Page 9 - Rishi Sunak

UK PM Sunak fights back amid leadership turmoil over deportation policy

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday launched a fight-back in favour of what he dubbed as the toughest anti-immigration law ever amid turmoil within the governing Conservative Party after a bruising Cabinet resignation and open attacks by backbenchers over his government's controversial policy to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda. Addressing a hurriedly organised press conference from Downing Street, the 43-year-old British Indian leader referred to his heritage as a child of immigrants to highlight how his family used the legal route before becoming proud British nationals. Illegal immigration undermines not just our border control, it undermines the very sense of fairness that is so central to our national character, said Sunak. We play by the rules, we put in our fair share, we wait our turn. That some people can just cut all of that out, you've not just lost control of your borders, you've fatally undermined the very fairness and trust on which our system is based, he

UK's latest Family Visa crackdown to impact many Indian family plans

The UK government's latest set of visa crackdowns to cut immigration figures includes a major hike in the minimum salary threshold for British nationals and permanent residents applying to bring family members to join them in the UK, a move expected to impact several Indian families. The Family Visa category, under which long-term UK residents are able to bring their spouses and partners to join them, until now required the applicant to be earning at least GBP 18,600 annually. From March/April next year, this threshold will jump to GBP 38,700, inevitably set to have a significant impact on applicants from the Indian subcontinent with Indians making up the second-highest cohort under the Family Visa in the past year (5,870) after Pakistanis (15,038), as per official Home Office statistics. We will ensure that people bring only dependants whom they can support financially, by raising the minimum income for Family Visas to the same threshold as the minimum salary threshold for skilled

UK PM Sunak announces steps to crack down on soaring immigration rate

Sunak described the new measures as the government's 'radical action' to bring down the immigration rate, adding the steps would ensure that immigration benefits the UK

India, UK seek to wrap up trade negotiations before busy election year

It's the 13th round of negotiations on a deal intended to expand a trading relationship that was worth more than $24 billion last year

Rishi Sunak's current polling worse than Truss with key UK voters

Just 59% of voters who backed the Conservatives under Boris Johnson at the 2019 election are sticking with the party under Sunak, the report found

UK govt intervenes in potential Telegraph takeover by Abu Dhabi-backed fund

Britain's government said on Thursday it has asked media and market competition officials to look into a potential Abu Dhabi-backed takeover of The Telegraph newspaper. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said she issued a public interest intervention notice after considering the possible impact of the offer by the investment fund RedBird IMI to the previous owners of The Telegraph and The Spectator magazine to repay debts owed by them. RedBird IMI a joint venture between RedBird Capital and Abu Dhabi's International Media Investments, and led by former CNN chief Jeff Zucker said earlier this month it agreed to provide loans to Britain's Barclay family and ensure the family's debts, worth some 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion), are paid. The Barclay family owned the right-leaning newspaper and magazine before they were put into receivership. The family also previously owned London's luxurious Ritz Hotel before selling it in 2020. RedBird IMI has said it would provide a loan of up to 600

Greek PM Mitsotakis claims Sunak cancelled meeting over Elgin Marbles row

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reportedly cancelled a planned meeting on Tuesday with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during a visit to the UK amid a deepening row over the return of the 'Elgin Marbles'. The ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens are among the controversial historic items which were brought to the UK by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century giving them their English name. The Parthenon Sculptures now form part of the British Museum's collection and have long been demanded by the Greeks to complete their series at the Acropolis Museum in Athens. The latest standoff is reminiscent of India's demands for the Koh-i-Noor diamond and other historic artefacts taken from India during colonial times. Most recently, the Maharashtra government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Victoria and Albert Museum for a three-year loan of a set of 17th century Tiger Claws', or wagh nakh, believed to have belonged to ..

