Newslinks for Tuesday May 6th 2025

Government “rethinking” winter fuel payment cut

“Downing Street is rethinking its controversial winter fuel payment cut amid growing anxiety at the top of government that the policy could wreak serious electoral damage, the Guardian has been told. Keir Starmer’s senior team has been discussing for several weeks how to handle public anger over the policy, which bubbled over in last Thursday’s local elections, when the party lost two-thirds of the council seats it was defending. While a full reversal of the cut is not expected, No 10 sources said they were considering whether to increase the £11,500 threshold over which pensioners are no longer eligible for the allowance.” – The Guardian

Migration 1) Home Office to restrict visa applications

“The Home Office will restrict work and study visa applications from nationalities including Pakistanis, Nigerians and Sri Lankans who are most likely to overstay and claim asylum. Under Labour’s plans to crackdown on abuse of the system, visas will be rejected for individuals who fit the profile of someone who will go on to claim asylum and are from countries with high rates of asylum claims in the UK. Officials will also use bank statements submitted by visa applicants to reject claims that they are destitute and require taxpayer-funded accommodation such as hotels.” – The Times

• Trump could make a deal with Rwanda to use dorms paid for by British taxpayers to house US migrants – Daily Telegraph
• Trump orders Alcatraz prison to be reopened and expanded to house the ‘dregs of society’ – Daily Mail

Migration 2) Braverman: My three-point plan to end the scandal

“Abolish the Graduate Visa route. Since its introduction in 2020, this has become one of the largest drivers of net migration. In the year to June 2023, over 300,000 non-EU foreign students contributed to net migration – up from 120,000 in 2019. The numbers speak for themselves. This route allows graduates to remain in Britain for two years with no requirement to work or continue studying – a de facto extension of campus life, often supplemented by gig economy work. It is not immigration by necessity, but immigration by indulgence.” – Suella Braverman, Daily Telegraph

• Reform: Next step is a blueprint to deport illegal immigrants – The i

Tory MPs to meet “to plot ousting Badenoch”

“Tory MPs will hold meetings this week to discuss how to remove their leader, Kemi Badenoch, as panic grows over the future of the party following Reform’s success in the local elections. Two senior backbenchers have confirmed to The Independent that they are calling meetings with fellow parliamentarians to discuss ousting the Conservative Party leader.” – The Independent

>Today:

Film tariffs to be part of UK-US trade talks

“Film tariffs are set to form part of trade negotiations between the UK and US after Donald Trump threatened to apply a 100% charge against movies made in foreign countries. Trump said in an announcement overnight that he would apply tariffs to foreign-made films to help America’s movie industry, which he said was dying “a very fast death”. In response, the UK government said trade negotiations with Washington were ongoing and it was taking a “calm and steady approach” to talks in a bid to “ease pressure on UK businesses.” – BBC

• Thousands of jobs at risk – The i
• Trump’s tariff circus is back in town – Leader, Daily Telegraph

Conservatives call for investigation into “crony” appointments

“The Conservatives have called for an official investigation into “crony” appointments to Government roles. The party says Labour has failed to declare the political interests of key hires, including the chairman of the new football regulator and a senior figure in Angela Rayner’s department. David Kogan, a media executive, was announced last month as the preferred candidate to lead the new independent football regulator.” – Daily Telegraph

First Minister in Wales to challenge welfare cuts

“The first minister will “call out” UK government welfare cuts in a speech on Tuesday but will stop short of demanding they be scrapped. It comes after the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, introduced changes to personal independence payments (PIP) and cuts to health-related universal credit during the Spring Statement. While Eluned Morgan has refrained from directly criticising the plans since their announcement in March, she is “worried” about their potential impact on Wales.” – BBC

>Today: Jack Welsh on Comment: Millar’s war on the Welsh Tories’ devosceptic base will doom the party here

Israel approves plan to occupy Gaza

“Israel’s security cabinet has approved plans to occupy all of Gaza and stay there for an indeterminate period, breaking a longstanding taboo, even at increased risk to the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, put forward a new operational plan for the devastated strip, which was unanimously approved by the cabinet on Monday morning, according to officials. Over the weekend, Israel called up tens of thousands of reservist soldiers before its implementation.” – The Times

Ukraine drone attacks shut Moscow airports

“Russia says Ukraine has launched an overnight drone attack targeting Moscow for the second night in a row. All four of the capital’s major airports were closed for several hours to ensure safety but later reopened, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said on Telegram.” – BBC

Reform UK 1) Its councils will refuse to fly ‘woke’ flags

“Reform UK councils will only be allowed to fly the Union Flag and the St George’s Cross, the party chairman has said. Zia Yusuf announced on Monday that “no other flags” would be allowed to be displayed in the local authorities under the party’s control. He said that this policy would include “flag-poles, balconies, reception desks or council-chamber walls”. Reform now controls 10 councils in England, including Kent, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Lancashire after sweeping gains in the local elections last week. But the policy has already come under fire from Labour, who have said that it would mean a ban on the display of Ukrainian flags from public buildings.” – Daily Telegraph

• Farage is right. We must roll back DEI nonsense. – Celia Walden, Daily Telegraph
• Like it or not, Reform is telling the right story – Melanie Phillips, The Times

>Today: Peter Bedford on Local goverment: In Leicestershire, the Conservatives will be a constructive opposition – holding Reform UK to account

>Yesterday: Columnist Luke Graham: If the story is ‘the rise of Reform’ then Scottish Conservatives face a question, and just a year to answer it

