Starmer announces plans for UK and Albania to strengthen cooperation against people smugglers on visit to Tirana
According to Downing Street, Keir Starmer is the first prime minister ever to stage an official visit to Albania. But he has not been inspired by the many news stories saying Albania is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for British travellers. Starmer is focused on illegal immigration, and he is visiting the country to strenghten cooperation on tackling people smuggling gangs.
In a press release issued ahead of the visit, Downing Street said:
The UK will step up efforts to break the crime web fuelling illegal migration across the Western Balkans on a historic visit to the region by the prime minister …
There has been a 95% reduction in Albanian small boat arrivals in the last three years, while the number of Albanians returned to the country has also doubled in the past two years, with 5,294 Albanians returned in 2024, more than double the 2,035 Albanian nationals returned two years earlier.
But the prime minister has been clear that the government cannot be complacent about the success, and while in Albania this week, he is expected to announce the expansion of the joint migration taskforce with Albania and Kosovo to include North Macedonia and will further progress positive discussions with Montenegro …
As part of an enhanced strategic partnership with Albania, the prime minister and Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, are expected to agree to go further on clamping down on people smuggling, supporting human trafficking victims and ensuring Albanians deported home do not attempt a second journey.
On a visit to a ferry port near Tirana, where he inspected work done to tackle people smuggling, Starmer said:
What we have done in our joint work with Albania is shown that by working with other countries – this morning we saw law enforcement from Albania alongside law enforcement from the UK – [we have] driven down those numbers.
I want to see more of that. We are absolutely determined that we are going to clear up the mess that we have been left and make sure that we get the control we need of our borders.
Key events
UK will miss ‘best chance to accelerate growth’ without ‘serious’ reset with EU, MPs say
Lisa O’Carroll
Lisa O’Carroll is a Guardian correspondent covering trade and Brexit.
The Commons business and trade committee (BTC) today said the goverment “must not shy away from difficult decisions and trade offs” as it renegotiates its relationship with the EU.
In the absence of a green paper on the reset with the EU, the committee has published a report setting out 20 policy areas it wants the government to pursue including a reduction in checks on food and drink exports, customs simplification and accelerated joint investment in energy to reach net zero climate targets.
They also call for the UK to pursue a “multi-annual” review of the fishing deal struck in Lord Frost’s trade and cooperation deal in 2020.
Liam Byrne, Labour chair of the committee, said:
It’s time to face facts. If Britain wants to beat the forecasts and escape stagnation, we don’t need to pray to the bond markets — we need to unlock the Brussels dividend through a strategic reset with our biggest trading partner.
Today’s report from the BTC is a blunt warning that without a serious reset in our relationship with Europe, Britain will miss its best chance to accelerate growth and bolster security in a increasingly dangerous world. At stake is not only a new opportunity to rebuild our defences – but a huge prize to kickstart UK goods exports which have flatlined since Brexit. This summit is Britain’s opportunity to re-anchor our economic and security strategy in shared strength, not splendid isolation. Government must seize it.
The committee notes that 41% of all UK exports go to the EU, more than the US, India and Indo-Pacific combined, with some witnesses telling the committee GDP could grow by 1-1.5% or around £15bn if there was “deep” regulatory alignment on goods, even within British red lines of remaining outside the single market and customs union.
EU and UK at loggerheads over fishing rights and youth mobility
EU member states have rejected UK positions on fishing and a youth mobility deal as tensions mount before a much-anticipated summit between Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen next week, Jennifer Rankin and Lisa O’Carroll report.
Lindsay Hoyle criticises government for routinely ignoring ministerial code by briefing media ahead of parliament
All Commons Speakers, at least for the past 30 years, have complained about the government making major announcements to the media first, and not to parliament first. But rarely have any of them sounded quite as furious about this as Lindsay Hoyle, who this morning delivered an extended reprimand to the government about this at the start of an urgent question.
The UQ was about plans to limit the use of prison recall – something announced by the justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, at a press conference yesterday, while the Commons was still sitting. After pointing this out, and reminding MPs that details of the immigration white paper were given to the media extensively, long before the ministerial statement about it was delivered in the Commons on Monday, Hoyle went on to imply that, as well as regularly breaking the ministerial code, ministers were also guilty of hypocrisy. He said:
I note that those who now occupy senior ministerial roles were not slow to complain when the previous government made major policy announcements outside this house.
I will continue to uphold and defend the rights of this house, the rights of backbenchers, to be here, and hear it first, the most important announcements of government policy, and the right of honourable members to question ministers on those announcements in person.
That was my position under the previous government, and it has not changed under this government.
It is clear to me that the general principle set out in paragraph 9.1 of the ministerial code is being disregarded more often than it is observed.
