Nigel Farage said “Brexit has failed” because “useless” Tory politicians have “mismanaged” the UK’s exit from the European Union.
The former leader of the Brexit Party said the country had not “actually benefited from Brexit economically when we could have done”.
It was suggested to Mr Farage during an interview with the BBC that economically the UK would have been better off staying in the bloc.
He replied: “I don’t think that for a moment but what I do think is we haven’t actually benefited from Brexit economically when we could have done.
“What Brexit has proved, I’m afraid, is that our politicians are about as useless as the commissioners in Brussels were. We have mismanaged this totally and if you look at simple things, simple things such as takeovers, such as corporation tax, we are driving business away from our country.
“Arguably, now we are back in control, we are regulating our own businesses even more than they were as EU members. Brexit has failed…”
Mr Farage was interrupted and asked if he intended to make a political comeback. He said: “Well, I wouldn’t rule it out. It is not at the top of my bucket list but frankly we have not delivered on borders, we have not delivered on Brexit. The Tories have let us down very, very badly.”
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11:52 AM
Sunak pulls off biggest tax raid in 44 years as one in five pay higher rate
One in five taxpayers will be paying higher-rate income tax by 2027 as Rishi Sunak’s stealth raid forces millions to hand more of their earnings to the Government.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the Prime Minister and Chancellor’s six-year freeze on income tax thresholds is the Treasury’s single biggest revenue raiser since Geoffrey Howe increased VAT from 8pc to 15pc in 1979.
It will push the number of people paying a tax rate of 40pc or more on their earnings to 7.8 million by 2027-28, according to official estimates. That represents a quadrupling in the share of adults paying the higher rate since the early 1990s.
You can read the full story here.
11:20 AM
Immigration has changed British cities ‘beyond recognition’, says chairman of Tory pressure group
Mass immigration has changed British towns and cities beyond recognition, a senior Conservative MP argued as he called for a drastic fall in the numbers of people arriving, writes Dominic Penna.
Sir John Hayes, who chairs the Tory Common Sense Group, used his speech at the National Conservatism Conference in Westminster to urge his party to follow “the people’s instincts” on major issues.
He said: “[This means] an immigration system driven by not the demands of amoral big business, but in tune with the will of the people, cognisant of the social and cultural pressures that mass immigration brings.
“It means ending the overwhelming population change that has strained our public services and massively changed the character of our towns and cities.”
11:05 AM
Tories have failed to undo Blair’s legacy or act in ‘truly conservative’ way, claims senior MP
The Conservative Party has failed to undo the legacy of Sir Tony Blair’s reforms and act in a “truly conservative” way, one of its backbenchers has argued, writes Dominic Penna.
Sir John Hayes, the chairman of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs, noted voters’ “frustration” and “fury” at the political desires they expressed in 2016 and 2019 only being “partially sated”.
Sir John told the National Conservatism Conference in Westminster today: “Tony Blair may be long gone. But his reforms continue to be regarded as sacrosanct by the liberal establishment, and a legacy of constitutional reform will continue his inexorable process of destroying the fabric of British society.
“The Conservatives have failed to dismantle the destructive machinery of Blair’s failed constitutional reform. This is largely a result of timidity, a failure to do what is truly conservative. Most contemporary conservatives have no idea – no idea – that there is a distinct Tory tradition of constitutional thought.”
Taking aim at a “desiccated, hollowed out, sugar-free conservatism”, Sir John added: “We may be a broad church, but even the most open-minded churchgoer does not want atheists as fellow travellers.”
10:36 AM
Million more migrants heading to Britain before next election, ministers warned
The Home Office has privately predicted a further sharp rise in immigration by the next election, with an influx of another 1.1 million foreign workers and students projected in 2024 unless ministers take action.
The Telegraph can reveal that an official document sent to Downing Street last year warned about the projected spikes in net migration and set out a series of policy options for the Conservatives to meet their 2019 manifesto pledge to bring “overall numbers down”.
You can read the full story here.
10:24 AM
Pictured: Ministers arrive in Downing Street for Cabinet meeting this morning
09:57 AM
Gove accuses Starmer of planning to ‘downgrade the ultimate privilege of British citizenship’
Michael Gove has accused Sir Keir Starmer of planning to “downgrade the ultimate privilege of British citizenship” by giving EU nationals in the UK the right to vote in a general election.
The Labour leader has suggested people who have spent decades living in the UK ought to be able to vote in elections to decide who runs the country.
But Levelling Up Secretary Mr Gove wrote to the Labour leader saying it had been the “settled constitutional position for many decades” that the right to vote in a general election was limited to British, Irish and qualifying Commonwealth citizens.
In his letter to Sir Keir, Mr Gove said: “Why do you think we should extend voting rights to EU nationals (which they never previously had), now we have left the European Union?
“Why do you think it’s right to downgrade the ultimate privilege of British citizenship – the right to vote in a General Election?”
09:52 AM
Nigel Farage: ‘Brexit has failed’ because of ‘useless’ Tory politicians
Nigel Farage said “Brexit has failed” because “useless” Tory politicians have “mismanaged” the UK’s exit from the European Union.
The former leader of the Brexit Party said the country had not “actually benefited from Brexit economically when we could have done”.
It was suggested to Mr Farage during an interview on BBC Newsnight that economically the UK would have been better off staying in the bloc.
He replied: “I don’t think that for a moment but what I do think is we haven’t actually benefited from Brexit economically when we could have done.
“What Brexit has proved, I’m afraid, is that our politicians are about as useless as the commissioners in Brussels were. We have mismanaged this totally and if you look at simple things, simple things such as takeovers, such as corporation tax, we are driving business away from our country.
