UK Politics

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

Related video: MP who made Rayner complaint unable to explain what offence he thinks she committedSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe House of Lords has snubbed fresh ministerial calls to back down in the tense stand-off over Rishi Sunak’s asylum plan – and insisted on a requirement that Rwanda cannot be treated as safe until promised protections are in place.Peers voted by 245 votes to 208, majority 37. The fresh setback for means the wrangling will continue, after MPs again rejected amendments to the government’s flagship Rwanda Bill, renewing their battle with the Lords.Peers had on Tuesday voted to amend the legislation for a third time, but MPs voted on Wednesday afternoon against four key amendments, including one to exempt asylum-seekers who aided UK troops overseas, such as Afghan special forces, from deportation to Rwanda.Downing Street ruled out making concessions on its Safety of Rwanda Bill.The government had been reportedly considering concessions, including exemptions for Afghans who assisted British forces, but the prime minister’s official spokesman ruled out any such move.Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer accused “billionaires” Rishi Sunak and Tory peer Lord Ashcroft of “smearing a working class woman”, his deputy, Angela Rayner.The pair have criticised Ms Rayner over the sale of her former council house, suggesting she may have failed to pay capital gains tax or given false information.Also at Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak refused to rule out cuts to the NHS and state pensions to fund a £46bn national insurance giveaway.Show latest update 1713379100Lords keep deadlock going in snubbing calls to back downThe House of Lords has snubbed ministerial calls to back down – and insisted by 245 votes to 208, majority 37, on a requirement that Rwanda cannot be treated as safe until promised protections are in place.The fresh government setback means yet more 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.Jane Dalton17 April 2024 19:381713405593Jeremy Hunt refuses to say ‘anything negative’ about Liz Truss More