Politics latest news: Migrants speech was not Tory leadership audition, insists Braverman

Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, is pictured yesterday at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, is pictured yesterday at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC - Stefan Rousseau/PA

Suella Braverman has rejected the suggestion that her speech in the US on illegal migration yesterday was an audition to be the next leader of the Conservative Party.

The Home Secretary delivered an address at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC in which she warned uncontrolled migration posed an “existential challenge” to the West.

The speech was characterised by some in Westminster as Ms Braverman firing the starting gun on the next Tory leadership contest should Rishi Sunak fail to lead the Conservative Party to victory at the next general election.

Asked if the trip to the US was part of laying the groundwork to be the next Tory leader, Ms Braverman told the PA news agency: “With respect, that is a slightly flippant interpretation of what is a very serious issue. I am here meeting my US counterparts, talking about the epoch-defining challenge of illegal migration and I have set out my observations and my analysis of the problem, inviting international collaboration to find a joint solution.

“I think that is my duty as Home Secretary and I am pleased to be here in America raising the salience of the matter and working with partners.”

Pressed again on the Tory leadership question, she added: “I am here working as Home Secretary. I am very pleased to be working hand in hand with the Prime Minister to stop the boats, as he has pledged earlier in the year.”

You can follow the latest updates below. 


04:00 PM BST

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I will be back tomorrow morning.


03:46 PM BST

Pictured: Priti Patel receives her damehood at Windsor Castle

Dame Priti Patel is pictured at Windsor Castle after receiving her Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Dame Priti Patel is pictured at Windsor Castle after receiving her Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire - Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph

03:19 PM BST

Lockdown harm to children was preventable, Government told

The harm caused to children by lockdown was preventable, leading charities and experts will tell the Government in a damning report.

The Children’s Rights Organisations alliance says social distancing and the closure of schools and playgrounds during the Covid pandemic had “long-lasting and era-defining impacts”.

The group, which includes Save the Children, Just for Kids Law and the Children’s Rights Alliance for England, was established to give written evidence to the Covid Inquiry.

You can read the full story here.


03:16 PM BST

Migration speech was not audition for Tory leadership, says Braverman

Suella Braverman has rejected the suggestion that her speech in the US on illegal migration yesterday was an audition to be the next leader of the Conservative Party.

The Home Secretary delivered an address at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC in which she warned uncontrolled migration posed an “existential challenge” to the West.

The speech was characterised by some in Westminster as Ms Braverman firing the starting gun on the next Tory leadership contest should Rishi Sunak fail to lead the Conservative Party to victory at the next general election.

Asked if the trip to the US was part of laying the groundwork to be the next Tory leader, Ms Braverman told the PA news agency: “With respect, that is a slightly flippant interpretation of what is a very serious issue. I am here meeting my US counterparts, talking about the epoch-defining challenge of illegal migration and I have set out my observations and my analysis of the problem, inviting international collaboration to find a joint solution.

“I think that is my duty as Home Secretary and I am pleased to be here in America raising the salience of the matter and working with partners.”

Pressed again on the Tory leadership question, she added: “I am here working as Home Secretary. I am very pleased to be working hand in hand with the Prime Minister to stop the boats, as he has pledged earlier in the year.”


02:51 PM BST

Suella Braverman: Migration putting 'unsustainable pressure' on schools, NHS and housing

Suella Braverman has rejected claims that her remarks yesterday on illegal migration were lacking in compassion.

The Home Secretary told the PA news agency during an interview today as she continued her visit to the US: “No, I don’t think that is true.

“And what I would say is that we are facing unprecedented levels of illegal migration, not just in the UK but also in countries like the US and other western or European nations.

“It’s right that we ask for greater collaboration at the international level amongst like-minded partners and, ultimately, the UK cannot sustain such levels of illegal migration, or indeed, legal migration. There is unsustainable pressure on our schools, unsustainable pressure on our health services, unsustainable pressure on our housing capacity.

“It is right and it’s indeed the prudent thing for political leaders to call this out and take steps to address it.”


02:40 PM BST

SNP chief claims Braverman 'wants to create dividing line in politics over migration'

Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader in Westminster, has accused Suella Braverman of trying to create a “dividing line” over migration after the Home Secretary’s speech in Washington DC yesterday.

In a video statement posted on Twitter, Mr Flynn said: “Suella Braverman wants to create a dividing line in politics over migration. Well, my answer to that is simple: Let’s give her one.

“Because the city behind me, Aberdeen, its success has been built not just on the people who are born here but on the people who have chosen to make it their home from right across the world.

“I’m proud that our city is one of the most multicultural not just in Scotland but right across the UK. So let’s send a clear message to the Conservatives, to Suella Braverman and all her right wing cronies that their policies of hatred have no place in the modern age, they have no place in Scotland. We want something far better and we will get there.”


