Political news

• Stoke and Copeland byelections: Counting starts as Labour hope to hold seats - Politics live

  23-02-2017 23:15
  
  Rolling coverage of the Stoke-on-Trent Central and Copeland byelection counts and the announcement of the results 10.15pm GMTThe Tories believe they could be on the verge of an historic win in Copeland tonight. Those I’ve spoken to who have canvassed in Copeland are very bullish about their prospects. “I’m pretty sure Labour is going to lose tonight,” said John Procter MEP, who was out and about in the west Cumbrian constituency on Thursday. He went on:What I’ve com
  
  Read more

• Labour scents hope of Brexit guarantee for EU citizens in UK

  23-02-2017 23:00
  
  Tory peer backs article 50 bill amendment, fuelling optimism that cross-party support may draw concession from Theresa MayLabour is increasingly optimistic it can force concessions from the government over the status of EU nationals in post-Brexit Britain, after securing cross-party backing for an amendment to the article 50 bill.Angela Smith, Labour’s leader in the Lords, said: “My sense is there’s real momentum behind this one, and my sense talking to peers across the house a
  
  Read more

• Stop being sentimental about child refugees, says Tory MP

  23-02-2017 20:45
  
  Pauline Latham tells Commons debate on child refugees from France that it is not the UK’s job to look after themCritics of the government’s decision to close the door on refugee children from Calais have been urged to “stop being sentimental” by a Tory backbencher.Pauline Latham, the Conservative MP for mid-Derbyshire, said other governments across Europe should be looking after the children in their jurisdictions, not Britain.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Don’t abolish the Lords. History shows it really can be reformed | Meg Russell

  23-02-2017 20:43
  
  From its Brexit debate to peers’ allowances, the second chamber has faced intense criticism this week. But it’s undergone huge changes, and can do so againThe House of Lords has been in the line of fire this week. During its debate on article 50 there were claims that peers had no right to thwart the will of the House of Commons or the referendum result. As if to emphasise the point, prime minister Theresa May sat in the chamber as the bill was discussed.And then, ahead of a BBC docu
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Enda Kenny calls for united Ireland Brexit clause

  23-02-2017 20:42
  Irish prime minister wants easy EU access for Northern Ireland in case of unification
  
  Read more

• Martin Rowson on the UK's net migration figures – cartoon

  23-02-2017 20:26
  
  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• PPE: the Oxford degree with a lot to answer for | Letters

  23-02-2017 20:07
  
  I began studying economics at night school in Leeds in the 1950s and continued, at various institutions, as an external student of London University. Our courses were broadly, but not uncritically, Keynesian. We abjured fancy equations and sprinkled our essays with phrases like “a tendency to” and “pressure towards” this or that as a consequence of some other event. As a teacher I have tried to keep reasonably up to date, and learned in the early 70s, for example, to
  
  Read more

• Corbyn confronts Scotland’s lost love for Labour

  23-02-2017 19:48
  Party searches for unity in Perth amid constitutional and leadership frictions
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Jim Shannon cries recalling cousin's death to MPs

  23-02-2017 19:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  DUP MP Jim Shannon cries in the House of Commons during a debate about the prosecution of security force members.
  
  Read more

• UK faces potential radiotherapy supply issues

  23-02-2017 19:32
  Medical isotopes used to treat cancer will be hit by post-Brexit rule changes
  
  Read more

• EU exit spurs call for deal on radiotherapy

  23-02-2017 19:32
  Medical isotopes used to treat cancer will be hit by post-Brexit rule changes
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on the Met police: changing, but too slowly | Editorial

  23-02-2017 19:26
  
  The new commissioner faces a daunting reform challenge, but begins with stores of political capitalMany of the challenges confronting a 21st-century police officer were unimagined when Cressida Dick, newly appointed commissioner to London’s Metropolitan police service, started out as a beat constable in 1983. The existence of a globally connected digital realm accessible by mobile device – never mind that network’s subversion for wrongdoing – was the stuff of science fict
  
  Read more

• Brexit: EU backs Dublin on open Northern Ireland border

  23-02-2017 19:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The EU Commission chief says Brexit must not re-impose Northern Ireland border controls.
  
  Read more

• The European migrants that Britain depends on

  23-02-2017 18:58
  Even after Brexit, the UK must keep its doors open to EU workers
  
  Read more

• Bad economics and the education debate

  23-02-2017 18:50
  The idea of a market-driven university system is a disaster waiting to happen
  
  Read more

• Bad economics and the debate debate

  23-02-2017 18:50
  The idea of a market-driven university system is a disaster waiting to happen
  
  Read more

• Romanians and Bulgarians fill gap as Poles depart

  23-02-2017 18:35
  Net migration falls to lowest level for more than two years
  
  Read more

• Net migration falls to lowest level for more than two years

  23-02-2017 18:35
  Number of Poles and other eastern Europeans leaving UK up since Brexit vote
  
  Read more

• ‘Virtual’ Ireland border seen as Brexit template

  23-02-2017 18:25
  Most lorries would cross without checks after online notification about loads
  
  Read more

• Brexit Briefing: Rotting Food And A Rude Frenchman

  23-02-2017 18:20
  
   
  All you need to know from the world of Brexit this week.
  You can sign up for this briefing by clicking here, and you’ll receive it straight to your inbox every Thursday afternoon.1) Thank Goodness The Leave Campaign Wasn’t All About Immigration As The Government Isn’t Going To Do Much to Reduce It For A Long TimeThis week the president of the National Farmers Union warned what happen to the UK if there was suddenly a dearth of migrants.
  Speaking at NFU conference on
  
  Read more

• Net migration to UK falls by 49,000

  23-02-2017 18:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Net migration to the UK has fallen to 273,000 - the lowest level in two years.
  
  Read more

• Labour needs a ‘proper’ immigration policy. Here’s what it should look like | Chi Onwurah

  23-02-2017 18:07
  
  Immigrants are people. Saying there are too many of them is why Trump senses an ally in the UK. So let’s not sacrifice principle on the altar of pragmatismBrexit means Brexit. But does “controlled immigration” mean “free movement of labour”? David Davis’s remarks this week suggesting that migrants will be needed in the UK workforce for years to come shows that the Tories are not entirely united on what a Conservative immigration policy should like. The prime m
  
  Read more

• Stoke and Copeland byelections voters go to the polls - as it happened

  23-02-2017 17:56
  
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen 4.56pm GMTThanks for following the blog today. Andrew will be back with a special byelections result blog later when the polls close. In the meantime here is a summary of the day’s events 4.28pm GMTGraphs from betting exchange Smarkets show how the odds on tonights byelections have moved. In Stoke, it currently gives Labour a 68% chance of winning, with Ukip rated at 28% and the Tories at 5%. Ukip has tailed off sign
  
  Read more

• BBC Question Time Audience Application Process More Stringent Than You Might Expect

  23-02-2017 17:53
  
  Audiences on the BBC’s flagship political programme Question Time are often a source of amusement, controversy, and righteous consternation for the millions of viewers tuning in each week.
  Yet before they take a seat before a weekly panel of politicians, commentators, and, of course, David Dimbleby, audience members undergo a stringent selection process designed to balance their political views.
  And despite constant accusations of bias, the Question Time application form asks sp
  
  Read more

• MPs call on Theresa May to release 'kill list' for UK drone strikes

  23-02-2017 17:52
  
  Letter signed by former DPP also calls for release of report into 2015 strike that killed Cardiff-born Reyaad Khan in SyriaLord Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, has co-signed a letter to Theresa May calling for greater transparency on the UK’s use of a “kill list” for drone strikes targeting British fighters in Syria and elsewhere. The letter calls for the release of a report by parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC) into the British
  
  Read more

• UK's £100m response to South Sudan famine comes from cash already allocated

  23-02-2017 16:59
  
  Initial optimism quashed after it emerges that announcement of ‘new’ government support for famine-hit country refers to funding already in placeThe British government is facing questions after announcing it was responding to the declaration of famine in South Sudan by allocating £100m of new money that had, in reality, already been reserved for the stricken country.On Wednesday, the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) released a statement trumpeting what
  
  Read more

• What’s the point of building a million new homes if they’re not fit to live in? | John Harris

  23-02-2017 16:58
  
  The dream of a property-owning democracy is ridden with cracks and leaks: ministers say build, build, build – but then fail to ensure proper regulationThey might be the most ubiquitous feature of the modern English landscape, and yet they barely attract any comment: those sprawling newbuild housing developments that seem to surround almost every town and city, offering a promise of comfort and security and a vital foot on the property ladder.More often than not, their avenues and culs-de-s
  
  Read more

• Security minister tries very hard to say nothing about Jamal al-Harith | John Crace

  23-02-2017 16:36
  
  Ben Wallace twitched uneasily as he stood in for Amber Rudd to answer questions about the alleged suicide bomberOne of the advantages of being a cabinet minister is that you have juniors to take the flak. So it was no great surprise to find that the home secretary, Amber Rudd, was nowhere in sight – a self-imposed detention had never seemed so attractive – to answer an urgent question about the alleged British suicide bomber, Jamal al-Harith. In her place was the rather downtrodden-l
  
  Read more

• Arizona Governor Candidate Noah Dyer Details Sex Life Because Voters Are 'Smart Enough' To Not Care

  23-02-2017 16:20
  
  Sex. Money. Family strife.
  The three parts of politicians’ personal lives that traditionally bring about their downfalls pose no threat to Arizona Governor candidate Noah Dyer.
  Under the ‘Scandal and Controversy’ section of his website, he has listed the parts of his past that rivals would ordinarily dig up themselves to use against him, such as the fact he has had sex with married women and “sent and received intimate texts and pictures, and occasionally recorded vi
  
  Read more

• Nigel Farage On Piers Morgan's Life Stories Will Talk About Sex And Death

  23-02-2017 16:05
  
  Friday nights - typically the preserve of after-work drinks, the first rave of the weekend or perhaps some much-needed family time.
  Well, that’s about to change.
  Forget anything you had planned for tomorrow evening because if you have a TV and a healthy disregard for the intensity of your nightmares, you can listen to Nigel Farage talk about sex.
  And death.***TOMORROW***
  Britain's most controversial politician @Nigel_Farage opens up about sex, marriage, UKIP & death.#LifeStories ITV, 9
  
  Read more

• Irish leader calls for united Ireland provision in Brexit deal

  23-02-2017 16:02
  
  Enda Kenny says deal should allow for Northern Ireland to rejoin EU should it be united with Irish RepublicIreland wants a special provision in any Brexit deal to allow Northern Ireland to rejoin the EU should it be united with the Republic.The taoiseach, Enda Kenny, said in Brussels that the deal between the EU and the UK should include language that would allow the north to easily return to the bloc. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Boris Johnson and the liberation of language

  23-02-2017 15:48
  A linguistic spat shows why the liberal, globalist movement is under siege
  
  Read more

• Michael Gove refuses to say if Murdoch sat in on Trump interview

  23-02-2017 15:37
  
  Ex-minister does reveal he regrets entering Tory leadership race and says he has not spoken to David Cameron since Brexit voteMichael Gove has refused to say whether Rupert Murdoch sat in on his interview with Donald Trump, but admitted it had been a mistake for him to enter the race to become prime minister.In a wide-ranging interview with the Christian Today website, the former cabinet minister also said he had not spoken to David Cameron since the Brexit referendum, though he has been in touc
  
  Read more

• Michael Gove Reveals Frayed Relations With David Cameron Remain 7 Months After Brexit Vote

  23-02-2017 15:27
  
  Michael Gove has revealed he has still not spoken to David Cameron since their friendship broke down over the EU referendum result. 
  The former Justice Secretary and co-Convener of Vote Leave said in an interview with Christian Today: “I’ve spoken to Boris. Again, um, David – the opportunity hasn’t arisen, and my view is that...what’s the right thing to say?
  “Yes, I think David was a great prime minister, I think he achieved a great deal. I think he has
  
  Read more

• HS2 building to start in weeks after royal assent

  23-02-2017 15:22
  £22bn London to Birmingham route due to open by 2026 but still faces opposition
  
  Read more

• Should economists share the blame for populism? – Politics Weekly podcast

  23-02-2017 15:09
  
  Heather Stewart is joined by Andrew Lilico, Ann Pettifor, Jonathan Portes, Rachel Reeves and Vince Cable for an extended discussion at a Guardian Live event in LondonSubscribe and review: iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast & Stitcher and join the discussion on Facebook and TwitterThere’s a word that’s suddenly part of almost every political discussion going on in the democratic world: populism. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• At last the Jo Cox Great Get Together gives us a street party worth having | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

  23-02-2017 15:09
  
  Imperial nostalgia and jingoism have led me to avoid street celebrations, but this party to remember the murdered MP has a message of cohesion and inclusivityOn Wednesday Jamie Oliver and the Duchess of Cornwall launched the Great Get Together, a series of street parties, bake-offs and picnics. The events, which will take place over a weekend this summer, have been organised to pay tribute to the MP Jo Cox, who was murdered last June by a white supremacist motivated by the politician’s pub
  
  Read more

• Motorist with 62 penalty points legally allowed to drive

  23-02-2017 15:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Some 10,000 people are legally driving, despite having more points than the usual resulting in a ban.
  
  Read more

• UKIP's Paul Nuttall Set To 'Run Scared' Of Andrew Marr Show If He Loses In Stoke Central

  23-02-2017 14:41
  
  UKIP leader Paul Nuttall is set to pull out of the Andrew Marr Show this Sunday if he loses the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election, HuffPost UK has learned.
  Nuttall was booked weeks ago to appear on the flagship BBC political programme as part of its New Year interviews with all the main party leaders.
  But he has made clear to colleagues and the BBC that he is unlikely to subject himself to a grilling on the Marr sofa if he fails to take the Stoke seat from Labour.
  The anti-EU party came second
  
  Read more

• UK net migration falls to 273,000 after Brexit vote

  23-02-2017 14:29
  Rise in Romanians and Bulgarians offset by drop in arrivals from Poland and Latvia
  
  Read more

• UK net migration falls in year to September

  23-02-2017 14:29
  More Britons emigrate as record numbers arrive from Romania and Bulgaria
  
  Read more

• The cost to Britain of falling immigration

  23-02-2017 14:19
  Many company managers believe that the UK economy will be damaged
  
  Read more

• Theresa May’s assumption of absolute power over Brexit spells disaster | Polly Toynbee

  23-02-2017 13:46
  
  The ice queen has decreed any Lords amendment to her irrational plans a betrayal. This obduracy could break Britain – and her own leadershipThere is no rhyme or reason to the obduracy of Theresa May. She has chosen the hardest, take-no-prisoners Brexit, and that will probably be her epitaph. In the Lords this week, in one excoriating speech after another, the irrationality of May’s trajectory was spelled out in forensic, lordly style. Ice queen perched on the steps, she cast her refr
  
  Read more

• Labour Leadership Election Round Three? Sadiq Khan Leads The Field As Jeremy Corbyn's Replacement

  23-02-2017 13:45
  
  Ex-shadow cabinet members including Sadiq Khan, Hilary Benn, Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper would stand the best chance in a fresh Labour leadership contest, a poll has found. 
  A YouGov survey showed that the four politicians are the most liked and well-known, and are favourites to replace Jeremy Corbyn if he were unseated.
  Speculation is mounting about a possible fresh challenge to Corbyn’s leadership, with suggestions Labour may hold it’s third contest in two years this Summe
  
  Read more

• Ministers Accused Of 'Hiding' Details Of £1m Compensation Deal With Jamal al-Harith

  23-02-2017 13:41
  
  Ministers have been accused of “hiding” and unnecessarily refusing to answer questions about whether or not and when a former British Guantanamo Bay inmate was paid £1m in compensation before going on to act as a suicide bomber on behalf of Isis.
  Jamal al-Harith, who was born in Manchester, blew himself up in Mosul, Iraq, earlier this week. In 2002 he was picked up by US forces in Afghanistan and sent to Guantanamo. He was released in 2004 after Tony Blair’s government l
  
  Read more

• The reduction in migration numbers is a British tragedy

  23-02-2017 13:04
  
  There's nothing to celebrate about today's migration figures
  
  Read more

• CDC Group defends UK foreign aid strategy

  23-02-2017 12:58
  
  Chairman says private equity arm of Dfid ‘does good without losing money’
  
  Read more

• The Bank of England is in denial. Brexit shows people don't act rationally | Robert Skidelsky

  23-02-2017 12:38
  
  Economists get it wrong because they don’t understand our reactions to uncertain situations such as our exit from the EUEarly last month, Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, blamed“irrational behaviour” for the failure of the BoE’s recent forecasting models. The failure to spot this irrationality had led policymakers to forecast that the British economy would slow after last June’s Brexit referendum. Instead, British consumers have been on a heedle
  
  Read more

• Minister says he cannot reveal details about 'British suicide bomber'

  23-02-2017 12:36
  
  Ben Wallace answers question on former Guantánamo Bay detainee Jamal al-Harith, who apparently blew himself up in IraqA Home Office minister has said the government cannot reveal details about the fate of Jamal al-Harith, the former Guantánamo Bay detainee who appears to have blown himself up in Iraq.Challenged by Yvette Cooper, the Labour chair of the home affairs select committee, about the case of Harith, Ben Wallace cited “the longstanding policy of successive governments
  
  Read more

• EU Citizens Living In UK Given Fresh Hope Of Post-Brexit Rights After Cross-Party Alliance

  23-02-2017 11:54
  
  EU citizens living in the UK have been given fresh hope of guaranteed rights under Brexit after a new cross-party move in Parliament to protect them.
  The prospect of a Government defeat on the issue loomed closer as Tory peer Lord Bowness, former diplomat Lord Hannay and the Liberal Democrats decided to support a new Labour amendment to the Brexit bill going through the House of Lords.
  In a bid to reassure the three million Europeans living in Britain, the amendment grants unilateral rights to
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!