Newslinks for Monday 10th March 2025

Philp: All migrant workers must earn at least £38,700 to get visa

“All migrant workers should earn at least £38,700 to get a visa, a senior Tory has said. And leader Kemi Badenoch wants tighter spouse entry rules to stop couples marrying for residency permits. In government, the Conservatives increased the minimum salary requirement for skilled-worker visas to £38,700. But to cut net migration from a record high of nearly one million, they now want this threshold applied to all foreign labour. This would include health workers and those in sectors with shortages, such as construction. Brits who want to bring a spouse to the UK on a family visa would also need to earn this amount, up from the current £29,000 threshold.” – The Sun

• Farage demands ‘dangerous militant’ who crossed Channel be deported – Daily Express

>Yesterday:

Hollinrake defends quangos having the power to block housebuilding

“Labour’s plan to concrete over the countryside provoked more fury last night after it emerged fewer people would be able to object. Ministers could slash the number of official bodies that get a say in planning decisions in a drive to cut red tape. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has said reforms are needed to ensure the system is “sensible and balanced” as the Government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes this Parliament. But the Tories warned they will “remove yet another safeguard and further undermine local voices”… One of the bodies set to be removed from the list has rejected the idea that they are an impediment to growth.” – Daily Express

• English councils seeking more help to pay for rise in Send transport costs… – The Guardian
• …as Rayner reforms increase pressure to find permanent traveller sites – Daily Mail

Truss to launch ‘free speech media network’

“Great Britain is a “failed state” underpinned by a “deeply rotten” system run by “commissars”. That’s not according to President Putin, or another of the UK’s adversaries, but Liz Truss, the former prime minister. The words were delivered as part of a speech given last month at the conservative US conference CPAC, signalling the start of Truss’s rebrand as a Make America Great Again wannabe. Truss has pledged to launch a new “free speech media network” in the UK this summer “in conjunction with American allies”. The station will “take on the Britain Bashing Corporation”, she told the former Trump strategist Steve Bannon. Truss assured the man who gave what seemed to be a Nazi salute during his own CPAC speech: “You will be uncensored and uncancellable on our network.”” – The Times

Defence 1) Stop billions of pounds going ‘down Net Zero drain’ and use it to boost defence, Tory MPs demand

“Ministers must stop billions of pounds going down the Net Zero drain – and use the cash to beef up defence instead, MPs are demanding. The Government is committed to £25billion of eco projects, and the cost is set to rocket. The state will have to spend between £107billion and £363billion by 2050 to hit Net Zero goals, the Climate Change Committee estimated last week. When private investment is included, the total cost soars to £972billion by 2050 – although much of this could be offset by operating savings. Tory MP Esther McVey said: “The money would be better spent on defence of the realm. We shouldn’t be spending £25billion on Net Zero projects.” It comes as an extraordinary battle broke out in the Government over Net Zero spending.” – The Sun

>Yesterday: Video: Mordaunt says UK is ‘still holding back on defence spending’

Defence 2) Britain takes ‘key role’ to help Ukraine in peace talks

“Britain is advising Ukraine on handling peace talks with the United States as President Zelensky flies out to Saudi Arabia after saying that Russia had carried out hundreds of attacks on his people in the past week. Jonathan Powell, Sir Keir Starmer’s national security adviser, travelled to Ukraine over the weekend to brief Zelensky before his country’s representatives attend the talks with the USon Tuesday, to avoid a repeat of the disastrous Oval Office row with Donald Trump. The prime minister is also attempting to convince Trump to resume intelligence sharing with Ukraine, after last week’s abrupt shut-off that could hinder Kyiv’s ability to defend its cities from Russian strikes.” – The Times

• Allies cannot be dragooned into coalition of willing, says senior minister – Daily Telegraph
• McFadden insists government is not considering conscription – The Times

More:

• Germany bond rout worst since fall of Berlin Wall as Merz promises to boost defences – Daily Mail
• After Ukraine, could Trump stop sharing intelligence with Britain too? – The Times

Starmer faces ‘biggest rebellion of his premiership’ over welfare cuts…

“Sir Keir Starmer is facing the biggest rebellion of his premiership so far over plans to cut Britain’s benefits bill to pay for an increase in defence spending. Around 80 Labour MPs are said to oppose the Government’s proposals to rein in public spending through radical welfare reforms, with a growing number willing to stage a revolt. In a sign of mounting disquiet on the backbenches, it is understood that furious MPs are planning to send a letter of complaint to the Treasury and the Prime Minister ahead of the Spring Statement. It comes as Sir Keir is grappling with the twin challenges of funding a rise in defence spending and plugging a £9 billion fall in the Government’s fiscal headroom before the Spring Statement.” – Daily Telegraph

Comment:

• More benefit cuts would risk turning drops of dissent in Labour’s ranks into a flood – Isabel Hardman, The Guardian

Editorial:

