Rishi Sunak has admitted Rwanda flights will not take off before the general election – as he denied calling a summer vote because inflation is expected to rise.
The prime minister has said for the past few months the first flights removing asylum seekers to the African nation will happen in July.
But after calling a general election for 4 July, whether the flights will take off at all has been called into question.
“The first flights will go in July,” he told the BBC.
He then added: “If I’m re-elected as prime minister on July 5, these flights will go, we will get our Rwanda scheme up and running.”
When pressed on the timing of flights, Mr Sunak told LBC: “No, after the election. The preparation work has already gone on.”
With Labour on a 20-point lead in the polls, the Conservatives’ flagship illegal migration scheme may, quite literally, never get off the ground.
‘There’ll be no flights’
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Earlier this month, Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News: “There’ll be no flights. I want to scrap the scheme so that means the flights won’t be going.
“There’ll be no flights scheduled or taking off after the general election, if Labour wins that general election.”
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Sunak launches election campaign
Many were surprised by the PM calling a summer election on Monday, with some MPs querying whether it was because inflation is expected to rise again and there could also be an increase in small boat arrivals over the summer.
“No, that’s not the real reason,” Mr Sunak told the BBC.
“And when it comes to the economy, of course, I know there’s more work to do. I know that people are only just starting to feel the benefits of the changes that we’ve brought.
“And for some people when they look at their bank balance at the end of every month it will still be difficult, but we have undeniably made progress and stability has returned.”
Inflation fell to 2.3% – the lowest rate in nearly three years – hours before Mr Sunak announced the election.
Both Mr Starmer and Sir Keir kicked off their election campaigns on Thursday morning, just hours after the PM announced the date people will go to the polls the evening before.
Election campaigns under way
The PM is embarking on a two-day trip of all four of the UK’s nations, while Sir Keir was heading to southeast England to tackle the traditional Tory battlegrounds there.
Reform UK leader Richard Tice was getting ready for a news conference, where the party’s co-founder Nigel Farage could announce a return to frontline politics.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is expected to visit a target seat to launch his campaign, which is expected to focus on targeting Conservative-held seats.
In parliament, there is just today and Friday to get important legislation rushed through the Commons before parliament is prorogued – the end of the session – on Friday.
The Victims and Prisoners Bill will be one of the main pieces of legislation as it includes measures to establish a compensation scheme for victims of the infected blood scandal announced this week.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
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Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.