Tag: Starmer

Last Chance Saloon? Starmer turns to old guard following election disaster

STARMER RECRUITS BROWN AND HARMAN AS CALLS FOR RESIGNATION GROW

Keir Starmer has appointed two old (‘New’?) Labour figures following disastrous election results on Thirsday. The latest in a long line of ‘resets’ will see Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman taking on roles in government.

Keir Starmer appointed Gordon Brown as the Prime Minister’s Special Reviewer on Global Finance and Cooperation yesterday. The former Prime Minister will advise on how global finance cooperation can build a stronger Britain, boosting the country’s security and resilience.

His appointment comes as the UK prepares to hold the Presidency of the G20 next year.

He will be tasked with developing new international finance partnerships that can support defence and security-related investment, including measures that underpin the UK’s relationship with Europe.

As part of the role he will engage with international leaders and finance institutions as well as private finance partners to establish multilateral finance mechanisms.

Gordon Brown was Britain’s longest-serving modern Chancellor of the Exchequer.

As Prime Minister, he worked with international counterparts as they responded to the worldwide financial crisis.

In April 2009, he hosted the G20 Summit in London where world leaders pledged to make an additional $1.1 trillion available to help the world economy through the crisis and restore credit, growth and jobs.

Gordon Brown will report directly to the to the Prime Minister. This is an unpaid part-time role.

Keir Starmer also appointed Harriet Harman as the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Women and Girls.

Baroness Harman will advise the PM on how to galvanise Government to deliver for women and girls.

She will work with ministers across Government to drive an impactful agenda focusing on tackling violence against women and girls, unlocking economic opportunity, and improving representation.

The role will see her draw on work with women across Parliament to identify action needed to tackle misogyny and deliver greater opportunity for women in parliamentary and public life.

As part of the appointment, she will also work with the Cabinet Secretary to drive a shift in culture across the Civil Service and Ministerial offices, enhancing opportunity for women and enhancing government delivery for women.

Throughout her career, Baroness Harman has been a vocal advocate for women and girls, including on issues such as women’s political representation, maternity rights, and tackling violence against women and girls.

In her previous role as Solicitor General, Harriet led a successful drive within government to make tackling domestic violence a priority.

The campaign led to the introduction of a new law – the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act – to ensure more effective prosecutions for domestic violence and a new network of 60 specialist domestic violence courts.

Her appointment underlines the Government’s commitment to empowering women and girls.

For the first time, this government has declared the scale of violence and abuse suffered by women and girls in this country is a national emergency.

The landmark Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy sets out how we will achieve our pledge to halve these vile crimes in a decade – stopping violence before it starts, relentlessly pursuing perpetrators and better supporting victims and survivors.

Baroness Harman will report directly to the to the Prime Minister. This is an unpaid part-time role.

The appointments come after a dreadful set of election results across the country on Thursday, brought about by increasing criticism of the Prime Minister’s decision-making.

The appointments smack of desperation as Starmer tries to shore up his position – incredible given the scale of his majority just two years ago.

Some (doubtless unwanted) words of advice from another Labour Party leader:

Growing anger within the Labour movement has now seen one backbench MP threaten to challenge Starmer’s leadership if no-one in the cabinet is willing to do so.

Catherine West has given her colleagues until tomorrow (Monday) to put up or shut up. Doubtless some telephones will be red hot over this weekend.

Following a poor Holyrood result that saw Labour sharing a distant second place with Reform, there’s a call for change at the top of Scottish Labour, too.

Campaign for Socialsim said: “Anas Sarwar and Jackie Baillie have failed to convince working class voters that we are on their side.

“They must now resign with grace and pass on the torch to those who can.”

UK and France agree ‘major deal’ to crack down on illegal Channel crossings

The Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to take forward a groundbreaking partnership to address illegal Channel crossings and dismantle the people smuggling networks.

A new pilot scheme will see small boat arrivals being returned to France then an equal number of migrants will be able to come to the UK from France through a new legal route – fully documented and subject to strict security checks.

The pilot agreement is intended to prevent illegal migrant journeys across Europe to the UK and prevent dangerous small boat crossings, helping to undermine the business model of organised gangs profiting from people’s misery by showing others these journeys could result in them being returned back to France – ultimately saving lives.

Both countries are working to implement the pilot in the coming weeks, and, once in force, migrants who cross the Channel by small boat can be detained and removed.

The Prime Minister has made it a priority to reset relationships across Europe and the government is now unlocking, for the first time, the levels of co-operation needed to deliver new and bold approaches to tackle organised immigration crime.

The French government are working to implement new ways of cracking down on small boats, including a review of their maritime tactics so their operational teams can intervene on the water, ensuring taxi boats that pickup migrants waiting in the water can be stopped.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “This ground-breaking deal is a crucial further step in turning the tide on illegal small boat crossings and restoring order to our immigration system.

“For the first time illegal migrants will be sent back to France – targeting the heart of these gangs’ business model and sending a clear message that these life-threatening journeys are pointless.

“By resetting our relationships across Europe we’ve made levels of co-operation possible never seen before. This is about grip not gimmicks, and what serious government looks like – taking down these criminal enterprises piece by piece as we secure our borders through my Plan for Change.”

The Home Secretary hosted her French counterpart, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, in Downing Street yesterday. The ministers discussed the work being done both internationally and domestically to prevent illegal migration, including issues like clamping down on illegal working and increasing removals of those with no right to be here.

Since the government came into power, Immigration Enforcement have increased illegal working activity by 51%, with 10,031 visits leading to 7,130 arrests, and will soon undertake a major nationwide blitz targeting illegal working hotspots, focusing on the gig economy and migrants working as delivery riders.

The UK will go further by changing the law to support a clampdown on illegal working in the gig economy. New biometric kits will be rolled out for Immigration Enforcement teams so they can do on-the-spot checks.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Dangerous small boats in our Channel undermine our border security and put lives at risk.

“That is why we are so determined to work with France to go after the criminal smuggler gangs, to undermine their business model, to begin returns and to prevent boat crossings.

“This new pilot agreement with France is extremely important and allows us for the first time to return people who have paid to travel here illegally, and will sit alongside our wider joint enforcement action, including disrupting supply chains to seize boats and engines, shutting down social media accounts, and targeting finances.

“Since last summer, we have returned over 30,000 people with no right to be in the UK and a major surge in immigration enforcement activity, with a 51% increase in the number of illegal working arrests.

“We are building the foundations of a new and stronger approach to protecting our border security.”

Under the new UK-France pilot, any asylum claim submitted by a migrant who has crossed the Channel will be considered for inadmissibility and, if declared inadmissible, the Home Office will organise readmission of the individual to France.

For those coming to the UK legally, an individual in France will submit an Expression of Interest application to the new route and the Home Office will make a decision once they have undergone biometric checks. Anyone who had arrived by small boat and returned to France will not be eligible for the legal route to the UK.

The innovative approach will be tested first before being gradually ‘ramped up’.