• How to cut Britain’s rising welfare bill – FT

…as civil servants told to deliver or leave as Labour overhauls Whitehall…

“The UK government has announced reforms to make it easier to force out underachieving civil servants along with new performance-related bonuses for senior officials as part of plans to shake up Whitehall. Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, said that Whitehall was “not match fit” and vowed that ministers would “fundamentally reshape how the state delivers for people”. The highest-paid mandarins at the top of the civil service will face stricter performance monitoring, with those deemed to be falling short given six months to improve or face dismissal under the plans. McFadden is also overseeing the creation of “mutually agreed exits” in departments, a process to incentivise underperforming officials to leave their jobs that Labour hopes will make it easier to push civil servants out.” – FT

• Officials ‘will be paid to quit’ under plans to save costs – Daily Mail
• Digital targets and performance-linked pay to be brought in – The Guardian
• Use AI as much as you can, civil servants told by minister – Daily Telegraph

More:

• Covid fraud investigators win just 12 convictions in hunt for missing £160m – Daily Telegraph

Comment:

• Can Starmer stick to guns when leftie howling from own side begins? – Harry Cole, The Sun

>Today: David Gauke’s column: There’s a Conservative case for prison reform – take a look at Texas

>Yesterday: Video: McFadden on Civil Service cuts – ‘There’s a whole lot of change coming’

…and around 100 schools ‘could be forced to close’ due to Labour’s VAT plan

“About 100 private schools will be forced to close because of Labour’s hated tax raid on fees, a Minister has admitted. It is the first public acknowledgment by a Minister that any school will shut because of the 20 per cent levy on independent school fees. Government officials have previously insisted they were not braced for the collapse of private schools as a result of the policy and have been accused of underplaying the number of pupils who would be forced out of the sector. Now Treasury Minister Torsten Bell has put a figure on the effect of the tax hike for the first time, revealing about 100 schools are expected to close over three years. A dozen schools have already shut, or intend to close, since January, blaming the VAT hike.” – Daily Mail

• Labour’s Employment Rights Bill slammed by think tanks for ‘punishing businesses’ – Daily Express

>Today:

Reform tried to silence me on migrants, says Lowe

“Rupert Lowe said Reform UK tried to silence him over his “outspoken” views on migration. The suspended MP said he had been “warned” by the party’s leadership but had refused to listen and was making “no apologies” for his comments. In a post on X on Sunday, Mr Lowe called for one million illegal immigrants to be deported, saying Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, might not agree with him but that it was “the right thing to do”. It comes after a blazing row broke out in Reform as Mr Lowe was suspended over a string of bullying allegations, which he has categorically denied. Sources close to Mr Farage claim that Mr Lowe has drifted politically and has been “captured by the online radical Right”, making myriad X posts about “mass deportations” and other pre-occupations.” – Daily Telegraph

• Tice dismisses claims party only took action after spat between Lowe and Farage – Daily Express
• Lowe blasts Anderson as a ‘pathetic’ and ‘vindictive’ – Daily Mail
• MP was starting to become a threat to Farage, insiders claim – The Times

Comment:

• Reform’s shenanigans are an inevitable tragedy – Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph

>Today: ToryDiary: Was this weekend Reform UK’s Lowe ebb?

>Yesterday: Video: ‘We’re driving forwards, not holding back!’ – Tice on whether Lowe could return to Reform

Female protesters accuse Sturgeon of betrayal over controversial gender self-ID laws

“Nicola Sturgeon was booed and subjected to chants of ‘shame on you’ by female protesters at an International Women’s Day event yesterday. Demonstrators angrily shouted at the former First Minister as they accused her of ‘betrayal’ over her bid to introduce controversial gender laws. Ms Sturgeon looked shaken as she was confronted by the baying crowd on the street as she walked to the SNP’s Women’s Day celebration event in the centre of Edinburgh. She was the architect of the Nationalists’ failed reforms which intended to make it easier for people to legally swap gender without medical involvement. She also refused to label transgender rapist Isla Bryson a ‘man’ even though the crime of rape can only be perpetrated by a male.” – Daily Mail

Carney confirmed as new prime minister of Canada

“Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, is set to be Canada’s next prime minister after being overwhelmingly elected as the new leader of the Liberal Party. Carney, 59, who has also led the Bank of Canada, will succeed Justin Trudeau after receiving more than 85 per cent of the votes, with 151,899 party members having cast their ballots. He will take power in the coming days, bringing an end to Trudeau’s near-decade in power. Before the results were announced, Trudeau delivered a farewell address to party members, warning that Canada faced an “existential challenge” from the United States, referencing President Trump’s trade war and repeated remarks on turning Canada into America’s “51st state”.” – The Times

News in Brief:

• Can Reform survive the rift between Farage and Lowe? – Patrick O’Flynn, The Spectator
• How should Labour and the Tories respond to the populist right? – David Jeffrey, CapX
• Multiculturalism contra justice – Sam Bidwell, The Critic
• Trump has Europe in check – Wolfgang Münchau, UnHerd
• The Canadian Liberal comeback – Ben Walker, New Statesman