Priti Patel is planning to hike visa fees for NHS and other workers from European countries, in what Labour has described as “a stealth tax on frontline heroes”.
The home secretary has been accused of partially going back on her promise to scrap the immigration surcharge paid by overseas health and care workers, conceded after huge protests.
The row has blown up because Ms Patel is exploring removing a £55 discount on application fees for citizens from 26 countries, most of which are EU members.
During the UK’s membership of the EU – because of free movement of worker rules within the bloc – the charter was irrelevant for the vast majority of the countries involved.
The Home Office has been asked to comment on the proposal, first reported by The Times. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, attacked the plan, saying: “What does the home secretary have against NHS and care workers?
“Conservative plans to slap a stealth tax on frontline heroes, who have risked their own health to keep us safe through this pandemic, is shameful.
Elsewhere, Gavin Williamson has been criticised for his department’s ‘pitiful’ Covid recovery plan for schools. The proposals have been widely condemned by teaching unions, who say the £1.4bn put forward falls far short of what is required to help pupils get back on track following months of lockdown.
Green Party selects rugby star to tackle Batley and Spen by-election
The Green Party has selected a rugby league international to fight the Batley and Spen by-election.
Ross Peltier, 29, is a prop forward with Doncaster Dons and has represented the Jamaica international team nine times as well as playing for Keighley Cougars and Bradford Bulls.
Mr Peltier said: “As a professional rugby league player I have a profile of sorts in an area which holds rugby league as its beating heart.
“I feel I can bridge the gap with the working person who has been a single party voter all his life to the Green Party.”
The by-election was triggered after Tracy Brabin, who won the seat for Labour in 2019 with a 3,525 majority over the Conservatives, was elected as the Mayor of West Yorkshire last month.
Labour has selected Kim Leadbeater, sister of Jo Cox, who represented the seat before her murder by a right-wing extremist, as the party’s candidate.
The vote will take place on 1 July.
Johnson calls on Nato allies to ‘stand together’ in face of threats ‘from the East’
Boris Johnson has called on Nato allies to “stand together against threats from the East”.
At a Nato summit on Wednesday, the prime minister also condemned Belarus’s recent hijacking of Ryanair plane to detain an opposition journalist.
Speaking alongside Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg, Mr Johnson said: “If you look at what’s happened recently with the appalling, outrageous incident of the hijacking over Belarus I think Nato members will be wanting to stand together in protest against what happened and to call for the release of Roman Protasevich and indeed his girlfriend from captivity in Belarus.
“Standing together against threats from the East is very much part of the vision” for Nato in the years ahead.”
Tory council accused of wasting £20,000 on rebranding colouring ‘blue’
A Tory-run council has prompted a row by planning to spend £20,000 on changing the colours of its signage, logo and even bins.
Darlington borough councillors are being accused of wasting money to turn its branding Tory blue, at a time when budgets are under pressure and council tax has been hiked by 5 per cent.
The authority is undergoing a transformation project in an effort to “reconnect” with residents.
My colleague Jane Dalton reports:
Ian Paisley: ‘Media-set woke brigade’ only people who support Northern Ireland protocol
DUP MP Ian Paisley has claimed the only people who support the Northern Ireland protocol are “media-set” types and the “woke brigade”.
Mr Paisley’s comments come just over a month after a Lucid Talk poll for the BBC found 46 per cent of people in Northern Ireland wanted to retain the protocol, against 48 per cent who did not.
In an exclusive interview with Unionist Voice, edited by the loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, Mr Paisley said: “Everyone I speak to, from all backgrounds, has voiced Protocol opposition to me daily.
“The only people clinging to the protocol are a media-set and a woke brigade because they think it gets one over on Unionism. They will not stop us from ensuring the failed Protocol is done away with.”
Labour demands ‘urgent investigation’ into mystery Tory donations
Labour has demanded an “urgent investigation” into Tory finances after Boris Johnson’s party recorded tens of thousands of pounds in donations from companies that no longer exist.
In a letter to the Electoral Commission opposition party chair Anneliese Dodds warned of “potential breaches of electoral law” by the Conservatives.
Our policy correspondent Jon Stone has more details on this story:
New catch-up funding is around £50 more per pupil a year and ‘long way off’ what is needed, think-tank says
A think-tank has estimated extra funding announced for education recovery works out at around £50 more per pupil every year, which they called “a long way off” what is needed.
My colleague Zoe Tidman reports:
Priti Patel planning ‘stealth tax on frontline heroes’ with visa fee hike for NHS staff from EU
Priti Patel is planning to hike visa fees for NHS and other workers from EU countries, triggering criticism of “a stealth tax on frontline heroes”.
Labour is also accusing the home secretary of partially going back on her promise to scrap the immigration surcharge paid by overseas health and care workers, conceded after huge protests.
Our deputy politics editor Rob Merrick reports:
Still ‘nothing in the data’ meaning next step of lockdown lifting cannot go ahead, Johnson says
Boris Johnson has said there is still “nothing in the data at the moment that means we cannot go ahead with Step 4” of lifting coronavirus restrictions.
“But we’ve got to be so cautious,” the prime minister added, as he said infection rates were increasing.
“We always knew that was going to happen,” he said, adding: “What we need to work out is to what extent the vaccination programme has protected enough of us, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, against a new surge, and there I’m afraid the data is still ambiguous.
“The best the scientists can say at the moment is we just need to give it a little bit longer.”
As pressure mounts to lift all restrictions, we’re about to find out if Dominic Cummings is right about Boris Johnson
Some scientists want to delay ending social distancing for at least two weeks because of the rising number of cases of the Indian variant. The prime minister therefore faces a familiar dilemma, writes Andrew Grice.
Read Andrew’s piece here:
Don’t make the school day longer – after the trauma of Covid, children need a break too
After a year of isolation, uncertainty and despair, what young people need is the time, space and opportunity to enjoy their freedom again, together, writes teacher and Green Party spokesperson,Vix Lowthian.
Read Vix’s full piece here:
