Supporters of the Rwanda deportation scheme fail to understand the lessons of Australia

‘It underscores why you need a deterrent.” So claimed Rishi Sunak in response to the Channel tragedy last week that led to the deaths of five migrants off the coast of France, hours after the “ Safety of Rwanda Bill ”, Sunak’s “deterrent”, passed its final parliamentary hurdle.

“Deterrence” has become the magic word to ease through every immigration policy, however cynical, cruel or unworkable. There is only one problem. When it comes to immigration, deterrence does not deter. “The available evidence suggests that the deterrent effect of asylum policies tends to be small,” observes Oxford University’s Migration Observatory . However tough they may seem, concluded a study from the development thinktank ODI, “deterrent policies… have virtually no effect on people’s behaviour ”. Those seeking to cross the Channel “have already travelled thousands of miles and spent thousands of pounds getting to that point”; they are “unlikely to drastically rethink their ‘migration project’, regardless of how strict the UK’s border controls become”.

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The singer-songwriter’s brand of stubborn protest songs with a strain of tenderness has kept him relevant for 40 years. Here he talks about why he’s fighting for trans rights, his late-night tweeting habit and his forthcoming tour – with his son

Recently, Billy Bragg showed his two young granddaughters a little promo film he put together celebrating his 40 years of making records. The girls were nonplussed by the early scenes on picket lines and spiky festival stages, but towards the end, recognising an avuncular white-bearded bloke with a guitar, they brightened: “Look, it’s Grandad Bill!” they chorused. “It was actually all Grandad Bill,” their father pointed out, but they weren’t having any of it.

Meeting Bragg at the station car park in Weymouth – not far from where he lives along the Dorset coast – and heading up to a cafe on the headland overlooking the sweep of the bay, I sympathise a little bit with their sentiment. The first time I saw the singer in the flesh was sometime late in 1984, when he was giving it his full “one-man Clash” performance on student stages at miners’ benefits. Even at the time that felt like it might be a hard act to grow old with; yet here he is in the seaside retirement resort, still fighting the good fight.

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Thanks to the watchdog’s liberal pre-election advice, drawling condescension will pass as impartiality

‘Tonight I’ll be asking the most important question of all – who was St George and why do we celebrate him?” Supposing a UK channel wanted to prove that politicians make such abysmal current affairs presenters that there is nothing for regulators to worry about, it could hardly do better than hire Jacob Rees-Mogg.

After a year presenting State of the Nation on GB News , its presenter comes across, oddly on a station that increasingly betrays some interest in professional standards, as fully as unendurable as he was in the days when, as a cabinet minister, he’d leave crested notes on civil service work stations. “Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon. With every good wish, Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP.”

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Thursday’s local elections are a chance for Keir Starmer to show his party’s breadth of support – not least in the embattled PM’s North Yorkshire

It’s looking pretty positive for Labour’s David Skaith as he campaigns up and down quiet residential streets in York, a stone’s throw from the city’s ancient walls. “I would rather poke my eyes out with a sharp stick than vote Tory,” says Sandra Barton, a former city council worker, as she emerges from her terrace house to signal support.

Skaith, who runs a clothes shop in the city, is Labour’s candidate in Thursday’s election for the post of the first-ever elected mayor of York and North Yorkshire.

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Starmer wants to make Tory policy on the economy a central theme of its election campaign … without mentioning Brexit

Now, let me get this straight. We have a fissiparous, Brexit-supporting government, many of whose MPs are stepping down, convinced that their party is heading for its wilderness years. Correspondingly, we have a Labour opposition that is riding high in the polls, led by Keir Starmer, who – unlike his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn – played a noble part in the remain campaign and argued passionately for a second referendum .

Proponents of a second referendum hoped that the country would acknowledge its historic mistake, and return to the European Union it should never have left. I was one of them. We failed.

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Rumours of an early election, despite Labour’s lead in opinion polls, being used to keep unruly Conservative MPs in check

Senior Tories believe the threat of a summer general election is being used by Downing Street to deter a rebellion against Rishi Sunak’s leadership, before a perilous set of local elections this week.

Westminster has been abuzz with rumours of an early election, despite the persistent double-digit lead enjoyed by Labour in the polls. While Downing St sources have played down speculation of any imminent announcement from Sunak, influential MPs believe No 10 is holding open the possibility of an early election to keep rebellious colleagues in check.

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Politicians who speak their minds and believe what they say are so rare that voters will forgive them almost anything

Here’s a cast-iron rule of politics: authenticity matters. It is almost all that matters. If you have it, you’re made. If you don’t, no team of PR professionals can manufacture it for you.

In the past few weeks, one politician has driven this lesson home: Angela Rayner . On the face of it, she’s on the ropes. After claims she once dodged paying capital gains tax on the sale of a council house, she has suffered a hammering in the press and from the opposition. But if she weathers the storm, I reckon she’ll come out on top. Despite everything, her character has been burnished as a chorus of pundits and colleagues have rushed to her defence, framing her as feisty, self made, hardworking and straight talking. A sample, from Matthew Parris in the right-leaning Times : “Angela Rayner’s only crime is being an uppity lass.”

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UK PM points to Irish deputy PM’s claim that threat of being deported led people to cross border from Northern Ireland

An increase in asylum seekers heading to to Ireland proves that the Conservative party’s Rwanda plan is working, Rishi Sunak has claimed.

In an interview with Sky News’ Trevor Phillips that will air on Sunday morning, the prime minister said the “deterrent is already having an impact because people are worried about coming here”.

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Investigation finds groups hosting Islamophobic attacks on London mayor Sadiq Khan, white supremacist slogans and antisemitic conspiracy theories

Conservative party staff and activists are secretly operating a network of Facebook groups that have become a hotbed of racism, misinformation and support for criminal damage.

An investigation has identified 36 groups that appear to be separate grassroots movements opposing the expansion of ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) schemes to reduce air pollution. They do not say they were set up by the Conservatives as part of a coordinated political campaign.

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