Category Archives: Yvette Cooper

Shabana Mahmood expected to unveil plans to move asylum seekers from hotels to barracks

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New home secretary is expected to unveil plans to use military sites as Labour seeks to harden immigration policy

Shabana Mahmood is expected to unveil plans to move asylum seekers from hotels into military barracks as Labour seeks to harden its immigration policy amid rising numbers of crossings in the channel.

The new home secretary is reportedly set to announce the use of Ministry of Defence sites to house people after a wave of protests outside migrant accommodation over the summer.

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Home Office wins right to challenge Palestine Action’s terror ban appeal

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Court of appeal ruling means Yvette Cooper can try to block move by protest group to have its proscription overturned

The Home Office has won a legal decision which means it can attempt to block a move by Palestine Action to have its ban under terror laws overturned.

The latest legal twist in the battle between the government and the protest group – now proscribed as a terror organisation - saw the court of appeal rule that Yvette Cooper can challenge the decision to grant a judicial review of the organisation’s proscription that was due to be heard in November.

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What are Labour’s new asylum policies? And what are the political risks?

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Yvette Cooper has announced several tough policies after a summer dominated by Farage and Reform UK

After a summer recess dominated by headlines about Reform UK’s hardline immigration proposals and protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, the home secretary returned to parliament seeking to wrest back control of the narrative.

Yvette Cooper has announced a flurry of tough asylum measures including suspending refugee family reunion applications, and even floated the idea that refugees could be moved out of hotels and into warehouses instead.

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‘Put them up anywhere’: Cooper backs St George’s flags as No 10 says asylum seekers could be housed in industrial buildings – UK politics live

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Home secretary earlier suggested warehouses could be used instead of hotels, while PM will urge ministers to go ‘further and faster’ on immigration in Tuesday meeting

Lamb says the Greens are “the antidote to Reform”.

That gets a big round of applause.

We’re a home for all those people across the country holding their heads in their hands as the Labour government lets them down again and again and again, whether it is switching from the aid budget or from people with disabilities and not bringing in taxes … we need.

And that is why, in reaction, a new Green wave is sweeping the country as people turn to us.

It’s already become a bit of a cliche, but we are really moving into a multi-party system, with the Greens poised to help create the next government.

And, like all the best cliches, it has the distinct advantage of also being for true.

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Home secretary suspends refugee family reunion applications until new, tighter rules are put in place – as it happened

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Yvette Cooper says rules were designed years ago to help families separated by war but are being used in a different way now

And while we are talking about Blair-era Labour aides, Peter Hyman, who wrote speeches for Tony Blair and later worked for Keir Starmer in the run-up to the general election, has launched a new Substack blog. It is called Changing the Story, which tells you quite a lot about what he thinks is going wrong with No 10. Here is an extract from his first post.

Starmer is an ‘opportunity’ prime minister forced to become a ‘security’ one. And that’s why the government’s narrative is seen by some to be elusive.

Let me explain.

I remember well Tim Allan’s leaving drinks at Number 10 in the earlyish Blair era. In his fulsome farewell speech Tony Blair noted only half jokingly “Tim’s even more right wing than me..”

The same Tim Allan who as head of Portland had a contract to polish Vladimir Putin’s reputation?

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Dozens of protests planned outside asylum hotels as Labour defends record on immigration – UK politics live

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Labour has pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament in 2029

In an interview on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Friday, MSP Jeremy Balfour who has resigned from the Scottish Conservatives (see 9.13am BST), said he feels the party has “lost its way in Scotland” and “I don’t think it represents true Conservative values”.

According to the PA news agency, when asked if Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay is the right person for the job and whether he should stay in the post, he said:

Clearly I’m no longer a member of the party so that’s no longer a decision for me to make.

I get on very well as an individual with Russell, I think he’s a good individual. Whether he’s the person to lead the Scottish Conservatives is obviously for MSPs, for the membership, to decide.

What I’m very clear about is that those with disabilities, other minorities and the people of Lothian need a voice for people to hear what we require within our country.

I’m not sure any party is actually offering that at the moment but whether I stand or not I’ll come to a view in the next few weeks.

It’s the party that’s moved, not me.

We are disappointed to read these comments but grateful for Jeremy’s service and wish him well.

The Scottish Conservatives, under Russell Findlay’s leadership, recognise that many people feel completely disconnected from politics. It is absolutely critical that our party continues to champion commonsense Conservative values and policies that focus on the issues of concern to hard-working Scots.

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Jack Straw urges Labour not to panic about threat of Nigel Farage

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Former home secretary praises Keir Starmer’s success on world stage and says PM can win over sceptical UK public

Keir Starmer and his ministers must not “panic” about the threat of Nigel Farage, the former home secretary Jack Straw has said, adding that the prime minister had impressed on the world stage and should show more of that side of himself at home.

In an interview with the Guardian, he praised Starmer’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state after an ultimatum to Israel – but defended the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, saying he would also have proscribed the direct action group Palestine Action.

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UK rights watchdog warns against ‘heavy-handed’ policing of Gaza protests

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EHRC calls for clearer guidance for officers to avoid a ‘chilling effect’ on freedom of expression

The UK’s official human rights watchdog has written to ministers and police expressing concern at a potentially “heavy-handed” approach to protests about Gaza and urging clearer guidance for officers in enforcing the law.

