[Andy McDandy]

Nobody will lend Reeves money as borrowing hits zero.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ha ha,

I get that it's a political live blog, but the focus on month to month figures is overdone, particularly when capital is included too, as that can vary a lot.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This sounds reasonably sensible. Of course, it's marginal, people who arrive with visas frequently disappear.

Thousands of European airline staff are being trained to stop people boarding flights to Britain without valid visas, in a move billed by the foreign secretary as a digital upgrade to border controls.

David Lammy said the measures marked a step towards “more secure, more digital and more effective” borders, but the move could raise questions about human rights safeguards.

Guardian interpretation.

It comes as Labour seek to outflank Reform UK on border control and respond to what the party believes is public anxiety over uncontrolled immigration. Keir Starmer is seeking to maintain a hard rhetorical line, with returns and enforcement appearing to be central to his government’s approach.

Returns and enforcement, or as we might call it, core function of government, Outflanking Reform, apparently.

[Youngian]

Would have thought it's technically easy to know who is coming into the country the moment they book a ticket. If you have no ID card or passport then you can't buy a ticket.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Do you need a visa to book a ticket?

[mattomac]

Do you need a visa to book a ticket?

I believe my ex used to have to include it on his flight details.

[The Weeping Angel]

Fair enough too.

I have no objections to her resigning over this. I don't like these cuts the system needs Reform but not like this and I fear the fallout.

[Tubby Isaacs]

One unnecessary part of this is that Universal Credit is going to rise above inflation. There are some long term reasons for that, but it means a load more to be saved from disabled people. I'd have thought somebody needs to say "Liz, great long term thinking, very brave, but do you think there might be a reason why nobody before you has done this?"

[kreuzberger]

Do you need a visa to book a ticket?

I am not sure that giving access to Home Office databases to ticketing agents in Karachi is high on the list of priorities.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Yeah. I'm wondering how seriously people at some airlines are going to take this. But it's not "outflanking Reform".

[The Weeping Angel]

It's a good example of lobbyfication.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Are you talking about assisted dying there?

Cabinet didn't all vote the same way in a free vote. What a shock.

[The Weeping Angel]

It's more to do with the story stopping people from boarding flights entering without valid visas.

[Tubby Isaacs]

That apparently happens anyway, government is offering extra training. I think it may have come in with Blair’s asylum bill from about 2003.

“Outflanking Reform” though.

[Tubby Isaacs]

But I'm wondering if that Tony Blair bill actually happened, because I keep hearing that the lesson of "history" is that centre/left parties doing things like this "always backfires".

Similarly, did Albanese just win? Seeing he accepted Tony Abbott's pushbacks policy, he must have lost. Mark Carney must also lost, having run on reducing immigration.

[The Weeping Angel]

Is there an actual concrete example of a centre/left party doing just that and the right winning?

[Tubby Isaacs]

I don't know. There's got to be some middle way between that silly immigration speech and allowing free hits to Farage on "open borders".

[Tubby Isaacs]

Outflanking Reform latest.

The Government did sound like it wasn't keen on it, but it didn't actually rule it out. Fairly standard negotiation tactics.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This, I think, was announced some time ago, but it's happening. Good news, relatively, for Antonia's constituency, less money for richer ones. Ed Davey will no doubt oppose this, given where his base is, which is unsurprising, anyone is going to do the same. But I'm unconvinced that the government would become more progressive if it had to run everything past him.

I think she's an excellent MP (aside from assisted dying) but she'll probably get voted out at the next election and replaced by some Reform goon who says he'll bring back all the factories. The sad irony is that Antonia is one of the MPs most engaged with manufacturing, training etc.

https://bsky.app/profile/antoniabance.b ... 4euz44y22f

[The Weeping Angel]

Yeah, I like Antonia too. How many seats do you think Labour will lose at the next election?