Newslinks for Tuesday the 29th of April 2025

April 29, 2025

Tories accuse Labour of being ‘soft on unions’ as summer of strikes looms

“Teachers, nurses and council workers issued strike warnings last night after Rachel Reeves ruled out extra cash for public sector pay rises. The Chancellor put the Government on a collision course with unions by warning that any inflation-busting rises would have to be funded by cuts to services. The clash could put Britain on track for a summer of discontent, despite Labour’s pledge to usher in a new era of industrial harmony. As the Tories accused Labour of being ‘soft’ with its union paymasters, independent pay review bodies look set to blow a £3 billion hole in Ms Reeves’ spending plans by recommending above-inflation pay rises for millions of public sector workers. Downing Street yesterday said there would ‘be no additional funding for pay if recommended awards exceed what departments can afford’. Leading unions warned they were ready to consider strike action unless awards were set at a level that will tackle the rising cost of living – and were fully funded by the Government” – Daily Mail

No extra money for NHS and teachers’ pay rise, says No 10 – The Times
Bin strikes threaten to spread as summer of walkouts loom for Labour – The i
Strike Standoff. Strike fears grow as Starmer rules out extra funding for higher wages for teachers and NHS workers – The Sun
Rachel Reeves’s £100 billion plan ‘not enough to revive public services’ – The Times
Reeves warned to stop ‘restricting’ UK economy by biggest banks – Daily Express
Two years of slow UK growth means ‘increased chances’ of tax rises – City AM

Comment

I was a Labour minister – here’s why greedy trade unions could bankrupt the country and Starmer is powerless to make them see sense. – Tom Harris Daily Mail

>Yesterday

Starmer and Reeves made a pious display of paying the union danegeld. Guess who’s back for more?

Shadow Home Secretary points to human rights loophole in Labour’s pre-election migrant plan

“The Home Office will bar migrants put on the sex offenders’ register after committing an offence in the UK from being granted refugee status. It follows the scandal of Clapham chemical attacker Abdul Ezedi being granted asylum despite receiving a suspended sentence in 2018 for sexual assault and exposure. But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This is too little, too late from a Labour Government that has scrapped our deterrent and overseen the worst year ever for small boat crossings – with a record 10,000 people crossing this year already. Foreign criminals pose a danger to British citizens and must be removed, but so often this is frustrated by spurious legal claims based on human rights claims, not asylum claims. The Conservatives had already tabled tough, clear reforms to remove all foreign criminals and to disapply the Human Rights Act so activists and lawyers cannot block deportations. But Labour voted against our measures – they are not serious about controlling our borders.” Mr Philp added: “This is a piece of desperate pre-election performance.” – Daily Express

Migrants convicted of sex crimes to be denied asylum – The Times
Tory fury as Labour’s asylum block on foreign sex offenders leaves human rights loophole – Daily Mail
Migration madness as Keir Starmer ‘opens door to extremists and criminals’ – Daily Express
Iranian sex toy smuggler can stay in UK over persecution fears – The Times
Senior aide to Labour’s Wes Streeting avoids jail after he flashed girl, 13, then followed her in terrifying ordeal – The Sun

Comment

Will Labour’s migration crackdown work? James Heale Spectator

>Today

Immigration should not be about what our country can do for you, but what you can do for our country

Conservatives and Labour brace for big Reform wins in this week’s local elections

“The local election campaigns are very much at full tilt now, and Badenoch is still in reputation management mode. Her role is to prepare the ground for some extremely bad news on Thursday night. “I know it is going to be a challenge,” she said. Four years ago, her party achieved almost unprecedented local election success for a governing party, and those huge gains cannot possibly be maintained. Things have changed now. Back then, they were soaring in the polls. They had the vaccine bounce. They had Boris Johnson. Keir Starmer has also noticed that Reform are doing rather well. So well that the risk on Friday morning is that the nation wakes up and decides that Reform has, in effect, replaced the Conservatives as the official opposition, at least in the eyes of the public.” – The Times

‘Coward’ Starmer shuns Runcorn ahead of by-election – Daily Telegraph
Keir Starmer warns of tough local elections as Reform targets Labour – The Times
Farage open to Tory pacts but promises ‘tough terms’ – The i
Reform rides high in race for Lincolnshire’s first mayor – The Times

Comment

Tories must reform themselves – not make a deal with Farage – Oliver Dean CapX

>Today

Why the Badenoch-Jenrick rivalry is without precedent in recent Conservative history

