Newslinks for Thursday 8th of May 2025

May 8, 2025

Trade 1) “Utter rubbish” – Badenoch denies Indian claims over trade and tax deal

“Kemi Badenoch has angrily denounced Indian claims that she agreed to a tax waiver for Indian workers forming part of a UK trade deal when she was a minister, only to attack it now she is in opposition. The Tory leader lashed out at claims of hypocrisy levelled at her by officials in Delhi, with whom she led trade talks until the Labour landslide last July. Mrs Badenoch has led criticism of a reciprocal agreement in the Labour-secured deal allowing Indian workers seconded to the UK to avoid national insurance contributions for three years. Badenoch said: ‘This is total and utter rubbish. I never agreed to any such tax deal. ‘The evidence couldn’t be clearer — I refused to sign the deal. As I have always said – No Deal is Better Than a Bad Deal.’” – Daily Mail

Indian trade deal ‘will cost Britain £200m a year in lost taxes’ – The Times
India trade deal overshadowed by tax row, days after Reform’s election gains – The i
Starmer claims India trade deal happened because he cut winter fuel payments – Daily Express
Has UK-India trade deal ‘sold out British workers’ as Farage and Badenoch claim? – The Guardian
Polish workers in the UK earn more than Britons – The Times

Comment

Labour’s India trade deal is a flagrant betrayal of the real meaning of Brexit – Suella Braverman, Daily Telegraph
Why is Keir Starmer giving tax breaks to Indian workers? – Henry Hill, Unherd
Ignore the doubters: more trade with India is win-win – Harry Phibbs, CapX
Two-Tier Keir is making Labour’s annihilation more certain by the day – Michael Deacon, Daily Telegraph
Tripling down on rape gangs and inviting even more Indians over to take our jobs. The British people are sick of Keir Starmer – and his response is to stick two fingers up at them – Dan Hodges Daily Mail

Trade 2) Trump hints at announcement on a US-UK trade deal coming today

“Britain and the United States are expected to announce a trade deal, the first by the White House since President Trump imposed global tariffs earlier this year. Donald Trump said he was preparing to announce a “major trade deal” in a social media post on Wednesday night. He is due to hold a press conference in the Oval Office on Thursday at 10am, or 3pm in the UK. The president added that it would be “a major trade deal with representatives of a big, and highly respected, country,” promising that it would be the “first of many”. The details were still being finalised last night, and it was not clear if a final agreement has been reached or whether there will first be a framework deal followed by further negotiations. The UK government has sought relief for the car industry, the food and drink sectors as well as pharmaceuticals and steel.It is believed that the White House has demanded lowering UK tariffs on American cars and agricultural products, as well as removing taxes on US tech firms.” – The Times

Antibiotic pig ‘betrayal’ warning over US-UK trade deal – The i

Comment

Is the US-UK trade deal a coup for Starmer — or Trump? – Freddy Gray, Spectator

Immigration 1) Cost of housing asylum seekers has trebled and is now £4Million a day

“The cost of asylum accommodation will be three times higher than previously estimated due to the soaring numbers of migrants arriving on small boats. The National Audit Office (NAO) said that the cost of the ten-year contract with the three private providers responsible for housing asylum seekers would cost an estimated £15.3 billion. The Home Office originally estimated that the cost of the contracts would total £4.5 billion from 2019 to 2029. Small boat crossings and the use of hotels to accommodate migrants have driven the cost increases. The NAO said that although only about 35 per cent of migrants were living in hotels, they made up three quarters of the overall cost of asylum accommodation — £1.3 billion of an estimated £1.7 billion in 2024-25.” – The Times

Revealed: The true cost of asylum hotels – Daily Telegraph
True cost of asylum seekers in UK exposed – and it’s complete outrage – Daily Express
High Price. £4m a day of taxpayers’ money a day splurged on housing asylum seekers in hotels – The Sun
The staggering cost of Britain’s asylum problem revealed: Taxpayer pays £4million a day on migrant hotels and accommodation – more than triple original estimate, shock report shows – Daily Mail

