UK

Artisan cheese, olives and sausages could become cheaper for Britons to buy if the government is successful in its bid to strike a permanent food and drink deal with the European Union.The government is attempting to get a permanent deal with the EU on food and drink agreed in the next 18 months, as it sets out its stall ahead of talks later this year.The current temporary agreement, which was put in place in June, stopped checks on some fruit and vegetables imported from the EU which meant no border checks or fees would be paid. It will expire in January 2027.While there are some concerns dynamic alignment with the EU could mean British business are hampered by European Union rules and regulations, EU minister Nick Thomas-Symonds on Wednesday will argue that it is a “necessary step” to boost growth and lower food prices – something he dubbed “sovereignty, exercised in the national interest”.It is understood that a permanent deal with the bloc is expected to lower supermarket prices on products such as sausages and burgers for British shoppers. There are also hopes within government that it would make it easier for retailers to import items such as artisan cheeses and olives, as well as giving access to better varieties of fruit.Items such as Scottish salmon could also be more easily exported to the EU, sources told The Times. It came after shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel accused the prime minister of “dragging us back into Brussels’ arms”, claiming he is “looking to once again make this country a rule taker rather than a rule maker.”Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds will give a speech in Westminster on Wednesday More

Elon Musk has slammed Nigel Farage as “weak sauce who will do nothing”, reigniting his series of scathing attacks on the Reform UK leader. The billionaire Tesla owner and world’s richest man has said that Mr Farage is not capable of enacting real change in the UK, particularly in relation to immigration.Musk has thrown his support behind figures including Rupert Lowe, an independent MP who used to sit as a Reform representative until he had the party whip suspended due to allegations of bullying and verbal threats towards its chairman Zia Yusuf.Mr Lowe denies the allegations and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said he will not face any charges.Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and party treasurer Nick Candy during their meeting with Elon Musk in December (Stuart Mitchell/Reform UK/PA) More

A senior minister is set to accuse Nigel Farage of “wanting Britain to fail” as Labour opens a new Brexit front in trying to take on Reform UK’s surge in the polls.European affairs minister Nick Thomas-Symonds is to give a major speech in London warning that the impact of a Reform UK government would hit UK trade by £9bn.It comes as Labour continues to lag by around 8 points in the polls behind Reform and 24 hours after Mr Farage attempted to seize the political initiative by outlining plans for mass deportations of illegal migrants.The deportation plans have already drawn a warning from ex-Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve that they would mean the end of the post-Brexit deal with the EU bringing an end to free trade, data sharing and security arrangements.Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds (Lucy North/PA) More

As Nigel Farage stood in front of a giant union flag in an aircraft hangar at London Oxford Airport, the Reform UK leader laid out his solution to one of British voters’ biggest concerns – illegal migration and the growing number of asylum seekers arriving in the UK on small boats.But for those who have been listening to Mr Farage for many years in his now long political career, there was something very familiar about today’s announcement. In fact, it was a well trodden formula for the man who hopes to be Britain’s next prime minister.What Mr Farage offered was in fact a repackaging of what could be termed as the “Brexit formula”. In other words, isolate the UK internationally by withdrawing from foundational global agreements, and then expect the rest of the world to simply do what Britain wants.This sort of solution worked when Lord Palmerston was simply able to send a gunboat to sit outside a foreign port in the 19th century, but is quite a lot more complicated now.Farage laid out his mass deportation plans More

Children would also be subject to Reform UK’s plan for mass deportations from Britain, Nigel Farage has said. It came as the Clacton MP launched the party’s “operation restoring justice”, which Reform is billing as a five-year emergency programme to detain and deport illegal migrants and deter future arrivals that they would enact if elected to government.Some 600,000 asylum seekers could be deported in the first parliament of a Reform UK government, Mr Farage claimed.Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage at the launch of Reform UK’s plan to deport asylum seekers, at London Oxford Airport More

Nigel Farage, the leader of Britain’s hard-right Reform UK party, said Tuesday that if he wins the next election he will leave the European human rights convention and immediately detain and deport anyone who arrives in the country illegally.Farage laid out his plans to tackle illegal immigration following a significant rise in the number of migrants who arrive by boats across the English Channel, and weeks of protests over the government’s use of hotels to house asylum-seekers. Despite holding just four of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, Farage ‘s party has gained momentum by seizing on public frustration over successive governments’ inability to bring down the number of migrants coming by boat. National polls have suggested that support for Reform equals or surpasses that of the ruling Labour Party and the Conservatives.“If you come to the U.K. illegally, you will be detained and deported and never, ever allowed to stay, period,” Farage told a press conference. “The mood in the country around this issue is a mix between total despair and rising anger,” he said, adding there is now “a genuine threat to public order” if no action is taken.Farage, who has long sought to link problems such as public healthcare and housing to migrant arrivals, reiterated his stance that the U.K. is being “invaded” by migrants. He said that if he comes to power, Reform will leave the European Convention on Human Rights and repeal or “disapply” all other rights treaties to bar all asylum claims and ensure migrants who arrive without authorization are deported.The party pledged to scale up the capacity of detention facilities and secure deals with countries including Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iran, to return migrants.Asked repeatedly about the prospect of asylum-seekers being tortured or killed if they were sent back to countries they fled from, Farage said: “The alternative is to do nothing … We cannot be responsible for all the sins that take place around the world.”So far this year, more than 28,000 people have crossed the English Channel to arrive in the U.K. by boat, up about 50% from the same period last year. A much larger number of people — over 111,000 — applied for asylum in the U.K. in the year up to June, official figures show.Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ditched the Conservative administration’s flagship plan to send migrants who arrived by unauthorized means to Rwanda. Instead, he has pinned hopes on a deal agreed with France last month to send some migrants who cross the English Channel on dinghies and inflatable boats back to France.U.K. officials have suggested the “one in, one out” plan is a major breakthrough, despite the initial program involving a limited number of people. The government is also looking to speed up the processing of asylum claims. Officials have housed tens of thousands of migrants awaiting their asylum outcome in hotels at public expense — a controversial policy that has long simmered but tipped into protests in recent weeks after a hotel resident allegedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and was charged with sexual assault. The man has denied the accusation.Anti-migrant demonstrators, as well as counterprotests, have flared after local authorities won a temporary injunction last week to shut down the Bell Hotel in Epping, on the outskirts of London. More

Reform UK would pay the Taliban money to take back migrants who entered Britain illegally, Zia Yusuf has admitted. The former party chairman said he thinks it is “quite reasonable” for the British government to hand money to the regime in order to agree a returns agreement with the country.It comes as Nigel Farage prepares to unveil Reform UK’s bid to tackle illegal migration with an overhaul of human rights law and mass deportations.Those who come to the UK on small boats would have no right to claim asylum under Reform’s plans More

Children will need to be given democracy lessons in schools from the age of 11 to help prepare them to vote at age 16, the head of the UK elections watchdog has said.Democratic education will be rolled out to those aged 14 and over first, said Vijay Rangarajan, the chief executive of the Electoral Commission – but added that this will need to be expanded to make sure young people are ready to cast their vote. He also said teachers will be asked to leave their politics at the classroom door in order to make sure students get the broadest understanding of the political system, and are not swayed on how to vote. Labour’s manifesto committed the party to lowering the voting age for parliamentary elections to 16, in line with Scottish and Welsh elections More