UK Politics

Sir Keir Starmer’s much-lauded “one in, one out” migrant return deal with Emmanuel Macron is a “publicity stunt” that won’t win back voters, Britain’s leading pollsters have warned.Professor Sir John Curtice, Lord Robert Hayward and Luke Tryl have suggested that the small scale of the agreement, which will only see a tiny fraction of those arriving on small boats returned to France, will have little or no impact on the prime minister’s dwindling popularity because of record low trust in the government.The problem was underlined on Thursday when more than 700 migrants arrived on small boats just hours before the announcement of the deal, which will reportedly see only 50 returned a week, although ministers have refused to discuss specific numbers.It comes as new polling reveals concerns about the government’s wider migration policy, with a survey of Labour party members, seen by The Independent, showing opposition to Sir Keir’s plans to crack down on legal migration as well.Small boat crossings continued on Friday, with the RNLI and Border Force bringing people into Dover from the Channel as more than 350 migrants made the crossing (Gareth Fuller/PA) More

Just one in three people support plans by doctors to stage five days of walkouts later this month, a new poll has revealed as tens of thousands of patients across the country face operations and appointments being cancelled.Nearly half of those polled (49 per cent) oppose the planned industrial action called by the British Medical Association, a YouGov survey has found. The figures showed a marked fall in support compared with previous industrial action. When doctors last went on strike, just before last year’s general election, YouGov found the action was supported by 59 per cent of the public, and opposed by 36 per cent. It comes as a former Labour cabinet minister and union leader warned the BMA it had picked the wrong battle with the government, and told health secretary Wes Streeting it was a fight he had to win. Alan Johnson, who was health secretary for two years under Tony Blair and who used to lead a union himself, told The Independent: “This has all the signs of the BMA leading their troops into a battle they can’t win, nor should they, given that government has honoured the pay review recommendations in full having settled last year’s dispute immediately on taking office. Doctors on a picket line last year More

Just one in three people support plans by doctors to stage five days of walkouts later this month, a new poll has revealed as tens of thousands of patients across the country face operations and appointments being cancelled.Nearly half of those polled (49 per cent) oppose the planned industrial action called by the British Medical Association, a YouGov survey has found. The figures showed a marked fall in support compared with previous industrial action. When doctors last went on strike, just before last year’s general election, YouGov found the action was supported by 59 per cent of the public, and opposed by 36 per cent. It comes as a former Labour cabinet minister and union leader warned the BMA it had picked the wrong battle with the government, and told health secretary Wes Streeting it was a fight he had to win. Alan Johnson, who was health secretary for two years under Tony Blair and who used to lead a union himself, told The Independent: “This has all the signs of the BMA leading their troops into a battle they can’t win, nor should they, given that government has honoured the pay review recommendations in full having settled last year’s dispute immediately on taking office. Doctors on a picket line last year More

Reform UK has selected a teenager to permanently run a major county council, overseeing hundreds of millions of pounds of public spending.George Finch, 18, took over temporarily after the previous council leader, also a member of Reform, resigned just weeks after being elected. Now the 18-year-old has been selected by Nigel Farage’s party to head Warwickshire County Council, which has £1.5bn of assets and a budget of around £500m.The Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, Preet Gill, has criticised the decision, saying the people of Warwickshire “frankly deserve better”.”This is not work experience,” she told the BBC. “This is not about learning on the job.”George Finch, who has been selected to run a county council More

Reform UK has selected a teenager to permanently run a major county council, overseeing hundreds of millions of pounds of public spending.George Finch, 18, took over temporarily after the previous council leader, also a member of Reform, resigned just weeks after being elected. Now the 18-year-old has been selected by Nigel Farage’s party to head Warwickshire County Council, which has £1.5bn of assets and a budget of around £500m.The Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, Preet Gill, has criticised the decision, saying the people of Warwickshire “frankly deserve better”.”This is not work experience,” she told the BBC. “This is not about learning on the job.”George Finch, who has been selected to run a county council More

As Keir Starmer gathered his top ministers for a special away day in Chequers for a team-building reset on Friday, one figure arrived in a much more powerful position than she was in just two weeks ago.It is now widely recognised by Labour MPs, across the different wings of the party, that deputy prime minister Angela Rayner’s influence in this government is greater than almost anybody else.Certainly more than the wounded chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has been beset by economic woes, and even more than health secretary Wes Streeting who, like Rayner, has been tipped as a future contender for the leadership.She was, though, completely unprepared for the shot fired by the Unite union, after its general secretary announced it had suspended her membership for failing to resolve the Birmingham refuse collectors dispute.But while a trade union that looks set to peel off and back Jeremy Corbyn’s new party gave her a headache, Ms Rayner nevertheless is enjoying a surge in influence – for now.Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More

As Keir Starmer gathered his top ministers for a special away day in Chequers for a team-building reset on Friday, one figure arrived in a much more powerful position than she was in just two weeks ago.It is now widely recognised by Labour MPs, across the different wings of the party, that deputy prime minister Angela Rayner’s influence in this government is greater than almost anybody else.Certainly more than the wounded chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has been beset by economic woes, and even more than health secretary Wes Streeting who, like Rayner, has been tipped as a future contender for the leadership.She was, though, completely unprepared for the shot fired by the Unite union, after its general secretary announced it had suspended her membership for failing to resolve the Birmingham refuse collectors dispute.But while a trade union that looks set to peel off and back Jeremy Corbyn’s new party gave her a headache, Ms Rayner nevertheless is enjoying a surge in influence – for now.Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (Jordan Pettitt/PA) More

The leader of Unite has described Angela Rayner’s behaviour during recent bin strikes as “totally and utterly abhorrent” as tensions ramp up between the government and Labour’s biggest union backers.General secretary Sharon Graham hit out at the deputy prime minister after the union voted to suspend her in a row over how the Labour-run council in Birmingham treated striking bin workers.She signalled the union could end its long affiliation with Labour after Unite members also voted to “re-examine” their relationship with the party, saying the £1.5m it pays is “hard to justify’”.But allies of Ms Rayner hit back accusing Ms Graham of not denying that her union had voted to suspend a membership that no longer existed. On Friday Ms Rayner made clear she would not be “pushed around” by the union. Unite, one of Labour’s biggest financial backers, claims fire and rehire tactics have been deployed against striking workers, who are taking industrial action in a dispute over pay and job conditions. The action left streets in Birmingham piled high with rubbish.In a fresh attack on Saturday, Ms Graham told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Angela Rayner refuses to get involved, and she is directly aiding and abetting the fire and rehire of these bin workers, it is totally and utterly abhorrent.”The general secretary of Unite has launched fresh attacks on deputy prime minister Angela Rayner More