Political news

• Westminster political review with Kevin Maguire

  02-03-2017 23:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Mirror's Kevin Maguire looks at some of the gambles of a week in Westminster.
  
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• US Attorney General Jeff Sessions To Step Aside From Russia Investigation

  02-03-2017 22:27
  
  US Attorney General Jeff Sessions will step aside from the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.Sessions “recused” himself from any Justice Department investigations as he bowed to mounting pressure over newly reported meetings with the Russian ambassador.
  “I have now decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matter relating in any way to the campaign for president of the United States,” Sessions said at a pres
  
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• CBI chief warns against 'no deal' Brexit

  02-03-2017 21:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The CBI says firms in the UK and Europe fear the "worst-case" Brexit scenario.
  
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• No 10 refuses to budge on Brexit bill, despite heavy defeat in Lords

  02-03-2017 20:13
  
  Bill to trigger article 50 will not be altered, says government, although David Davis says there is a desire to make deal on rights of EU citizens The government is determined that the bill to trigger article 50 will not be altered, even if a standoff ensues with peers who backed an amendment to guarantee the rights of EU citizens on Wednesday night, No 10 has said. Related: The rights of UK citizens in the EU – Brexit podcastContinue reading...
  
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• Guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens in Britain

  02-03-2017 19:57
  The Lords are correct to demand protection for European expats
  
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• US Politicians Are Searching For A 'Secret' Obamacare Bill And It's Pure 'The Thick Of It'

  02-03-2017 19:55
  
  One of Donald Trump’s biggest promises on becoming President was he would repeal ‘Obamacare’, the healthcare plan that provides cover for millions of Americans but became a totemic issue against claims of rising premiums.
  But there’s one problem. Republicans seem to have lost the legislation to overhaul the Affordable Care Act.
  In an episode worthy of The Thick Of It, it looked like the details of the Bill were being hid from public scrutiny until the last possible m
  
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• NI voters go to the polls

  02-03-2017 19:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Voters in Northern Ireland are going to the polls for the second time in 10 months.
  
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• May’s Brexit path stalked by Big Beasts of the past

  02-03-2017 19:07
  Most vocal opposition to government policy coming from pro-European old guard
  
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• Theresa May: SNP has independence 'tunnel vision'

  02-03-2017 19:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The prime minister says the SNP has "tunnel vision" over independence but does not say if she would allow a second referendum.
  
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• Tom Hanks Sends White House Press Room A Message Of Support (And A New Coffee Machine)

  02-03-2017 18:50
  
  Tom Hanks has sent a gift to journalists tasked with covering what’s going in the White House, along with a poignant note about the current political climate.
  The Oscar-winning actor was revealed to have sent a new shiny new coffee machine to the reporters on Thursday (2 May), but what really struck a chord was the accompanying message. Reuters reporter Steve Holland shared the message on his Twitter page, and it read: “To the White House Press Corps. Keep up the good fight for
  
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• Cameron heads global research into fragile states

  02-03-2017 18:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The former prime minister defends his overseas aid spending, as he takes up a role to help failing states.
  
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• The nuclear fallout from Brexit

  02-03-2017 18:27
  When Britons voted to leave the EU few realised the implications for its nuclear industry
  
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• Lords criticise custody images policy

  02-03-2017 18:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Baroness Jones says it would be easier for police to delete images than for people to apply for removal.
  
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• Brexit Briefing: Unblinking Lords, German Minis and the EU Army

  02-03-2017 18:17
  
  All you need to know from the world of Brexit this week.If you’re reading this on the web sign up for this briefing by clicking here, and you’ll receive it straight to your inbox every Thursday afternoon.1) Turns Out Theresa May Needs To Do More To Influence The Lords Than Just Turn Up And Stare At ThemSay you want about the House of Lords (unelectable, unrepresentative, gives Andrew Lloyd Webber a reason to leave the house), but it doesn’t scare easily.
  The Government tr
  
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• 5 Surprising Ways Theresa May Is Beating Jeremy Corbyn On Social Media

  02-03-2017 18:01
  
  Jeremy Corbyn is suffering a crucial defeat to Theresa May on the platform he promised would help Labour deliver an election win - social media, new research suggests.
  The Labour leader uses Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and viral videos to take his message directly to the electorate, and claims that by bypassing the news media he is disseminating his policies more successfully. 
  “We are getting enormous cut-through on social media and I think sometimes the national debate is framed ar
  
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• Regulator sets 2019 deadline for PPI claims

  02-03-2017 17:57
  Banks fund campaign to find other victims of mis-selling scandal that cost industry £34bn
  
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• Home ownership in England falls to 30-year low

  02-03-2017 17:45
  Number of renters grows to almost one-fifth of all households
  
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• Where does Labour go after the Copeland defeat?

  02-03-2017 17:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour MPs are asked about the future direction of the party after mixed recent by-election results.
  
