The first 100 days.

Immigration

Previous UK government had built up backlog of 90,000 people

Thousands of asylum seekers left in limbo for more than two years as they awaited a decision on the Rwanda scheme will now have their cases decided in the UK.
The decision, revealed during a high court challenge on Friday, is a sharp shift in position from the previous government, which had passed various laws declaring that the claims of those who arrived after January 2022 were “inadmissible” – and so could not be processed in the UK.
But on Friday, the court heard how the new home secretary had pledged to process the claims of those threatened with removal under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) in Britain. Keir Starmer scrapped the Rwanda scheme upon entering Downing Street.

The backlog of asylum claims had created conditions in which tens of thousands of migrants had been left in temporary accommodation such as hotels.

The Labour government is reportedly planning to clear the asylum backlog of 90,000 – the majority of whom have come from conflict zones such as Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Sudan.

Starmer also said this week he is open to the idea of offshore processing, a policy that has proven controversial when used by countries such as Australia to deter asylum seekers from arriving. So far this year, more than 10,000 have crossed the English Channel in small boats, with 317 people arriving on Thursday in six boats.
Speaking after a discussion on illegal migration with fellow European leaders at Blenheim Palace on Thursday, Starmer said: “I’m a practical person. I’m a pragmatist. And I’ve always said we’ll look at what works and where cases can be processed closer to origin, then that is something which of course ought to be looked at”

U.K. - EU relations

Keir Starmer’s promised “reset” of the UK’s ties with the rest of Europe has drawn a positive response in European media, with one longtime journalist rejoicing that she will never again have to cover “Britain as a basket case”.
The prime minister told leaders at a meeting of the European Political Community at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire on Thursday that he wanted to draw a line under years of fractious relations with the rest of Europe. The relaunch was greeted with a sense of relief that after years of chaotic leadership in London a new age of cooperation was beginning.

Annette Dittert, the longtime London correspondent for the German public broadcaster ARD, was effusive about the vibe shift.
“Starmer managed to restore Britain’s reputation in Europe within a day. Astonishing achievement in such (a) short time,” Dittert tweeted. “‘[W]ithin a day’ is maybe a bit over the top, but still: what a complete change of tone and such a relief not having to report on Britain as a basket case any more.”

France, Spain, Italy and German media - all effusively welcomed the new Prime Minister with reports like

“EThe Labour leader made it quite plain that he doesn’t just want to reset the relationship with Europe, but also to ‘recover the UK’s world-leading role based on respect for the law and for international law’ –

It’s all just talk tho isn’t it, take immigration and what has been stated above, how is that huge backlog going to be cleared?
Discussing isn’t the same as resolving.Glad as I am that Labour are now in power they will find that fine words butter no parsnips as my Nan used to say, and actually being in the hot seat demands action.
I would like to know how things will improve and it would help if it were to be set out clearly.I know they’ve only been in government a very short time but have had years to plan.
I don’t wish to burst your very optimistic bubble on this matter
whitewavemark2 but talking isn’t doing.

Launching the curriculum review on Friday, Ms Phillipson said all children should have a strong academic foundation in subjects like English and maths, but also have access to music, art, drama and sports.
I'm very much behind this, but I do wonder where we are going to find all these specialist teachers from? The VAT on school fees won't even cover the number of new Maths teachers needed, let alone Music and Art teachers etc.
We need more information on how this will be achieved please.

I’ll be following the immigration proposals with great interest.
Finding a successful way to deter/stop the boats, if it happens, will be an incredible success, and will save the risk to lives of both immigrants and those who rescue them, and the cost of saving them, processing their asylum claims and homing them.

Clearing the backlog, of asylum seekers already here should indeed be a priority and the jobs needed for sufficient staffing to process these claims is a bonus.

The asylum process is complex, with different sorts of case assessments and also includes decisions on whether to agree to family reunion part of the asylum granted (giving the right to bring the rest of your family).

Where to house asylum seekers is another problem to be faced. Being kept in limbo, filling up hotels or barges etc is as bad for them as it is for people kept in hospital because there are no places for them to go, or adult children still living at home because they cannot find or afford a house to buy or rent.

