Featured Newslinks Newslinks November 2025

Newslinks Tuesday 18th the November 2025

November 18, 2025

Badenoch offers Tory support for Mahmood’s asylum plans as Labour rebel MPs brand them cruel and unworkable

“Shabana Mahmood turned on liberal critics of her asylum reforms, telling them she knew how divisive migration was because she had been called a “f—ing P—”. The Home Secretary gave a passionate defence of her plans to reform Britain’s “broken” asylum system in the face of criticism from some 20 Labour MPs, Greens and a Liberal Democrat spokesman who accused her of “stoking division”.Her outburst in the Commons reflects how vicious the debate is set to become as Labour seeks to pass its controversial plans in Parliament. The reforms – billed as the biggest changes in the asylum system since the Second World War – aim to ramp up deportations and reduce the pull factors that have made the UK Europe’s top destination for “asylum shoppers”. They include plans to forcibly deport migrant families whose asylum claims have been rejected if they refuse cash incentives to leave the UK, ending refugees’ automatic right to stay in the UK, and forcing those who remain to wait for permanent settlement for 20 years. Her policies were backed by the Conservatives, with Kemi Badenoch offering Sir Keir Starmer her party’s support if Labour suffers a crippling backbench revolt.” – Daily Telegraph

Kemi Badenoch’s sensational offer to Labour amid revolt fears – Daily Express
Racist abuse that means I know broken asylum system must be fixed: Home Secretary rejects claims from liberal critics her reforms are stoking division – saying she is the one who gets called a ‘f***ing P***’ and told to ‘go back home’ – Daily Mail
The legal roadblocks for Labour’s sweeping asylum overhaul – The i
Shabana Mahmood’s asylum seeker policy reforms: the key points – The Times
Labour reveals asylum plans as minister makes major announcement – Daily Express
The six key changes under Labour’s radical asylum overhaul – The i
Shabana’s fury. Moment raging Home Sec blasts ‘I’m the one who’s called a f***ing p***’ in row over migrants, in Commons – The Sun
Shabana Mahmood threatens Trump-style visa ban on three countries – The Times
‘No safe place to go’: people sent back to France under ‘one in, one out’ deal tell of desperation – Guardian
Now Britain must quit the ECHR – Andrew Tettnborn, Spectator

Editorial

Shabana Mahmood must quit the flawed and outdated European Convention on Human Rights to end migrant crisis – The Sun
Labour must back home secretary on small boats — or be scuppered – The Times

Comment

Can Labour really fix illegal immigration? – Harry Phibbs, CapX
‘Sweary’ Mahmood makes the choice clear: it’s reform or Reform – Patrick Kidd, Daily Telegraph
It’s not racist to put Britons before refugees – Melanie Philips, The Times
Labour needs a way out of the infernal circle of immigration policy – Stephen Bush, FT
Labour must block aid to countries who don’t take back ALL failed migrants – but here’s why they won’t listen – Ross Clark, The Sun
What chance do any of Labour’s asylum reforms have of really working? – Dave Barrett, Daily Mail
Shabana Mahmood will soon find out that talk is cheap. She is already making the same mistakes we did as Tories – Rachel McClean, Daily Mail
Living rent-free. A spectre is haunting the Labour Party – Rob Hutton, The Critic

Today

Meanwhile… immigration and asylum policy piles more pressure on PM to quit or be removed

“Keir Starmer is facing another major challenge to his authority as angry Labour MPs vowed to force changes to new hardline migration measures that would bring an escalation in the deportations of children and families. The policies – which include the possibility of confiscating assets from asylum seekers to contribute to costs – have caused significant divisions inside the party, with some MPs accusing their colleagues of not taking seriously public anger about illegal migration and asylum. The Conservatives have said they could support the government to pass the tough new laws in the event of a major Labour rebellion. The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has outlined a number of radical measures, including how the government will attempt to change the way the European convention on human rights (ECHR) is interpreted by UK judges in an attempt to stop asylum seekers using their rights to a family life to avoid deportation. Policies include consulting on enforcing the removal of families, including children, who have been refused the right to settle in the UK and have refused payments encouraging them to leave.” – Guardian

Rebels decry home secretary’s ‘repugnant’ plan to deport migrant families – The Times
Mutiny in the Labour ranks over Home Secretary’s ‘cruel’ new migrant rules – Daily Mail
Mahmood’s plan to deport children sparks fresh Labour anger – The i
‘She fancies herself. There’s no turning things around now’: Angela Rayner’s shameless next move revealed by stunned Labour insiders – as they tell brutal truth about manoeuvring to replace Starmer – Daily Mail
Nearly half of Labour voters want Keir Starmer to step down – The Times
‘I’m going nowhere’: Keir Starmer insists he will be PM at next election – despite poll showing nearly half of Labour voters want him out – Daily Mail

And Reform will unveil plan to fill financial black hole by restricting payments to foreigners, here and abroad

“Foreign nationals must “bear the brunt” of plugging the gap in Britain’s finances, Nigel Farage will say, as he announces plans to strip EU citizens of benefits, more than double the cost of the NHS surcharge and cut foreign aid spending by more than 70 per cent. The Reform UK leader will use a press conference in London on Tuesday to warn Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, that it is “outrageous” to expect people to pay for the cost of balancing the books with tax rises. Farage and Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s head of policy, will announce plans for £25 billion of spending cuts that they say would avoid the need for tax rises. Yusuf said: “Labour has a choice. They can either go ahead and raise taxes on British citizens or they can enact our proposals which put British people first and ask foreign nationals to bear the brunt of the black hole, not British citizens. Most British people would consider it outrageous to expect British people to pay higher taxes or see their services cut whilst their money is being spent this way.” – The Times

Farage blasts Reeves’ £25B black hole plan: ‘remove unaffordable luxury’ – Daily Express
Reform would ‘cut benefits for EU nationals and hike NHS immigration surcharge’ – Guardian
Farage unveils his plan to fill £25bn hole in budget – Daily Telegraph
Farage tells Reeves to avoid tax rises for hard-working Britons and fill £25billion Budget black hole by slashing overseas aid, restricting benefits for migrants and deporting foreign criminals – Daily Mail

Meanwhile Reform led, cash strapped, Kent County Council apologies for road markings outside school closed years ago

“A Reform UK-run council has admitted it was an ‘error’ to repaint road markings outside a school which closed nine years ago. Kent County Council (KCC) said it was ‘sorry for any confusion’ after daubing yellow zigzags and ‘School Keep Clear’ warnings outside the former site of Halfway Houses Primary School in Sheerness. The school moved to another location in October 2016 but the council sold the disused school buildings and grounds to Government agency Homes England in March this year. Mike Whiting, an independent councillor for Swale Borough Council, described the road repainting as ‘a farce’ and urged KCC’s departments to ‘talk to each other more’. He wrote on Facebook: ‘What on earth is going on at cash-strapped Kent County Council? Rather than saving money, they have just repainted the yellow ‘School Keep Clear’ lines in Southdown Road, Halfway, almost 10 years after the school closed.How many times are we told there’s not enough money for really important projects, yet they waste money like this, painting irrelevant signs, both sides of the road.’” – Daily Mail

Badenoch warns of a ‘stealth tax bombshell’ and Labour plan to tax holidays

“Kemi Badenoch will warn that Labour are set to hike taxes on working people to “give handouts to people on benefits” in a speech tomorrow. The Tory leader will hit out at Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves over reports that the Chancellor will freeze thresholds for an extra two years after abandoning plans to raise income tax in her upcoming Budget. She will say the freeze is paying for the Prime Minister’s U-turn on welfare cuts and to potentially lift the two-child benefit cap following intense pressure from Labour backbench MPs. Mrs Badenoch will say: “Just a few months ago, Rachel Reeves was saying she couldn’t afford to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Now it looks like becoming her latest U-turn.” – Daily Express

Sneaky Tax Rise. Fury as Reeves ‘hits Brits with stealth tax bombshell to pay for Labour’s failure to cut welfare bill’ – The Sun
Badenoch: Benefits crackdown is Christian thing to do – Daily Telegraph
Now even Commons Speaker mocks Rachel Reeves’ ‘hokey-cokey’ Budget! Lindsay Hoyle raps Chancellor over chaotic U-turn on income tax – after experts attack Treasury ‘circus’ – Daily Mail
Christmas is cancelled as shoppers cut back on festive supermarket baskets – The i
Backlash at the bed tax: Rachel Reeves plans to bring in an overnight tax on top of your hotel or Airbnb bed for the night – costing Brits up to £500million – Daily Mail
Fury as Rachel Reeves plots to slam Brits with £518m UK ‘holiday tax’ – Daily Express

Editorial

Reeves’ desperation for cash means she’s now prepared to slap a tax on even the most minor of pleasures – The Sun

GPs threaten to shut surgeries for a day as NHS strikes spiral into full-scale revolt

“GPs are threatening to join NHS strikes as hospital doctors’ five-day walkout comes to an end at 7am tomorrow. They could close surgeries for a day in protest at their working contract. A poll of 431 docs and practice managers, by trade magazine Pulse, found 34 per cent would be willing to down tools for a day. GPs have so far not taken part in NHS strikes because they are typically self-run businesses that would bleed cash if they closed. They are angry about changes to their responsibilities, including mandatory online messaging from 8am to 6:30pm. Docs say patients are overloading the system and either reporting “trivial” issues that don’t need a doctor, or logging life-threatening problems online instead of going to A&E.” – The Sun