The Government has today announced its long-trailed cap on immigration. The cap is more accurately described as a cap on skilled migration for work from outside the EU through Tiers 1 and 2 of the Points-Based System.
After extensive trailing yesterday across the BBC and other media, Panorama’s investigation of Islamic schools in the UK, ‘British schools, Islamic rules’, was broadcast last night, writes the Quilliam Foundation’s George Readings.
In an appearance before the Welsh Assembly’s finance committee yesterday, the Liberal Democrat’s cutter in chief, Danny Alexander, performed what can only be described as the next in a long line of Lib Dem U-turns, this time on how the devolved administrations are funded by Westminster.
As the government announces its new immigration cap today, some in Labour may be tempted to re-visit the thesis that a tougher policy on immigration could have saved the party from electoral defeat in 2010. The idea that immigration played a critical and negative role for Labour in the general election is now well established; the evidence, however, simply does not support such a position.
Much like the royal wedding announcement was a fantastic opportunity to bury any unpopular government decisions, the crisis in Ireland is working a wonder to obscure the fact that the coalition government is kicking legislation on disclosing bankers’ pay firmly into the long grass. Today it was finally made clear that despite internal disagreement on the issue the coalition would not be pursuing legislation to reveal the current level of bankers bonuses.
The Department for International Development (DfID) spent nearly £2m on the Pope’s visit to the UK. It represents close to one-fifth of the cost.
The Tory right were on the march in Brussels today, voting in hardline Eurosceptic Martin Callanan as the leader of the party’s MEPs. Callanan was the unanimous victor in the poll of the Conservative’s 24 Members of the European Parliament, winning over 50 per cent of the vote – including the support of Daniel Hannan, who had told Callanan’s rival Charles Tannock he would vote for him, only to double-cross him.
Twenty four months into its economic crisis and Ireland is finally beginning to address the fundamental issues that caused its national disaster, starting with the unique Irish mentality and its parochial political system.
There is a sound argument to try to support greater mobility in social housing – only five per cent of social tenants moved home over the past year compared to almost a quarter of tenants in the private sector, though it is unclear what an ‘optimal’ level would be. It is also important to emphasise that it is councils and housing associations that will decide the length of tenancies, so the key question is how they will use their new freedoms.
The red tops are overflowing with stories today of Labour’s split over the 50p rate. But is there really a cigarette paper between the Labour leader and his shadow chancellor?