NB Recently built one-bedroom apartments with no car space are being rented for £1,700 pcm, and that’s up-north.
The £49.18 per person seeking asylum isn’t going to help.

Oreo

It’s all just talk tho isn’t it, take immigration and what has been stated above, how is that huge backlog going to be cleared?
Discussing isn’t the same as resolving.Glad as I am that Labour are now in power they will find that fine words butter no parsnips as my Nan used to say, and actually being in the hot seat demands action.
I would like to know how things will improve and it would help if it were to be set out clearly.I know they’ve only been in government a very short time but have had years to plan.
I don’t wish to burst your very optimistic bubble on this matter
whitewavemark2 but talking isn’t doing.

You may not have noticed but I am merely reporting - not commenting on most of the issues.

So you are actually replying to either the BBC or the Guardian from which I am resourcing my information.

You may not have noticed but I am merely reporting - not commenting on most of the issues.
You're doing a good job Whitewavemark2, seriously.
My request, was to Ms Phillipson. I know very little about her expertise.

Whitewavemark2

Oreo

It’s all just talk tho isn’t it, take immigration and what has been stated above, how is that huge backlog going to be cleared?
Discussing isn’t the same as resolving.Glad as I am that Labour are now in power they will find that fine words butter no parsnips as my Nan used to say, and actually being in the hot seat demands action.
I would like to know how things will improve and it would help if it were to be set out clearly.I know they’ve only been in government a very short time but have had years to plan.
I don’t wish to burst your very optimistic bubble on this matter
whitewavemark2 but talking isn’t doing.

You may not have noticed but I am merely reporting - not commenting on most of the issues.

So you are actually replying to either the BBC or the Guardian from which I am resourcing my information.

I say thanks too. I like to comment but don't take the time to read the Guardian or rely too much on the BBC.

Maybe I can start and be a little less cynical about the media from now on?

You may not have noticed but I am merely reporting - not commenting on most of the issues.

I had noticed, and it will be very useful for measuring achievements against proposals.

Thank you, Whitewavemark2, for this thread.
I've been following it and I'm cautiously optimistic about our new government. It's still very early days and it will be interesting to see the progress in 6/12 months and how many of these plans have been implemented and under way.
Until then I will continue to read this thread with interest daily for the first hundred days.
I realise it takes a lot of time and effort on your part so thank you!

I was pleased to read above that for some European Commentators at least Starmer is bringing us back on the European stage. Not to "rejoin" but to possibly act better together on some major concerns.

Labour’s new defence adviser Fiona Hill

After a weekend in which Donald Trump’s prospects of securing the White House increased dramatically, Labour’s appointment of Fiona Hill as one of three advisers to oversee its strategic defence review appears particularly timely.
It is not that the appointment of the 58-year-old would gain the new government any favour with the Republican – the former White House Russia adviser from County Durham ended up giving evidence in Trump’s first impeachment trial, calmly delivering evidence in a brogue immediately recognisable to Britons.

Hill assesses Trump coolly, locating his performatively aggressive style in the cut-throat world of New York business, precisely the kind of level-headed analysis Labour will need if he regains the White House.

The former president “often set out extreme possibilities like threatening to leave Nato” if Germany, France and others didn’t increase defence spending, Hill wrote in her memoir, but if he was warned about going too far he would immediately shoot back: “You are ruining my leverage.”
But she also saw at first-hand Trump’s elementary egotism, his simple, instinctive politics and his failures to prepare – he frequently wouldn’t read pre-meeting notes, or even the bullet points – all observed during a two-year stint as a national security adviser between 2017 and 2019.

Fiona Hill is an excellent appointment - who could forget her calm, measured and courageous testimony at the Impeachment sessions.

reminder - her direct testimony on u tube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5gmpdtbWB0

Naturally I see that you’re reporting news Whitewavemark2 and the quotes are not your own, but you do seem to believe that Labour are going to sort every problem within a year or so, judging from your comments on other news and politics threads.Whereas I think they won’t ( or any shade of political party won’t) and it will take 7-10 years to make any appreciable difference at all.Even that isn’t certain.What I do like tho is the feeling that this government is keen to try and make a difference and isn’t a jaded and sleazy one.

