UK politics live: Jenrick vows to revive Rwanda plan as Tory leadership campaign ramps up
Robert Jenrick insists ‘it’s leave or remain’ in Tory leadership speech at the Policy Exchange
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In a bid to build momentum after securing his place in the final two of the race, Robert Jenrick is delivering a speech at the Policy Exchange think tank.
Addressing the audience in London, the former immigration minister promised to talk to supporters about “the real choice our country faces” and to bring back the government’s Rwanda deportation plan.
He went back to the Brexit days, setting up a stark “leave vs remain” choice for voters on the ECHR. The Tory leadership hopeful believes the European Convention on Human Rights prevents Britain from being able to control illegal migration.
It comes as the Tory leadership race intensified after James Cleverly’s unexpected exit, leaving Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick as the final contenders.
Meanwhile, as the Labour government unveils its Employment Rights Bill, the party has denied claims that the proposed reforms could jeopardise jobs.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds described the bill as a landmark initiative and the “biggest upgrade in employment rights for a generation”.
However, unions have criticised the proposed legislation claiming it fails to fully protect workers, with Unite boss Sharon Graham claiming the reform would leave “more holes than Swiss cheese” for employers to exploit.
Tory civil war erupts again less than two hours after MPs pivot to the hard right
Tory MPs pivot to the right as centrist James Cleverly knocked out of leadership race
Rachel Reeves told she needs £25bn in tax rises to avoid austerity
Starmer warned EU reset plan to ‘make Brexit work’ not enough to save economy
Chicken manure has turned river into ‘sewage dump’, Parliament told
A British waterway has been turned into a sewage dump by “chicken shit”, Parliament has been told.
The stark assessment of pollution in the River Wye and its main cause was highlighted at Westminster by long-time resident Lord Lipsey. The Labour peer said he had lived with his wife in the Wye Valley in Wales for nearly 30 years and went wild swimming in the river, but told how it was a “deteriorating experience”.
The Wye, which runs for 130 miles from central Wales to the Severn Estuary in south-west England, was downgraded by Natural England to “unfavourable” for wildlife in 2023 after years of exposure to agricultural pollution and phosphates.
Lord Lipsey raised his concerns as peers debated reforms aimed at cracking down on the discharge of sewage into Britain’s rivers and coastal waters.
He said: “Why has this happened? There are various causes, but overwhelmingly the most important is – I use the word, whatever the risk of offending – chicken shit.
“Something like 80% of the pollution in the Wye is caused by chicken shit that is not moved off the farms, lies on the fields and is driven by water into the stream, where it does untold harm.”
Watch: Starmer says Falklands are British and will remain British
Landlords selling up could force renters into temporary accommodation, MP warns
Unfit homes could be “the least of the problems” if landlords sell up, a Conservative MP has warned during a Renters’ Rights Bill debate.
Rebecca Smith told MPs she had heard from a constituent with 89 properties who planned to sell his homes, which she feared could land renters in the temporary accommodation system.
The Government-backed Bill proposes an end to no-fault evictions and a ban on bidding wars, along with new requirements for landlords to address hazards such as damp and mould.
Ms Smith, the MP for South West Devon, told the Commons on Wednesday: “The fact that the homes are not necessarily always fit to live in is almost the least of the problems because … if there are are no homes to live in, the people do not have anywhere to be.”
MPs suggest rental reform tweak to offer security for tenants with pets
Rental reforms should be strengthened to remove the risk of pets being forced out midway through a tenancy agreement, MPs have heard.
The Renters’ Rights Bill’s second reading, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told the Commons: “Pets aren’t just animals, but family too and that is why this Bill will also make it easier for tenants to request to have a pet in their home.
“It will also allow landlords to require insurance covering pet damage, so that everyone is covered and no-one is left unfairly out of pocket.”
Ms Rayner said “there is a balance”, joking: “I think there is a reasonableness, as long as it’s not a parrot that speaks all night and has antisocial behaviour, I think everyone will agree that that will be a good thing.”
