Sir James Cleverly (centre) is taking on Angela Rayner and Sadiq Khan in his new role (Image: Jordan Pettitt / Dan Kitwood/Getty Images / Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Tory big beast Sir James Cleverly has marked his return to frontline politics with a pledge to “lead the fight” against Labour’s “failure” on housing and ensure Britain has the homes it needs. The former Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary will go head to head with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner in the Commons.
His return from the backbenches was the biggest change in Kemi Badenoch’s reshuffle. Sir James – who ran for the Tory leadership last year – is widely seen as a potential contender for Mayor of London.
Sir James launched a vociferous attack on Labour’s record on housing so far, singling out the decision to scrap a review intended to boost housebuilding in the capital.
He told the Sunday Express: “Britain is being let down by this Labour Government. Our country needs more homes but this Government is not serious about delivering them.
“Labour’s reckless decision to scrap the London Plan review, slash housing targets in the capital, divert much-needed housing stock to accommodate asylum seekers and preside over the lowest level of housing starts in years paints a bleak picture. This is undoing all the progress we made under the last Conservative government where we delivered one million homes across England.
“Under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership, we will restore confidence, protect property rights and get Britain building again. I am ready to lead the fight against this failure because for the Conservatives, housing is not just about numbers, it’s about aspiration, ownership and the dignity of a home you can call your own.”
Sir James vowed: “Only the Conservatives will back the makers to ensure we get Britain building again.”
A source close to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Londoners won’t forget the Tories’ terrible housing legacy – soaring rents and mortgage payments, cuts to funding, and their disastrous decision to abandon housing targets. Despite the Tories’ legacy, Sadiq has delivered for Londoners.
“He’s completed more new homes than any time since the 1930s and started more new council homes than any time since the 1970s. The Mayor will work alongside the new Labour Government to deliver the homes Londoners need.
“Sadiq welcomes the new funding settlement of £11.7billion over 10 years for affordable housebuilding in London – the biggest and longest the capital has ever received.”
Sir James Cleverly brings frontline government experience to the shadow cabinet (Image: Getty)
A Reform UK spokesman said: “Successive Labour and Conservative governments have failed to not only build enough houses, but also to curb the demand for housing.”
He said it was “no wonder we’re in the mess we’re in” after years of high net migration, adding: “Supply simply cannot keep up, making it almost impossible for Brits to access affordable homes.”
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Keir Starmer faces new small boats crisis as people smuggling prosecutions fall to new low
People smuggling convictions have fallen to a record low (Image: Getty)
Keir Starmer has been warned that migrant smuggling gangs “are laughing at him” as new stats reveal prosecutions have fallen to a new low. Research shows that prosecutions of individuals facilitating small boat crossings fell a whopping 60% during Labour’s first year in power, despite Sir Keir’s repeated pledge to “smash the gangs”.
Between July 2024 and June 2024, just 153 people were prosecuted for aiding illegal entry into Britain, a huge fall from the record high seen under Robert Jenrick’s tenure as immigration minister. Mr Jenrick’s term in office saw 471 people smugglers prosecuted in 2023, and 424 in 2024. In addition, just 446 of the 43,309 illegal migrants who came to Britain during Labour’s first 12 months were charged with immigration offences, representing less than 1% of total crossings.
Robert Jenrick said people smugglers are laughing at Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)
The revelation is a massive blow to the Prime Minister, whose sold focus for the past 2 years has been promising to take on the people smuggling gangs in order to stop small boat crossings.
During the same time, illegal immigration has risen by 50% under Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, while illegal immigration into Europe has fallen by 20% during the same time, according to Frontex figures.
Mr Jenrick, the shadow Justice Secretary, said: “Keir Starmer boasted he would smash the gangs, but the gangs are laughing at him. They’ve never had it easier and crossings are up 50 per cent as a result. We’re now heading towards being the illegal immigration capital of Europe.
“It’s clear Starmer is incapable of stopping the boats and his backbenchers don’t want him to. The country cannot go on like this – the situation in the Channel is a national security emergency.
“Those that arrive illegally from the safety of France must be swiftly deported so the message is clear: if you break into Britain, you will not get a life here.”
Keir Starmer is failing to stop boat crossings despite new agreements with Europe (Image: Getty)
The top Tory has also warned that Labour’s new sentencing council guidelines, unveiled by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, will significantly water down sentences for immigration offences.
New reforms will mean that criminals will be able to get their prison sentences cut by 40% if they plead guilty, up from one third under the current system.
When paired with other Labour reforms allowing criminals to serve just one-third of their sentence before being released, someone sentenced to 10 years in prison could be let free after just two years.
The Tories warn that these reforms mean thousands of illegal migrants, if convicted, would not receive a prison sentence of more than 12 months, making them ineligible for deportation under current rules.
The official opposition’s research suggests Ms Mahmood’s sentencing reforms will mean hundreds of immigration offenders each year will now avoid prison and deportation.
Sir Keir is introducing new anti-terrorism style laws to attempt an end to people smuggling, including the freezing of bank accounts.
He insists his new law introduces sanctions “very similar to the powers we have used against terrorists, which allows us to seize their assets, to stop them travelling, and to put them out of business.
“The people running this trade are only interested in the amount of money that they can make, and if you can break that model, you can reduce that organised crime.”
The Government has deported 24,000 people since coming to power, however just 6,339 of these were “enforced returns”, meaning they were deported involuntarily.
A Labour spokesman said: “Robert Jenrick can reinvent himself as many times as he likes, but he cannot rewrite history. With Labour in office, more people were charged with assisting unlawful immigration in our first year in government than in the entire time that Jenrick was in charge of the Immigration System. Indeed, we charged more people with that offence in our first three months than he managed in his last six.
“But much more important than Robert Jenrick’s failures in the past are the ones he is making now, and we don’t just mean screwing up this attempted attack story against Labour. If he was truly serious about prosecuting dangerous people smugglers, he would not have voted against our new law to criminalise people who endanger the lives of others in the Channel, and would instead be supporting us to take that action against those who cause women and children to suffocate and drown on overcrowded small boats.”
