Politics latest: Warning of 'period of uncertainty' for businesses over Home Office visa changes (2024)

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

Long gone are the days of Leave versus Remain. But the Conservative Party and its varied factions are still able to draw battle lines between one another when MPs face a crucial vote.

This week, the focus has been on Rishi Sunak's Rwanda bill - his attempt to revive the scheme, ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court, that would see asylum seekers arriving by small boat crossings deported to the African nation.

The bill passed its second reading in a crunch Commons vote - but different factions within the Tory party will continue to cause problems for the prime minister on this key piece of legislation as it continues its legislative journey.

Here, we take a look at the current factions in the party and what they want.

Recess is fast approaching, with MPs preparing to head back to their constituencies over the Christmas period.

The latest opinion polls will be a source of festive cheer for Labour, but Conservative MPs will be feeling a distinct lack of goodwill.

The Sky News live poll tracker - collated and updated by our Data and Forensics team - aggregates various surveys to give an indication of how voters feel about different political parties.

Labour is sitting on an average of 42.8%, with the Tories on 25.2% - a roughly 18-point lead.

In third are the Lib Dems on 11.2%, followed by Reform on around 9.2% and the Greens on 6.4% - with the SNP on 2.6%.

See the latest update below - and you can read more about the methodology behind the trackerhere.

Rishi Sunak is facing another by-election after the Commons standards committee recommended MP Scott Benton be suspended from the chamber for 35 days.

Mr Benton was suspended from the parliamentary Tory party in April after being caught by The Times suggesting he would be willing to break lobbying rules for money.

In its ruling handed down on Thursday, the committee said "by repeatedly indicating his willingness to disregard the House's rules, and by giving the impression that many Members of the House had in the past and will in the future engage in such misconduct, Mr Benton committed a very serious breach" of the rules.

A suspension of more than 10 days - if passed by a vote in the Commons - means that a recall petition is triggered.

This means Mr Benton's constituents can decide whether they want to hold a by-election.

He was elected as the Tory MP for Blackpool South in 2019, and has a majority of just 3,690. It had been a Labour seat since 1997 - but was Conservative before that.

Read more here:

Software programmers, IT specialists and chefs could be in shorter supply when an increased minimum salary for skilled worker visas kicks in next year, according to analysis conducted for Sky News.

Currently companies sponsoring a skilled worker from overseas for a visa have to pay a minimum salary of £26,200, but that will increase to £38,700 from April, pricing out the "going rate" for the majority of professions and trades eligible.

Analysis by immigration specialists Eversheds Sutherland found that, of the jobs with an official going rate below the new threshold, there were most applications for IT and software professionals, as well as chefs in the first half of this year.

Audrey Elliott, partner and head of immigration at Eversheds Sutherland, said the changes, and the lack of detail from the Home Office since Home Secretary James Cleverley made the headline announcement last week, was leading to uncertainty.

"The change proposed in respect of the salary threshold is significant and there are many ramifications arising from this increase that will need to be worked though as the detail becomes available," she said.

"In the meantime we have a period of uncertainty for employers, employees and candidates. Employers in the UK have experienced many challenges in the last few years in resourcing their businesses with the skills and experience needed."

Read the full story here:

After a day of wrangling his MPs, Rishi Sunak emerged victorious in a vote on his controversial legislation to rescue the Rwanda scheme on Tuesday.

Not a single Tory MP voted against it, although many abstained, meaning a showdown is still coming in the New Year as the different factions try to find common ground.

But for now, the bill moves through the parliamentary process, and you can find out how your MP voted with our tool below:

By Jennifer Scott, political reporter

Rishi Sunak's Rwanda legislation has survived its first Commons test as MPs backed the bill at its second reading.

The prime minister is battling to salvage his embattled Rwanda asylum plan and deliver on his pledge to "stop the boats".

The goal is to ensure those not entering the UK by legal means face being sent on a one-way trip to the east African country.

