Politics latest: 'Big questions' for Sunak over claims against suspended Tory MP; Sturgeon's husband charged over alleged embezzlement (2024)

Thank you for joining us on the Politics Hub for another busy day in Westminster.

Here's what happened:

• Nicola Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell has been charged by police amid an investigation into the SNP's funding and finances;
• Tory MP Mark Menzies has been suspended by the parliamentary party while it investigates newspaper claims he misused campaign funds;
• Mr Menzies disputes the allegations, but the Conservative Party said it was taking them "seriously";
• Conservative peer Ruth Davidson told Sky'sElectoral Dysfunctionpodcast she doesn't think Mr Menzies will survive the week as an MP;
• The Scottish government ditched its flagship target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030;
• Number 10 confirmed again it will not be making concessions on changes to the Rwanda bill requested by the House of Lords. The legislation will return to the Commons on Monday;
• The Conservatives hit a record low of 19% for voting intention in a new poll published by Ipsos UK;
• The EU proposed a post-Brexit youth work and study scheme with the UK.

Join us again from 6am for the very latest political news.

By Adam Parsons, Europe correspondent, and Tim Baker, political reporter

Young people could be able to move more easily between the UK and Europe and stay longer to work, study and train under proposed plans by the European Union

Under the proposal, which has been put forward by the European Commission,new rules would be drawn up to allow for greater movement between the UK and EU countries for people aged between 18 and 30.

Formal negotiations have not yet begun, and a UK source told Sky News no formal proposal had been put forward by Brussels to begin negotiating on.

The proposal will be further discussed by the European Council, which represents all the nations, before negotiations start in earnest.

The plans proposed by the EU would allow young people to stay in Europe for periods of four years, with the same rules extended to EU citizens coming to Britain.

It would also mean EU students paying the same fees as British ones. Since Brexit, UK universities have charged much higher fees to European students.

Announcing the move, the European Commission said it wanted to take an "innovative" approach to tackling the barriers experienced by young people looking to travel from the EU to the UK and vice versa for longer periods.

Read more here:

By Faye Brown, political reporter

Sir Keir Starmer said police should be involved in the case of suspended Tory MP Mark Menzies, who faces allegations he misused campaign funds.

The backbench MP for Flyde in Lancashire has lost the Conservative whip after The Times published claims he had used political donations to cover medical expenses and pay off "bad people" who had locked him in a flat and demanded thousands of pounds for his release.

Mr Menzies disputes the allegations, and the Conservative Party has said it is looking into the claims and takes them seriously.

The Labour leader told reporters during a visit to Teesside: "There are obviously a lot of unanswered questions in relation to these allegations. Not least why it seems the Conservative Party took so long to act and whether they've reported this to the police, who it seems to me should be involved in this."

He said there is a "degree of frustration" that two weeks away from the local elections "yet again we're talking about misbehaviour by Tory MPs".

Earlier, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps denied suggestions there was a problem within the Tory party, telling Sky News: "There are MPs from other parties that have experienced similar problems or misdemeanours and it is right that there are processes in place."

Read more here:

Senior Tory Ruth Davidson says she'll be "surprised" if MP Mark Menzies lasts the week, following allegations - which he denies - that he misused campaign funds.

On the latest episode of Sky'sElectoral Dysfunctionpodcast, which you'll be able to listen to from 6am on Friday, Baroness Davidson says the claims against him are "utterly jaw dropping".

"It is so out with the bounds of what being a responsible, elected member is and how you treat your constituency association. It is staggering, like utterly staggering," she says.

"I would find it difficult to believe that an investigation can be held and he can be cleared in time to stand a general election.

"In fact, I would be surprised if he survives the week here and doesn't just resign."

Mr Menzies is alleged to have used thousands of pounds given by donors to fund medical expenses and to have made a late-night call to a party volunteer asking for help because he had been locked up by "bad people" demanding money for his release, according to The Times.

He has been suspended by the parliamentary party while it investigates the allegations.

The MP for Fylde in Lancashire, who was one of Rishi Sunak's trade envoys, disputes the allegations but the Conservative Party said it is taking them "seriously" and "will always investigate matters put to them".

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News earlier: "There's a process in place. He has had the whip withdrawn.

"There's further information that the chief whip I understand became familiar with yesterday and actions being swiftly taken on the basis of that further information.

"I think it is important to stress that the MP in question here denies the allegations and so on basis of sort of fairness and proper justice, I think it’s important to mention that."

To hear more from Baroness Davidson's conversation with Sky's political editorBeth Rigbyand Labour MP Jess Phillips, tune into the full episode of Electoral Dysfunction from 6am on Friday.

👉Listen above then tap here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts👈

Read more here:

Nicola Sturgeon's husband and former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has arrived back at home after being charged by police amid an investigation into the party's funding and finances.