Reform UK 2) Party is gaining support from trade unionists

“Each summer the area hosts the Durham Miners’ Gala, an annual festival for England’s political left and trade unions. This year the event will be overseen by a local council that has been solidly Labour for most of the last century, but will now be under Reform’s control after the party won more than half its seats. One of the councillors elected was Howard Brown, a local trade union official for the National Education Union, which a few weeks ago declared Reform a “far right” party. Before last summer’s general election that swept Farage into parliament and saw Reform come second in dozens of seats, the Unite union ran an internal poll on how its members might vote. It found “a lot of members voting Reform,” said one senior figure in the group, which is the country’s largest union and Labour’s biggest donor.” – Financial Times

Voters want to prioritise cutting cost of living over Net Zero

“Cutting costs for families should come before expensive Net Zero goals, voters overwhelmingly believe. Sir Keir Starmer is today warned to prioritise fed-up Brits’ finances over the green agenda.The PM’s eco drive — spearheaded by Ed Miliband, is projected to cost around £4billion every year until 2050, with the public saddled with pricey climate edicts. A Merlin Strategy poll of 3,000 people found 59 per cent of Brits agreed that “action to reduce the cost of living has to come first over sustainability and being eco-friendly”. Just 13 per cent of people thought ministers should put environmental aims first. The verdict was returned by supporters of all parties.” – The Sun

• Starmer crisis as polling guru warns Labour support in ‘free fall’ – Daily Express
• First Tony Blair and now David Blunkett: Ex-home secretary becomes the latest Labour grandee to warn against Keir Starmer’s Net Zero push – Daily Mail

Low profile for politicians at VE Day celebrations

“The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, was relegated to Row 2 (with Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch in Row 3), not that there were any complaints from Downing Street. Modern politicians are wise to keep a low profile at these occasions, as ex-PM Rishi Sunak learned to his cost at last summer’s D-Day commemorations where he was vilified for making an early exit.” – Robert Hardman, Daily Mail

• Timothy Spall begins VE Day celebrations with Winston Churchill speech – Independent
• Churchill’s words and Ukraine’s courage lift VE Day parade – Leader, The Times

Other political news

• ‘Taxi tax’ will ruin drivers and high streets, businesses warn – The Times
• Swinney pledges to tackle GP appointment ‘lottery’ – BBC
• Britain has one of most difficult voter registration processes, report finds – The Guardian
• UK ‘green’ buses to run on fuel shipped 3,000 miles from controversial Saudi megacity – The i
• Starmer ignored nuclear watchdog when he blamed regulations for delays – The Guardian
• UK employment tribunal backlog hits record high – Financial Times
• Taxpayers’ money spent on renting constituency offices from Labour – Daily Telegraph
• Porn websites face crackdown on violent and misogynistic content – The Times
• Streeting to defend tax rises as funding extra GP appointments – The Guardian
• Iranian terror suspect ‘has close links to regime’ – Daily Telegraph
• Installing solar panels on all new homes will slow housebuilding, industry warns – Financial Times
• Hospitals that still let trans women use female lavatories are breaking the law, NHS bosses warned – Daily Mail

Deacon: Why Starmer can’t sack Powell

“Sir Keir Starmer knows full well how angry the public is about the grooming gangs scandal. So why didn’t he sack Lucy Powell for the jaw-dropping comments she made on Radio 4? According to the BBC, it’s because “Downing Street accepts Powell’s apology and her explanation that her comments did not reflect her views on the issue”…Now let’s remind ourselves what Sir Keir said in January. When asked by journalists about the highly inconvenient return of the grooming gangs scandal to the public eye, the Prime Minister claimed that his political opponents were “calling for inquiries because they want to jump on a bandwagon of the far Right”. – Michael Deacon, Daily Telegraph

Lawson: It’s Cost of Rent Day

“May 6 is the second anniversary of the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla – a happy day for Brits up and down the country. But, this year, it also marks a less joyous occasion, The Cost of Rent Day. From now on, English renters finally stop paying their landlord and start earning for themselves. This is a shocking state of affairs and a clear sign that something is deeply wrong with our economy. Yet, Britain’s housing market has been broken for so long that these sky-high rents are often treated as a fact of life. But, there is nothing inevitable about a system where renters surrender huge chunks of their income just to keep a roof over their heads. This crisis is the result of political choices. Thanks to the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act, Britain has floundered under an effectively nationalised planning system where new development must pass through layers of red tape.” – James Lawson, Chairman of the Adam Smith Institute, Daily Express

• Councils to lose blocking powers in boost to housebuilding – The Times

Hague: How to save the Tories

“Make education a very big theme. The clearest success of the last Conservative government was the sharp improvement in schools in England, notably absent under other administrations in Scotland and Wales. Build on that. This is also Labour’s weak area — it has been cutting back on science and maths programmes, and reducing the freedoms of successful academies. Show the party is not just for old people, that schools are critical to its aims.” – William Hague, The Times

News in brief

• The ugly truth about Lucy Powell’s grooming gangs comments – Brendan O’Neill, The Spectator
• Powell’s grooming gangs dismissal shames Labour – Mary Harrington, Unherd
• The bloodbath in Labour’s heartlands – Rakib Ehsan, Spiked
• The ‘Kneecap formula’ for arts funding – Joseph Dinnage, CapX
• How to enact a Great Repeal – Amar Johal, The Critic