The Tories are presenting a bill to Parliament today to block the Chagos surrender deal. The bill – titled the British Indian Ocean Territory (Sovereignty and Constitutional Arrangements) Bill – will seek to make sure the Chagos Islands fall back under British sovereignty and that it cannot be surrendered without Parliamentary approval. The sellout is costing the taxpayer £30.3 billion. Or one and half Reeves ‘black holes’…
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel, who is presenting the bill, said:
“Keir Starmer and David Lammy have been too busy cosying up to their left-wing lawyer friends and activists to defend our national interests. Parliament must put a stop to this shameful surrender deal and legislate to protect our sovereignty, the rights of British Chagossians and taxpayers’ money.”
The Tories have also teamed up with Reform to table an Early Day Motion against the sellout. Unfortunately none of this will work as the government can overrule any opposition with its massive majority…
The Sentencing Council has been discussing – with a view to implement – draft guidelines set out in its consultation from last year. The guidelines on immigration offences advise judges to dish out under-12 month sentences – thereby preventing foreign nationals from being deported…
Also in that guidance document are some interesting figures on the previous government’s record. Co-conspirators may remember then-Home Secretary Priti Patel’s landmark 2021 “New Plan” to “wipe out criminal networks” of people smugglers. The government caused a bit of a stir when it amended Section 25A of the Immigration Act 1971, which made it an offence to facilitate the arrival or entry of an asylum seeker into the UK. Patel’s amendments broadened the scope to remove a requirement to prove gain for facilitation of entry, and imposed a life sentence resulting from successful prosecution. Patel said this would “bring about the fundamental change needed to control illegal migration.” Hint: It didn’t…
The under-fire quango notes with regard to that legislation:
“The section 25A offence is very low volume. In 2022, fewer than 5 offenders were sentenced.”
Pretty low numbers there. Kemi has said the HRA shouldn’t apply to deportation cases but has stopped short of saying the UK should leave the ECHR. Poland is this week suspending migrants’ right to apply for asylum. Considering the previous Tory record politicians might want to start thinking outside the box…
Kemi says of Priti: “Immigration was far too high she agrees too, and many mistakes were made which need fixing.” The Shadow Cabinet briefing war over immigration has now spilled over into this clip…
The latest register of members’ interests sheds some light on the financial support of Tory leader hopefuls. By the end of last month, candidates raked in the cash from top Tory donors, with Jenrick outgunning his rivals raising £250,000. Notably, the firm owned by Nadhim Zahawi’s wife was one of his top donors. Meanwhile, Badenoch’s team comes in second, raising just under £200,000, and Patel garnered £180,000, though sadly for her donors, the result hasn’t been Priti. It’s worth remembering these are just the donations published so far. There’s still another two months to go…
The final four on Tuesday next week will have to hand £50,000 to the Tory party, with the last two having to fork out a further £150,000 cheque to the “broke” CCHQ under the ‘pay-to-play’ rules. Money talks…
As some predicted, the Priti Patel has been voted out of the Tory leadership contest, as Mel Stride (who Guido is told “no one dislikes“) managed to cling on. Here’s the breakdown of the votes:
Robert Jenrick: 28
Kemi Badenoch: 22
James Cleverly: 21
Tom Tugendhat: 17
Mel Stride: 16
Priti Patel: 14
Next Tuesday will see the 5th candidate voted out, whittling it down to four. The contest continues to drag on…
Priti Patel is launching her leadership bid with a speech in London. Slogan: Experience. Strength. Unity…
Watch live as Conservative Party leadership contender @pritipatel speaks at an event in London https://t.co/x0EzT9Nsva
— PA Media (@PA) August 30, 2024
Patel’s team has produced tour merchandise for the event. Swanky…
Leadership activity is ramping up ahead of Wednesday’s first round ballot. More events on the way…
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones told the Today Programme it wasn’t ‘appropriate’ to ask whether or not David Lammy was shopping prior to DPMQs instead of trying to sort out the released prisoner:
“He was preparing for Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions. He was preparing to stand in for the Prime Minister, the first ever black person to do so… He cracked a joke because his poppy had fallen off this suit, which he also addressed during the Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions… I don’t think it’s appropriate to get into the weeds of if he was shopping or not in the morning.”