He returned to the home he shares with Ms Sturgeon on the outskirts of Glasgow earlier this evening.

Police said he has been charged in connection with the embezzlement of funds from the party.

He was questioned by detectives after being taken into Police Scotlandcustody on Thursday at 9.13am.

He remained in police custody until he was charged just after 6.30pm.

An SNP spokesperson said: "While this development will come as a shock, the police investigation remains ongoing and it would, therefore, be inappropriate to make any comment."

Read more here:

Over a year ago, Rishi Sunak made five pledges for voters to judge him on.

The prime minister met his promise to halve inflation by the end of 2023.

But with the general election approaching, how is Mr Sunak doing on delivering his other promises?

You can see the progress for yourself below:

The European Commission wants to open up post-Brexit talks which could make it easier for young Britons to study, work and live in the EU.

It said it would ask EU Council member states permission to negotiate with the UK government on a youth mobility agreement.

It suggested Britain had shown interest in agreements with individual European nations, but said an EU-wide approach was preferable.

Downing Street, however, suggested bilateral schemes were in the UK's best interest.

Under the prospective deal proposed by the Commission, UK and EU citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 would be able to stay for up to four years in their destination country.

It would not amount to reinstating free movement, which the UK gave up when it left the EU.

European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said: "The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union has hit young people in the EU and the UK who would like to study, work and live abroad particularly hard.

"Today, we take the first step towards an ambitious but realistic agreement between the EU and the UK that would fix this issue.

"Our aim is to rebuild human bridges between young Europeans on both sides of the Channel."

A No 10 spokeswoman said: "The UK does have at a bilateral level a number of such schemes in place and we do that where it's in the best interest of the UK.

"And we do it as long as it meets our requirement to balance bringing in skills to the UK and exchanging those skills, but at the same time making sure that it's in line with our objectives to also be promoting and fostering UK talents and skills.

"We have spoken about wanting to reduce legal migration and also about wanting to support UK talent and skills and that's why we have a system in place whereby we have a number of agreements with individual EU member states where that works in our interests and we have that rather than a Commission-wide agreement."

Labour, meanwhile, has said it has "no plans for a youth mobility scheme".

Conservative MP Mark Menzies has been suspended from the parliamentary party in light of allegations he abused local Tory party funds to pay off "bad people".

Mark Menzies strongly disputes the claims which also include accusations he used campaign funds to pay his personal medical bills.

On the Conservatives' investigation into the claims, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News: "There's further information that the chief whip I understand became familiar with yesterday and actions being swiftly taken on the basis of that further information.

"I think it is important to stress that the MP in question here denies the allegations and so on basis of sort of fairness and proper justice, I think it's important to mention that."

On the Sky News Daily, Niall Paterson is joined by political correspondent Darren McCaffrey to analyse how Westminster will cope with another scandal.

Plus, the Scottish government has come under fire for rowing back on its climate commitments.

Niall speaks to science correspondent Thomas Moore about the consequences of the government missing eight out of 12 of its annual climate commitments.

👉Listen above then tap here to follow the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts👈

By Connor Gillies, Scotland correspondent

The climate gloves are off in a tale as old as time. Holyrood vs Westminster: the Green edition.

The SNP and its former leader Nicola Sturgeon stood on the global stage and won plaudits for their bold ambitions to help the slowdown in environmental doom.

Ms Sturgeon basked in a standing ovation when she boasted that Scotland was the first country on the planet to declare a “climate emergency”. But was it all talk? Was it without real substance?

The reality is the Edinburgh government, which includes Green Party ministers, has failed to hit its own targets for years and has faced claims of over promising and under delivering.

At Holyrood on Thursday, ministers climbed down from their big plans of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by the end of the decade while lashing out at cuts from Downing Street making it more difficult (see post at 2.52pm).

The reality is the fallout of Rishi Sunak’s backpedalling last year on the UK’s climate targets has impacted what Scotland can deliver within its constraints. Edinburgh was, in part, pinning plans on consequential cash from London.

But, is that the full story? Some would say the separate tartan targets were far from achievable.

Humza Yousaf told Sky News he is fully committed to net zero by 2045 which is still five years ahead of Westminster. It feels a political world away to say whether that date will also fall victim to tweaks and changes.

Nevertheless, it reveals the road to net zero continues to throw up surprises along the way.

People voting in local elections in England on 2 May will need to provide photo ID.

It is the second year the requirement has been in place - but in 2023,14,000 people couldn't cast their ballot because they didn't take ID to the polling booth.

There are 22 different types of ID you can use - and if you don't have any of them, you can register for a Voter Authority Certificate.

Here's everything you need to know to avoid being caught out: