Political news

• Copeland strengthens May’s hand ahead of Brexit talks

  24-02-2017 21:35
  Tories united behind leader but next challenge to her authority will be Brussels
  
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• Vauxhall plants need ‘new direction’ to survive

  24-02-2017 20:44
  PSA boss stresses ‘performance is paramount’ for Ellesmere Port and Luton
  
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• May faces fight over £3.7bn in disability payments

  24-02-2017 20:34
  Issue set to undermine Tory attempts to soften face of the party
  
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• By-elections batter the UK political landscape

  24-02-2017 20:20
  Tories sweep aside Labour in Copeland and Stoke blows away Ukip
  
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• Nigel Farage says Brexit and Trump win are 'beginning of global revolution'

  24-02-2017 20:15
  
  The former leader of the United Kingdom Independence party (Ukip) spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday near Washington DCNigel Farage addressed the biggest conservative conference in America on Friday, claiming that Brexit and the election victory of Donald Trump were “the beginning of a great global revolution” that would continue on throughout the west.“We’ve got some very exciting elections coming up in the Netherlands, in France, in Germany,&rd
  
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• The Guardian view on the byelection results: a test for Mr Corbyn | Editorial

  24-02-2017 20:05
  
  Labour is ceding territory on the centre ground of politics to the Tories, not because of Brexit but because of the Labour leader’s unwarranted optimism. The reality is that voters are not buying what he is sellingWhat happens when you know all about an impending catastrophe but somehow cannot take it seriously? Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn is in danger of finding out. It cannot be much cheer that the opposition won just one out of two seats it has held for more than half a century. Last n
  
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• Martin Rowson on the state of the Labour party – cartoon

  24-02-2017 20:05
  
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• Eyes on the pies: blame the bookies not a goalie for a storm in a teacup | John Crace

  24-02-2017 20:00
  
  Vilifying Sutton reserve goalkeeper for his FA Cup snacking is like berating windy Doris for Labour’s byelection defeat MondayA 60-year study conducted by researchers at the University of Edinburgh has revealed that personality is not, as had previously been thought, immutable. This may be good news for all those in their 20s and 30s who wake up most days feeling anxious and are hoping it won’t last forever, but it’s not so great for those of us who have reached our 60s and det
  
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• TrumpWatch: 5 Things Donald Trump Did This Week You Need To Know About

  24-02-2017 19:48
  
  Mercifully, the crazy world of Donald Trump appeared to slow a little this week - relatively speaking anyway.
  Evidence of this comes from the President’s Twitter account which only broadcast his thoughts 2-3 times a day compared to the usual 10+.
  But don’t worry dear reader, there is still plenty to discuss and we were treated to such gems as this:Trump says we're all Americans, "no matter what color blood we bleed"— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) February 24, 2017
  Interesting
  
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• May’s balancing act and the neutering of Ukip

  24-02-2017 19:46
  British by-elections hold a lesson on how to keep populists at bay
  
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• Blame Labour MPs and grandees for the lost byelection, not Jeremy Corbyn | Letters

  24-02-2017 19:37
  
  Irrespective of the results from the Copeland and Stoke byelections (Report, 24 February), it was clear that Jeremy Corbyn’s detractors were preparing to impose their chosen narrative, whether on victory or defeat. What is striking about their criticism is not the strategic disloyalty, paucity of political alternatives, or the fact that in both seats the previous incumbents – having presided over sharp declines in Labour’s polling – left their constituents for the noble p
  
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• Lord Waddington obituary

  24-02-2017 19:34
  
  Loyal home secretary under Margaret Thatcher who blamed himself in part for her downfallBeing home secretary is never an easy job, but David Waddington’s brief tenure in that great office of state at the tail-end of Margaret Thatcher’s time as prime minister was more tempestuous than most. Plucked from being chief whip at the age of 60, Waddington, who has died aged 87, had to deal with a string of serious problems. There was a prison siege, poll tax riots, miscarriages of justice fo
  
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• Theresa May: Copeland victory shows Tories are governing for everyone

  24-02-2017 18:21
  
  PM visits scene of byelection win to hail ‘astounding result’ and signals intention to challenge Labour in its northern heartlandsTheresa May has claimed the Conservative byelection victory in Copeland shows her party is governing for every part of the country, as she signalled an intention to challenge Labour in its northern heartlands.Visiting the Cumbrian constituency for a victory speech, the prime minister said it was an astounding result and a “wonderful victory for the C
  
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• Paul Nuttall says he’s not going anywhere. For once he’s right | Marina Hyde

  24-02-2017 18:18
  
  The Ukip leader’s failure at the Stoke-on-Trent Central byelection has revealed a truth about post-referendum politics: the party has no reason to existWhat an interesting adventure Paul Nuttall has had in Stoke. But like Mr Benn, Mr Nuttall must now return his tweed Nigel Farage suit to the proprietor of the fancy dress shop.If that costumier is erstwhile Ukip money-man Arron Banks, my feeling is that Paul will not be allowed to borrow the suit again. You’ve soiled the suit, Paul. T
  
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• Violence against women bill dedicated to rape victim

  24-02-2017 18:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An MP dedicates a bill to tackle violence against women to a constituent who was brutally raped.
  
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• Nigel Farage 'frightened' to go outside as UKIP is 'demonised'

  24-02-2017 18:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The former UKIP leader says he will never forgive the media for years of trying to "demonise" him.
  
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• EU states back call for UK to agree €60bn exit bill before trade talks

  24-02-2017 18:06
  
  Czech, German and Italian politicians support European commission line that Britain must agree to pay up before talksEU member states are backing a European commission demand that trade talks can only start once Britain has agreed to pay a hefty Brexit bill, despite fears of a backlash from Theresa May. The Czech Republic has joined Germany, Italy and France in insisting the UK must come to an arrangement on the divorce settlement, expected to come to about €60bn (£50bn), before any s
  
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• Stoke and Copeland byelections: Unison boss suggests Corbyn partly to blame for historic defeat - Politics live

  24-02-2017 17:57
  
  Rolling coverage of reaction to the Stoke and Copeland byelections results, including Jeremy Corbyn’s speech on the road to Brexit 4.57pm GMTThanks for following the blog today and for all your comments. Here is a summary of the day’s events: 4.52pm GMTDespite the historic nature of the Conservative win in Copeland, on the Prospect website, Jay Welwes argues it was a pyrrhic victory for the prime minister:It looks like victory, and in the short-term, it is. But in the longer-term, it
  
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• Fast-track degree proposal meets lukewarm reception

  24-02-2017 17:57
  Universities could be allowed to charge £14,000 a year for two-year courses
  
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• Tory MP in 90-minute attempt to talk out domestic violence bill

  24-02-2017 17:44
  
  Self-styled champion of men’s rights Philip Davies introduced 47 proposed new clauses in a failed attempt at Commons filibusterA Conservative MP with a reputation for targeting bills protecting women’s rights has broken his own record by talking for more than 90 minutes in an attempt to derail a measure demanding the government ratify a treaty on domestic violence.Philip Davies, who represents Shipley in West Yorkshire, talked without a break for an hour and 31 minutes as he introduc
  
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• The view from Copeland: 'Lifelong Labour voters want Corbyn out'

  24-02-2017 17:37
  
  The day after the byelection, voters explain why Labour lost its eight-decade hold on the west Cumbrian electorate
  The Labour canvassers have all gone home, their leaflets blown away, but the party’s biggest problem remains front and centre on Whitehaven’s picturesque marina.“Just about everyone – Labour people – I’ve spoken to does not like him,” said Christine Curtin, who described herself on Friday as a dyed-in-the-wool Labour voter. The “him&rd
  
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• Forget Copeland – what people want is a bigger, brighter, better Jeremy | John Crace

  24-02-2017 17:30
  
  Just because voters would rather die from hospital closures than back Labour, there was no cause for concern, Corbyn musedWe happy fewer. Just hours after Labour had lost the safe seat of Copeland in a byelection, Jeremy Corbyn was in London to speak to the party of European Socialists at the Institute of Electrical Engineers. After the faintest ripple of applause had greeted his entrance, the Labour leader took the stage. Yes, things were catastrophic. But at least they weren’t serious. S
  
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• Tory MP Philip Davies Accused Of Trying To Block New Laws On Animal Cruelty And Domestic Violence

  24-02-2017 17:14
  
  A Tory MP has sparked fury having been accused of trying to ‘talk out’ a range of bills on violence against women, animal cruelty and veterans’ medals.
  Philip Davies was accused of “wasting time” and being a “shame on our democracy” by speaking for so long that new laws tabled by MPs would fail to be debated and voted on in time. 
  Labour’s Anna Turley was one of the most vocal critics, angered by having queued over-night three months ago
  
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• Former Home Secretary Lord Waddington dies at age of 87

  24-02-2017 17:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Lord Waddington, who was home secretary under Margaret Thatcher, dies at the age of 87.
  
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• UKIP by-election win 'could take years'

  24-02-2017 16:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  After losing to Labour in Stoke, UKIP chairman Paul Oakden says it could be a long road to Westminster.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: 'I will not step down' over poll loss

  24-02-2017 16:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour leader says he will not step down after Copeland poll defeat, saying he has been elected twice.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Must 'Think Long And Hard' About 'Devastating' Copeland Defeat - Baroness Smith

  24-02-2017 16:10
  
  A senior member of Jeremy Corbyn’s top team has urged him to listen to the public and not shy away from “painful conclusions” of the “devastating” Copeland by-election result.
  Shadow Cabinet minister Baroness Smith told HuffPost UK that the Labour leader will have to “think long and hard” about the way the Tories toppled the party in its northern heartland.
  Baroness Smith, the Shadow leader of the House of Lords and a former Labour MP, said that Corbyn h
  
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• Unison Boss Condemns Jeremy Corbyn For 'Disasterous' Labour Copeland Loss

  24-02-2017 15:13
  
  The leader of one of Britain’s biggest unions has urged Jeremy Corbyn to take responsibility for Labour’s “disastrous” performance in the Copeland and Stoke-on-Trent byelections.
  David Prentis, the head of Unison, said despite Labour’s success in holding one of the two seats, the result should “never have been in doubt”. 
  Corbyn has since ruled out quitting after last night’s performances. He told the BBC he was “proud” to le
  
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• Ian Lavery Tries to Defend Jeremy Corbyn In Car-Crash Daily Politics Interview

  24-02-2017 14:58
  
  Labour’s campaign chief has given an astounding interview on the Daily Politics show in which he claimed Jeremy Corbyn is “one of the most popular politicians in the country”.
  In a combative exchange with host Andrew Neil, Ian Lavery refused to say shock defeat on the Copeland by-election was a reflection on his party’s leader.
  He also claimed the Tories won the seat because people feel a “general distrust of politicians” but not Corbyn.That Ian Lavery intervi
  
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• The Guardian view on byelections: as much about Labour as Brexit | Editorial

  24-02-2017 14:57
  
  A humbling loss to the Tories in Copeland and an unimpressive performance in Stoke underline the woes of Jeremy Corbyn’s party, even if Ukip were in some ways the biggest losersParliamentary byelections always tell an important story, but care is always needed in putting those stories into a national context. Yesterday’s two byelections in formerly deep-dyed traditional Labour seats fit that mould. The big headline is Trudy Harrison’s capture of Copeland for the Conservatives.
  
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• How will May look one year from now?

  24-02-2017 14:50
  EU approach to forthcoming talks are not appearing to go the way the PM would like
  
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• Emily Thornberry Says It Is 'Fake News' To Claim Jeremy Corbyn Opposed Nuclear Power Even Though He Did

  24-02-2017 14:48
  
  Emily Thornberry has claimed accusations Jeremy Corbyn was opposed to nuclear power is “fake news” - despite the Labour leader having previously been opposed to nuclear power.
  Labour lost the Copeland by-election on Thursday to the Tories. It is the first time a governing party has taken a seat from the opposition for decade.
  The seat is home to the Sellafield nuclear power station and the security of jobs in the sector was a key battleground in the by-election.
  The Conservative
  
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• Lost hopes

  24-02-2017 14:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour's new MP for Stoke Central claims "the politics of hope" triumphed in the by-election, but is he right?
  
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• Labour weakness gives Tories free hand

  24-02-2017 14:35
  Rebuilding the party at a time of national division is a monumental task
  
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• Theresa May celebrates 'astounding' Copeland poll win

  24-02-2017 14:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May celebrates Tory victory in Copeland as Jeremy Corbyn insists he will carry on despite Labour's "disappointing" loss.
  
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• Fast-track degrees may hit education standards, government warned

  24-02-2017 14:27
  
  Plan to introduce two-year courses costing same as three-year course would lead to lifting of £9,000-a-year tuition fee capPlans for fast-track degrees with higher annual fees risk adversely affecting the quality of education received by university students, the government has been warned.The two-year degrees proposed by the government will cost the same as a three-year course, meaning annual fees for them will be higher. Ministers are expected to table a bill to lift the current £9,
  
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• Copeland by-election: Theresa May visits new Tory MP

  24-02-2017 14:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Prime Minister Theresa May has been on a flying visit to Cumbria to welcome her newest MP.
  
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• 'Labour’s existential crisis': readers on the Copeland and Stoke byelections

  24-02-2017 14:15
  
  Corbyn seen as part of the problem as Guardian commenters discuss the implications of Labour’s loss in Copeland
  Labour held off a challenge from Ukip in Stoke-on-Trent, but suffered a historic defeat in the Cumbrian constituency of Copeland.A Labour heartland seat dominated by the party since 1935, the loss in Copeland led to questions about Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.Continue reading...
  
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• Blair is right on Brexit: parliament must have a democratic debate | Anatole Kaletsky

  24-02-2017 13:54
  
  We must restore the principle of parliamentary sovereignty – Theresa May does not have an open-ended mandateFormer UK prime minister Tony Blair’s recent call for voters to think again about leaving the EU, echoed in parliamentary debates ahead of the government’s official launch of the process in March, is an emperor’s new clothes moment. Although Blair is now an unpopular figure, his voice, like that of the child in Hans Christian Andersen’s story, is loud enough t
  
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• BBC Question Time's Most Memorable Audience Members

  24-02-2017 13:45
  
  7) The Woman Who Just Wants Her Country Back (Whatever That Means)
  This clip is from an episode broadcast from Doncaster back in April of last year in which the undoubtedly passionate lady in question said: “I want my country back and I want freedom.”
  Host David Dimbleby then asked: “What do you mean?”
  “I don’t believe our country is free anymore. You only have to look at the European Union and what’s going off there.
  “I want my country b
  
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• Week in Review: Will the last person in Corbyn's office turn out the lights?

  24-02-2017 13:31
  
  There is no-one else to blame - Copeland is Corbyn's failure
  
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• What next for Labour and Corbyn after the byelections? | Gaby Hinsliff, Gary Younge, Polly Toynbee and Giles Fraser

  24-02-2017 13:19
  
  All eyes were on the Labour leader after the Copeland and Stoke results as he delivered a key speech about Brexit. Our writers respond Continue reading...
  
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• MPs Pay Rises To £76,000 After IPSA Approval

  24-02-2017 13:17
  
  MPs have today been granted a pay increase to £76,000.
  The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority - or Ipsa - approved the salary boost on Friday. It will take effect on 1 April. 
  MPs will see their pay rise by 1.4%, taking them from earning £74,962 to £76,011.
  Ipsa said the move was “in line with our determination on MPs’ pay” and that the rise mirrored the same increase public sector workers earned.The average public sector earnings fi
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Asked If He Has 'Looked In The Mirror' And Accepted Blame For Copeland Defeat

  24-02-2017 13:04
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has dismissed any suggestion that he is to blame for Labour’s historic by-election loss in Copeland.
  The Labour leader was asked this morning by Chris Ship from ITV News whether he had “looked the mirror and asked yourself this question, ‘could the problem actually be me?’.”
  Corbyn replied simply: “No. Thank you for your question.”
  Copeland has been held by Labour since it was formed in 1983 but Conservative Trudy Harrison snatched it
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn 'disappointed' by Copeland by-election result

  24-02-2017 12:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Labour leader has vowed he will fight on, and hailed his party's victory in Stoke.
  
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• Electoral Commission probes Brexit referendum spending

  24-02-2017 12:52
  Watchdog scrutinises campaign accounts of Britain Stronger in Europe and Vote Leave
  
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• Brexit referendum spending probed by Electoral Commission

  24-02-2017 12:52
  Watchdog looks into campaign accounts on both sides of the campaign
  
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• Nigel Farage's Piers Morgan Interview On Sex Life, Near-Death Experiences, Trump And Brexit

  24-02-2017 12:51
  
  WARNING: Some readers might find the following content uncomfortable. Nigel Farage has revealed something even more unsavory than his policies - details of his sex life. 
  In a long-ranging interview with Piers Morgan, airing Friday night on ITV, the former Ukip leader talks candidly about the “sex using ice cubes” scandal involving a Latvian TV reporter in 2006, which the Daily Mail described as a “seven-times-a-night tryst”. 
  Farage admits going back
  
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• DUP spent £282,000 on Brexit ad that did not run in Northern Ireland

  24-02-2017 12:49
  
  Advert in Metro newspaper included in party’s £425,000 spend on EU referendum campaign that dwarfed its election outlayThe Democratic Unionist party spent £282,000 on a pro-Brexit advert in a newspaper that is not published in Northern Ireland, according to documents released by the Electoral Commission.The advertising cover wrap appeared in the Metro elsewhere in the UK as part of a total DUP spend on the EU referendum campaign of £425,000, more than seven times the part
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Refuses To Quit After Losing Copeland By-Election

  24-02-2017 12:28
  
  Labour leader rules out stepping down after by-election loss in Copeland pic.twitter.com/MLYXZOoSFK— DailySunday Politics (@daily_politics) February 24, 2017
  Jeremy Corbyn has stood defiant in the face of losing the Copeland by-election, saying today that he would not quit as party leader.
  The Labour leader admitted the result was “disappointing” but praised the local candidate Gillian Troughton’s “wonderful” campaign.
  Labour last night lost a seat it has hel
  
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