In the letter to Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, and Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan police, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the perception that peaceful protest could attract disproportionate police attention “undermines confidence in our human rights protections”.

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Next UK protest over Palestine Action ban aims to sign up 1,000 people

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Defend Our Juries believes London protest in September could lead to ban being lifted, after 532 arrests on Saturday

The next mass protest in support of the banned group Palestine Action will aim to be twice the size of the last, organisers have said, as they increase pressure on the government to lift its proscription.

Last Saturday’s protest in Parliament Square was predicated on 500 people signing up but the next one, announced on Wednesday for 6 September in London, is conditional on 1,000 people agreeing to take part.

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Anyone showing support for Palestine Action ‘will feel full force of the law’, justice minister says – UK politics live

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Government defends decision to proscribe protest group after mass arrests at a demonstration in Westminster over the weekend

Richard Adams is the Guardian’s education editor

Students in England are expected to receive A-level grades that are closer to normal for the first time since the Covid pandemic triggered school closures and exam cancellations.

If the student, for instance, needed three As [and] gets AAB, as long as the B is not in something that’s absolutely crucial for the course, I think there’s a very strong possibility the student would find they’d be getting a place.

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Leading global scholars sign letter urging UK to end Palestine Action ban

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Exclusive: Naomi Klein and Angela Davis among those demanding stop to ‘attack on fundamental freedoms’ of assembly and protest

Naomi Klein and Angela Davis are among dozens of international scholars and writers who have signed a letter to the Guardian calling on the UK government to reverse the ban on Palestine Action.

The letter applauds what it describes as a “growing campaign of collective defiance” against the ban and commends the hundreds of people who plan to risk arrest by declaring their support for Palestine Action during a mass protest in London on Saturday.

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UK to start small boats returns to France ‘within days’ after EU gives green light

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Some asylum seekers will be sent back across Channel for first time under treaty agreed with French president

The UK will begin detaining people who arrive on small boats and returning some to France “within days” after the EU gave the green light to a deal agreed with the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

The treaty between France and the UK will allow the Home Office to return some asylum seekers back across the Channel for the first time in exchange for accepting others directly from France via a safe route.

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Ministers to spend extra £100m on stopping small boat crossings to UK

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Home Office’s announcement follows growing number of protests outside asylum seeker hotels

Ministers will spend an extra £100m on measures to deter Channel crossings, including on the planned “one in, one out” returns agreement with France, the Home Office has said.

In a third immigration policy pledge within 24 hours, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the money would pay for up to 300 more National Crime Agency officers, as well as new technology and equipment to step up intelligence-gathering on people-smuggling gangs.

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Social media ads promoting small boat crossings to UK to be banned

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Change to border security bill will also make it a crime to advertise fake passports, visas and work opportunities

Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers.

The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.

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Social media ads promoting small boat crossings to UK to be banned

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Change to border security bill will also make it a crime to advertise fake passports, visas and work opportunities

Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers.

The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.

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Channel crossings in 2025 pass 25,000 – faster than any year since records began

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As ministers aim to ‘smash’ people-smuggling gangs, milestone passes almost a month earlier than previous record of 2022

The number of people arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats has passed 25,000 faster this year than since records began.

As ministers aim to “smash the gangs” involved in people-smuggling, 898 people made the journey in 13 boats on Wednesday, bringing the total for 2025 so far to 25,436.

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Cabinet ministers and third of MPs call on Starmer to recognise state of Palestine

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Exclusive: Rayner and Cooper understood to back action as 221 MPs sign letter calling for UK recognition of statehood

Keir Starmer is under intense pressure from his most senior cabinet ministers and more than a third of MPs to move faster on recognising a Palestinian state in response to Israel withholding aid to starving civilians in Gaza.

Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, and Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, are understood to be among ministers who believe the government should take the lead on Palestinian statehood alongside France.

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UK ban on Palestine Action is an abuse of power, high court told

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Intelligence assessment before proscription found that vast majority of group’s activities were lawful, court hears

An intelligence assessment before Palestine Action was banned under anti-terrorism laws found that the vast majority of its activities were lawful, a court has heard.

Raza Husain KC, appearing for Huda Ammori, a co-founder of the group, said Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe the group on 5 July was “repugnant” and an “authoritarian and blatant abuse of power”.

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Labour should raise national insurance in autumn budget, says Ed Balls – UK politics live

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Former chancellor says employees’ contributions should rise to help address a £6bn shortfall caused by recent U-turns

The Unite union has voted to re-examine its relationship with the Labour party in the light of the government’s failure to support its members in the Birmingham bin strike.

It has also said it was suspending Angela Rayner’s membership, given her role as minister in charge of the department that oversees local government. The union is in dispute with Birmingham city council over proposals to reorganise waste disposal services in the city, and Unite has repeatedly said the government should step in and force the Labour-led council to settle.

Unite is crystal clear it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette. Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.

The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises.

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Yvette Cooper hails new French tactics to reduce Channel crossings

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Home secretary says working with French is vital to stop boats crossing, as UK prepares for Emmanuel Macron visit

Yvette Cooper has lauded new tactics used by the French to reduce the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats, before Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the UK this week, during which new initiatives are likely to be announced.

It is understood that a French review of how police could intervene to block boats that are already in the water has been completed, and French and British officials were continuing talks this weekend about what more could be done.

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