Political news

• Unite union ‘wasted cash on Labour leadership vote’

  25-02-2017 23:00
  
  Gerard Coyne, standing to replace Len McCluskey as leader, says Unite should focus on its members not WestminsterElections for the general secretaries of Britain’s big trade unions usually receive scant media attention. The days when most newspapers employed labour correspondents have long gone, reflecting the decline in union power over the last three decades. Related: The Observer view on Labour and Jeremy Corbyn | Observer editorialContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Labour faces catastrophic loss of working-class support

  25-02-2017 23:00
  
  Voters are ready to desert Corbyn even in Halifax, a historic stronghold, polling suggestsHalifax has a proud place in Labour history, and its voters have duly dispatched Labour MPs to Westminster for the last 30 years. A textile town with a radical tradition, it was an early focal point for the Independent Labour Party, formed in 1893. But historical loyalties count for less on its streets these days. Related: The Observer view on Labour and Jeremy Corbyn | Observer editorialContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Number of EU care workers in UK surges

  25-02-2017 22:07
  
  MPs call for key workers to have right to stay, as figures show number of European staff has risen by 40% in three yearsThe number of non-British EU nationals working in the UK’s crisis-stricken social care system has shot up by more than 40% in three years, according to official figures – prompting fears that Brexit will lead to a catastrophic staffing crisis across the sector.The data released in answer to a parliamentary question by the Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake shows the tota
  
  Read more

• Peace in Ireland depends upon an open border | Peter Hain

  25-02-2017 22:00
  
  Years of progress could be wiped out by a hard BrexitNamed as bandit country at the height of the Troubles, the mountains and fields of south Armagh, marking the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, echo Yeats: “a terrible beauty”.Even with army watchtowers high on the skyline, border posts and constant patrols, it was impossible to police. But 10 years on since bitter old enemies Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness took power to govern together, Brexit threatens to reawak
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Hi-tech financial firms flee UK amid doubts over Brexit

  25-02-2017 21:54
  
  Leading ‘fintech’ player says ‘the exodus is beginning’ as members of £6bn industry start seeking other bases in Europe
  An exodus of “fintech” companies from Britain has begun, the chief executive of a leading firm has said, dashing the government’s hopes of building the UK into a world leader for the industry.Every reasonably-sized company in the flourishing financial technology sector – involving e-lending, money transfers and the banking m
  
  Read more

• Ukip will be remembered for triggering contagion

  25-02-2017 19:10
  Castigating Paul Nuttall’s party for failing to win seats downplays its influence
  
  Read more

• Harriet Harman Reveals Her First Gender Equality Epiphany

  25-02-2017 18:51
  
  Labour former deputy leader Harriet Harman has revealed her first “epiphany” about gender equality.
  The former cabinet minister said she was 19 when she realised she would never “serve a husband” like her mother did her father.
  Harman told the Guardian: “My mother, who was retraining as a solicitor, was studying a law book in the kitchen.
  “Simultaneously, she was cooking kippers for my father’s breakfast and preparing a curry for his supper. The smell w
  
  Read more

• Sadiq Khan nationalism warning angers SNP

  25-02-2017 18:15
  London mayor’s call for unity overshadows leader’s speech at Scottish Labour conference
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Sadiq Khan tones down attack on Scottish nationalism

  25-02-2017 17:48
  
  Nicola Sturgeon reacts angrily to London mayor’s previous assertion that there was ‘no difference’ between separatist, racial or religious divisionsSadiq Khan has qualified his attacks on Scottish nationalism after provoking a torrent of criticism for claiming it was equivalent to racism and bigotry.The London mayor amended a controversial speech to Scottish Labour’s spring conference asserting there “was no difference” between those who wanted to divide Scott
  
  Read more

• Britain First Telford March Sees Paul Golding, Jayda Fransen And Not Many Others Show Up

