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Penny Mordaunt mocked the SNP with a take on “The Twelve Days of Christmas” carol.After being asked about “morality” by the Scottish party on Thursday (14 December), the Commons Leader told MPs: “We should have a festive round-up on SNP morality: 12 hours of police questioning, 11-grand roaming charges, 10 years without school inspections, nine sham embassies, eight years of poor child mental health, seven years without ferries, six years shirking welfare powers.”Mordaunt appeared to refer to the recent turmoil that has faced the SNP, such as when Nicola Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell was arrested and subsequently released without charge. More

Rishi Sunak was labelled as “desperate” and more unpopular than Boris Johnson in a heated Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (13 December).Labour MP Chris Bryant launched a stinging attack and mocked him for losing WhatsApp messages in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic inquiry.Mr Bryant asked: “What is worse: Losing your WhatsApp messages as a tech bro, losing £11.8bn to fraud as chancellor, presiding over the biggest fall in living standards in our history, or desperately clinging onto power when you become even more unpopular than Boris Johnson?” More

Sir Keir Starmer described Mark Drakeford as a “titan of Welsh politics” as he paid tribute to the Welsh first minister at Prime Minister’s Questions.Mr Drakeford announced he is standing down as the county’s Labour leader on Wednesday 13 December, triggering the contest to find his successor.He said he would continue to work “tirelessly” for a Labour government to “start repairing the huge damage which has been inflicted by the Tories over the last 13 years” at a press conference in Cardiff.“Mark committed his life to public service and lives his values every day. Quietly and patiently, Mark has been a titan of Labour and Welsh politics,” Sir Keir said. More

Sir Chris Bryant laid out five reasons he believed were why MPs should vote against Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill during a debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 12 December.The Labour MP for Rhondda described the emergency legislation as “laughable” and said it “seeks to reverse a finding of fact by the highest court in the land.”The prime minister published new planned legislation, entitled the Safety of Rwanda Bill, which would deem Rwanda safe in British law after the original bill was struck down as unlawful by the Supreme Court.A vote on the bill was scheduled for 7pm on Tuesday. More

James Cleverly said that the death of an asylum seeker on board the Bibby Stockholm barge will be investigated fully.The home secretary told MPs in the House of Commons: “Tragically, there has been (a) death on the Bibby Stockholm barge. I’m sure that the thoughts of the whole House, like mine, are with those affected.“The House will understand that at this stage I am uncomfortable getting into any more details. But we will of course investigate fully.”Dorset Police said they received a report of a sudden death of a resident on the Bibby Stockholm at 6:22am. More

Members of Rishi Sunak’s cabinet arrive at Downing Street ahead of the Rwanda vote later today (12 December).MPs including Victoria Atkins, James Cleverly, Grant Shapps, and David Cameron met with the Prime Minster as he tries to avoid defeat on his Rwanda bill.The updated bill will be voted on in the House of Commons today, after being struck down as unlawful by the Supreme Court.There stands significant division within the Conservative Party over the bill. And if 29 Tory MPs vote against it then the bill will fail. More

Keir Starmer has dismissed the Rwanda plan as a “gimmick” and piece of political “performance art”.Mr Starmer said Labour would use the money “being wasted on the Rwanda scheme” to step up cross-border policing to tackle human trafficking gangs and he vowed his party would also speed up asylum claim processing, with those refused permission to stay sent back to their country of origin.He told BBC Breakfast: “What I wouldn’t do, and what I won’t vote for, is £290 million spent on a gimmick that is the Rwanda scheme, that won’t work, at the very most will take about 100 people.” More

The government’s new Rwanda legislation only leaves “narrow” scope for an appeal against deportation, Michael Gove has said.Speaking to the BBC on Sunday 10 December, the cabinet minister defended Rishi Sunak’s “tough and robust” bill.Mr Gove said he is confident of Conservative support for the “legally sound” plans and insisted ministers are not “contemplating” a general election if they lose Tuesday’s vote.Robert Jenrick, however, who resigned as immigration minister over the policy, confirmed he will not support the “weak bill that will not work”. More