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• Despondent McDonnell delivers rallying cry with howl of despair | John Crace

  02-03-2017 17:16
  
  Shadow chancellor lists budget demands in speech at Southbank centre but was anyone paying attention?He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. It’s not a lot of fun being John McDonnell in the week before the budget. Though the shadow chancellor knows he’s got to come up with a few economic policies, he understands only too well it’s a pointless exercise. When the Labour leader’s own advisers are briefing that the party has no chance of winning the 2020 gener
  
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• Corbyn team willing to take advice from Mandelson and Progress for sake of Labour unity, says McDonnell - Politics live

  02-03-2017 16:57
  
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including John McDonnell’s speech on what should be in the budgetMcDonnell says Corbyn team willing to take advice from MandelsonMcDonnell proposes 10-year budgets, hypothecation & ‘health OBR’ for NHSAfternoon summary 3.48pm GMTBased on estimates by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, the NHS and social care face a funding gap of between £8.5 and £15bn by 2020.Publ
  
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• Ministers' U-turn over 'bonfire of children's rights'

  02-03-2017 16:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Plans to allow local councils to opt out of hundreds of children's rights are to be scrapped.
  
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• £1m boost means Lib Dems surpass Labour donations

  02-03-2017 16:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A £1m donation meant the Lib Dems report more funds raised than Labour in the last quarter of 2016.
  
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• EU threatens to introduce visas for US travellers

  02-03-2017 16:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The European Parliament backs the move as five EU states do not have visa-free access to the US.
  
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• ‘Political isolation’ warning as NI goes to polls

  02-03-2017 16:12
  Sinn Fein and Democratic Unionist party likely to have to find new way to share power
  
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• Labour says £1m earners should publish tax returns

  02-03-2017 16:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Labour government would make anyone earning over £1m a year to publish their tax records.
  
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• Ash Wednesday

  02-03-2017 15:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Carol Monaghan attended a Commons select committee meeting with a cross on her forehead for Ash Wednesday.
  
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• Green Party co-leader opens up about car crash killing

  02-03-2017 15:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Jonathan Bartley has told BBC 5 live that he killed a student in a car crash.
  
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• 'We owe them in the name of decency': readers on EU citizens in the UK

  02-03-2017 15:10
  
  Guardian commenters discuss the House of Lords vote on amending the Brexit bill to guarantee rights of EU citizens living in the UK
  Theresa May’s government has vowed to overturn a demand by the House of Lords to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the EU.Related: Lords urge Tories to back Brexit bill amendment on EU citizensContinue reading...
  
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• Love letters from Jackie Kennedy

  02-03-2017 15:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  After the tragic assassination of her husband, Jackie Kennedy became close to the British Ambassador to the US, David Ormsby-Gore.
  
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• The Lords take the moral high ground

  02-03-2017 14:45
  It is worth reflecting on how some Tories have attacked PM’s position on EU migrants
  
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• Johnson, Fox, Leadsom: top Tories who backed protection for EU citizens in UK

  02-03-2017 14:34
  
  Cabinet ministers are among the MPs who have argued for the kind of protection outlined in the Lords amendmentTheresa May has vowed to overturn a Lords amendment to guarantee the rights of EU citizens. But many senior Tories, including key members of the cabinet, have previously suggested that the 2.2 million EU nationals living in the the UK should be protected as the amendment outlines. The following comments by leading Tories, including prominent members of the leave campaign, about the need
  
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• May confident over Brexit bill despite Lords defeat

  02-03-2017 14:16
  Prime minister’s position is more comfortable than it seems
  
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• John McDonnell Invites Lord Mandelson For a Cup Of Tea To Make Friends

  02-03-2017 14:07
  
  John McDonnell has said he will invite Peter Mandelson for a cup of tea to try and smooth over the cracks in their relationship.
  In a bitter war of words, shadow chancellor recently accused Lord Mandelson of being part of a “soft coup” against Jeremy Corbyn.
  It came after Lord Mandelson said he was working “every single day” to bring about the Labour leader’s downfall.
  Speaking in central London today, McDonnell said despite “pugnacious approach” t
  
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• 'He Smelt Very Good – Odd That I Can Remember That' - Matt Forde Lifts The Lid On MPs He's Interviewed

  02-03-2017 14:04
  
   
  From Tony Blair to Nigel Farage, George Galloway to Tommy Robinson, comedian Matt Forde has interviewed a wide range of political figures over the past few years.
  The former Labour Party worker turned stand-up comedian grills politicians for his highly-successful “The Political Party” podcast series, as well as on his TV show “Unspun”.
  After popping in to Huff Post HQ on Wednesday to watch PMQs, Forde was asked to give his personal insight on some of those he&rsqu
  
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• Labour Have Been Out-Fundraised By The Lib Dems For The First Time Ever

  02-03-2017 13:38
  
  Labour have been out-fundraised by the Liberal Democrats for the first time ever, figures released on Thursday reveal.
  Jeremy Corbyn’s party recorded receiving £1,970,055 in the last quarter of 2016, while Tim Farron’s garnered over £2,000 more - standing at £1,972,904.
  The Conservatives received a substantially higher amount - £3,610,983 - with Ukip being relegated behind the Green and Co-operative party with just £33,228.
  The bigge
  
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• High earners should publish tax returns, says Labour

  02-03-2017 12:35
  Policy needed to curb abuses and restore faith in system, says McDonnell
  
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• Ministers will seek to overturn Brexit bill defeat

  02-03-2017 12:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The government will "resist" peers' call for the rights of EU nationals to be guaranteed now.
  