But last month, the Supreme Court ruled the policy unlawful and could not go ahead as it was, concluding there was a real risk genuine refugees sent to Rwanda could be returned to their home country, where they would face "ill-treatment".

In a bid to address the concerns, Home Secretary James Cleverly travelled to the country's capital Kigali to sign a fresh deportation treaty before setting out the details of a proposed bill, which will return to the Commons in the new year.

Sky News takes a look at the PM's Rwanda plan, why it has proven controversial, and what happens next:

Scott Benton was suspended from the parliamentary Conservative Party in April after being caught by The Times suggesting he would be willing to break lobbying rules for money.

In a ruling handed down on Thursday, the standards committee recommended a suspension for Mr Benton over a "very serious breach" of the rules.

Now, the Blackpool South MP says he will be appealing against his suspension and making a formal complaint about how his case has been handled.

"This process is designed to be open, fair, honest and transparent so the public and MPs can have trust in the process," Mr Benton said.

"This trust has been breached by Members of the Committee. I can’t have faith in a standards process that doesn’t adhere to its own ethics, standards and principles.

"Time and time again, this process has demonstrated itself to me to be anything but fair and transparent.

"This decision was heavily influenced by the Memorandum submitted by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards which makes several pivotal statements that are completely factually inaccurate.

"If those that judge MPs are not being open minded, fair and proportionate in the way that they are handling evidence or examining witnesses, our democracy is under threat.

"I will happily fully submit myself to a process that considers the actual facts in my case, and which relies on indisputable evidence.

"Upholding the principles of fairness and due process is paramount, and I trust that a second assessment will consider the facts and lead to a more equitable decision."

If you missed last night's edition of Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, fear not, because you can catch up right here in the Politics Hub.

Sophy spoke toDenise Fergus, the mother of James Bulger. It came after the parole board rejected a bid by one of her son's killers, Jon Venables, to be released.

She also heard from former Conservative minister Lord Vaizey andLabour MP and ex-shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

Watch the show in full here:

Just Stop Oil protesters targeted Sir Keir Starmer's house last night to demand he pledge to scrap the new oil and gas licences being issued by the government.

The activists turned up at the Labour leader's North London family home to sing Christmas carols with a climate change twist.

They held signs saying "Revoke Rosebank" - referencing the government's approval of drilling at the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea - and "No new oil and gas", as they sang carols with lyrics expressing political and environmental concerns.

They were moved away by police to a nearby Tube station, at which point one protester read out a letter to Sir Keir, saying he appears to have "wavered in your commitment to show real leadership" on "ending new oil and gas projects in the UK".

No arrests were made, the Met Police confirmed, although officers were in attendance.

Family homes of politicians have traditionally been seen as off-limits for protests, but the group previously targeted Rishi Sunak's London home, while Greenpeace targeted his North Yorkshire home.

Asked why Sir Keir's family home had been targeted, a JSO spokeswoman told the PA news agency: "All of our homes should be places where we feel safe, and know that our families are secure.

"As any chance of [the world] staying below 1.5C of heating died this year, no one is now secure - in Parliament, in an office or at home."

The spokeswoman said politicians are planning to make this worse", adding: "We refuse to let them go home and forget about the day job."

By James Sillars, business reporter

NatWest says an external review has found no evidence of political or other such discrimination in the closure of customer accounts at its Coutts arm, amid the Nigel Farage debanking row.

The bank, which commissioned the law firm Travers Smith to investigate the affair, said 84 customer account closures - including all relevant PEP (politically exposed person) cases over a two-year period from July - were examined.

They represented, the taxpayer-backed lender said, a total sample of around 10% of relevant account closures in the period.

"The report confirms that decision-making was consistent with relevant standards and otherwise appropriate and that there was no evidence of discrimination due to political views or affiliations, or any other protected characteristic," the bank stated.

It added that there were several areas where Coutts' policies and procedures regarding customer "exit decisions" had been identified and it would implement all recommendations.

Read more here: