POLITICS: Newslinks for Friday 24th January 2025 – USSA News

EU leaders pressure Starmer to join defence scheme built on debt

“European leaders are using Sir Keir Starmer’s struggles to increase Britain’s defence spending to convince him to join a €500 billion (£420 billion) rearmament scheme funded by common debt. Poland, which holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, is pushing the project in response to Donald Trump’s criticism that European allies have piggybacked on US defence spending for too long. Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, this week argued that “we shouldn’t really care too much about what method we adopt to finance” a boost in defence spending on the Continent. “There is no alternative to this: Europe must start defending itself and so it must start spending European money on this as well,” he added in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.” – The Daily Telegraph

• New softer Brexit plan could be agreed in UK-EU talks – The I
• Ministers weigh signing up UK to Europe customs scheme – The Financial Times
• What the UK joining the European trade scheme would mean for Starmer’s Brexit reset – The I

Reeves to relax non-dom tax rule amid millionaire exodus…

“The government is to amend controversial changes to tax rules for non-domiciled residents that were announced in October’s budget as record numbers of millionaires leave the UK. Asked at a fringe event at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos about the exodus of millionaires, chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed that the government would shortly table an amendment to the Finance Bill. “We have been listening to the concerns that have been raised by the non-dom community,” she told Emma Tucker, editor of The Wall Street Journal. The government amendment will increase the generosity of the temporary repatriation facility, which enables non-doms to bring money instantly to the UK without paying significant taxes.” – The Times

• Non-dom tax tweak ‘not enough’ to stop rich leaving UK – The I
• ‘Right thinking but a difficult position’: global investors’ verdict on Reeves at Davos – The Financial Times
• Are Reeves’s efforts to win business confidence ‘fiddling while Rome burns’? – The Guardian
• The Chancellor’s non-dom U-turn is too little, too late – Editorial, The Daily Telegraph
• Restless Reeves seeks cure for growing pains – Patrick Maguire, The Times
• Pressures at home and away add strain on UK finances – Stephen Bush, The Financial Times

…and she is to instruct national wealth fund to work with mayors to boost growth…

“Rachel Reeves will instruct bosses of the national wealth fund (NWF) and the new Office for Investment to work with regional mayors for the first time, as part of a package of initiatives to boost growth. After a meeting of combined authority mayors and civil servants in Rotherham on Thursday, the chancellor said a deeper relationship between Whitehall and regional leaders would enhance her push to enhance growth nationally. Reeves, who will give a speech about the government’s growth plans next week, said the scheme was aimed at bridging the gap between Whitehall and local leaders to avoid the previous top-down approach. Under the plan, newly formed taskforces will tailor growth strategies for each region…” – The Guardian

…and as visas for high-skilled workers are set to be relaxed

“Visas for high-skilled workers are set to be relaxed as part of government plans to kickstart growth, the Chancellor has said. Ministers will publish an immigration white paper later this year which includes a review of visa routes – particularly for those specialising in the AI and life sciences sectors. While Labour are committed to reducing overall migration amid spiralling numbers, the government have faced calls to encourage wealthy or high-skilled individuals to arrive on Britain’s shores. Rachel Reeves told an event at the World Economic Forum: ‘We are going to look again at routes for the highest skilled people…’ Earlier this month, Sir Keir Starmer was urged to grant visas to ‘wealthy, high-skilled Americans’ who want to migrate to the UK…” – The Daily Mail

I won’t resign over Heathrow expansion, Miliband insists

“Ed Miliband has refused to resign if the Government publicly backs a third runway at Heathrow, just days after he said the rise of net zero was “unstoppable”. The Energy Secretary, who has previously argued that environmental principles must be backed up with actions, said the idea of him quitting the Cabinet over the expansion of Europe’s busiest airport was “ridiculous”. Mr Miliband moved to clarify his position amid speculation that the Chancellor will formalise the Government’s backing for a new runway in a speech next week, at which she is also expected to endorse applications for expanding Gatwick and Luton… His comments sparked an immediate backlash from green campaigners, who accused him of hypocrisy.” – The Daily Telegraph

• Labour should hit the brake in dash to net zero – Emma Duncan, The Times
• Crash landing soon at a runway near you – a politican’s career – Tom Peck, The Times

Ministers explore shelving stricter audit rules for private companies

“UK ministers are exploring scrapping promised stricter audit rules for private companies as the government seeks to dial back regulation in a bid to boost economic growth. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and employment minister Justin Madders have met large audit firms and big investors in recent months to discuss watering down or axing reforms that would designate about 600 companies “public interest entities”, according to people familiar with the talks. The previous Conservative government pledged to reform the UK’s audit regimes after multiple high-profile corporate failures, such as outsourcer Carillion, retailer BHS and café chain Patisserie Valerie. In 2021, ministers proposed classifying the largest private companies…” – The Financial Times

Labour blocks bee-harming insecticide – frustrating farmers

“The government has blocked the use of a bee-harming insecticide, delighting conservationists and frustrating sugar beet growers. Several neonicotinoids, the most widely used insecticides in the world, were banned in the UK seven years ago after growing scientific evidence that they were contributing to pollinator declines. However, for four years in a row, applications by British Sugar for “emergency authorisation” of one of those three banned neonicotinoids, thiamethoxam, which is sold as the product Cruiser SB, have been approved. Sir Keir Starmer made an election campaign pledge to protect bees and stop those emergency authorisations. On Thursday the government rejected an application by British Sugar and the National Farmers Union…” – The Times

Labour MPs ‘ordered to sink’ landmark climate and environment bill

“A landmark bill that would make the UK’s climate and environment targets legally binding seems doomed after government whips ordered Labour MPs to oppose it following a breakdown in negotiations. Supporters of the climate and nature bill, introduced by the Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage, say Labour insisted on the removal of clauses that would require the UK to meet the targets it agreed to at Cop and other international summits. Although it is a private member’s bill, more than 80 Labour MPs, including several ministers, had publicly signed up to support it. Some Labour MPs have been ordered to attend the bill’s second reading on Friday morning and to prepare speeches, to deliberately make it run out of time and avoid a vote.” – The Guardian

>Yesterday:

Majority of Britain’s illegal migrants live in London, data shows

“The majority of Britain’s illegal migrants live in London, according to the most recent research carried out by a public body in the UK. The study, commissioned by Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, estimated there were 674,000 undocumented people in the UK, equal to 1 per cent of the population. Half of them were below the age of 25. Of all illegal migrants, an estimated 397,000 were in London — 60 per cent of the nationwide total. The research was published by the Greater London Authority (GLA) in 2020, having been commissioned by Khan and carried out by the University of Wolverhampton. It has re-emerged after revelations that Thames Water commissioned its own independent research…” – The Times

• Student visas ‘increasingly used as back door’ to work in UK – The Daily Telegraph
• We have no clue how many people live in Britain – and Starmer doesn’t care – David Frost, The Daily Telegraph

Cabinet Office chief blocks investigation into Attorney General’s ‘conflict of interest’ row

“The Cabinet Office has rejected an investigation into the Attorney General’s potential conflicts of interest over his past clients, including Gerry Adams. Sir Chris Wormald, the Cabinet Secretary, has written to Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary maintaining that arrangements to avoid any conflict of interest have been applied and properly followed since Lord Hermer’s appointment. Confirming the letter in a statement to the Commons, Lucy Rigby, the Solicitor General, said: “The Attorney General’s Office has a rigorous system in place to ensure that a law officer would not be consulted on any matter that could give rise to a potential conflict of interest.” Mr Jenrick called for the investigation on Sunday…” – The Daily Telegraph

• The Attorney General ‘conflict of interest row’ becomes riper by the day – Quentin Letts, The Daily Mail

Farage demands apology over Southport fake news claim

“Nigel Farage has called on Angela Rayner to apologise for accusing him of spreading “fake news” after the Southport murders. The Reform UK leader said he had faced “abuse” from the deputy prime minister and other MPs, resulting in increased threats against him. He told The Times that he was “owed some apologies” from Rayner after the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in jail on Thursday. Farage wrote to Rayner citing Rudakubana’s guilty plea to 16 charges, including possession of a military study of an al-Qaeda training manual, which is an offence under the Terrorism Act. Farage argued that it vindicated his suggestion in July that the attack could be linked to terrorism.” – The Times

• Bring back the dealth penalty for monsters like Southport killer, blast furious MPs – The Sun
• Rayner owes Farage an apology over Southport attack – Jawad Iqbal, The Times

>Today:

News in Brief:

• How Poilievre led Canada’s Conservatives back from the wilderness – James Heale, The Spectator 
• Can Trump make McKinley great again? – Michael Lind, UnHerd
• Make Britain grow again – Ross Clark, The Critic
• By voting to leave the EU, we escaped a terrible fate – Jon Moynihan, CapX
• Trump can stay popular – Ben Walker, The New Statesman

The post Newslinks for Friday 24th January 2025 appeared first on Conservative Home.