Parliament returns today from recess, with Starmer’s government already under renewed pressure. Reform continues to hold a clear lead over Labour in the polls, sitting on 31% to Labour’s 20%, with the immigration debate being front and centre.
On Friday, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s ruling that 138 asylum seekers must be removed from Epping’s Bell Hotel, in what will be seen as a reprieve for the government. Bridget Phillipson suggested the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) “needs reform,” pointing to potential changes to Article 8 on the right to family life “for the modern age,” though refused to say whether Labour would go as far as suspending or leaving the ECHR altogether.
The Conservatives are seeking to sharpen the pressure, tabling amendments that would force hotels housing asylum seekers to secure planning permission, giving local residents a formal say over whether they should operate.
Immigration will also be central at Reform UK’s party conference later this week. Nigel Farage is expected to use the platform to drive home his calls for mass deportations, though his plans have been criticised by Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell as “isolationist, short-term, and knee-jerk.” Farage will also travel to Washington to give evidence to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, expected to frame the Lucy Connolly case as an attack on Britain’s freedom of speech.
Still, Yvette Cooper will be thankful for the news that small boat crossings fell in August to the lowest monthly total since 2019, which she will likely present to MPs as evidence that Labour’s plan to “smash the gangs” is beginning to take effect.
Speculation grows in Westminster around Downing Street’s staffing plans. Alongside figures such as Minouche Shafik and Torsten Bell, former Whitehall ethics chief Helen MacNamara is tipped for a senior return, alongside Darren Jones’ appointment as Chief Secretary to the PM, with rumours of a broader hiring spree. With Bell leading tax preparations for the Autumn Budget, reported proposals include extending national insurance to landlords, capital gains tax on primary homes, and changes to inheritance tax, measures that will spark debate as Parliament reconvenes.
On the international stage, Norway has agreed a £10 billion deal for UK-built Type 26 anti-submarine frigates, the largest warship export deal in Britain’s history. The move is designed to deepen Anglo-Norwegian naval cooperation in response to rising Russian activity in northern waters and is expected to support 4,000 UK jobs into the 2030s. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has revived his proposal for the US to assume control of Gaza, adding a new offer of USD$5,000 per person to encourage Palestinians to leave, part of a plan billed as transforming the Strip into a “Riviera of the Middle East.”
What’s on in Parliament
Monday 1st September
House of Commons
- Oral Questions: Work and Pensions
- Select Committee Statement: on the 7th Report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights
House of Lords
- Oral questions: Measuring and evaluating productivity gains across the Civil Service resulting from deployment of AI
- Oral questions: Development of Palestinian Territories, beyond recognition of a Palestinian State.
- Legislation: Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Tuesday 2nd September
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
- Legislation: English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
- Westminster Hall Debate: Impact of pornography and prostitution on violence against women and girls
House of Lords
- Legislation: Children’s wellbeing and schools Bill – Part one and two
- Oral questions: Recruitment of young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to the Civil Service fast stream summer internship programme
- Oral questions: The recent rise in gilt yields and contingency plans to manage any further rise
Wednesday 3rd September
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Women and Equalities
- Prime Minister’s Question Time
- Opposition Day Debate
- Westminster Hall Debate: Use of drones in defence
House of Lords
- Oral questions: Sovereign UK AI open entitles
- Legislation: Employments Rights Bill
- Legislation: Asylum and Immigration Bill
Thursday 4th September
House of Commons
- Oral questions: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- Oral questions: Attorney General’s Office
- Business Questions to the Leader of the House
- Legislation: House of Lords Bill
House of Lords
- Oral questions: Protest movements targeting UK defence and aerospace facilities
- Legislation: Planning and Infrastructure Bill
Friday 5th September
House of Commons
The House of Commons is not sitting and will next sit on the 8th September
House of Lords
- Legislation: Animal Welfare Bill
- Legislation: Space Industry Bill
Consultations
- Industrial emissions: modernising environmental permitting – closes 21st October
- Proposals to update the Telecommunications Security Code of Practice 2022 – closes 22nd October
- Nuclear Safeguards (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 and the Nuclear Safeguards (Fees) Regulations 2021: proposed changes – closes 24th October
Statistics and Research
- Energy Trends and Prices statistical release - 28th August
- Latest agricultural price indices – 28th August
- Rainfall and river flow: weekly reports for England – 29th August