Labour having to tackle ‘chaos’ in the asylum system, says Yvette Cooper – UK politics live

Key events

My colleague Graeme Wearden on our business live blog has some bad news for Chancellor Rachel Reeves:

UK business output is contracting this month for the first time in over a year, as the tax increases announced in last month’s budget hit companies.

Data firm S&P Global says British firms are giving “a clear thumbs down” to the measures in Rachel Reeves’s first budget, such as the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions.

Its flash UK PMI Composite Output Index, which tracks activity across the UK economy, has dropped to a 13-month low of 49.9 this month, down from October’s 51.8. That shows a marginal contraction (50 points = stagnation).

You can follow developments with that with Graeme …

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has also reacted to those figures about social care in England from the Nuffield Trust that Patrick Butler has reported on.

Davey said:

These damning figures lay bare the devastating impact of the national insurance hike on social care. The government must immediately do the right thing and exempt care providers from this ill-thought through tax hike.

This hit is creating a perfect storm for a care sector already damaged by the Conservative party’s neglect. Now there is a real danger small care providers will simply not survive.

Ultimately, it’s people in care who will suffer the consequences. The Chancellor must urgently act to help our social care sector before it’s too late.

Patrick Butler

Patrick Butler is the Guardian’s social policy editor

Large parts of England’s adult social care market face collapse as a result of tax and wage rises announced in the budget, with devastating consequences for vulnerable and older people who rely on care services, a leading thinktank has warned.

The Nuffield Trust said that while the government has consistently spoken of its long term ambition to reform the social care sector, there may be “little of it left” to reform unless it takes urgent action to stabilise the care market financially.

The care sector faced an extra £2.8bn cost burden from next April, the trust estimated, adding most care providers will struggle to shoulder their share of the bill, and at least £1bn extra was needed to keep the market afloat.

Read more of Patrick Butler’s report here: Large parts of adult social care market in England face collapse, thinktank warns

During her interview on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Yvette Cooper stressed that greater international cooperational was needed to tackle people smugglers.

She said what was being seen was “the complex network of criminal gangs operating right across Europe.”

She continued:

That is why we have set out an approach with new border security commands, with also a big increase in international cooperation and the work that we are doing with other countries. I think that is immensely important.

She argued that after a large increase in Channel crossings in the first half of the year under Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government, “that has stabilised now” and “is still down compared to two years ago, 2022.”

Of the crossings, she said they are “really dangerous” and “deeply damaging,” continuing:

It undermines border security, puts lives at risk, and that’s why we’ve been so clear about needing to take action against these criminal gangs, but also to work with other countries right across Europe on the issues that countries are facing.

Co-leader of the Green party of England and Wales, Adrian Ramsay, has been critical of the rise in energy bills. He said:

This energy price cap news will fuel winter fears for millions, including those set to lose their winter fuel allowance. We need more than ever to cut energy use and bills with a nationwide home insulation programme.

Polly Toynbee has written today about this week’s farming protests, asking how will we ever make tax fairer amid such grumbling?

Incidentally, we are anticipating that Keir Starmer, between 11am and noon, will be facing interviews on six different BBC regional radio stations. These media rounds have historically turned out a lot trickier than people often expect – Liz Truss in particular came unstuck.

The prime minister has been posting to social media this morning to promote Labour’s new “Respect” orders. Keir Starmer said:

As Director of Public Prosecutions, I saw the terrible effect of antisocial behaviour first-hand – and fought for justice for victims. As prime minister, I am delivering on my promise to tackle it with new respect orders, so people face the consequences of their actions.

He added in a later post:

People say that antisocial behaviour is ‘low-level crime’. They don’t get it. With my government, the perpetrators creating havoc won’t be able to get away with it any more.

Yvette Cooper: Tories had ‘weakened the powers that were available for action on antisocial behaviour’

Home secretary Yvette Cooper has said Labour’s new “Respect” orders are a modernised version of the Asbo, accusing the Conservatives of having “weakened the powers that were available for action on antisocial behaviour.”

She told viewers of Sky News:

This is a modernised version of Asbos, because we think we have to have stronger action on antisocial behaviour that particularly is blighting town centres.

We’ve seen the collapse of neighbourhood policing in many of our town centres and communities, we’ve also seen the increase in things like shoplifting and street theft and also antisocial behaviour – real problems that are completely unfair on communities.

What the respect orders would do is mean that repeat offenders could be, for example, banned from town centres, that you can put stronger restrictions in place on adults who are repeatedly causing real harassment and havoc in the community, and then make sure that you can take proper arrest action.

PA Media reports she said “The Conservatives weakened the powers that were available for action on antisocial behaviour. We’re strengthening the powers, and also were putting neighbourhood police back on the beat.”

She adds:

You’ve got to have that combination though, the stronger powers, and also the additional neighbourhood police which we have committed to as well, because I think communities feel really let down at the moment by persistent antisocial behaviour.

Ed Davey: ‘time for government to live up to their word’ on energy bills

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has called on the government to freeze people’s energy bills, after Ofgem’s announcement of a rise in the energy price cap in England, Scotland and Wales.

He said:

Enough is enough. This further rise in energy prices cannot go ahead. As we enter another cold and difficult winter, many people simply can’t afford to see their heating bills go up yet again.

The disastrous government cuts to the winter fuel payments coupled with this energy price rise will be a hammer blow for millions of vulnerable pensioners this winter.

The new government must step in now, cancel this bill rise and reinstate winter fuel payments to stop families and pensioners being left out in the cold this winter.

This is a government that has pledged to bring down energy bills, it is time for them to live up to their word.

After energy cap rise, Ed Miliband says ‘every wind turbine and solar panel’ will bring down prices

An average annual energy bill in England, Scotland and Wales will rise by 1.2% to £1,738 from January, heaping further pressure on household finances.

The energy regulator Ofgem said its quarterly price cap would go up by £21 a year, or about £1.75 a month, for a typical household’s gas and electricity use.

The increase for the January-to-April cap comes on top of a 10% rise for the period between October and December, when it was £1,717 a year.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband said:

The rise in the energy price cap will cause concern for families struggling with the cost of living. That is why the government will do all we can to help people.

We are taking action to insulate homes, providing the warm home discount to three million families [a one-off £150 discount off your electricity bill], driving increased take up of pension credit, and working with suppliers to ensure there is help available for the most vulnerable customers.

As long as Britain remains exposed to the rollercoaster of global fossil fuel markets, we will be vulnerable to energy price rises over which we have no control.

Every wind turbine and solar panel we install, every home we insulate will help to protect consumers and bring down bills once and for all.

Jamie Grierson

Supporting Brexit is not a belief that is protected from workplace discrimination, an employment tribunal has ruled, as a former Ukip councillor lost her claim that she was bullied and harassed by her charity employer because she supported the UK’s departure from the EU.

Colette Fairbanks was sacked from her job at the drug and alcohol rehabilitation charity Change Grow Live after sharing “offensive” posts about immigrants on social media, a tribunal hearing was told.

Fairbanks argued that her political views were philosophical beliefs protected by the Equality Act. These included a belief the UK should be outside of the EU, an opposition to illegal migration and being happy to leave the European convention on human rights.

However the tribunal found that these were not beliefs that were protected by the Equality Act. Wanting to leave the EU was an opinion rather than a philosophical belief

Read more from Jamie Grierson here: Pro-Brexit views not protected from workplace discrimination, tribunal rules

Yvette Cooper: UK needs ‘stronger action’ on people able to work illegally

Home secretary Yvette Cooper has told listeners of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that she believes stronger action is needed on the ability for people to work illegally in the UK.

Asked about criticism from mayors in northern France that it is very easy for people crossing the Channel to find work and homes in Britain, which acts to draw them, Cooper said:

I think some of the points they’ve been making is about illegal working in the UK. I have to say, I do believe that we do need stronger action on illegal working in the UK.

We’ve seen employers exploit migration, and that’s why, since the Labor government was elected, we’ve increased some of the immigration enforcement visits by around 20% over the summer.

We are increasing returns. So enforced returns again up nearly 20% since the election compared to the previous year. Eeturns have gone up to around 10,000 since the election. And this is about really saying that the rules should be respected and enforced.

Yvette Cooper: Labour having to tackle ‘chaos in the UK asylum system’

Home secretary Yvette Cooper has faced a long interview on the BBC Radio 4 about the government’s immigration plans, and said the government is having to tackle “chaos in the UK asylum system.”

Cooper says she believed that Labour’s policies could make a difference. She said:

If you go back five or six years, we didn’t have these dangerous boat crossings happening in the Channel. What’s happened is criminal gangs have been allowed to take hold and create an entire criminal industry.

So we are determined to go after the supply chains, to go after the boats, to go after the engines, but also to go after the gangs themselves. They’ve been allowed to get away with it for too long.

She said the government was “strengthening the enforcement arrangements around the rules, strengthening systems around returns and tackling the chaos in the UK asylum system.”

“We think that can make a difference,” she said, and said there was international co-operation, adding:

I think what people really, across the UK, but also across Europe, want to see is strong border security and also a properly controlled and managed, fair asylum system.

So that those who fled persecution do get support, but those who actually have no right to be in different countries do face proper enforcement of the rules

And we don’t have any of those systems in place at the moment, both here and across Europe, and that’s the action we’re determined to take.