Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailImmigration minister Robert Jenrick has suggested he would like to see a fresh crackdown to cut net migration levels after his boss James Cleverly announced a package of curbs.Home secretary unveiled a five-point plan in the Commons aimed at cutting the number of people coming to the UK by around 300,000.But Mr Jenrick – seen as a hardline ally of sacked home secretary Suella Braverman – said further measures may be needed to bring numbers down, and there are “merits” in imposing an absolute cap on visas.Ms Braverman has called for an “Australia-style” cap on annual migrant numbers, as she responded to the Cleverly plan as “too late” and pushed Rishi Sunak to “go further”.Asked if a cap on numbers is a good idea, Mr Jenrick told Times Radio: “There are merits to ideas like that. But what matters now is action … I’ve been very clear, that people are sick of talk on this topic.”On GB News, the immigration minister said “more things may need to be done – but without question this is a big step forward”.In a bid to win back voters, Mr Cleverly increased the salary threshold for foreign workers from £26,200 to £38,700 as part of a package set to come into force in April.In a surprise move, the minimum income for family visas was also raised to the new salary threshold of £38,700.He also banned overseas social care staff from bringing dependants to the UK, and the rule allowing the most-needed professions to be hired at 20 per cent below the going rate would also be scrapped.Robert Jenrick is believed to have pushed for hardline reforms Business leaders warned of major staffing crises in hospitality and social care ahead. Labour accused the Tories of “chaotic panic”, while union leaders claimed the PM was “playing roulette with essential services” to placate the right.Mr Jenrick said on Tuesday that achieving greater social cohesion and national unity in the UK is impossible unless levels of immigration can be brought under control.He also suggested that being able to deliver on commitments to cut immigration is a “matter of trust” for the Tory party – trailing Labour in the polls in the run up to next year’s general election.“We want to reduce pressure on housing and public services, and also to build a more socially cohesive and united country, which is difficult – I would argue impossible – when such large numbers of people are coming into the country,” Mr Jenrick told Sky News.He also told Times Radio: “I have argued for this package of measures, that we have to meet our manifesto commitment, and that is a matter of trust and ensuring that the democratic will of the public.”Rishi Sunak is under pressure to cut both legal and illegal migration Unison general secretary Christina McAnea – who accused Mr Sunak of “playing roulette with essential services just to placate its backbenchers and the far right” – warned that some foreign workers in the UK will now leave.“What do you think’s going to happen?” she told the BBC World at One programme. “To those who are already here, who do have dependents when they come to renew their visa, presumably they will be told you have to send your children back again.”On Tuesday, the Home Office and No 10 clarified that those earning less than the £38,700 when they came to the UK on a skilled workers’ visa would not be asked to leave when the changes come into force in April.Dependents who arrived in the UK on a family visa before the new threshold of £38,700 for family income kicks in from April will not be asked to leave either.However, it is not yet clear whether overseas workers or dependents who do not meet the threshold when they come renew their visa will be allowed to stay in the UK.Reunite Familes UK – which helps migrants bring loved ones to Britain – said they were “beyond devastated” at the changes.Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory, said the move to raise the family visa income threshold to £38,700 would restrict some people “very significantly”.Mr Sunak echoed Mr Cleverly in declaring “enough is enough” as he promised to “get control of immigration once and for all”. Writing in The Sun, the PM said there is “far too much abuse of our system”.Health secretary Victoria Atkins defended the migration reforms in the Commons on Tuesday. Asked if she was worried about the impact overseas recruitment in social care, she said: “What we need to do is to tackle the migration rate that is too high.”Ms Atkins said: “The package as presented by the government yesterday is a thoughtful and careful package to tackle legal migration.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailA grandmother on a remote island is able to shop online for Christmas for the first time, saving herself a six-hour round trip, thanks to a new 4G mast.Alice Arthur, 63, said mobile internet access has “opened up a whole new world” as she shops for her seven grandchildren this festive season.Mrs Arthur lives on Bruray, one of the Out Skerries islands which are the easternmost part of Shetland.She previously had to make a lengthy trip to Lerwick, on mainland Shetland, to do her Christmas shopping, but can now shop online thanks to an EE 4G mast installed on the island as part of the Scottish Government’s 4G Infill programme.Mrs Arthur, whose grandchildren are aged between five and 24, said: “Gift buying for my grandkids was never easy as I was only able to choose from what was available on the Shetland mainland, and without many options to choose from, I was always worried that some of what I found wouldn’t be very exciting to them.“But now, with this new connectivity, there’s just so much choice.