Politics latest: Minister gives frank answer when asked if she'll read Liz Truss book; Rwanda plan back in Commons after more Lords defeats (2024)

By Darren McCaffrey, political correspondent

Rishi Sunak faces his first PMQs in nearly a month shortly, and in many ways things appear to be on the up.

The Rwanda bill is nearly through Parliament, inflation is down again and his legacy smoking bill passed its second reading last night.

But will Sir Keir Starmer use his questions to expose those Tory divisions on smoking, or focus on how long NHS waiting lists remain?

Two things are certain this week.

Liz Truss will definitely get a mention from the Labour leader in the week her book is released.

And in retort, Angela Rayner is likely feature among questions from Conservative MPs in the wake of news Greater Manchester Police is investigating allegations she may have broken electoral law.

"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👈

At noon, Prime Minister's Questions will kick off in the House of Commons for the first time since the three-week Easter recess.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will ask his usual six questions, and the SNP's Westminster leader his two, before the floor will open to backbenchers.

Here's who we expect to hear from:

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.

There's also an amendment that says Rwanda "cannot be treated as a safe country" until the Independent Monitoring Committee - created by the treaty agreed with Rwanda - affirms that the mechanisms it creates have been fully implemented.

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.

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.

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business reporter

The UK economy is going to grow less than expected this year - with the International Monetary Fund warning the country will remain the second worst performer in the G7.

Newly revised forecasts indicate the UK's gross domestic product will expand by just 0.5% in 2024 - a slight downgrade from previous estimates in January - compared with global growth of 3.2%.

However, UK GDP is tipped to increase by 1.5% in 2025 - making it the third-best performer among G7 nations - as households recover following a prolonged cost of living crisis.

According to the IMF, inflation in the British economy will remain at about 2.5% for the rest of this year but fall towards the Bank of England's target of 2% next year.

You can read more from Sky News below:

Rishi Sunak has been badly burned by a Commons rebellion by nearly 60 Tory MPs who voted against his flagship Tobacco and Vaping Bill.

When Commons deputy speaker Dame Eleanor Laing called the vote just before 7pm, the rebels on the Conservative backbenches made a lot of noise screaming "No!"

And minutes later, it was revealed that their rebellion was not only noisy, but also a defiant show of strength by the mutinous Tory Right that will leave the PM and his allies gasping.

In an ominous but entirely predictable warning shot to the PM, the list of rebels included a roll call of the right-wing contenders for the Tory crown, both serving and former Cabinet ministers.

Topping the list of leadership candidates desperate to please those party activists was Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary, who never misses an opportunity to play to the Tory gallery.

Next was the equally ambitious Robert Jenrick, who also voted against the bill, while Penny Mordaunt, another darling of the activists, appears to have abstained.

Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, dashed back from a controversial conference of right-wingers in Brussels so she could fire her latest salvo against Mr Sunak.

But the most high-profile and public rebel during the six-hour debate was former prime minister Liz Truss, who made a speech lashing out at "virtue-signalling" and "finger-wagging, nannying control freaks".

Read Jon's analysis in full below...

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

With the local election campaign well under way, Labour is still sitting comfortably on a roughly 20-point lead, averaging at 43.5% in the polls, with the Tories on 23.5%.

In third is Reform UK on 12.3%, followed by the Lib Dems on 9.3%.

The Green Party stands at 6.2%, and the SNP on 3.1%.

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

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron is in Jerusalem today, where he is meeting with a number of high-level Israeli officials, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But first on the agenda was a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, joined by German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock.

Next, Rishi Sunak is asked if it is "appropriate" to use the RAF to send people to Rwanda, after reports that Voyagers could be deployed for flights.

The prime minister did not answer the question, but did not deny this is the case.

He says: "My priority is to stop the boats, I said this very clearly when I became prime minister, and right now we're trying to get the bill through parliament in the face of enormous opposition from the Labour Party and in the House of Lords.

"But once we get this bill onto the statute books we will do everything we can to get flights off to Rwanda, because fundamentally it's a matter of fairness.

"It's simply not right that people can jump the queue and come to our country illegally."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has today hailed the UK's latest inflation figures, which show a minor fall from 3.4% to 3.2% in March.

He said: "Today's figures show that after a tough couple of years, our economic plan is working and inflation continues to fall.

"Having been 11% when I became prime minister, it's now fallen to just over 3%, the lowest level in two-and-a-half years.

"We have also seen energy bills falling, mortgage rates falling and, just this week, data showed people's wages have been rising faster than inflation for 12 months in a row."

He added: "My simple message would be: if we stick to the plan, we can ensure that everyone has a brighter future."