Politics latest: Rwanda plan back in Commons after more Lords defeats; Cameron to meet Netanyahu in Israel (2024)

"Absolutely nuts" was how former prime minister Boris Johnson described Rishi Sunak's plan to gradually phase out smoking – banning anyone born since the start of 2009 from ever being able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products like vapes.

Liz Truss, who was also briefly prime minister in between the two men, is also among some critical of the proposal – which she described as "profoundly un-conservative".

Tories were given a free vote in the Commons – allowing them to vote with their conscience, not necessarily the government.

But will the policy create a smoke-free generation? And what will it mean for Conservative Party ideology?

Niall Paterson looks at the health implications with Alice Wiseman, vice president of The Association of Directors of Public Health, and the politics of the policy with Sky's political editor Beth Rigby and Tory peer Lord Frost, who disagrees with the planned legislation.

👉Listen above then tap here to follow the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts👈

Over a year ago, Rishi Sunak made five pledges for voters to judge him on.

The prime minister met his promise to halve inflation by the end of 2023.

But with the general election approaching, how is Mr Sunak doing on delivering his other promises?

You can see the progress for yourself below:

Kay Burley then asks Laura Trott if she will be reading former prime minister Liz Truss's new book - Ten Years to Save the West.

She says she won't, admitting she read journalist Harry Cole's take on the shortest-ever prime minister's tenure in Out of the Blue.

"That is a period that I'm not really interested in revisiting if I'm honest," Ms Trott says.

Is she a thorn in the side of the government?

"You know that I supported Rishi in the leadership campaign," she says. "I still support him now.

"I disagreed with Liz on many points at the time, these were aired at the time and my position hasn't changed."

She is then asked about the mayor of Brussels's decision to shut down the National Conservatism Conference yesterday, saying: "The far right are not welcome."

In response, Ms Trott says: "That's not right, that is absolutely not right.

"We absolutely must have free speech in this country, it is vital that people are able to debate things, to air their views.

"No-platforming is totally and utterly wrong, I fundamentally disagree with it."

The conversation with Laura Trott now turns to the Rwanda bill, after amendments were voted through in the Lords again last night.

Kay Burley asks which airline is going to fly people to the East African country, after reports that RAF Voyagers could be involved.

"We are working on operationalising this, but we're not going to go into details about how we're going to do that," Ms Trott says.

"We will be ready for flights to take off in the spring, when the legislation passes."

Asked what spring means, the minister says there are "lots of definitions of spring, but we're hoping to get them up and running as soon as possible".

Laura Trott, chief secretary to the Treasury, has hailed a 0.2% fall in inflation as "very good news" for people in the UK.

Asked about news inflation in the UK has fallen to 3.2% from 3.4%, she said: "It is very good news, and it hasn't happened by accident.

"When the prime minister took over, inflation was at 11% - food inflation was at nearly 20%. That was so difficult for everyone at home.

"But because of the action we've taken alongside the Bank of England - which has been praised by the International Monetary Fund - ... it's now down, and that's really good news for people at home."

Ms Trott is asked about outside impact on the economy, and how concerned she is about what is going on in the Middle East at the moment.

"We always have to be very vigilant about external shocks," she says.

"Obviously the situation in the Middle East is very concerning for a variety of reasons. It might have an impact, and we're looking at that very closely."

There were new defeats for the government's Rwanda bill in the Lords last night, with four amendments now passed to the Commons for consideration by MPs.

The first would require the government to have "due to regard for international law" while implementing the legislation.

It would also mandate "due regard" for:

• The Children Act 1989;
• The Human Rights Act 1998;
• The Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Another amendment would restore the jurisdiction of domestic courts in relation to the safety of Rwanda and enable them to intervene.

The last mandates that those who worked with the UK military or government overseas, such as Afghan interpreters, to be exempted from removal to Rwanda.

Downing Street wants to get the bill - which declares Rwanda a safe country and stops appeals from asylum seekers being sent there on safety grounds - on the statute books this week.

But in the wake of these latest defeats - what happens next?

At around 12.40pm today, directly after Prime Minister's Questions, MPs will consider these amendments in the House of Commons.

It is likely they will be voted down, and the legislation will head back to the Lords early this evening.

We don't yet know whether peers will attempt to re-amend the bill.

Inflation has eased to 3.2% down from 3.4%, official figures show.

Economists had predicted the figure, which covers the month of March, would fall to 3.1%.

While the news will be welcomed by many, it is important to remember that this doesn't mean prices are coming down - they are just rising slower.

All eyes will now turn to decision makers at the Bank of England as they prepare to consider cutting interests rates next month.

You can get more reaction and analysis in our Money blog:

It has been two years since Boris Johnson first proposed sending asylum seekers arriving in the UK to be sent to Rwanda to have their claims processed.

Since then the government has spent £240m trying to get the scheme off the ground, argued - and lost - its case to send migrants to Kigali in the highest court in the land and seen since the 1 April 2022 more than 76,000 people arrive in the UK on small boats.

That all makes Wednesday a big moment for a government well and truly on the ropes when it comes to illegal migration.

If the Safety of Rwanda Bill finally passes through both Houses of Parliament, the prime minister will have prevailed in driving through the emergency legislation he announced last November in the face of significant opposition from some on his own side and peers in the House of Lords.

The legislation will have deemed Rwanda a safe country and disapplies sections of human rights laws. It will, the prime minister insists, finally allow London to send asylum seekers who arrived illegally in the UK to Kigali.

Even now, no one is taking anything for granted in government.

You can read Beth's analysis in full below:

Lord Cameron will arrive in Israel today for a one-day visit.

The foreign secretary is set to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz, a British official told The Times of Israel.

The paper also reports that Lord Cameron wants to discuss expanded humanitarian aid routes to Gaza, with a particular focus on opening the Ashdod Port and a new crossing from northern Gaza.

He will also reportedly discuss the Iranian missile and drone attack, tensions in Lebanon, and the hostage crisis.

Last night, Rishi Sunak's bill to ban young people from being able to smoke passed its first Commons hurdle.

The government is claiming this as a big win - but was it really?

Just 178 Conservative MPs voted in favour of the bill out of 347 - barely half of the parliamentary party.

A number of sitting ministers voted against it, including:

• Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch;
• Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker;
• Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart;
• Science minister Andrew Griffith;
• Digital minister Julia Lopez;
• Housing minister Lee Rowley.
  

Much of the right of the party voted against it, including party deputy chair Jonathan Gullis, ex-PM Liz Truss, high-profile ex-minister Robert Jenrick, former cabinet ministerSir Simon Clarke and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, among many others.

Also notable were the abstentions, with 106 Tory MPs not casting a vote either way - including the Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt.

It was a free vote, meaning the Tory high command did not tell its MPs how to vote either way. But there is a clear split within the party.

Meanwhile, not a single one of the 201 Labour MPs went against the party's instructions to vote against the bill. But 40 did abstain, however.