Sunak makes faltering election start after Rwanda and smoking setbacks
The prime minister cannot introduce signature policies on asylum and smoking before July 4
Summary
Rishi Sunak encountered several challenges on the first full day of the general election campaign. He had to acknowledge that he could not implement key policies on asylum and smoking before the July 4 polling day.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister conceded that deportations of asylum seekers to Rwanda, a policy proposed by the Tories over two years ago, would only happen if he wins the election. Sunak emphasised, “The election is about the future. If I’m elected, I’m going to get those flights off.” When asked by the BBC if these flights would commence post-election, Sunak confirmed, “Yes.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to halt Sunak’s Rwanda plan, suggesting that no asylum seekers might ever be deported under this scheme. The UK has already paid Rwanda £220 million for the initiative.
Labour suspects Sunak might attempt a surprise move by authorizing a flight to Rwanda shortly before polling day.
Additionally, Sunak’s decision to call a snap election means that legislation to phase out smoking is unlikely to be passed before Parliament is suspended on Friday.
Elsewhere, the US plans to sue Live Nation makes the front page. The paper says the move will break up Ticketmasters ‘chokehold’ on the entertainment industry.
The latest business news
-
Cybersecurity firm Paradyn to expand further, adding 20 jobs IT and cybersecurity firm Paradyn will add 20 jobs across Cork and Dublin over the next two years as it expands its operations to Irish and UK customers. The company expects to grow its revenues from €9m to €13m within this timeframe across Paradyn and Vault365,
-
Asia-Pacific markets Live Updates shows the Asian markets mostly rose Friday on morning, tracking a rally on Wall Street that saw the S&P log gains for a fourth straight day. Asia-Pacific markets Live Updates Investors in Asia assessed Japan’s October consumer price index data. The core inflation, excluding volatile fresh food prices, rose 2.3% from
-
Are users leaving Elon Musk’s X en masse and where are they heading? The limited data on X user numbers makes measuring the full extent of the reported exodus from the platform almost impossible. Hundreds of thousands of dissatisfied users have reportedly fled Elon Musk’s X, previously known as Twitter, following Donald Trump’s re-election, with