Labour MP Chris Vince (Harlow), who owns a dog, later told the debate: “I would really emphasise how important a pet is to a family and the emotional bond that they create.
“Being pushed to choose between a roof over your head and your family is not a choice anyone should have to make.”
How will tribunals assess market rate rents? Asks Labour backbencher
A Labour backbencher has urged ministers to say how tribunals set up to assess if rent rises are fair will calculate what the “market rate” is.
Antonia Bance, who previously worked as head of campaigns for housing and homelessness charity Shelter, said she welcomed the Bill and was “proud” to support it, but wanted more information from the Government.
The Bill was getting its second reading in the Commons, with a vote due to take place on Wednesday evening.
The MP for Tipton and Wednesbury said: “I say to renters today, ‘we’ve got your backs, you will be able to stay in your homes, this will be law inside the year. Take heart’.
“If the landlord tries to raise the rent so high as to amount to a de facto eviction, renters will finally have recourse. They can go to a tribunal and stop a rent rise above market rates.
“I will gently say to the minister that it will be good to understand how the tribunal will find out what market rates are, because we all know that looking at Rightmove won’t help. That’s only new lets, not all lets in an area.”
Carla Denyer says councils beed more money to enforce new renting laws
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer has said that councils need to be given money to enforce new measures that will be introduced in the Renters’ Rights Bill.
According to the Bill, which is getting its second reading in parliament on Wednesday, local authorities will be able to fine landlords if they break the proposed laws.
This includes landlords reletting or marketing their property within three months of a no-fault eviction or encouraging a bidding war between tenants for properties that would drive rents up.
Ms Denyer said: “We must properly fund our local councils who are the ones who will enforce these new rights, because councils on the brink of bankruptcy after 14 years of swingeing cuts are obviously going to struggle to deliver this part of the policy.”
Rayner pledges ‘justice and fairness for all’ as part of reforms for renters
Angela Rayner has promised to do everything she can to fix the “scandalous” issue of renters living in unsafe homes and provide “social justice and fairness for all”, as she set out the Government’s plans to improve protections for tenants.
The Deputy Prime Minister said every renter should have a secure home and promised to end no-fault evictions as part of the Renters’ Rights Bill.
The Bill also aims to put tenants in a stronger position to challenge unreasonable rent increases and place restrictions on landlords to ensure they can only raise rent once a year at the market rate.
Opening the second reading debate, Ms Rayner told the Commons: “I hope the entire House will agree that everyone should live in a decent, safe and affordable home. Everyone should, but not everyone can.
“This is why I have put decency at the heart of my plans for housing and taken the steps to ensure that all homes are warm and safe, and nowhere is that more needed than in the private rented sector.”
Focusing on ECHR ‘shuts down conversations’, says Badenoch
Focusing on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) “shuts down the conversation we need to have with the entire country”, Kemi Badenoch has said.
The Tory leadership hopeful told broadcasters: “What I talked about in my conference speech and when I launched my campaign is we need to talk about everything.
“We need to talk about the system, which I think is broken. I think Labour are having problems because they are working with a broken system.”
She added: “It can’t just be about one little part of immigration policy.
“We need to lower immigration, that’s part of the story, but just talking about the ECHR is going to shut down the conversation that we need to have with the entire country.”
Watch: Starmer refuses to rule out national insurance rise twice
Badenoch will lead party in ‘endless rabbit holes’, says Jenrick campaign source
Tory members voting for Kemi Badenoch will risk the party being drawn into “endless rabbit holes” and Twitter spats, a Robert Jenrick campaign source suggested in a broadside at the rival camp.
They said: “He (Mr Jenrick) is the one with the momentum going into the final two, at which point the members will face a choice between voting for a candidate with a serious plan, detailed policies to fix the three biggest issues concerning all categories of voters – Reform, Labour, Lib Dem, Conservative voters – which are the NHS, the economy and migration.
“Or risking being drawn into endless rabbit holes, Twitter spats and distractions.”
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