>Yesterday

We need to make a stand in these local elections. Conservatives can’t sit back and watch

Former Bank of England Governor wins Canadian election in surprise defeat for Conservatives

“Mark Carney will remain Canada’s prime minister. CBC called the election for Mr Carney’s Liberal party shortly after the final polls closed at 10pm ET, although it is unclear whether he will be able to form a majority government. It means the 60-year-old will stay in office as Canada’s prime minister, winning a fourth term for the Liberals and inflicting a defeat on Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives. Mr Carney has also been elected as an MP for the first time after defeating challengers in his seat of Nepean, Ontario. Mr Poilievre was upbeat even as he conceded defeat and congratulated “Prime Minister Carney”. He signalled that he has no intention of stepping down despite falling short in an election he was a shoo-in to win at the start of the year. “Some of you might be disappointed that change did not get over the finish line tonight, Change takes time. Most of all, it requires that we never give up.” he said” – Daily Telegraph

Mark Carney’s Liberals win pivotal Canadian election – FT
Mark Carney’s Liberal Party projected to win as Poilievre crashes in poll – Daily Mail
Canada’s liberal party, led by Mark Carney, secures election victory after dramatic reversal of fortune – The Guardian

Spain and Portugal respond to massive power outage, as blame attaches to Net Zero policies

“A reliance on net zero energy left Spain and Portugal vulnerable to the mass blackouts engulfing the region, experts said on Monday night. In what is believed to be Europe’s largest power cut, tens of millions of people were left without electricity, while flights were grounded, trains halted and whole cities were left without power, internet access or other vital services. The cause of the initial fault in the region’s electricity grid is still being investigated, and the EU has insisted that there were no indications that it was a cyberattack. Energy experts have blamed a heavy reliance on solar and wind farms in Spain for leaving the region’s power grid vulnerable to such a crisis.” – Daily Telegraph

Is Net Zero to blame for Spain blackout chaos? Why green power may have exacerbated anarchy as 30,000 officers are deployed to the streets and panic-buying empties shelves amid state of emergency – Daily Mail
Power begins to return to Spain and Portugal after unprecedented blackout – Guardian
Spain declares state of emergency in the wake of huge power outage – FT
Blackout Chaos- Spain declares national emergency as massive power blackout also strikes Portugal & panic buyers strip shelves bare – The Sun
State of emergency declared in blackout-stricken Spain as 30,000 police are deployed to keep order, panic-buying and gridlock overwhelms cities and flights cancelled – as authorities admit the chaos could last for days – Daily Mail

Europe fears Trump preparing to walk away from Ukraine talks

“European and Ukrainian officials fear Donald Trump is on the brink of walking away from peace negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow, potentially using minor progress in talks as an “excuse” to say his job is done, according to people briefed on the discussions. The US president was elected on a promise to end the war in “24 hours”, but his overtures to Russia’s Vladimir Putin and attempts to strong-arm the Ukrainian leadership have failed to win backing for his initial proposal of a 30-day ceasefire, let alone a lasting truce. Following talks with the US side in recent days, European and Ukrainian officials are convinced Trump is ready to seize any kind of breakthrough this week, which marks his first 100 days in office — even if it falls short of a long-term solution” – FT

Russia rejects Trump’s proposed peace deal – Daily Telegraph
Furious Trump demands full ceasefire from Putin, US says after scheming Vlad tries to appease Don with temporary truce – The Sun
Zelenskyy calls Putin’s offer of brief ceasefire ‘manipulation’ – Guardian

Comment

It’s not too late for Britain to act and lead Europe in defending Ukraine – David Blair Daily Telegraph
Is the global Right giving up on Trump? His supporters are getting harder to find – Mary Harrington CapX

And… ‘you name it they’ll tax it’. Rachel Reeves wants to tax Milkshakes

“Rachel Reeves is preparing to tax milkshakes in an attempt to reduce obesity levels. The Chancellor has drawn up plans to impose a sugar tax on milk and yoghurt-based beverages for the first time, after concluding that they are damaging public health. The levy will drive prices up by as much as 24p a litre, with officials expecting 93 per cent of drinks on the market to be affected unless they change their recipes. Ms Reeves also intends to make an existing tax on fizzy drinks more onerous. This would force the makers of drinks such as Irn-Bru and Ribena to cut sugar content or face having to pay the tax.” – Daily Telegraph

Rachel Reeves slaps ‘milkshake tax’ on millions of Brits – what it means for your takeaway – Daily Express
Why your milkshake is about to get more expensive – The i

News in brief