Paragraph 9.1 of the ministerial code says:
When Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of government policy should be made in the first instance in Parliament.
Hoyle said he would write to the chair of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee asking it to consider this issue in more detail. He went on:
If the government is not going to take the ministerial code seriously, who will?
I’ve got to say, I don’t like this. I believe I am here to represent all backbenchers and backbenchers have the right to ask questions. I’m not interested in Sky News or the BBC or political programmes. I’m here to defend all of you. I will continue to defend. Please do not take MPs for granted. It is not acceptable.
And when you’re in the wrong, try apologising to the members.
Nic Dakin, a justice minister, spoke next. At the start of his response to the urgent question, he said he had heard what Hoyle said and was pleased to be in the chamber to answer questions. Hoyle pointed out that Dakin was only in the chamber because Hoyle had decided to allow this urgent question.
Hoyle is right to say that paragraph 9.1 is being ignored by this government more than in the past. But some commentators have argued that it is unrealistic to expect ministers to make major announcements in the Commons first (which, in practice, would mean either at 3.30pm on Mondays, 12.30pm on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, or 10.30am on Thursdays) and that pre-briefing actually helps MPs because it means, when they do get to question ministers about announcements, they tend to be better informed.
Here are some more pictures from Keir Starmer’s visit to Albania.
Starmer announces plans for UK and Albania to strengthen cooperation against people smugglers on visit to Tirana
According to Downing Street, Keir Starmer is the first prime minister ever to stage an official visit to Albania. But he has not been inspired by the many news stories saying Albania is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for British travellers. Starmer is focused on illegal immigration, and he is visiting the country to strenghten cooperation on tackling people smuggling gangs.
In a press release issued ahead of the visit, Downing Street said:
The UK will step up efforts to break the crime web fuelling illegal migration across the Western Balkans on a historic visit to the region by the prime minister …
There has been a 95% reduction in Albanian small boat arrivals in the last three years, while the number of Albanians returned to the country has also doubled in the past two years, with 5,294 Albanians returned in 2024, more than double the 2,035 Albanian nationals returned two years earlier.
But the prime minister has been clear that the government cannot be complacent about the success, and while in Albania this week, he is expected to announce the expansion of the joint migration taskforce with Albania and Kosovo to include North Macedonia and will further progress positive discussions with Montenegro …
As part of an enhanced strategic partnership with Albania, the prime minister and Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, are expected to agree to go further on clamping down on people smuggling, supporting human trafficking victims and ensuring Albanians deported home do not attempt a second journey.
On a visit to a ferry port near Tirana, where he inspected work done to tackle people smuggling, Starmer said:
What we have done in our joint work with Albania is shown that by working with other countries – this morning we saw law enforcement from Albania alongside law enforcement from the UK – [we have] driven down those numbers.
I want to see more of that. We are absolutely determined that we are going to clear up the mess that we have been left and make sure that we get the control we need of our borders.
Keir Starmer will not be in London tomorrow when all MPs get the chance to debate and vote on the assisted dying bill again for the first time since its second reading. But he has confirmed that he still supports the bill. Speaking to reporters in Albania, he said: “My views have been consistent throughout.”
But he also stressed that MPs will get a free vote, and that the government is neutral on the legislation.
Hospital waiting lists in England rise slightly, for first time in 7 months, figures show
It is not all good news for the government this morning. As PA Media reports, the NHS England monthly performance figures out today show that hospital waiting lists have started to nudge up again for the first time in seven months. PA says:
An estimated 7.42 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of March, relating to 6.25 million patients – up slightly from 7.40 million treatments and 6.24 million patients at the end of February.
The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.
Budget should be brought forward to avoid ‘months of tax uncertainty’, says former No 10 adviser
The Times article by Nick Williams mentioned earlier (see 9.07am) is worth reading in full. Williams gave up a job as a Treasury official to work as an economic policy adviser to Keir Starmer when he was opposition leader. He then worked for the PM in Downing Street as an adviser on planning, infrastructure and housing until last month.
Here are the main points he makes.
While the government builds momentum behind growth, the path of public spending is just not credible. Not to mend creaking local government. Not to tackle rampant crime. Not to meet the modern demands for defence. And certainly not to fill the fiscal hole from sharply cutting immigration.
The bottom line is that taxes will have to go up. There are ways this can be done which are fair and respect manifesto promises.
-
He says the budget should be brought forward, and combined with the spending review, to avoid “months of tax speculation and uncertainty”.
The government should instruct the OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] to prepare for a joint budget and spending review before summer recess. Treasury officials would hate it – it is harder to negotiate on spending when savvy secretaries of state know tax is also in play. However, it would avoid months of tax speculation and uncertainty; spare the cabinet from defending unpopular cuts which ultimately may not be delivered; and offer an earlier opportunity to atone for past mistakes.
