Starmer jokes Farage was ‘first through e-gates in France' after skipping Brexit deal debate for holiday abroad
Mr Farage missed a parliamentary debate on a Brexit reset yesterday, where the prime minister presented his new UK-EU deal, with access to e-gates being a crucial part of the agreement.
Speaking to Reform UK MP Lee Anderson in the House of Commons, Sir Keir said it was 'very good' to see him standing in for the Clacton MP.
Sir Keir's joke on e-gates was met with cheers from the Commons, and he followed the jab with the pun: 'Nice work if you can get it.'
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The Independent
15 minutes ago
- The Independent
Swinney calls for legal referendum if SNP secures majority at Holyrood election
First Minister John Swinney has called for a 'legal referendum recognised by all' on Scottish independence if the SNP secures a majority at the Holyrood elections. Writing in a column in the Daily Record, Mr Swinney said that in the 17 years since the 2008 financial crash 'people feel like they are working harder than ever, but not seeing any improvement in their living standards'. He said the UK economy is 'fundamentally failing to deliver for ordinary people' as well as generating insufficient funding for public services. The SNP leader called for the May 2026 Holyrood elections to be 'a springboard for Scotland taking charge of our own destiny'. He said the situation had got worse since the 2014 referendum, and wrote: 'Think what could have been achieved had we not been forced to spend so much time and money trying to mitigate the ongoing damage of Brexit. 'Or the carnage unleashed by Liz Truss's mini-budget. Or the years of austerity, or Westminster cuts like the Winter Fuel Payment. 'We were told we didn't need independence and we just needed a Labour government – but look how that has turned out.' He wrote that 'independence is the catalyst that will deliver a better future for us all' and that 'with Scotland's energy resources in Scotland's hands, we can reduce bills for consumers and cut costs for businesses'. Mr Swinney revealed he hoped to deliver an SNP majority similar to 2011 in a bid to 'secure a legal referendum recognised by all' and had submitted a motion to the SNP conference proposing that 'we work to deliver a majority of SNP MSPs in the Scottish Parliament to secure that referendum'. He pledged to unveil 'radical policies that we know will transform Scotland' in the coming months, and to 'break the logjam and end this frustration that we all feel'. Mr Swinney added: 'We must be ready to follow the path which we know can lead us to an independent state.' Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'John Swinney is like a broken record. In a bid to silence internal critics of his weak leadership, he has thrown diehard nationalists some more red meat on the one issue they all agree on: independence. 'Ordinary Scots are sick and tired of the SNP's obsession with breaking up the UK. 'The public want John Swinney to focus on fixing the damage his government has done in decimating essential services such as schools and the NHS at the same time as making Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK.'
Daily Mirror
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
£200 payment for state pensioners born before 1959 to be made soon
The one-off payment is worth at least £200 and is being paid out to pensioners as part of the Winter Fuel Payment scheme. This cash boost will automatically land in bank accounts later this year Around nine million pensioners are set to receive a payment of at least £200 as part of the Winter Fuel Payment scheme. With the current cost of living affecting many UK households, this financial support has been designed to help older people cover the cost of heating bills during the colder months. If you were born before September 22, 1959, you could be entitled between £100 and £300 to help you pay your heating bills for this winter. This payment is also known as 'Winter Fuel Payment', which is a one-off payment. This cash boost will automatically land in bank accounts later this year, with no need for individuals to claim it. Those eligible will receive the money between the months of November and December, ahead of the winter season and Christmas time. Thanks to changes in eligibility rules, millions more pensioners will benefit from this support this year. This means that many who missed out on the winter allowance in 2024 can anticipate this bonus in the coming year. Labour initially stripped millions of pensioners of this benefit before being compelled to reverse their decision. Now, approximately 75% of seniors, those earning less than £35,000, will retain this cash boost. Those under 80 will receive £200, while those over 80 will be granted £300, reports Birmingham Live. Winter Fuel Payments typically hit bank accounts in November, ensuring everyone has the funds in time for Christmas. Initially, all pensioners will receive the cash. As per the latest reports, around 11.6 million people received a Winter Fuel Payment in 2023-2024, an increase of 214,000 from the previous year, and numbers grow every year. However, it's important to note that HMRC will reclaim it from those whose incomes exceed the threshold of £35,000. Earlier this year, the Government backtracked on its unpopular decision to alter the winter fuel scheme. This follows the government's announcement to cut the Winter Fuel Payment in July 2024, removing the eligibility to millions of pensioners. However, after significant backlash, Prime Minister Keir Starmer committed in May 2025 to easing the cuts, expanding the eligibility to receive the one-off payment. By doing so, millions of pensioners will be able to receive the extra funds to help cover energy costs and household bills during the upcoming season. This is especially important to those with fixed incomes, offering relief and stability in the current cost-of-living situations.