Editorial

Exploitation of human rights laws by criminals and activist lawyers has gone on for too long – The Sun

Immigration 2) All migrants will have to be fluent in English to stay in UK

“All migrants will have to learn a higher standard of English under Sir Keir Starmer’s immigration reforms as part of tougher plans to ensure that they integrate into society. An immigration white paper to be published early next week will require people applying for a UK work visa to show a high standard of English. The current standard, equivalent to English as a foreign language GCSE, is seen as too basic to allow integration. The standard is expected to be raised to almost the equivalent of a foreign language A-level, known as B2 on the Home Office website. According to the Home Office, this requires people to express themselves “fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions” and to speak English “flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes” – The Times

Migrants may face 10-year wait unless they pass tougher English tests – Daily Telegraph
UK set to limit permanent residency for some migrants – FT
Romanian gang members hired car for £95,000 shoplifting spree – The Times

Former Chancellor warns Tories that the risk of political extinction is real

“Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said the Conservatives cannot rule out becoming extinct because of a “massive earthquake” in politics that is seeing the fracturing of the old two-party system. Senior Conservatives are increasingly alarmed about polls that show support for the party plummeting, while Reform UK is soaring. Those supportive of the leadership have urged colleagues not to panic and to give Kemi Badenoch more time to turn things around. Former Tory leader William Hague said this week that Badenoch should not give in to those urging a pact with Nigel Farage’s Reform, joining former cabinet ministers Andrew Mitchell and John Glen in urging colleagues to keep cool about the party’s predicament. However, others believe there might not be much of a party left to save if Reform continues on its current trajectory. Some Conservative party sources said there appeared to be “very little dynamism” within CCHQ about trying to turn the party’s electoral fortunes around.” – The Guardian

Tories slump to 17 per cent in poll – Spectator

Comment

Reform surge has reshaped the political landscape – Brandon Lewis CityAM

>Today

Labour facing criticism for appointment of donor to football watchdog role and ‘no U-turns’ after election pain

“Conservatives have condemned Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s decision to appoint a “Labour crony” as England’s first football regulator after it emerged the new watchdog donated money to her and to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Former BBC executive David Kogan revealed he contributed “very small sums of money” to the leadership campaigns of both politicians, when they were battling to replace former leader Jeremy Corbyn in 2020. He has now been named the Government’s preferred candidate for a £130,000-a-year role as chair of the Independent Football Regulator, set up to ensure English football clubs have sound finances and consult fans. Shadow sports minister Louie French demanded a new candidate be found for the role. The Tory MP said: “A Labour crony cannot lead an ‘independent’ football regulator.” – Daily Express

Own Goal. Calls for probe into man set to lead new football regulator over donations to Labour figures – The Sun
Winter fuel cut U-turn won’t repair damage, Labour insiders warn – The i

Iranian terror suspects may have targeted Israeli embassy in London

“The Israeli embassy in London was the target of a terror plot by Iranian nationals who were arrested by British counterterrorism police on Saturday. Five Iranians were detained in co-ordinated arrests across England on Saturday, while three other Iranians were detained in a separate operation. Until now UK authorities had not indicated what the suspects were targeting, although the Metropolitan Police on Sunday said the investigation related to “a suspected plot to target specific premises”. But people familiar with the investigation said on Wednesday that the five Iranians arrested in west London, Swindon, Rochdale, Stockport and Manchester were suspected of being part of a cell that was in the final stages of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Kensington, west London. They indicated that the suspects may have been hours away from executing their plans when police intervened.” – FT

Israeli embassy next to Kensington Palace in west London ‘was target of Iranian terror plot that posed immediate risk to life’ before anti-terror police ‘foiled plans with just hours to spare’ – Daily Mail
Iranians arrested in counter-terrorism raids allegedly targeted Israeli embassy – Guardian
Terror Raid. Iranian terror suspects ‘plotted Israeli embassy atrocity in London’ before armed cops & SAS swooped hours before attack – The Sun