response to the Supreme Court’s ruling against the full deportation scheme, today is the day the controversial legislation is expected to finally clear parliament. More here. Weeks of parliamentary back-and-forth — known as “ping pong” — had repeatedly seen the House of Lords amend the legislation in ways the government still refuses to accept. Today, the prime minister declared “Enoug ..read more