Category Archives: POLITICS

Ken Clarke Warns Rwanda Bill Moves UK Towards An ‘Elected Dictatorship’

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Ken Clarke has blasted Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda bill, warning that overturning a Supreme Court ruling is “very dangerous” amid fears of the UK slipping into an “elected dictatorship”.

The Tory grandee, seen as a leading figure on the liberal wing of the party, has previously backed the deportation policy, arguing no-one had a better solution to the problem caused by small boats.

But the former chancellor now thinks the policy has hit a “brick wall” after being vetoed by the Supreme Court.

In the Lords, Clarke said that the government over-riding the court risked a situation where “you claim that the colour black is the same as the colour white, all dogs are cats”.

He said: “If we pass this bill, we are asserting as a matter of law that Rwanda is a safe country for this purpose, that it is always going to be a safe country for this purpose until the law is changed.

“And the courts may not even consider any evidence brought before them to try to demonstrate that it’s not a safe country.

“This is a very dangerous constitutional provision.

“I hope it will be challenged properly in the court because we have an unwritten constitution, but it gets more and more important that we do make sure that the powers are in this country are controlled by some constitutional limits and are subject to the rule of law.

“Claiming the sovereignty of parliament … you claim that the colour black is the same as the colour white, all dogs are cats, more seriously that someone who’s been acquitted of a criminal charge is guilty of that criminal charge and should be returned to the courts for sentence.

“Where are the limits?

“I always fear as time goes by in my career, echoes of the warnings that (former lord chancellor) Quintin Hailsham used to give us all about the risks of moving towards an elected dictatorship in this country.

“The sovereignty of parliament has its limits, which are the limits of the rule of law, the separation of powers and what ought to be the constitutional limits on any branch of government in a liberal democratic society such as ours.”

Speaking during the bill’s second reading debate in the Lords, the Tory peer said the bill was “a step too far for me”.

He added: “And I don’t think I can possibly support the bill unless it is substantially amended as it goes through this house and we should urge the Commons to revise it.”

It came as the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill cleared its first major hurdle in the House of Lords, after peers voted 206 to 84, majority 122, against a motion designed to block it

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‘We Have This Problem Every Time’: Speaker Lindsay Hoyle Shuts Down Gillian Keegan

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Education secretary Gillian Keegan has been chastised by the Commons speaker for giving lengthy answers that may have been a “ploy” to stop scrutiny from MPs.

Lindsay Hoyle told the education secretary to be “punchy” with her responses as she fielded questions in the house.

As Keegan was discussing exams in the aftermath of the crumbling school buildings crisis, the speaker said: “We’re having this problem every time. If it’s (topical questions), they’re meant to be short and punchy. I’ve got to get these members in and all you’re doing is stopping the members not getting in, and if that’s the ploy, it’s not going to work.”

At the height of the problem last year, Keegan became notorious after she said she had done a “fucking good job” over the scandal.

The minister also claimed that others “have been sat on their arse” while she has been dealing with the crisis.

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Tory MP Says He Quit £120,000 Ministerial Job As Couldn’t Afford Mortgage Hike

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A Conservative MP has revealed he quit his £120,000-a-year ministerial job last year because he could not afford soaring mortgage costs.

George Freeman, who resigned as science minister in November, said his repayments jumped from £800 a month to £2,000.

The MP for Mid Norfolk would have been receiving an annual salary of around £118,300.

As an MP, his salary is £86,584 – but he is free to take up a lucrative second job if free of the ministerial work.

Mortgage rates have spiralled as the Bank of England hike interest rates to curb inflation, while the Liz Truss’s disastrous stint as PM added a premium to mortgage woes.

In a Substack blog post last week, he wrote: “Why did I stand down?

“Because my mortgage rises this month from £800pcm to £2,000, which I simply couldn’t afford to pay on a Ministerial salary.

“That’s political economy 2.0.

“We’re in danger of making politics something only Hedge Fund Donors, young spin doctors and failed trade unionists can afford to do.”

Freeman also told The New Statesman on Monday his finances “are not what they were – at all”, having gone through “a very painful divorce” and with parents “who are both getting elderly”.

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Nikki Haley Explains Why ‘Insecure’ Trump Is His ‘Own Worst Enemy’

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Nikki Haley called Donald Trump his “own worst enemy” while appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

With the Republican presidential primary down to two candidates, Haley has been enduring a majority of Trump’s rage in recent weeks.

But the former South Carolina governor told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that she thinks the former president’s outbursts only prove how he’s unfit for a second term as president.

“I laugh every time I see one of his tweets, every time I see him throw a temper tantrum, because I know Donald Trump very well,” said Haley, who served as his U.N. ambassador for two years.

“When he feels insecure, he starts to rail, he starts to rant, he starts to flail his arms and he starts to get upset.”

“When he feels threatened, he starts to throw all kinds of things out there,” she continued. “I would always tell him he was his own worst enemy. He’s proving that right now.”

Recently, Trump’s attacks on Haley have gotten increasingly racist. He has resorted to mocking Haley by her given name, Nimarata, and suggesting she is ineligible for office as the daughter of Indian immigrants. (Haley was born in South Carolina, making her eligible for the presidency.)

Haley, seen here hosting a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Jan. 24, slammed Trump as "insecure" on "Meet the Press" this weekend.
Haley, seen here hosting a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Jan. 24, slammed Trump as “insecure” on “Meet the Press” this weekend.

Anadolu via Getty Images

Elsewhere in the interview, Haley also said she thinks that Trump’s lack of composure in the courtroom is a cause for concern.

After Trump lashed out at a New York jury’s $83.3 million defamation judgment last week, Haley said Americans can “see that he’s completely distracted; they see that he’s going on these rants about how he’s the victim, and I think that’s exactly what we don’t need a strong leader to be.”

“These court cases are going to keep happening. One by one, we’re going to keep seeing him in a courtroom and we’re going to see him come out and do a press conference,” she said. “That’s not what you want a president to be, but more than that, that’s not what we want Russia to see, that’s not what we want China to see and that’s not what we want Iran to see.”

In addition to his personal attacks on Haley, Trump has also tried to strong-arm her potential donors.

On Wednesday in a Truth Social post, he said anyone who donates money to his opponent would be “barred from the MAGA camp.”

Haley called his warning “totally unhinged” during an interview on Fox News on Friday and her campaign later announced it had received $1 million in donations after Trump’s threat.

Watch Haley’s full interview on “Meet the Press” below:

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