Instead, seven years after the UK voted to leave the EU, net migration has hit a record high of 606,000 in the year to December 2022, while illegal migration has quadrupled from just over 13,000 in 2018 to more than 52,000 last year. David Cameron and Theresa May promised to cut net migration to the "tens-of-thousands", while Boris Johnson promised in 2019 to reduce the net migration from the-then 226,000 a year. He wasn't the only one to promise to drive migration down. Read Sam Coates' full analysis of a pivotal week in Westminster:īack in 2016 in the run-up to the EU referendum, and as Leave campaigners pledged to "take back control" of our borders, chief Brexit cheerleader Nigel Farage promised the British people that leaving the European Union would allow the UK to cut net migration to below 50,000, writes Sky News political editor Beth Rigby. There is no easy answer to the latest challenge Britain faces. Instead the prime minister was sitting on the This Morning sofa, briefing the country about his Jilly Cooper reading habit while batting away questions on another political firestorm: record immigration figures. For four of the last five years, this measure was below 1.5%. This lunchtime 10 year gilt yields were around 4.35%, after higher than expected inflation figures led to the second biggest one week rise since the 2008 financial crisis.ĭuring the Truss era, it peaked at 4.54% after the biggest one week rise. The cost of government borrowing - a measure of whether global markets trust Britain to pay its obligations - climbed to within a whisker of the worst levels seen after Liz Truss's mini budget last Autumn. He also announced the launch of a new animal sentience committee, and a consultation on new financial penalties of up to £5,000 for those who commit offences against animals.īut campaigners and Conservative MPs have lashed out at the decision to abandon the bill - which had already suffered long delays since it was first introduced in June 2021.Īs a sullen Conservative party resumed its favourite displacement activities this week - arguing over the entrails of Boris Johnson's political career while taking chunks out of the civil service - few were paying attention to the only graph that matters in British politics, write Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates. Mr Spencer insisted these commitments will be kept by introducing the measures individually before the next general election - expected by the end of 2024. The Conservative 2019 manifesto promised to bring in new laws to protect animal welfare, including tougher sentences for animal cruelty. The government has been accused of an "astonishing betrayal" after scrapping its flagship animal welfare bill over fears it would be forced into a vote on hunting.įarming minister Mark Spencer confirmed the long-awaited legislation - aimed at banning live animal exports and introducing powers to tackle puppy smuggling - will not progress through parliament. He said that he has "never seen" the prime ministerial diaries referred to. "I think that it's ridiculous that elements in my diary should be cherry picked and handed over to the police, to the privileges committee without even anybody having the basic common sense to ask me what these entries referred to." Mr Johnson was speaking to Sky News US correspondent James Matthews, who caught Mr Johnson as he was checking in for a flight at a Washington DC airport.Īsked about the rule-breaking allegations, Mr Johnson said: "This whole thing is a load of nonsense from beginning to end, and we've made that clear in the statements that I have issued. He added: "I can assure you that, and I can assure the public that they're all completely innocent and within the rules." He also said it is "extraordinary" that the Cabinet Office passed these allegations to the Met Police and the privileges committee "without any attempt to establish what these things actually mean with me". Speaking exclusively to Sky News ahead of a flight out from Washington DC, the former prime minister labelled the allegations "a load of nonsense". Boris Johnson has denied fresh allegations that he broke COVID rules by hosting friends at Downing Street and Chequers will restrictions were in place.
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