“Arguably, now we are back in control, we are regulating our own businesses even more than they were as EU members. Brexit has failed…”
Mr Farage was interrupted and asked if he intended to make a political comeback. He said: “Well, I wouldn’t rule it out. It is not at the top of my bucket list but frankly we have not delivered on borders, we have not delivered on Brexit. The Tories have let us down very, very badly.”
09:18 AM
Labour plan to extend vote to EU citizens should be subject to referendum, says ex-Cabinet minister
Any change to who can vote in general elections should be subject to a national referendum, a senior Tory MP has said in response to Labour considering handing the vote to EU citizens and 16 and 17-year-olds.
Labour is looking at the possibility of extending the franchise if it wins power at the next general election although the party has stressed that no final decisions have been made.
Sir Robert Buckland, the Tory former Cabinet minister, said “major constitutional reform” should only be allowed if people have voted directly for it.
He told Sky News: “I think that any major constitutional change, whether it is reform to the electoral system or indeed increasing the franchise quite substantially should be made subject to a referendum by the British people.
“We should be deciding major constitutional reform issues. I don’t think governments of whatever party should be able to just get elected into office and then change the rules.
“They only change the rules, I think, in particular Labour only change the rules, because they think it is going to help them.”
08:49 AM
Ex-Cabinet minister suggests Braverman should not have delivered conference speech
Sir Robert Buckland suggested Suella Braverman should not have delivered her keynote speech at a National Conservatism conference in Westminster yesterday.
A number of anonymous Tory MPs told The Guardian overnight that they believed the Home Secretary’s speech was a pitch to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and that she should be focused on tackling the migrant Channel crossings crisis.
Sir Robert, the former justice secretary, was asked about the speech during an interview on Sky News this morning and he said: “I am saying to the Home Secretary that she has got a big job to do, I know she wants to do it. I think getting on and doing that job is exactly where she needs to be.
“The conference of the Conservative Party, there are two conferences, there is the spring forum which we have just had, and there is the Conservative Party conference in the Autumn. That’s the platform through which we should be projecting our views and values.”
Asked if he was suggesting Ms Braverman should “shut up”, Sir Robert said: “Well, let’s concentrate on the job and we have, as I say, scheduled conferences which can be used by senior members of the Government to project their message.”
08:42 AM
Labour: Unemployment figures ‘yet more evidence’ the Government is a ‘drag on UK economy’
Labour said today’s unemployment figures (see the post below at 08.20) were “yet more evidence” of a Tory “drag on Britain’s economy.
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “Today we see yet more evidence that this Tory Government is a drag on Britain’s economy.
“Family finances are being squeezed to breaking point by a further fall in real wages, fewer people are in employment than before the pandemic and the number of people out of work due to long-term sickness has reached a record high.
“Labour’s ambitious reform plan will open up Jobcentres, support over 50s back into work and provide specialist job support for those with ill health.”
08:23 AM
Chancellor: Unemployment rate ‘remains historically low’
Jeremy Hunt said the UK unemployment rate “remains historically low” but staff shortages and rising prices are still a “worry” for families and businesses as he responded to the figures from the Office for National Statistics (see the post below at 08.20).
The Chancellor said: “It’s encouraging that the unemployment rate remains historically low but difficulty in finding staff and rising prices are a worry for many families and businesses.
“That’s why we must stick to our plan to halve inflation and help families with the cost of living, while delivering our childcare reforms and supporting older people and disabled people who want to work.”
08:20 AM
Unemployment rate rises while job vacancies fall
Britain’s unemployment rate has risen again unexpectedly while vacancies have fallen to the lowest level for 18 months as economic uncertainty weighs on the UK’s jobs market, according to official figures published this morning.
The rate of UK unemployment rose to 3.9 per cent in the three months to March, up from 3.8 per cent in the previous quarter and the highest level since the three months to January 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Most economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged at 3.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of vacancies fell by 55,000 quarter on quarter to 1.08 million in the three months to April, marking the 10th fall in a row.
08:16 AM
Senior Tory MP sets out examples of ‘trivial’ EU laws being scrapped by Government
Sir William Cash’s letter to Rishi Sunak criticising the decision to water down the post-Brexit “bonfire” of EU-era laws (see the post below at 08.07) included examples of the “trivial” regulations which he said the Government is planning to get rid of.
Sir William’s examples, which are likely to further fuel anger among Tory Eurosceptic MPs over the Government’s new approach, included laws which relate to:
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“Temporary exemptions to repealed EU rules on limits to working hours for drivers during the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak”.
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“Quota rules for the import of 8,000 tonnes of wheat bran originating in the ACP States into the French overseas territory of Réunion; •
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“Rules on the allocation of fishing opportunities for the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe”.
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“The setting of fishing opportunities for anchovy in the Bay of Biscay for the 2011/2012 fishing season (it is worth noting that in excess of 150 instances of REUL included in the Schedule relate to fishing).”
08:07 AM
Brexit red tape ‘bonfire’ only includes ‘trivial’ EU laws, senior Tory MP claims
A senior Tory MP has accused Rishi Sunak of only getting rid of “trivial” and “obsolete” EU-era laws after the Government watered-down its post-Brexit “bonfire” of regulations.
Sir William Cash, a leading Conservative Brexiteer and the chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, has written a letter to the Prime Minister criticising the decision to scale back the plans to scrap the laws.
The Government had pledged to complete the axing of 4,000 regulations by the end of the year but under a new approach just 600 laws will now be revoked, sparking a Brexiteer backlash.
Sir William told Mr Sunak that “almost without exception” the 600 laws which are now being targeted for removal relate to “matters that are trivial, obsolete and are not legally and/or politically important”.
He said that therefore the Government’s new plans “cannot be construed as lightening the regulatory burden for businesses or spurring economic growth”.
