UK Politics

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has been forced to abandon his commitment to get flights off the ground to Rwanda by the end of spring, in a serious blow to the prime minister’s flagship policy.Downing Street has admitted that the policy is now facing delays as the Lords refused to back down on amendments to the bill, meaning the government will not set out a new timeline for the first flight to take off until it is passed into law.The government had previously said on several occasions that flights would take off by the Spring, but the prime minister’s spokesperson has now repeatedly declined to recommit to the original timetable. Mr Sunak’s spokesman said: “The timetable that we had previously set out factored in plenty of time for parliamentary debate but obviously the bill has continued to be delayed.“We will set out the timeline as soon as the bill passes through the House of Lords. The Lords did hold the bill up again last night, we are working at pace to get the bill passed and get flights off.”The Rwanda Bill is set to face another round of back and forth between the two houses of Parliament next week after defiant peers snubbed ministerial calls to back down and again insisted on revisions to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.The fresh government defeats mean a continuation of wrangling at Westminster over the proposed law that aims to clear the way to send asylum seekers who cross the Channel in small boats on a one-way flight to Kigali.The Bill and a treaty with Rwanda are intended to prevent further legal challenges to the stalled asylum scheme after the Supreme Court ruled the plan was unlawful.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has u-turned on plans for the first flight to Rwanda to take off in the spring More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAnother day in Westminster, another party whip suspended or withdrawn – as allegations of sleaze, dishonesty or failure to uphold parliamentary standards land yet another MP in hot water.Mark Menzies, the Tory MP for Fylde and a government trade envoy, is under investigation over allegations that he misused campaign funds and abused his position after making a late-night phone call saying he’d been locked up by “bad people” demanding thousands of pounds.Mr Menzies, who has relinquished the Tory whip pending the results of the internal party probe, now finds himself among 18 MPs who currently sit as independents, having lost their party whip since the 2019 general election.The growing number of independents has outnumbered the Lib Dems as the Commons’ fourth-largest cohort of MPs since January 2023, and now includes eight former Tories, seven former Labour MPs, along with one each from the SNP, DUP and Plaid Cymru. The Independent takes a look at the group of independents – and those who are no longer MPs – below:Matt HancockWhile Matt Hancock’s ministerial career was ended by a steamy lockdown-busting affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo, his time as a Tory MP came to an end only when he signed up for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!The former health secretary, who dined on camel’s penis during the 2022 instalment of the show, was suspended by chief whip Simon Hart for his appearance in the contest.Mr Hancock, who is quitting as an MP at the next election, came third in the end behind actor Owen Warner and footballer Jill Scott. He has denied that his “primary” motivation for going on the show was monetary, adding that a £10,000 donation to charity from his £320,000 fee was a “decent sum”. Former health secretary Matt Hancock More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailIn the lead-up to the release of her memoirs, Liz Truss may have spent more days promoting the book than she did serving as prime minister. The Tory MP, who took over from Boris Johnson in the summer of 2022, offered a look behind the scenes of Ten Years to Save the West in a series of television and radio interviews. Despite some very negative reviews, it seems the promotion has worked as the book soared to the fourth best-selling book on Amazon on Wednesday morning.Liz Truss’ memoir hit the book shelves this week More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Oliver Dowden delivers a speech on economic security on Thursday 18 April.Britain needs to boost its economic defences to counter the “security risks” of globalisation, the deputy prime minister warned.Mr Dowden set out plans to bolster the UK’s ability to deal with “economic security shocks” such as the rise in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.He told the Chatham House think tank that “while the financial crash exposed the economic risks of globalisation, today’s rising geopolitical competition is demonstrating the security risks behind such integration”.“We must be clear-eyed that one of the great strengths of our system is its openness, but that also brings vulnerabilities,” he added.Mr Dowden was also expected to set out a review of export controls of emerging technologies and the risks from UK businesses investing overseas. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAngela Rayner is expected to claim that she did not have to pay capital gains tax when she sold her former house due to a kitchen renovation, as the row over her housing affairs rumbles on.The deputy Labour leader is likely to argue that enhancements she made to her former council house have offset the tax she would have paid had it not been her primary property, according to TheTimes.It comes as the police are investigating “tax matters and other issues” in connection with Ms Rayner’s housing affairs, including whether she broke electoral law, whether she paid the correct amount of capital gains tax when she sold her property, and what the council tax arrangements were at her former house. The shadow levelling-up secretary is expected to provide a raft of legal and financial documents – which could include utility bills, payslips and bank account details – as evidence to show that her own home was her primary residence.The probe into Ms Rayner’s tax affairs was launched after Conservative MP and deputy party chair James Daly complained after the Greater Manchester Police previously said it would not be investigating the allegations. Mr Daly said he had been made aware of neighbours contradicting Ms Rayner’s statement that her property, separate from her husband’s, was her main residence.James Daly (right) complained to the Greater Manchester Police about Ms Rayner’s former living arrangements More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Conservatives have suspended MP Mark Menzies over allegations he misused campaign funds.The 52-year-old reportedly spent thousands of pounds given by donors on medical expenses and made a late-night call to a 78-year-old aide asking for help because he had been locked up by “bad people” demanding money for his release.The Fylde MP disputes the allegations reported by The Times, but the Conservative Party has launched an investigation into the claims.MP Mark Menzies has agreed to give up the Conservative whip while the party investigates claims he misused campaign funds (Richard Townshend/UK Parliament) More