Supreme court set to rule on Rwanda policy as Michael Howard defends Sunak’s leadership – UK politics live

Good morning. Sometimes the news arrives in a steady flow, and sometimes it tumbles out all at once. Today is one of those days. Within less than two hours, in its most important judgment since the prorogation case, the supreme court will deliver its judgment on whether the government’s Rwanda deportation policy is lawful. Two hours later Rishi Sunak will take PMQs, and he will be speaking as he faces the biggest challenge to his leadership in his (admittedly short) prime ministerial career. The Today programme has just given its 8.10 interview slot to a Tory MP calling for him to be replaced. And later, at 7pm, there is likely to be a vote in the Commons on a Gaza ceaesefire proposal that will expose serious splits in the Labour party.

All this will overshadow some good news for Sunak this morning; he has achieved his target of halving inflation.

In January I made halving inflation this year my top priority.

I did that because it is, without a doubt, the best way to ease the cost of living and give families financial security.

Today, we have delivered on that pledge. pic.twitter.com/qcfuLeLiXe

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) November 15, 2023

As a leader, it is never great to have one of your backbenchers calling for your resignation, but Sunak can take some comfort from the fact that Today’s guest was Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a relatively obscure hardline Brexiter and Boris Johnson loyalist whose open letter calling for a vote of no confidence in Sunak on Monday has failed to persuade colleagues to join her cause. On the Today programme she said:

Constituents have been writing in and saying Rishi must go. And I think that’s we’ve got to bite the bullet now. I think it’ll get to the stage anyway, if we are going to keep going so behind in the polling where Rishi will be gone – let’s do it now, let’s get a new leader.

Jenkyns said she would like to see Priti Patel as the next leader.

The interview with Jenkyns was immediately followed by an interview with Michael Howard, a former home secretary, a former Conservative leader, and now a peer. He said any Tories who thought it would be a good idea to have another leadership contest were “some distance from reality”. He said the party was “very fortunate” to have Sunak as PM and that it was better off without Suella Braverman as home secretary. It is Braverman’s open letter to Sunak last night that has reignited talk of a leadership challenge.

Here is the agenda for the day.

10am: The supreme court delivers its judgment in the Rwanda case.

12pm: Rishi Sunak faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.

After 12.30pm: James Cleverly, the home secretary, delivers a Common statement on the Rwanda judgment.

After 1.30pm: MPs resume their debate on the king’s speech.

After 1pm MPs vote on the king’s speech, with Keir Starmer facing a potential revolt on an amendment calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

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