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Councils could house migrants in empty homes, disused tower blocks and student digs as unrest grows over asylum hotels
Asylum seekers could be housed in empty homes, disused tower blocks and former student digs bought by local councils amid a growing backlash at the use of hotels. The Government is proposing pilot schemes where it could pay local authorities to buy or renovate property, which they would lease back to the Home Office to house asylum seekers. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out a target to end the use of hotels by 2029, although it is unclear how this can be achieved when Channel crossings are at record highs. There are currently 700,000 empty homes across England, including 93,600 in London and 35,000 in Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds - according to official figures. Sir Keir Starmer outlined the Government's approach this week, telling a committee of MPs: 'A central focus of what we are doing is what can be built, arranged or taken by councils and repurposed. I am impatient for this change to be driven through. 'We have to take over other accommodation, and we have to drive down the asylum lists. There is no alternative... There is lots of housing in many local authorities that can be used, and we are identifying where it can be used.' Dame Angela Eagle, the border security and asylum minister, told MPs that the ambition was to move away from using private accommodation contractors to a 'more democratically accountable' system in partnership with councils. Around 200 councils are said to have 'expressed interest' in running pilot schemes funded by central government. Migrant hotels are a major focus of public anger, with more protests taking place outside sites across England over the weekend. The recent string of flare-ups began with a demonstration outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after Ethiopian man Hadush Kebatu was charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl just days after he arrived in Britain in a Channel dinghy. Police chiefs have already described the unrest at The Bell as a 'signal flare' for another summer of disorder. Epping Council voted unanimously last week to urge the Government to close the hotel. But Treasury minister James Murray refused to comment yesterday when asked why the Government has not listened to the demands. He told Sky News: 'I'm not going to comment on specific cases, but I do understand people's frustration. 'And whilst, obviously, there can never be any place for criminal violence, there's absolutely a right for people to protest about this.' While using hotels at a cost of about £5.77million is unpopular, moving large groups of asylum seekers into accommodation in local communities often provokes a backlash too. The Home Office sparked fury this week after it emerged they were planning, without consultation with the local council, to relocate 35 asylum seekers to a new development above a High Street shop in Waterlooville, Hampshire. The earmarked development is a newly converted block of 19 flats called Waterloo House. The flats are located above a bric a brac store called The Junk Emporium which was once a Peacocks clothing store and before that, a Tesco. It is owned by Mountley Group whose Director, Hersch Schneck, also owns a migrant hotel in nearby Cosham. A member of staff at the shop, who rent from Mountley Group, told MailOnline how they only found out about the plans over Facebook and revealed the fallout of the row has severely impacted business. She explained: 'Yesterday we probably took around a third less. They [customers] think it's to do with us but it's not, we just rent the shop, they kind of assume we know what is going which we don't. 'We've had lots of phone calls and people coming in asking questions we can't answer. We were always under the impression that the flats above would be sold to commuters and people like that. Portsmouth fan Steve, 58, who has lived in the area his whole life, told MailOnline: 'I've got a 13-year-old granddaughter, when you're about that age, you want to go out up the high street, but I'd be worried now. 'There's no criminal history checks on these people. It's easy to get swept up in that aspect, but it's not just that, I think it will attract trouble for us as well as the migrants. 'With the planned protests, I don't want people to start smashing things up because that plays into the hands of the Home Office and police who say 'see, there we go, right wing'. 'We have genuine concerns but the narrative can change quickly.' Patricia Walding, 87, added: 'These hotels are changing our towns, they are costing us a fortune and robbing the taxpayer while our own people are sleeping on the streets, I think it's disgusting.' Sid Conroy, who used to work for Airbus and now spends his time breeding racing pigeons, fears serious repercussions if the hotel gets given the greenlight. The 68-year-old said: 'I'm dead against it, there could be fights and trouble up here. You're going to have problems here, I can tell you that. 'There are people waiting years on housing waiting lists and it just seems like they get a brand new flat just like that? Why can't they look after us first? 'Our government is making us unhappy because of it. People are left behind, they're thinking more of the people coming in now. You get them coming over here, causing mayhem, causing trouble, all they get is a slap on the wrist and don't do it again. This is how I see it.' Others were more relaxed about the plans, with one lady, a special needs teacher who did not want to be named, claiming that locals were unloading unrelated grievances about their lives onto asylum seekers because they are 'an easy target'. On Friday, the Home Office said asylum seekers face being made homeless if they refuse orders by officials to move out of hotels into alternative accommodation. Around 100 asylum seekers refuse to move accommodation each week, and ministers currently have no powers to force them. Record arrivals for the year is making it harder for officials to find new accomodation Under the Conservatives, the Government threatened to remove housing and support from those who refused to move to the Bibby Stockholm barge, which is no longer in use. Labour's new plan will mirror the Tory rules, but will be applied more widely to other forms of accommodation. The 'firm but fair' policy is part of the Government's drive to end the use of expensive hotels to house asylum seekers. One plan could see empty homes brought back into use to house both asylum seekers and local homeless people, according to the Telegraph. The Home Office said it wanted 'to develop a more sustainable, long-term model of accommodation supply, which may be more locally led, should reduce competition for affordable housing, and help deliver new supply'.
