Failed asylum seekers could be given ‘big increase’ in payments to leave voluntarily, home secretary says – UK politics live

12.55pm GMT Transport secretary Heidi Alexander rules out 'national pay-per-mile' scheme for electric vehicles in budget Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, has said the government will not be introducing “a national pay-per-mile scheme” for the drivers of electric vehicles (EVs). Earlier this month the Daily Telegraph reported that a pay-per-mile scheme for EVs would be introduced in the budget. The paper said the scheme would come in from 2028 and that it would cost the average EV driver £250 a year. At the time the government did not confirm the story. But it did not deny it either, and it issued a statement saying that it wanted a “fairer” scheme that would compensate for the fact that fuel duty, the main tax for drivers, is only paid by people with petrol or diesel cars. Today Alexander ruled out a pay-per-mile scheme for EVs – at least on a national level. During transport questions in the Commons, the Conservative MP Charlie Dewhirst asked Alexander if she agreed that “a pay-per-mile charge for motorists in next week’s budget would disproportionately impact rural constituencies”. Alexander replied: There are no proposals to introduce a national pay-per-mile scheme. This government is firmly on the side of drivers. 12.45pm GMT MoJ to remove right to trial by jury for thousands of cases in controversial overhaul Criminals will be stopped from “gaming the system” by choosing trial by jury in order to increase the chances of proceedings collapsing, Sarah Sackman, the courts minister, had told the Guardian. Jessica Elgot has the story. Related: MoJ to remove right to trial by jury for thousands of cases in controversial overhaul 12.33pm GMT No 10 says 'only Ukrainian people can determine their future' after US and Russia draft capitulation peace plan Downing Street has said that it is up to the Ukrainian people to decide their own future. A No 10 spokesperson made this point in response to reports that the US and Russia have drawn up a peace plan that would involve Ukraine having to cede territory and limit the size of its army. Related: US and Russian officials draft plan to end Ukraine war based on capitulation from Kyiv Asked about the report, a spokesperson said: We share President Trump’s desire to bring this barbaric war to an end. Russia could do this tomorrow by withdrawing its forces and ending its illegal invasion, but instead [Vladimir] Putin continues to send a barrage of missiles and drones into Ukraine, destroying the lives of innocent Ukrainians, including children and the elderly. We welcome all efforts that seek to secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. We have been repeatedly clear that only the Ukrainian people can determine their future. In the meantime, we will continue our support for Ukraine and help ensure that they have the military equipment and resources they need to defend themselves from such continued aggression while sustaining economic pressure on people to bear down on the revenues that are funding the war. Jakub Krupa has more on this story on his Europe live blog. Related: Zelenskyy to meet US army secretary after American and Russian officials draft plan to end war – Europe live 12.04pm GMT Starmer defends government's decision to delay publication of Send review until 2026 In an interview with ITV, Keir Starmer also defended the decision to delay the publication of the government’s review of educational provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilties (Send) in England until next year. He said the government needed to take time to get this right. He said: We do need to attend to Send provision. I think uniformly there’s a sense that the system at the moment isn’t working and needs reform. My strong view is we need to get that reform right and therefore we need to take the time to consult with parents and others. 11.59am GMT Starmer says school breakfast clubs 'a real gamechanger' as 500 more schools set to benefit from programme Keir Starmer and Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, have been visiting a school near Reading to promote the fact that the government is inviting another 500 primary schools in England to apply for funding to open free breakfast clubs. Speaking to the BBC, Starmer said these clubs were “a gamechanger”. These breakfast clubs are a real gamechanger. They’re free and you saw this morning how much the children enjoy them. They’re getting a decent meal, and they’re getting activity, and that sets them up for the day. It gives them a much better chance in terms of learning and for parents it gives them a chance to drop their children off, get to work, if that’s what they’re doing, and saves them a few hundred pounds. When the cost of living is the number one issue across the country, these breakfast clubs are really making a difference. 11.45am GMT Rural people feel ignored by government, environment secretary Emma Reynolds told at CLA conference Helena Horton is a Guardian environment reporter. Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, declared she’s “more of a country girl than a city girl” in a speech to the Country, Land and Business Association’s annual conference. She was there to defend the government’s plans for the rural economy. Unlike her predecessors, she did not taking questions from the press and all the questions she answered on stage from the CLA were submitted to her officials in advance. She said: I used to be the City minister, but I’ve always been more of a country girl than a city girl. I grew up in Staffordshire. My parents live in rural Shropshire, and I live down a country lane in the Chilterns. Reynolds announced a few new policies including making it easier for farmers to build reservoirs on their land, a new rural taskforce with 50 actions to help rural businesses being published in coming months and a rural and wildlife crime strategy coming out later this month. She spoke after a blistering attack on Labour’s rural economic policies from Gavin Lane, the new CLA president. Speaking about the decision to extend inheritance tax to farms, he said: I’m not sure why these taxation changes have been pursued with such vigor, or why there’s been little time for consultation, but the Treasury has decided that private capital accumulation is the problem, without understanding, in my view, that private capital investment is the solution. Lane said that farmers and landowners are not faceless corporations and that the people in the room “live above the shop” and care about their local communities. Lane added: You can’t ask people to pay to plant an orchard they’ll never see grow. Then tell them their kids aren’t allowed to pick the fruit. He told Reynolds that the rural economy was facing higher unemployment a lack of investment and a lack of certainty, and that rural people do not feel listened to by Defra. Reynolds said she was “sorry if that’s the way you feel” and said she “appreciates the engagement” from farmers and landowners. Updated at 12.19pm GMT 11.32am GMT Al Carns, a defence minister, told MPs that the Russian spy ship Yantar, that has been operating in and on the edges of British waters, would not be allowed to go unchallenged. Responding to an urgent question in the Commons, prompted by yesterday’s revelation that the Yantar has shone lasers at RAF pilots, Carns said: We will not let the Yantar go unchallenged as it attempts to survey our infrastructure, and we will work with our allies to ensure that Russia knows that any attempt to disrupt or damage underwater infrastructure will be met with the firmest of responses. James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said this was “a serious escalation by Russian forces in close proximity to our homeland”. In response to a question from Cartlidge, Carns said the proposed defence readiness bill would be law by the end of this parliament. 11.08am GMT Mahmood says No 10 anti-Streeting briefing mishap was 'total car crash' and a 'humiliation' In her Political Thinking interview (see 10.36am), Shabana Mahmood also condemned the No 10 anonymous briefing last week that suggested Keir Starmer was getting ready to fight off a leadership challenge from Wes Streeting as “a total car crash”. Asked about the incident, Mahmood said: It was a total car crash from start to finish. It’s mortifying talking about it still. It was embarrassing for the prime minister because then he’s got to obviously sort it out and he shouldn’t be put in that position and it’s not how he does his politics … I think it put the prime minister in a horribly embarrassing position. But I do think that one of the functions of the humiliation of what happened over those few days, and the madness of it all, is … I just hope that the humiliation means that the individuals responsible - they know who they are – just never ever put in a repeat performance. After the briefing, first reported by the Guardian but quickly followed up by other news organisations, Streeing insisted that he was not plotting against Starmer and Starmer said any hostile briefings were not authorised by him, and did not come from No 10. Mahmood’s comments are probably the strongest on the record from a cabinet minister. Using the word “humiliation” twice was striking, although she made it clear she was not blaming Starmer. 10.36am GMT Mahmood says she is considering 'big' increase in amount paid to refused asylum seekers to get them to leave voluntarily Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, has said that she is considering a “big” increase in the amount the government pays to people refused asylum to encourage them to leave the country voluntarily. The Home Office already gives people relatively small sums in these circumstances, as it did with Hadush Kebatu, the Epping sex offender recently returned to Ethiopia. He got £500 to help persuade him not to legally challenge his removal. Related: Epping sex offender given £500 after threatening to challenge deportation In an interview with the BBC’s Nick Robinson for his Politcal Thinking podcast, Mahmood said she wanted more voluntary returns and that higher payments might help to deliver this. According to the BBC, she said looking after someone refused asylum cost about £30,000 per person. Currently the Home Office give people at most around £3,000 to leave. Mahmood said: I’ve already asked my officials to pilot a small programme where we offer more than what we currently do for a period just to see how that changes behaviour. I haven’t alighted on the full sums involved yet, but I am willing to consider a big increase on what we currently pay. I know it sticks in the craw of many people and they don’t like it, but it is value for money, it does work, and a voluntary return is often the very best way to get people to return to their home country as quickly as possible. 