Rishi Sunak hails huge vote of confidence in UK at Global Investment Summit

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday announced that the world's leading investors have committed GBP 29.5 billion in new projects and capital as a huge vote of confidence in the UK economy. The British Indian leader, who welcomed CEOs of some of the world's leading businesses for a Global Investment Summit at Hampton Court Palace in London, said that thousands of jobs will be created across the country, including tech, life sciences, renewables, housing and infrastructure. Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Bank are among those represented at the British Ideas Past, Present and Future entitled summit, to be followed by a reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by King Charles III. Today's investments, worth more than GBP 29 billion, will create thousands of new jobs and are a huge vote of confidence in the future of the UK economy, said Sunak. Global CEOs are right to back Britain we are making this the best place in the world to invest an

Nissan to invest $1.4 bn to make EV versions of its best-selling cars in UK

Nissan will invest USD 1.4 billion to update its factory in northeast England to make electric versions of its two best-selling cars, a boost for the British government as it tries to revive the country's ailing economy. The Japanese automaker manufactures the gasoline or gas-hybrid Qashqai and smaller Juke crossover vehicles at the factory in Sunderland, which employs 6,000 workers. Nissan Motor Co. said it's directly investing up to 1.12 billion pounds (USD 1.4 billion) to produce electric successors to the two models. The money also will enable wider investment in infrastructure projects and the supply chain, including a new gigafactory" for EV batteries at the site, the government said in a separate press release. Nissan's investment is a massive vote of confidence in the UK's automotive industry, which contributes 71 billion pounds a year to the economy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. Sunak visited the factory for the announcement, posing for photos with Treasury chief Jerem

Rishi Sunak gets small bump in opinion polls after crowd-pleasing tax cuts

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the governing Conservatives are enjoying a small bump in the opinion polls after some crowd-pleasing tax cuts were announced in the Autumn Statement budget this week, it emerged on Friday. According to a YouGov survey for The Times' conducted after the budget was tabled by UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in Parliament on Wednesday, the popularity rating for the Sunak-led Tories rose to 25 per cent which is four points up from the previous week, the party's highest rating in recent weeks. The Opposition Labour continues to hold on to their firm lead, with no change to their 44 per cent rating. It is the highest rating since mid-September and only three points below Sunak's highest-ever rating last April, the newspaper analysis notes. "Labour still holds a commanding 19-point lead over the government, however, with the poll suggesting that most voters do not believe the measures announced by Hunt will make either themselves or the country materially

UK businesses grow for first time in three months, but high rates weigh

Britain's economy has suffered from the highest inflation rate among big, rich countries and gross domestic product failed to grow in the third quarter

UK govt cuts taxes to jam labour ahead of general elections next year

Hunt's most eye-catching announcement was a two percentage point reduction to the headline 12% rate of national insurance

'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham': UK Opposition leader Starmer on FTA with India

The UK's Opposition Leader Keir Starmer has described the ups and downs of the government's negotiations towards a free trade agreement (FTA) with India as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' and committed the Labour Party to pursuing an "always happy" bilateral relationship. During his speech at a Diwali celebration in the Houses of Parliament complex in London organised by the British Indian think tank 1928 Institute last week, Starmer referenced the Bollywood box-office hit which translates as sometimes happy, sometimes sad. India and the UK are currently in the 14th round of FTA negotiations to enhance the GBP 36-billion bilateral trading partnership, with several expected completion points having passed. We will be rebuilding Britain's reputation on the international stage and that means a new strategic partnership with India, said Starmer. The Tories are working on a free trade agreement, I think. It's all a bit stop-and-start. In fact, you could almost call the negotiations Khabi Kushi

UK PM Rishi Sunak promises tax cuts after meeting his inflation pledge

Under pressure from within his traditionally low-tax Conservative Party, Sunak said his govt needed to prioritise lowering the tax burden

India raises concerns over potential carbon taxes in UK FTA talks: Report

Earlier this year, Britain initiated consultations with domestic stakeholders on measures such as a potential carbon border tax, which could mimic the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism.

UK govt policy to deport refugees to Rwanda ruled unlawful: London SC

The UK government on Wednesday lost a crucial legal challenge after the Supreme Court in London ruled that its policy to deport refugees to Rwanda while their application for asylum is processed is unlawful. The country's highest court agreed with a previous Court of Appeal decision to say that there are "substantial grounds" to believe people deported to Rwanda could then be sent to places they would be unsafe by the Rwandan government. It was one of the flagship policies championed by recently sacked home secretary Suella Braverman, who in a scathing pre-emptive letter had sought to lay the blame for such a ruling at the door of the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claiming he had failed to prepare any sort of credible Plan B to tackle the issue of illegal migration. Sunak admitted it was not the outcome the government wanted as part of his "stop the boats" pledge but stressed that he had prepared for such an eventuality. We accept the Home Secretary's submission that the Rwandan ...

Rishi Sunak hits inflation target amid Suella Braverman's scathing attack

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared buoyant on Wednesday as official statistics revealed that inflation dropped to 4.6 per cent, meeting his end of year target to curb price rises against the backdrop of his sacked home secretary's attack claiming his plan is not working. The target to half inflation from the highs of over 10 per cent when he took charge at 10 Downing Street last year was among Sunak's top five priorities for his government. The British Indian leader, who undertook a surprise Cabinet reshuffle earlier this week starting by sacking Suella Braverman for repeated insubordination, firmly declared that he will stay the course a day after his former Cabinet minister unleashed a scathing attack on his leadership in a very public three-page letter. We have halved inflation, meeting the priority I set out in January, said Sunak in a statement. It's involved hard decisions and fiscal discipline, rejecting calls for higher spending and more borrowing. As many people .

Big relief for Sunak as UK inflation drops to its lowest in 2 years to 4.6%

Inflation in the UK dropped sharply in October to its lowest level in two years largely because last year's steep rise in domestic energy bills dropped out of the annual comparison, official figures showed Wednesday. The Office for National Statistics said consumer prices in the year to October were 4.6% higher than the year before, much lower than the 6.7% recorded in the previous month. The decline means Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to halve inflation this year has been met. Sunak made the pledge soon after becoming prime minister when inflation was more than 10%. I did that because it is, without a doubt, the best way to ease the cost of living and give families financial security, he said. "Today, we have delivered on that pledge. The government can take comfort from the decline but the main reason why inflation has fallen in that time is because of the big interest rate increases from the Bank of England, which is tasked with meeting a target inflation rate of 2%. Earl

Suella Braverman launches scathing attack on Rishi Sunak after being fired

Former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman lashed out at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a day after he fired her, calling his approach uncertain, weak and a betrayal of his promises. In a resignation letter she published on Tuesday, Braverman said Sunak had manifestly and repeatedly failed to deliver on key pledges and alleged that he never had any intention of keeping them. Sunak sacked Braverman on Monday after she made a series of intemperate statements that deviated from the government line. In recent weeks she called homelessness a lifestyle choice and accused police of being too lenient with pro-Palestinian protests, which she called hate marches. On Saturday, far-right protesters scuffled with police and tried to confront a pro-Palestinian march by hundreds of thousands through the streets of London. Critics accused Braverman's language of helping to inflame tensions. In her letter, she said Sunak had rejected her calls to ban pro-Palestinian demonstrations calling for a ...

UK PM Rishi Sunak addresses new look Cabinet with pledge for change

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed a weekly meeting on Tuesday with a pledge to drive change with his new look Cabinet, a day after sacking Home Secretary Suella Braverman and parachuting in former prime minister David Cameron as the new Foreign Secretary. In his opening remarks, Sunak said to his Cabinet that they all should build a better future for the citizens of the country. "Our purpose is nothing less than to make the long-term decisions that are going to change our country for the better. I know that this strong and united team is going to deliver that change for everybody, said Sunak in his opening remarks to the new Cabinet, which sees former foreign secretary James Cleverly shifted to the role of Home Secretary. I am confident that we can demonstrate to the country that we're making progress on the priorities that I set out at the beginning of the year. But you all know that is not the limit of our ambitions. We want to build a better future for our children and