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• The fight against welfare reforms must continue - even if it doesn't change anything

  02-03-2017 12:03
  
  While people are still suffering, the fight must go on
  
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• 30 Tory MPs Could Rebel Against Theresa May To Guarantee EU Citizens Right To Remain, Peer Claims

  02-03-2017 11:43
  
  As many as 30 Tory MPs could rebel against Theresa May and force the government to guarantee European citizens the right to remain in the United Kingdom, a peer has claimed.Ministers have signalled they will seek to overturn a change to the Brexit Bill by the House of Lords after peers inflicted the first parliamentary defeat on the legislation.
  Peers voted last night by 358 to 256 in favour of an opposition amendment guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals living in the UK after Brexit.
  A secon
  
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• Warning over ‘potentially perilous’ UK policing

  02-03-2017 11:32
  
  Report finds dangerous suspects remain at large as forces grapple with budget cuts
  
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• Can Donald Trump Press The Nuclear Button?

  02-03-2017 11:02
  
  When Donald Trump was elected President of the United States much was said - half-mockingly, half-serious - about the world taking a step closer towards armageddon.
  The Doomsday Clock, a visual metaphor created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1947, moved forwards 30 seconds, the closest it had been to midnight since the testing of the world’s first thermonuclear device in 1953.It wasn’t just Trump’s election that shifted the clock hands. North Korea’s continui
  
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• Government defeated over Brexit bill

  02-03-2017 10:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The House of Lords has defeated the government over guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens in the UK. Laura Kuenssberg reports.
  
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• Brexit: Lords defeat government over EU citizens in UK

  02-03-2017 10:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The House of Lords has defeated the government over guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens in the UK. Laura Kuenssberg reports.
  
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• UK aid company bosses quit in crackdown on profiteering

  02-03-2017 10:47
  
  Four executives at Adam Smith International step down amid government pressure over misconductThe founders of Adam Smith International (ASI), one of the biggest UK foreign aid contractors, have stepped down after the government froze future contracts with the firm over questions about its ethical integrity.The London-based consultancy, which has come under pressure from the Department for International Development (DfID) amid concerns about “culture and behaviour”, announced a restru
  
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• Lords urge Tories to back Brexit bill amendment on EU citizens

  02-03-2017 10:13
  
  Peer says Tory rebels could defy whip over provision to protect EU nationals in UK when bill returns to CommonsPeers who backed an amendment to the Brexit bill to guarantee the rights of EU citizens have urged Conservative MPs in the House of Commons to support the change when the bill returns.Theresa May’s government has vowed to overturn a demand by the House of Lords to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK within three months of article 50 being triggered. Continue readi
  
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• Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's Attorney General, Spoke To Russians During Election Campaign

  02-03-2017 09:51
  
  Another member of President Donald Trump’s administration is facing calls to resign after it emerged they also spoke to Russian officials during the US election campaign.
  Attorney General Jeff Sessions talked on two occasions with Russia’s ambassador to the United States and failed to declare the contact during his confirmation hearing in January.
  House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi accused Sessions of “lying under oath” and demanded he resign. 
  [LIKE: TrumpWat
  
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• The Waugh Zone March 2, 2017

  02-03-2017 09:01
  
  The five things you need to know on Thursday, March 2…1) BREXIT RIGHTS AND WRONGS
  Within minutes of the House of Lords defeat on ‘unilateral’ rights to EU citizens post-Brexit last night, Government sources made clear they would seek to overturn it in the Commons. No surprise there, but it was the scale of the majority - 102 - that could embolden some Tory rebel MPs. The ping-pong ball is now not so much in the Government’s side of the table, as the Remainers' like Nick
  
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• Nearly 30% Of Tory Party Activists Would Welcome Scottish Independence, New Poll Finds

  02-03-2017 08:00
  
  Fewer than a third of Tory activists believe that an independent Scotland would cause “serious damage” to the rest of the UK, a new poll has found.
  More than two-thirds believe that a break-away would be either positive, have no real significant impact on England, Wales and Northern Ireland or would be ‘manageable’.
  And 29% of the Conservative grassroots members would actually welcome Scots independence because it would end “unreasonable demands on England to provi
  
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• How Jeremy Corbyn has remade British politics

  02-03-2017 06:04
  The Labour leader is not interested in the politics required to win votes at home
  
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• How Corbyn has remade British politics

  02-03-2017 06:04
  The Labour leader is not interested in the politics required to win votes at home
  
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