Oreo

Naturally I see that you’re reporting news Whitewavemark2 and the quotes are not your own, but you do seem to believe that Labour are going to sort every problem within a year or so, judging from your comments on other news and politics threads.Whereas I think they won’t ( or any shade of political party won’t) and it will take 7-10 years to make any appreciable difference at all.Even that isn’t certain.What I do like tho is the feeling that this government is keen to try and make a difference and isn’t a jaded and sleazy one.

Perhaps you could give me an example and I can then perhaps defend my posts?

Difficult to reply to an accusation with nothing to back it up

On seconds thoughts forget it, as I really don’t won’t this thread ruined by silly debate.

Hardly an accusation, more an observation.

Oreo

Naturally I see that you’re reporting news Whitewavemark2 and the quotes are not your own, but you do seem to believe that Labour are going to sort every problem within a year or so, judging from your comments on other news and politics threads.Whereas I think they won’t ( or any shade of political party won’t) and it will take 7-10 years to make any appreciable difference at all.Even that isn’t certain.What I do like tho is the feeling that this government is keen to try and make a difference and isn’t a jaded and sleazy one.

I’ve never seen any evidence of that with WWMII. I’m pretty sure both of us have always held the opinion that Labour have inherited a lot of problems that are going to take a long time to fix. And that they are tackling those problems in several ways, not in quick fix with a three word sound bite stuff but looking at the problems from several angles, especially trying to figure out how those problems arise in the first place. Having said that imo they’ve done more in the past two weeks than the previous government, in its many reincarnations have done in the past two years. They’re also continuing with policies from the previous government that they feel will benefit the country eg young people and smoking.

Whitewavemark2

On seconds thoughts forget it, as I really don’t won’t this thread ruined by silly debate.

That’s a bit rude. Is nobody allowed to comment on your thread? Talk about thread police …

Germanshepherdsmum

Whitewavemark2

On seconds thoughts forget it, as I really don’t won’t this thread ruined by silly debate.

That’s a bit rude. Is nobody allowed to comment on your thread? Talk about thread police …

It’s nice to have a record of something to look back on. I sometimes look at the messages between me and my daughter during the pandemic because I then remember little details that I’d forgotten. We can look back on this thread in a year or two and see what has happened. Which includes those of us that support Labour holding up our hands and saying well, that didn’t work did it.

100 days
Not sure whether the i is acceptable as a news source on GN, but there was a warning that the EU will not allow Starmer to cherry-pick which parts he wants trade offs.
inews.co.uk/news/politics/eu-warns-starmer-cherry-pick-trade-offs-brexit-reset-3180553
I’ve attached the link, but can copy the whole report if necessary.

Thank you: yes, there are warnings in there but also praise.

Mollygo

100 days
Not sure whether the i is acceptable as a news source on GN, but there was a warning that the EU will not allow Starmer to cherry-pick which parts he wants trade offs.
inews.co.uk/news/politics/eu-warns-starmer-cherry-pick-trade-offs-brexit-reset-3180553
I’ve attached the link, but can copy the whole report if necessary.

Thank you everything is good to record.

Extract from Laura Kuennsberg’s end of term report cards on the election piece on BBC News online:

‘But without question this political term will be remembered for the start of a new government under Keir Starmer, who have made history already just by moving in.
Their number one task is to get the economy motoring and tomorrow on the show we’ll be speaking to the woman whose job it is to make that happen, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves (tune in at 09:00 BST on Sunday on BBC One, or follow live online).
And on Monday night at 20:00 BST on BBC One we’re taking a closer look inside the brand new government.
For the drama of election night, the splendour of the King’s Speech, ministers’ first moments behind closed doors, we’ve been with three of the most important figures of this new era: Reeves, the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and the Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
From holding their breath as the exit poll dropped to taking the call when former US President Donald Trump was shot, you’ll see what it’s really been like on the inside as they get to work.’

Should be interesting.