9.59am GMT There are three urgent questions (UQs) in the Commons today, and business questions (questions on next week’s Commons business, not on the work of the business department), before Shabana Mahmood’s statement. Here are the rough timings. 10.30am: A defence minister responds to a UQ on the Russian spy ship Yantar. After 11am: A Foreign Office minister responds to a UQ on the forcible removal of children to Russia. After 11.30am: A justice minister responds to a UQ on separation centres, used to house particularly subversive prisoners. After noon: Alan Campbell, the leader of the Commons, takes questions on next week’s business in the house. After 1pm: Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, makes her statement on “a fairer pathway to settlement”. It is unusual for the speaker to grant so many UQs on a Thursday. Perhaps he has decided to make Mahmood wait because he is still furious over the asylum plans being press released to the media over the weekend before they were announced to MPs. 9.48am GMT Burnham sets out Greater Manchester's 'new model of economic growth' Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is giving a speech in Salford this afternoon where he will set out details of his “good growth” plans, but he has already explained much of it overnight in a news release. Explaining what his “new model of economic growth” is, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (the body Burnham runs) says: Over the past decade, the city region has become the fastest growing part of the UK economy, driven by a high-performing centre unrecognisable from even 15 years ago. Our trailblazing devolution deals and unique partnership approach have fuelled annual growth of 3.1 per cent – more than double the rate of the country as a whole. A recent report from Oxford Economics praised Greater Manchester’s growth journey, calling us a “trailblazer for local devolution.” Analysis shows that, if we can lock in the same kind of growth for the next decade, the Greater Manchester economy will be more than a third bigger than it is today – giving a further £38bn boost to the national finances. Burnham has established a £1bn “GM good growth fund” and he is announcing today how it will be used to fund “nearly 3,000 homes, more than 22,000 jobs, and 2 million square feet of employment space”. Explaining how this differs from other development projects, the GMCA says: A new strategic partnership between GMCA and GMPF [Greater Manchester Pension Fund] – the first of its kind in the country – will prioritise local investment and align the GMPF’s investment to our integrated pipeline. Projects in the integrated pipeline will be able to access patient capital that aims for sustainable growth and long-term impact. We’ll invest in a way that makes the most of every pound, delivering social as well as economic benefits. For example, we’ll procure in a way that strengthens local supply chains, and we’ll work with development partners to create new apprenticeships and T-Level placement opportunities for our young people, while ensuring the jobs our pipeline creates meet the standards set out in our good employment charter. We’ll recycle loans from the GM good growth fund, reinvesting the capital and interest once the monies have been repaid to kickstart other projects. We’ll also plough back into our integrated pipeline the extra revenue generated by our investments. For example, building new homes and employment sites will generate extra council tax and business rate revenue, which we’ll invest in our communities. The GMCA news release also highlights other Burnham policies which it says have helped. Our Greater Manchester baccalaureate is transforming technical education, giving young people a clear line of sight to high quality jobs in our growing economy, and we’re helping residents to live healthier, happier lives and access new employment and training opportunities through our Live Well approach. Underpinning all this is the Bee Network – our safe, green and affordable public transport system, which is seamlessly connecting people and places like never before. Next year eight rail lines will be brought into the network, which already includes bus, rail, tram, and active travel routes. Public control over our transport system means we can make sure new housing and employment districts are connected to existing places and communities. And we can keep fares low and offer free or discounted travel to the groups that most need it, so everyone can access jobs, education and leisure opportunities. 9.22am GMT Burnham says UK would benefit from new approach to growth and politics he's promoting in Manchester In his Today interview Andy Burnham was also asked how he felt about Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, yesterday saying he would be willing to give up his parliamentary seat to allow Burnham to return to the Commons and stand for Labour leader. Burnham replied: I appreciate the support, but I couldn’t have brought forward a plan of the kind I brought forward today [his Manchester “good growth” plan] without being fully focused on my role as mayor of Greater Manchester. And I’m providing leadership on growth, which is what I think the country needs, and is helpful to the government right now. One of the skills you see in first-class politicians is the ability to deliver nuanced messaging – in effect, making different different points to different audiences at the same time. Wes Streeting gave a good example yesterday (also in an interview on the asylum plans), firmly defending what Mahmood is doing (for the benefit of blue Labour types, and floating voters), while also saying he was liberal enough to feel queasy about aspects of them (not something you hear from Mahmood herself, or Keir Starmer). And here Burnham was ostensibly sounding supportive of the government’s growth plans, while also implying his ideas are better than Rachel Reeves’s. As Emma Barnett, the presenter, tried to end the interview to move on to the weather, Burnham ploughed on to say he had developed “a new way of doing politics” and that is what Britain needed. And we’re doing this in advance of the budget, I hope, to really bring to life the growth story for the government. I would just finish by saying this; I think part of the country’s problem is the political culture of Westminster, which is playing out in front of us right now. You go to Manchester, and we’ve built a new economy, and a new way of doing politics, and more of that is what the country needs. This suggests Burnham is still very interested in becoming prime minister one day. 8.51am GMT Andy Burnham urges government to rethink plans to make asylum seekers wait up to 20 years for permanent settlement Good morning. On Monday Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, announced drastic changes to the asylum system. Today, in a statement to MPs, she will announce changes to the legal migration rules – in particular those affecting how long people have to wait until they are given a permanent right to stay in the UK. Mahmood was strongly criticised by the Commons speaker over the amount of pre-briefing there was ahead of Monday’s announcement, and this morning the Home Office has been more tight-lipped. But the Times reports that Mahmood is expected to announce “that migrants would usually be allowed to apply for indefinite leave to remain only after ten years — double the five years at present — and must meet certain conditions such as speaking English to A-level standard, having a clean criminal record and not claiming benefits”. The Monday plans outraged some Labour figures, but the various lists of MPs who had publicly spoken out (like the New Statesman’s) never got much beyond 20 and, from the government’s point of view, internal opposition (so far) remains contained. But this morning Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor and the most popular (with the public) of the various plausible Labour candidates to replace Keir Starmer as PM, weighed in. In an interview on the Today programme, to promote a speech on Manchester’s “good growth” plans he is giving later, Burnham said he thought it was a mistake to tell asylum seekers they would have to wait 20 years until they can get a permanent right to remain in Britain. Burnham was at pains not to sound disloyal. He said he backed the overall intention behind the asylum plans. I agree that Shabana Mahmood is right to grasp this nettle and have root and branch reform of the system. I agree with that. And he said he was pleased she wanted to change the way asylum seekers are housed. However, he also said: But I do have a concern about leaving people without the ability to settle, one of the concerns being that if there’s a need to constantly check up on the status of countries where people have come from, that might limit the ability of the Home Office to deal with the backlog. And it also may leave people in a sense of limbo and unable to integrate. Burnham was referring to the fact that, under Mahmood’s plans, there would be regular reviews of whether it might be safe for asylum seekers to go home, potentially going on for up to 20 years, until settlement became permanent. He also urged the government to find a “consensus” on this. I’m not going to say that the home secretary is wrong to call for this level of change. What I would say is it’s really important, on the back of the measures that she’s announced, that there is a considered debate, time is taken to see if consensus can be built around it. Because that would be hugely valuable to the country if that could be secured. Mahmood is unlikely to regard this intervention as helpful. Here is the agenda for the day. Morning: Keir Starmer and Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, are on a school visit in Berkshire to promote applications opening for another round funding for primary schools in England to open free breakfast clubs. 9am: Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, speaks at the CLA Rural Business conference in London. 9.30am: The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly figures on knife crime. 11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing. Around 11.30am: Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, is expected to make a statement to MPs about legal migration, and changes to rules relating to indefinite leave to remain and citizenship. 3pm: Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, gives a speech. 4pm: The Covid inquiry publishes its report into government decision making during the pandemic. Journalists are getting several hours to read the report before it gets released at 4pm, and so detailed stories about what is in the report will drop at this point. 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