  25-02-2017 17:41
  
  Despite having a Facebook following of 1.6 million it appears outside in the real world away from paid promotion and exploiting the memory of Lee Rigby, Britain First is still far, far from even a minor force in UK politics.
  Despite months of promotion the far-right group’s much-hyped Telford march had to be postponed by an hour until more “patriots” arrived.The march is being delayed until 2pm. It's looking like they're waiting for people. #britainfirst #Telford pic.twitt
  
  Read more

• Far-right Polish priest detained at Stansted airport

  25-02-2017 17:11
  
  Jacek Międlar held by UK authorities hours before he was supposed to address Britain First rally in ShropshireA notorious Polish priest accused of spreading antisemitism and Islamophobia has been detained by UK authorities hours before he was due to address a far-right rally in Shropshire.Jacek Międlar, a leading figure for rightwing extremists in Poland, was held by UK border officials after landing at Stansted airport, Essex, to prevent him attending the controversial event in Telfor
  
  Read more

• Tom Watson stands by Jeremy Corbyn despite Copeland defeat

  25-02-2017 15:32
  
  Party must take ‘long, hard look’ at what is not working after byelection failure, deputy leader tells Scottish Labour conferenceIt is not the time to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader despite the “hugely disappointing” defeat for the party in the Copeland byelection, Tom Watson has said.The party must take “a long, hard look” at what is not working following Thursday’s electoral blow, the deputy leader told Scottish Labour’s conference in Per
  
  Read more

• David Miliband: Labour's move to the left is a mistake

  25-02-2017 14:14
  
  Former foreign secretary says party is further from power than at any time in last 50 years because of lack of substance
  David Miliband has said the Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership is further from power than at any time in the last 50 years and has refused to rule out a return to British politics. As Corbyn made clear he did not believe his leadership contributed to Labour’s byelection defeat in Copeland, Miliband said he was “deeply concerned that Labour is furth
  
  Read more

• Labour's Watson: Party 'has to do better'

  25-02-2017 14:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour's Deputy Leader Tom Watson says the party has to "do better" and needs to "deal with the issues that divide us".
  
  Read more

• Sadiq Khan Comments On Nationalism Prompt Nicola Sturgeon To Retaliate

  25-02-2017 14:10
  
  Nicola Sturgeon has hit back at Sadiq Khan over comments he was expected to make about nationalism.
  Speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Perth, the mayor of London was due to call for a fight back against “narrow nationalist parties”.
  He tweeted a preview of his speech, which read: “The world is becoming an increasingly turbulent and divided place. We’ve seen Brexit, President Trump elected in the United States and the rise of right-wing populist and narrow
  
  Read more

• Nigel Farage stands by Paul Nuttall despite loss in Stoke byelection

  25-02-2017 13:21
  
  Former leader says incumbent is ‘the right man’ to lead Ukip despite failure to overturn Labour majority in pro-Brexit cityNigel Farage has offered renewed support to Paul Nuttall, his successor as Ukip leader, despite warning that the party’s failure to overturn Labour’s majority in pro-Brexit Stoke revealed it needed radical reform to become electorally viable. Nuttall, who was widely tipped to take Stoke-on-Trent Central in Thursday’s byelection, was forced to di
  
  Read more

• David Miliband Warns Labour At Its Weakest In 50 Years After Copeland By-Election Defeat

  25-02-2017 12:52
  
  Labour is in its weakest state for 50 years, David Miliband has warned following the party’s humiliating defeat in the Copeland by-election.
  As Jeremy Corbyn made clear he is determined to continue as Labour leader despite the result, Miliband said he was “deeply concerned” about the party.
  The currently US-based former foreign secretary also refused to rule out a future run for the Labour leadership although admitted a return to frontline politics was “hard to see&rdquo
  
  Read more

• Help to Buy scheme used to prop up weaker markets

  25-02-2017 12:15
  Housebuilders sign up developments most often in areas where prices have fallen
  
