8:00AM
Sir John Major: Rwanda scheme was ‘un-Conservative and un-British’ The Rwanda plan was “un-Conservative and un-British”, former Tory prime minister Sir John Major has said.
The previous government’s scheme to deter migrants from crossing the Channel in small boats, immediately abandoned by Labour, was criticised by the former party leader as “odious”.
He told the BBC: “I thought it was un-Conservative, un-British, if one dare say in a secular society, un-Christian, and unconscionable and I thought that this is really not the way to treat people.”
James Cleverly has said that he would bring back the Rwanda scheme if he were to win the Tory leadership election and become prime minister.
Sir John, who served as prime minister from 1990 to 1997, urged his party to appeal to the centre-right, “where our natural support really lies”.
He added: “We lost five [seats] to Reform UK and people are jumping up and down, and some, rather reckless people are saying, well we must merge with them. Well, that will be fatal.”
7:53AM
Lady Starmer accepted free Taylor Swift tickets worth hundreds of pounds Lady Starmer accepted two free tickets worth hundreds of pounds each to see Taylor Swift this summer, Daniel Martin and Mark Ludlow report.
It had been known that she attended one of the singer’s concerts at Wembley Stadium with the Prime Minister on June 21.
However, it has now been revealed that she attended another of the star’s gigs at the same venue on Aug 15, this time without Sir Keir.
Read more on this story here
7:49AM
Badenoch: Reform voters are ‘our people’ Tory leadership contender Kemi Badenoch has said that Reform voters are “our people” as she continues her campaign to lead the Conservative Party.
One of the frontrunners in the race said that one of the “mistakes” that the Tories made in the general election was alienating those who went to Reform.
She told GB News: “One of the mistakes we made was making Reform voters think that they were not our people. They are our people. Many of the people who voted reform were lifelong Tory voters.”
She added that she believed that removing the whip from Lee Anderson, the Ashfield MP who was suspended from the Tory Party after refusing to apologise for remarks he made about Sadiq Khan, was an error.
“I think one of the moments that really created that impression was when we removed the whip from Lee Anderson. I think that was a mistake.”
Mrs Badenoch added: “I told the chief whip, do not do this. This is a bad, bad decision. That was a huge mistake. And that lit the torch paper basically are saying we don’t want these kind of people to get them out.”
7:39AM
Starmer under pressure not to cut overseas aid budget as it would ‘withdraw vital services from millions’ Charity heads have written to Sir Keir Starmer urging him not to cut aid spending in the upcoming Budget, as NGOs warn it will fall to its lowest level until 2007 unless the Government takes action.
Just 0.36 per cent of gross national income in 2024 will be dedicated to providing overseas aid, mainly as a result of large amounts of money in that budget being diverted to housing asylum seekers in the UK.
NGOs including Oxfam UK said in a statement: “If these plans are not urgently revised, the prime minister and his government will be withdrawing vital services and humanitarian support from millions of marginalised people globally and turning up empty-handed to global forums over the coming months.”
The Guardian reported that charity heads have written to Sir Keir Starmer, amid fears he will not renew the £2.5 billion cash injection the Tories put into the aid Budget over the last two years to cover refugee costs.
7:38AM
Starmer has ‘enormous integrity’ insists Pat McFadden amid donations row Sir Keir is a man of “enormous integrity”, Pat McFadden has insisted amid the row over the Prime Minister and his wife accepting thousands of pounds’ worth of freebies.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster defended Sir Keir after he originally failed to declare donations to his wife from Lord Alli.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mr McFadden said: “This is not somebody who thinks that somehow the rules don’t apply to them, or there’s one rule for him and another one for others, like predecessors that have occupied his post.
“He is a person of enormous integrity, and that will be reflected in the way that he operates.”
The Cabinet minister pointed to the fact that Sir Keir did approach the parliamentary authorities last week following advice, and added: “He will, and does, conduct himself with integrity.
“If you take the story that’s been going around in the last few days, it’s because of taking advice and trying to make sure you abide by the rules. And he’ll want to do that every time.”
7:34AM
Good morning Good morning and welcome to the politics liveblog, bringing you the latest politics news throughout the day.