It will also allow the OBR to pass judgment on the labour market impact of the government’s proposed welfare changes. If they agree with the government’s expectations that more people will move into work, the parliamentary handling of the legislation will be easier. If they continue with their current assessment, then the government should alter the policy.
Members of both Blue Labour and the Socialist Campaign Group have gone further and called for Rachel Reeves to change her fiscal rules. This is seen as a free lunch, but it is an invitation to disaster.
No fiscal rules are perfect and all draw seemingly arbitrary lines. They frustrate because they are a constraint; that is their point. They are easy to criticise and have few advocates. Their purpose is simple but vital: demonstrate to those who buy government debt that the government will be good for it. To lose confidence is politically fatal. Remember, it was the bond market which brought President Trump to heel.
The government has also begun giving shape to its growth strategy. The revenue brought in by Matthew Pennycook’s planning reforms allowed more painful welfare cuts to be dropped, with more to be scored in the next budget and, later this month, the new shape of the UK’s relationship with the EU will be revealed.
The Times says Williams is referring to the government dropping a plan to freeze the value of Pip (the personal independence payments) as part of its welfare reform. The government is still drastically reducing Pip eligibility. But, for people who do get it, it won’t be frozen.
At 10.30am Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, has an urgent question in the Commons on “the public safety implications of the government’s plan to set a 28-day limit on prison sentences for recalled offenders”.
And later, after the business statement, the Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty will make a statement on a review of sanctions implementation and enforcement. This will start at some point after 12pm
And Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has delivered an almost identical message in a short, televised speech to workers at the Rolls-Royce factory in Derby. She said:
We’re set to be the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the first three months of this year and that’s incredibly welcome, but I know that there is more to do.
The cost of living crisis continues to affect families right across our country. I understand that and I hear that.
But despite the challenges that we face, our economy is strong.
Starmer says growth figures show ‘strength and resilience of British economy’
Keir Starmer is in Albania, where he has welcomed the growth figures. He told broadcasters:
These growth figures are very good and very welcome, and I think they show the strength and resilience of the British economy and the potential.
I don’t think they should be seen in isolation, because we have also had four interest rate cuts in a row, and what that shows is that in an uncertain world, particularly globally, this government is making the right decisions on growth.
I would be the first to accept there is more work to do so we will roll up our sleeves and get on with that, but this is very good news for the British economy, very good for working people across the country.
Reeves welcomes growth figures as former No 10 adviser says taxes will have to rise in budget
Good morning. There is some good news for the government this morning. As Richard Partington reports, the UK economy grew by a bigger than forecast 0.7% in the first three months of the year, defying business warnings of a collapse in confidence ahead of Labour’s tax increases and Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
In a statement welcoming the figures, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said:
Today’s growth figures show the strength and potential of the UK economy.
In the first three months of the year, the UK economy has grown faster than the US, Canada, France, Italy and Germany.
Up against a backdrop of global uncertainty we are making the right choices now in the national interest.
Reeves mentioned the US, Canada, France, Italy and Germany for a reason. They are all G7 members, and one of Keir Starmer’s “five missions” announced before the election was for the UK to have the highest sustained growth in the G7. The figures for the other G7 nation, Japan, are not available yet, although they are likely to show the Japanese economy shrinking. It is only one quarter, but you can see why Reeves is keen to talk about this. She is giving interviews to broadcasters this morning.
But some of them may want to ask her about an article in the Times by Nick Williams, a former Treasury official who worked as an adviser to Keir Starmer on economic policy, and then on planning policy, from 2023 until last month. Williams says that Reeves will have to raise tax in the budget. He says:
While the government builds momentum behind growth, the path of public spending is just not credible.
Not to mend creaking local government. Not to tackle rampant crime. Not to meet the modern demands for defence. And certainly not to fill the fiscal hole from sharply cutting immigration.
The bottom line is that taxes will have to go up. There are ways this can be done which are fair and respect manifesto promises.
The next opportunity to do so is the autumn budget. This is also realistically the last opportunity to make a meaningful change that the public has time to feel before the next election.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is talking to broadcasters about the growth figures on a trip to Derbyshire.
9.30am: Heidi Alexander, transport secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
9.30am: NHS England publishes its monthly performance figures.
9.30am: The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly figures on prosecutions and convictions.
10am: Kemi Badenoch takes part in a Q&A with former Canadian PM Stephen Harper at the International Democracy Union meeting in Brussels.
After 10.30am: Lucy Powell, leader of the Commons, takes questions on next week’s Commons business.
11.20am: Keir Starmer is in Albania where he is due to hold a joint press conference with the prime minister, Edi Rama. Later he will visit British troops and their Albanian counterparts training Ukrainian soldiers.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Here is the agenda for the day.
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