  Read more

• Builders use Help to Buy to support weak market

  25-02-2017 12:15
  Take-up for property scheme higher in areas where prices have fallen since 2007 peak
  
  Read more

• BBC, Guardian And Daily Mail Among Those Banned From White House Press Briefing

  25-02-2017 12:14
  
  Donald Trump’s press secretary caused outrage after banning a number of news organisations, including the BBC, from a White House press briefing on Friday.
  The Guardian and The Daily Mail were also blocked from the meeting in a move that has angered supporters of a free press’s role in a democracy.
  Shortly after the US president gave a speech attacking the media as “fake news” and the “enemy of the people”, his press secretary Sean Spicer restricted multiple m
  
  Read more

• The NHS is struggling. Labour must offer a credible health policy

  25-02-2017 10:30
  
  The Copeland defeat shows ‘save our NHS’ will not be enough to save Labour. It must stop writing its plans on a placardLabour’s attempt to terrify the voters of Copeland with talk of dead babies has failed. Now it needs to get serious about developing a credible health policy.
  In north Cumbria the NHS faces difficult choices on maternity care. It has been struggling to maintain the support services and staffing necessary for consultant-led maternity care of acceptable quality i
  
  Read more

• Stephen Bush: The by-elections aren't the end of Corbyn

  25-02-2017 10:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Stephen Bush from the New Statesman says the by-election results are not the end for Jeremy Corbyn.
  
  Read more

• Paul Nuttall's troubled relationship with the truth finally catches up with him

  25-02-2017 08:00
  
  Whether it’s lies about being a footballer, having a PhD or losing close friends at Hillsborough, the Ukip leader always has someone else to blameIn 1999 David Renton, a history lecturer at Edge Hill college in Lancashire, asked his undergraduates to write an essay about the causes of the Holocaust.
  Renton recalls how one of his students – a bright and outspoken man who, at 23, was older than others in the class, handed in an essay in which he suggested there was an argument to be ma
  
  Read more

• Copeland shows Corbyn must go. But only Labour’s left can remove him | Jonathan Freedland

  25-02-2017 07:00
  
  The party leader’s supporters should ask themselves how long they can allow the Tories, unchallenged, to wreak intolerable damage on the countryLet’s remind ourselves what’s at stake. Unchecked, Theresa May and her government are leading Britain through the narrowest, harshest exit from the European Union, taking the country out of not only the EU but also the single market, and in all probability, the customs union too.In the process they could well jeopardise a two-decade pea
  
  Read more

• Jeremy Corbyn told not to 'pass the buck' after Labour defeat

  25-02-2017 06:38
  
  Senior party figures tell leader that he must take some responsibility after historic byelection loss in CopelandJeremy Corbyn has come under intense pressure to take some personal responsibility for Labour’s historic byelection defeat in Copeland from senior party figures, including trade union leaders and even members of his own shadow cabinet.The Labour leader was urged not to “pass the buck” or sugarcoat the result after Theresa May’s Conservatives secured the first b
  
  Read more

• Sadiq Khan warns Scotland against nationalism

  25-02-2017 01:04
  London mayor’s Perth speech likely to enrage supporters of independence
  
  Read more

• Sadiq Khan warns in Scotland against nationalism

  25-02-2017 01:04
  London mayor’s speech likely to enrage supporters of independence
  
  Read more

• How a bird can chase off the black dog

  25-02-2017 01:03
  Seeing even a crow can help reduce stress, claims study
  
  Read more

• Sadiq Khan: nationalism can be as divisive as bigotry and racism

  25-02-2017 01:01
  
  London’s mayor implies fresh Scottish referendum would be as destabilising as Brexit vote and Trump presidencySadiq Khan, London’s mayor, has risked causing a row over Scottish independence by warning that nationalism can be as divisive as racism and religious bigotry. Related: Scottish Tories accuse SNP of seeking to weaponise Brexit voteContinue reading...
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!