02:16 PM BST

Sir Alok Sharma to stand down at next election

Former Cop26 president Sir Alok Sharma has announced he will not stand at the next general election.

The Tory former cabinet minister, who led the United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow two years ago, said he will continue to champion “climate action” in Parliament for the remainder of his time as an MP.

His announcement comes days after he raised concerns about Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to weaken a number of the Government’s net zero pledges.

You can read the full story here.


01:50 PM BST

Rosebank oil field decision 'makes sense', says Sunak


01:24 PM BST

Labour demand urgent update from Sunak on HS2 future

Louise Haigh, shadow transport secretary, has demanded Rishi Sunak provide an urgent update on the future of HS2.

Ms Haigh has written to the Prime Minister to seek answers and to point out that the cost of the high speed railway line has surged during a period when he was chief secretary to the Treasury, chancellor and now PM.

She said in the letter: “It’s clear that your Government is in chaos. The leaks, rumours and speculation about HS2 have real implications for railway workers, local communities and the economy.

“Will you therefore commit to urgently updating Parliament in full on the current status of the project and its updated costs, based on cash prices and 2023 prices, not 2019 prices?”


12:56 PM BST

Pictured: Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg receives knighthood at Windsor Castle

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg (C), with his wife Helen de Chair (2nd R) and children (L-R) Thomas, Mary and Peter, after being made a Knight Commander of the British Empire at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg (C), with his wife Helen de Chair (2nd R) and children (L-R) Thomas, Mary and Peter, after being made a Knight Commander of the British Empire at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle - Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph

12:37 PM BST

Environment and climate change one of top four election issues

The environment and climate change is one of the top four general election issues for voters, a new poll has found.

A Survation survey of approximately 20,000 people conducted on behalf of Greenpeace UK between August 18 and September 1 asked respondents to select the three issues from a list of 13 which will most affect how they will vote at the next election.

The economy and inflation was most selected, with 59 per cent of people picking it as one of their top three most important issues.

Health was second on 46 per cent and immigration was third on 32 per cent. Green issues were in fourth place, selected by 29 per cent of people.

Other key issues on the list included: Crime, housing, education, welfare benefits, Brexit, unemployment, pensions, defence and security and transport.


12:16 PM BST

HS2 downgrade would be 'final nail in coffin' for levelling up, claims Khan

Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, said axing the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 would be the “final nail in the coffin” for the Government’s levelling up agenda.

Speaking in Leeds, Mr Khan said: “If the Government does decide to cancel HS2, so there’s no extension north of Birmingham and no station in central London, that’ll be the final nail in the coffin of levelling up.”


11:53 AM BST

Poll: Labour could win 100-seat majority at general election

Labour could win a 100-seat majority at the next general election while the Tories could lose more than 220 seats, a new poll has suggested.

A Savanta survey of approximately 20,000 people put Labour on 46 per cent of the vote and the Tories on 29 per cent when respondents were asked how they would vote if the election was tomorrow, giving Labour an overall lead of 17 points.

Savanta election modelling suggested that such numbers could see Labour end up with 426 MPs, an increase of 224 on the seats the party won in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Tories could finish with 141 seats which would represent a loss of 224 MPs. The magic number for securing a House of Commons majority is 326.

The poll was conducted by Savanta on behalf of Greenpeace UK between August 18 and September 1.


11:12 AM BST

'It would be a very cynical move'

Andy Burnham said it would be a “very cynical move” by the Government if it delayed an announcement on scrapping the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 until after the Conservative Party conference in Manchester which starts on Sunday and will end on Wednesday next week.

The Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester said: “It would be a very cynical move though if they are just thinking ‘oh, we are in Manchester, we didn’t realise we are in Manchester, let’s not do it before we got to Manchester, we will have to do it when we leave’.

“People are already cynical about politics, aren’t they. All of this just adds to that but it just builds this frustration here in the north of England that we always get treated as second best.

“There is no way at all on God’s Earth that if this line had started in Manchester and was going down the country that the London leg would be scrapped, that just would not happen.”


10:40 AM BST

HS2 downgrade would cause 'very divided country' for rest of century, claims Burnham

Andy Burnham warned Rishi Sunak he risks creating a “very divided country” for the rest of this century if he scraps the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2.

The Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester said downgrading the high speed railway line would amount to treating people in the north of England as “second class citizens when it comes to transport”.

He urged the Prime Minister not to “pull the plug on the North”.

Labour mayors Andy Burnham, Tracy Brabin, Sadiq Khan, Steve Rotheram and Oliver Coppard meet in Leeds this morning to urge the Government not to downgrade HS2
Labour mayors Andy Burnham, Tracy Brabin, Sadiq Khan, Steve Rotheram and Oliver Coppard meet in Leeds this morning to urge the Government not to downgrade HS2 - Danny Lawson /PA

Asked if he felt let down or insulted by the suggestion that the Government could scrap the northern leg of HS2, Mr Burnham told Sky News: “Yeah, I think probably both of those things. I think probably a great sense of frustration really. Look at Leeds behind us doing really well, Manchester the same... we are doing a lot to level ourselves up and then  we get the Government pulling the rug from underneath us.

“It is so frustrating. If they leave the North of England with Victorian rail infrastructure and the southern half of the country has north/south and east/west lines, that really is a recipe for a very divided country in the rest of this century, for the north/south divide to become a chasm.

“And we just can’t sort of sit here and accept it. Not even to be brought into these discussions is disrespectful to the people of the north of England so there is a real clear message coming back from us all to Whitehall and Westminster today. It is a simple one of do not pull the plug on the North, don’t make us choose here between north/south or east/west, why should we always have to choose, stop treating us as second class citizens when it comes to transport.”


10:27 AM BST

Chancellor welcomes Rosebank oil field decision


10:19 AM BST

Rishi Sunak 'has to' listen to voices in support of HS2, says Khan

Sadiq Khan said he believed Rishi Sunak “has to” listen to calls not to downgrade HS2.

Asked if he believed the Prime Minister would take any notice of today’s joint statement from five Labour mayors (see the post below at 08.06), the Labour Mayor of London told Sky News: “I think he has to, not just from what we are saying... but business leaders, communities and others as well.

“And here is an irony. The new high speed line from Birmingham to the centre of London will be slower because it will stop at Old Oak Common than the current line from Birmingham to Euston. That makes no sense at all.”


10:02 AM BST

Sadiq Khan: HS2 must finish at Euston, not Old Oak Common

Sadiq Khan said HS2 must terminate at Euston in central London as originally planned and not at its temporary terminus of Old Oak Common in the west London suburbs (see the post below at 08.21).

Mr Khan, who is in Leeds this morning to hold talks with four other Labour mayors on the future of HS2 (see the post below at 08.06), told Sky News: “We are mayors from different regions but I think we speak with one voice when we say it is really important to continue to invest in High Speed Two.

“It is important for of course London and the South East and economic growth having a high speed two line coming to the centre of our city rather than six miles to the west.

“But it is incredibly important for the West Midlands, the East Midlands and the North. You simply will not get levelling up without investment in high quality transport infrastructure.”


09:55 AM BST

Scottish Secretary welcomes Rosebank oil field decision

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said it was “great news” that the Rosebank oil field has been given the greenlight.

He said: “The North Sea has a huge role to play in ensuring the UK’s energy security while we transition to net zero.

“It’s really important that we maximise our domestic oil and gas reserves, which mean lower emissions than imports, while reducing any reliance on hostile states.

“Rosebank will play a big role in that, as well as growing our economy and providing skilled jobs in Scotland for generations to come.”


09:37 AM BST

Labour would not revoke Rosebank oil field licence

Labour has said that while it opposed the Rosebank oil field development it would not revoke the licence if it wins the next general election.

Shadow business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Sky News: “We don’t support Rosebank, we think the priority for the country should be transitioning away from fossil fuel partly because of the volatility of the price of fossil fuels. And we’ve seen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine just what that has meant not just for heating prices but for electricity…

“So real energy security will only come from moving to nuclear, to renewables, to technologies that will insulate us from those pressures.

“But we have said we understand this is a difficult position for investors. We will not revoke any licences that the Government chooses to grant but we don’t think this is good value for money.”


09:22 AM BST

Caroline Lucas and Nicola Sturgeon criticise Rosebank oil field decision

Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, labelled the Rosebank decision “morally obscene”.

She tweeted: “This is morally obscene. It won’t improve energy security or lower bills - but it will shatter our climate commitments & demolish global leadership. Govt is complicit in this climate crime - as is Labour unless they pledge to do all possible to revoke it.”

Nicola Sturgeon, the former Scottish first minister, said she agreed with Ms Lucas:


08:56 AM BST

Net zero backlash after largest untapped North Sea oil field given go-ahead

Regulators have given the green light to drill in the largest undeveloped oil and gas field in the North Sea sparking a backlash from climate campaigners.

Norwegian state energy company Equinor has received the go-ahead to progress with the Rosebank field roughly 80 miles west of the Shetland Islands.

The company expects to produce 300m barrels of oil from the field in its lifetime.

The North Sea Transition Authority said: “We have today approved the Rosebank Field Development Plan which allows the owners to proceed with their project.”

You can follow the full story on the decision over on The Telegraph’s business live blog here.


08:43 AM BST

Sunak and Hunt will ‘listen to wide variety of voices’ on HS2

Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt “listen to a wide variety of voices” on HS2, Lucy Frazer said when asked whether they will be listening to a plea by five Labour mayors not to cut the rail project further (see the post below at 08.06).

The Culture Secretary told Sky News: “I’m sure the Prime Minister and the Chancellor listen to a wide variety of voices.

“But as you will know, it’s the responsibility of the Government to keep all projects under consideration. And that’s what the Chancellor is doing. He is, as he does on all matters which are spending billions of pounds of taxpayers’ funding, is looking at a whole range of projects to make sure that they are value for money.”

Asked whether HS2 will run to Manchester, she said: “Well, that is a decision, as you know, for the Chancellor, not for me.”


08:31 AM BST

Frazer won’t say if she agrees with Braverman's migration comments

Lucy Frazer would not say if she agreed with Suella Braverman’s claims made in a speech yesterday that multiculturalism had “failed” and uncontrolled, illegal migration posed an “existential challenge” to the West.

The Culture Secretary was asked during an interview on Times Radio if she agreed with the Home Secretary’s comments and she said: “Well, we know that globally uncontrolled, illegal immigration is a problem. It is a problem for many countries in the West and the UN have said that 108 million people will have been displaced by the end of 2022.

“And these are issues that need global solutions and that is what we have been doing in this country.

“You will know that we have worked very hard and got a historic agreement with France to ensure that we stop those Channel boat crossings and you will know that we have got a bilateral agreement with Albania to return people from Albania because Albania is a safe country and you will know that the actions we have taken as a Government have got illegal, uncontrolled immigration down by 23 per cent this year as compared to last year.”

Asked again if she agreed with the comments, Ms Frazer again failed to say: “I read the Home Secretary’s speech in full and what she was talking about was the importance of integrating people who come here into our communities and I think that is a really valid point.

“It is really important when we give people a home here, people who have been persecuted, it is really important that we integrate them into our society and that they adopt our British values.”

Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, is pictured in Washington DC yesterday
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, is pictured in Washington DC yesterday - Stefan Rousseau/PA

08:21 AM BST

Downgraded HS2 would 'do nothing for North of England'

A downgraded version of HS2 would “do nothing for the North of England”, five Labour mayors have told Rishi Sunak.

The mayors, including Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham, said in a joint statement that the line must terminate in Euston, central London, as originally planned rather than at Old Oak Common in the west London suburbs and that the line must go all the way to Manchester.

Reports have suggested that the Birmingham to Manchester section could be scrapped while Old Oak Common could made HS2’s permanent, rather than temporary, terminus.

The joint statement said: “The UK does not need a new line that only goes from Birmingham to Old Oak Common, which is six miles from central London.

“This does nothing for the North of England. The full Y-shaped HS2 plan was designed to deliver economic benefit right across the country not only between the North and London but between Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester and Birmingham. All of these gains look set to be lost if media reports this week are to be believed.”


08:06 AM BST

Five Labour mayors urge Rishi Sunak not to scrap HS2 northern leg

Five Labour mayors have warned Rishi Sunak that failure to deliver in full on HS2 would “leave swathes of the North with Victorian transport infrastructure that is unfit for purpose”.

Sadiq Khan, Andy Burnham, Tracy Brabin, Oliver Coppard and Steve Rotheram will gather in Leeds later today to issue a joint plea to the Prime Minister not to cut HS2 further.

Ahead of the meeting, they issued a joint statement to express their concern at the prospect of the Government scrapping the rail project’s northern leg between Birmingham and Manchester.

The statement said: “Investment in transport infrastructure is a huge driver of economic growth – creating jobs, increasing productivity and opening up new business opportunities. HS2 and NPR [Northern Powerhouse Rail] will deliver this right across our regions.

“This government has said repeatedly that it is committed to levelling up in the Midlands and North. Failure to deliver HS2 and NPR will leave swathes of the North with Victorian transport infrastructure that is unfit for purpose and cause huge economic damage in London and the South, where construction of the line has already begun.”


08:00 AM BST

Culture Secretary: Jeremy Hunt 'considering' future of HS2

Jeremy Hunt is “considering” the future of HS2, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said this morning.

Ms Frazer said chancellors “always” consider the cost of major infrastructure projects “to the public purse”.

She was asked if Lord Hague, the former Tory leader, was right or wrong after he said yesterday that HS2 was a “national disgrace” that “should have been cancelled a few years ago”.

She told Times Radio: “Well, you know that these are issues that the Chancellor must consider in the round and you will know that a chancellor always considers major infrastructure projects, the costs to the public purse.

“And the last few days that’s what’s being highlighted, that these are issues that are being considered by the Chancellor.”

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