“I can find such a wide range of toys and clothing, at good prices, and have them delivered right to my door. It’s made things so much easier.”The £28.75 million Scottish 4G Infill programme (S4GI) is delivering 4G infrastructure and connectivity to rural and island communities across Scotland, which previously had no or extremely limited mobile coverage, while respecting the rural landscape.Scottish innovation minister Richard Lochhead said: “Thanks to our £28.75 million S4GI programme, we’ve brought 4G to these Shetland islands, showing our commitment to providing future-proofed connectivity to rural and island communities.“These phone masts mean residents, businesses and visitors in these communities can work, communicate and access services more efficiently.We are helping close the UK’s digital divideGreg McCall, BT Group“This is about creating opportunities for businesses, improving daily life and ensuring no-one – even the hardest to reach – is left behind in the digital era.”In addition to the mast in the Out Skerries, EE has recently activated a 4G mast as part of the S4GI programme on the island of Foula, Shetland.Through EE’s partnerships with the Scottish Government, WHP Telecoms, Cellnex UK and Scottish Futures Trust, EE 4G connectivity is now available on 51 of 55 S4GI mobile masts across Scotland.Greg McCall, chief networks officer at BT Group, said: “Alice’s story is a powerful reminder of how reliable 4G connectivity can transform the everyday lives of people in rural communities, especially those living in some of the UK’s most isolated areas.“These new 4G sites provide residents with fast and reliable access to online services like banking, healthcare, and shopping, while empowering rural Scottish businesses to take mobile payments and offer new digital experiences.“Together with the Scottish Government and our industry partners, we are helping close the UK’s digital divide and deliver the connectivity boost countryside communities can rely on.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailBritain’s deputy PM Oliver Dowden has warned the public they should buy candles, torches and battery-powered radios in the event of a crisis cutting power supplies.The senior Tory cabinet minister said Britons should be more “personally resilient”, as he suggested they were too dependent on devices activated by the internet.A national “resilience academy” will be launched to help people and businesses prepare for future pandemics, natural disasters and cyber-attacks, Mr Dowden has said.Rishi Sunak’s deputy announced the plans in the Commons – claiming the new academy will help the “whole of society” prepare for major risks.Mr Dowden also suggested that people stock up on battery-powered radios and torches, as well as candles and first aid kits to prepare for power cuts or digital communications going down, according to The Times.In a visit to Porton Down, the UK’s main military laboratory, he described the supplies as “analogue capabilities” that are worth boosting in our digital age.“The world has changed unrecognisably and our society is highly reliant on digital infrastructure,” he said. “The government needs to ensure that we are resilient in this digital age, ensuring that our structures take this into account, including considering those analogue capabilities that it makes sense to retain.”Mr Dowden listed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cyber-attacks, pandemics, the misuse of artificial intelligence and extreme weather among some of the risks the UK faces.Deputy PM Oliver Dowden has set out plans for a ‘resilience academy’ He said businesses will be offered training to deal with the impact of such threats, while a new website will provide the public with “practical advice” on how to be better prepared for future risks.Mr Dowden made the announcement as part of his first annual risk and resilience statement, which he had promised to give last year when launching the government’s UK resilience framework.He told the Commons the new resilience website “will provide practical advice on how households can prepare as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the simple steps individuals can take to raise their resilience”.Mr Dowden also said the government will develop a new volunteer hub aimed at helping authorities draw on a single pool of volunteers who want to help in future events similar to the Covid pandemic – saying it showed “the overwhelming community spirit” of the UK.Labour frontbencher Pat McFadden welcomed the measures but asked what the government is doing to bolster resilience in energy supplies and the “public estate”, as well as in elections.He said: “Why is it that the government’s new policy is to roll back on the transition mandated by its own legislation for net zero, and prolong a reliance on international fossil fuel markets? For these failures, the British public has paid a heavy price.The Labour figure added: “And how will the government increase resilience in the public estate? Schools’ capital budgets cut back under this prime minister’’ watch while he was chancellor. School roofs falling in, disrupting children’s education.”He also pressed ministers to implement recommendations of parliament’s intelligence and security committee, aimed at preventing Russia and other states from interfering with upcoming elections.Mr McFadden said: “With an election coming some time in the next year, I am sure the secretary of state would agree that we need to do all we can to ensure it is conducted in a free and fair manner.”Mr Dowden reminded the Commons that an election could be held in January 2025 at the latest. “Indeed it is not just in this nation, in many nations around the world next year – or indeed in this nation it could be the year after – elections will happen.“That is why we have instructed the democracy taskforce to make sure we are fully resilient,” he added. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Thousands of protesters rallied against the New Zealand government’s Indigenous policies on Tuesday as the Parliament convened for the first time since October elections.Demonstrations in the capital, Wellington, and in about a dozen other New Zealand cities and towns were organized by the minor Maori Party, which advocates for the rights of Indigenous New Zealanders who are known as Maori.Protesters demonstrated peacefully outside Parliament against what they described as the “anti-Maori” policies of the newly elected conservative-led coalition government.Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the new policies of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s administration would take New Zealand “back to the 1800s.”“Our protest this morning was an activation of our people,” Waititi said.The National Party-led government promises to review the Treaty of Waitangi and implement potential changes to how that foundation document signed by British colonists and Maori chiefs in 1840 affects modern laws.The government has also foreshadowed changes to the Maori Health Authority, a statutory agency responsible for ensuring that the New Zealand health system meets Maori needs.Luxon said his government was “deeply committed to improving outcomes for Maori and non-Maori.”“Maori have done very well in National-led governments in the past, and they’re going to continue to do well,” Luxon said.Lawmakers were sworn in on Tuesday after elections on Oct. 14 ousted the center-left Labour Party government that had ruled since 2017.The Maori Party won six of the 123 seats in the 54th Parliament.Party lawmaker Takuta Ferris wore a Maori headdress and performed a haka, a traditional dance or challenge accompanied by a chant, as he crossed the chamber to make an affirmation that confirmed his place in the Parliament.Other Maori Party lawmakers sang traditional Indigenous songs.Some Green Party lawmakers wore the Arab headdress known as the keffiyeh over their shoulders in a sign of support for Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war.Luxon’s National Party won 38% of the vote — the largest proportion of any party. He took almost six weeks after the election to reach a coalition agreement with another two parties: the populist New Zealand First party and the libertarian ACT Party.ACT Party leader David Seymour described the Maori Party protests as “divisive theatrics” that showed disrespect for the election result.“New Zealanders elected a government that will treat people equally, regardless of their race,” Seymour said.“It’s a sad day when a political party is protesting equal rights,” he added. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWebsites that display or publish pornographic content will be required to use age assurance measures such as credit card checks and photo ID matching on users under the Online Safety Act.Online safety regulator Ofcom has published draft guidance for platforms on how to protect children from pornography to ensure firms comply with the new internet laws.The draft guidance says websites must use methods which are technically accurate, robust, reliable and fair to carry out age checks, and recommends firms consider options such as open banking – where a user consents to their bank sharing information confirming they are over 18.Our practical guidance sets out a range of methods for highly effective age checksDame Melanie Dawes, OfcomOfcom also suggests other methods which could be used, such as photo ID matching where an uploaded document such as a passport is compared with an image taken at that moment; verified facial age estimation technology; mobile network age checks which automatically block age-restricted websites if the operator knows the user is under 18; credit card checks or digital identity wallets where a user’s proof of age is stored digitally and can be shared with the online pornography service.However, the regulator said certain approaches would not meet its new standards, including self-declaration of age, online payments methods which do not require a person to be 18, such as a debit card, or general terms, disclaimers or warnings about content.Under the Online Safety Act, platforms which do not comply with the new laws will face enforcement action, including possible fines.“Pornography is too readily accessible to children online, and the new online safety laws are clear that must change,” Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said.“Our practical guidance sets out a range of methods for highly effective age checks. We’re clear that weaker methods – such as allowing users to self-declare their age – won’t meet this standard.“Regardless of their approach, we expect all services to offer robust protection to children from stumbling across pornography, and also to take care that privacy rights and freedoms for adults to access legal content are safeguarded.”Ofcom said it would continue to work with online pornography services to finalise the draft guidance before a final version is published in early 2025, from which the Government will bring the duties set out in it into force.Pornography can have an absolutely devastating impact on children and their view of healthy relationshipsTechnology Secretary Michelle DonelanTechnology Secretary Michelle Donelan said: “Pornography can have an absolutely devastating impact on children and their view of healthy relationships.“Right now, 13 is the average age at which a child first encounters it online. This is exactly why I made protecting children from pornography a key objective of our Online Safety Act.“Companies must now work closely with Ofcom to ensure they have robust checks in place to stop children from seeing harmful content that they can never unsee.“Consulting on how platforms must meet their new duties is key to making sure companies know exactly what is expected of them, allowing us to press ahead with this new online safety regime and the vital protections for our children that come with it.” More