Graeme McCormick pulls out of SNP leadership race paving way for John Swinney

Graeme McCormick has pulled out of the race to become SNP leader and instead endorsed rival John Swinney as Scotland's next first minister.

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Sunak rides out leadership challenge - but faces 'exhausted and broken' Tory party when Parliament returns

Rishi Sunak's internal critics have abandoned their attempt to unseat him because they have run out of time and do not believe Penny Mordaunt would do what is necessary to save the party.

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West Midlands defeat for Tories fires starting gun on future of the party

Andy Street's interview with Sky News fired the starting gun for discussion over the future direction of the Conservative Party.

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Who is the new West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker?

Richard Parker has pulled off a surprise victory in the West Midlands mayoral election.

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Conservative Andy Street suffers shock loss to Labour in West Midlands mayoral race in blow to Rishi Sunak

Tory incumbent Andy Street has suffered a shock defeat to Labour in the West Midlands mayoral election after a partial recount was ordered.

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Rwanda-bound migrants receive eight page pamphlet detailing 'what to expect' after relocation

Migrants heading to Rwanda are being given an eight-page leaflet from the Home Office, detailing “what to expect” after they are relocated.

The document, entitled: “I’m being relocated to Rwanda. What does it mean to me?”, describes the African Country as being “generally safe and secure”.

The pamphlet includes a map of Africa, pictures of capital Kigali, facts about the country, and a list of medical and legal rights they are entitled to.

More than 100 people have been detained and taken to removal centres across the UK, with 20 already instructing lawyers to mount challenges to their removal.

Asylum Aid, a refugee charity, has criticised the Government and said they will try and take ministers to court over the deportations.

Over half of those detained are being stationed at Colnbrook immigration removal centre at Heathrow airport, whilst the others are split between Brook House at Gatwick and Yarl's Wood in Bedfordshire.

The booklet, which was obtained by The Times, claims that Rwanda has a stellar record of helping asylum seekers and reassures people that their claims will be processed following UN Refugee Convention, Rwandan national and international laws.

It said: “If you feel that Rwanda is not safe for you personally, you must notify us immediately in writing or in person and explain why.”

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Migrants will be given free accommodation, food, healthcare and help to integrate into the local community, and upon arrival will be given a briefing on the asylum process.

The leaflet also explains that migrants will be given support to return home, however, the terms of the treaty, which was finally ratified last week, state that no one can be forcibly removed to a third country.

Asylum Aid says it is worried that the policy could lead to the Home Office unlawfully denying people seeking asylum from entering the UK, and that the supposed inconsistency could lead to the Government department refusing to consider evidence of individual risk.

The charity's executive director, Alison Pickup, said: “There is a lack of information on when flights to Rwanda will take off and who will be on them, but the Government has made clear that it is determined to act quickly as we have already seen the Home Office carrying out forcible detentions.

“The panic this causes is made worse by the limited capacity to provide high quality legal representation in the legal aid and charity sector.

“We have brought forward this legal action to ensure that the Home Office properly considers any individual cases against removal to Rwanda, including on the grounds that they would be returned from Rwanda to the place they fled.”

It comes after the Rwanda Bill became law last week, when it was finally granted Royal Assent in the House of Lords.

The announcement has triggered the formal start of the plan to fly illegally arrived migrants to Rwanda, with flights being expected to take off in 10 to 12 weeks.

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Labour win in new East Midlands authority

Labour continues its run of victories in the local elections, adding the East Midlands to its list of successes.

Claire Ward was elected with 181,040 votes, 51,708 more than Conservative candidate Ben Bradley MP, making up a healthy 40 per cent share from across the region.

Speaking at the Nottingham Tennis Centre, the former Watford MP said “We have been left behind.

“When people think about the Midlands they often think about the West Midlands.

“I’m here now to make sure we put the East Midlands firmly on the map.”

She added the country is “ready for change” as it puts trust in a “changed Labour party”.

The new authority is made up of 17 councils from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, including the two cities, Derby and Nottingham, bringing new powers and funding to the region.

Around £4billion has been earmarked for the fledgling authority, in which the mayor will have greater control over transport, education, and housing.

Claire Ward said: “I will be making sure that each of those areas feel the benefit of having the power and funding from Westminster.”

“It’s clear that we know our region better than people in Whitehall and Westminster, so we need to have the decision-making power along with the funding so we can make those priorities, not competing with other projects in other cities.”

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The new Mayor stated that the region is home to key battleground constituencies, primarily in the Red Wall where Labour voters abandoned the party in 2019 in favour of the Conservatives under Boris Johnson.

Green candidate, Frank Adlington-Stringer narrowly beat Reform’s candidate, Alan Graves, by 1,465, to claim third place.

Independent, Matt Relf, and, Liberal Democrat, Helen Louise Tamblyn-Saville followed in fifth and sixth place respectively.

Turnout across the region was below a third of the electorate, just 27.6 per cent of the 1,637,644 electorate.

Some local people claimed they didn’t know about the election or what they were voting for.

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