Political news

• Trump distances White House from GCHQ wiretap claim

  17-03-2017 23:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The president says he did not "make an opinion" GCHQ had surveillance on him during the US election.
  
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• YouTube advertising backlash over extremist videos

  17-03-2017 22:28
  Havas joins British government in pulling ad spending from Google and YouTube in UK
  
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• Sean Spicer Denies White House Apologised Over Baseless GCHQ Wiretapping Claim

  17-03-2017 21:48
  
  Sean Spicer has denied the White House has apologised for repeating a baseless claim that British spies wiretapped Donald Trump on Barack Obama’s behalf. 
  The UK Government claimed it had received assurances the claim would not be repeated, after the White House press secretary spent his Thursday press briefing repeating a claim, originally made on Fox News, that Obama had used GCHQ to carry out surveillance on Trump Tower before the election.
  This followed Trump’s baseless clai
  
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• Tatton's got news for George Osborne about that new job in London

  17-03-2017 21:45
  
  Editor of local paper wonders how Osborne will manage full-time job as MP along with editing the London Evening Standard The editor of the local paper in George Osborne’s constituency has said she thought it was “April Fool’s” when he announced that he was taking over editing the London Evening Standard. Continue reading...
  
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• Trump’s fast-and-loose style spooks British spies

  17-03-2017 21:41
  Intelligence officials fear weakening of the world’s closest security alliance
  
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• Sturgeon hints at 'other ways' to hold new Scottish independence referendum

  17-03-2017 20:40
  
  First minister refuses to rule out staging an unofficial referendum as she makes overtures to May for an alternative timetableNicola Sturgeon has hinted she had other ways to force Theresa May into agreeing a compromise over a second referendum on Scottish independence.Speaking a day after May rejected her call for the power to hold a referendum in 18 months, the first minister said there were other options open to her if May continued to refuse to pass on the powers needed to stage a legally co
  
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• Google is 'profiting from hatred' say MPs in row over adverts

  17-03-2017 20:33
  
  Social media companies could face regulation as Google advertisers pull out in protest over extremist content Politicians and advertisers have warned Google that it must overhaul advertising practices or risk being hit by regulation and advertiser boycotts.A major global marketing company became the first to pull all its advertising spending with Google after the news that adverts for a range of organisations had been inadvertently placed next to extremist material. MPs meanwhile threatened that
  
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• Trump unrepentant in wake of UK spying accusations

  17-03-2017 20:28
  White House: ‘All we did was quote a very talented legal mind’
  
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• Donald Trump Angela Merkel Press Conference Results In Extraordinary Wiretapping 'Joke'

  17-03-2017 20:13
  
  Donald Trump appeared to leave Angela Merkel completely stunned after he suggested the one thing they have in common is they’ve both been wiretapped by Barack Obama.
  During a joint press conference from the White House on Friday afternoon, the President was answering a question on the debacle surrounding claims Britain’s GCHQ had Trump Tower wiretapped on behalf of the former administration.
  Just hours earlier the White House was forced to issue an apology for the allegation, which w
  
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• 'No one is talking about it': has Sturgeon misjudged mood for independence?

  17-03-2017 20:02
  
  Clackmannanshire was a bellwether for the first Scottish indyref and for Brexit – and within the county a second vote doesn’t seem to be the top issue for localsIn the land of the never-endum, they were counting votes again on Thursday morning. In an upstairs room at Alloa town hall, council workers were going through their election night counting rituals with a coffee-fuelled concentration. “It’s becoming a full-time job,” said one official.Scotland’s council
  
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• The leave fanatics will have their hard Brexit – even if the price is the union | Jonathan Freedland

  17-03-2017 20:01
  
  Though hardliners are pursuing the most destructive version of Britain’s divorce from the EU, there may be a way to avoid the breakup of the UKWhat a paradoxical story we shall tell our grandchildren about Brexit. The little ones will climb on our knee and we will recall how we bravely seized our independence from hated Brussels – only to destroy our country. Their infant brows will furrow in confusion when we tell them that in order to make Britain great again, we smashed it to piec
  
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• The Guardian view on Brexit and publishing: a hardcore problem | Editorial

  17-03-2017 20:01
  
  London book fair has shown how upbeat the literary world can be – and how worried our cultural businesses have become at the thought of losing old certaintiesThe mood at this week’s London book fair appeared upbeat, with hotly contested auctions leading to the return of the six-figure publishing deal. Musicians did particularly well, with Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, Suede’s Brett Anderson and drum’n’bass pioneer Goldie leading the way. Rumours of the death of litera
  
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• The Guardian view of George Osborne’s new job: something’s got to give | Editorial

  17-03-2017 20:01
  
  The former chancellor is a celebrity catch for daily journalism. He will find it is a full-time jobThe border between journalism and politics has always been porous. High-profile journalist-politicians have ranged from Marat and Wilkes to Mussolini, and Trotsky to Kossuth. More recently, Alastair Campbell has led a long line of journalists into prominent positions in ministerial press offices. Some of the crossings are as well-trodden as a car park at the end of this week’s Cheltenham fest
  
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• Independence Day: Scotland prepares for a sequel

  17-03-2017 19:42
  Nicola Sturgeon’s call for a referendum rerun took Theresa May by surprise but will Brexit make a split inevitable?
  
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• George Osborne’s dazzling new career is one of many | Letters

  17-03-2017 19:28
  
  George Osborne has been appointed editor of the London Evening Standard (Report, theguardian.com, 17 March) – probably at a very high salary. This is in addition to the £650k a year of work he does for the BlackRock hedge fund. He also has an extensive list of registered MP’s interests, with large sums of money involved. He was the highest-earning MP for 2016. All in addition to his MP’s salary. Apart from the sheer greed of the man, it makes me wonder when he gets the ti
  
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• Labour Plan To Pledge '£350m-A-Week For The NHS' Dropped By Jeremy Corbyn Amid Party In-Fighting

  17-03-2017 19:09
  
  A radical plan for Jeremy Corbyn to deliver the Brexiteers’ promise of £350m a week for the NHS was dropped amid party infighting and indecision, HuffPost UK has learned.
  The Labour leader was advised to kick off 2017 with the eye-catching pledge in a bid to outflank the Tory government while appealing directly to Leave voters.
  But Corbyn decided not to go ahead with the £18bn-a-year commitment after Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell failed to respond to detailed funding option
  
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• Osborne’s new job is a conflict of interest

  17-03-2017 19:06
  His role as editor, MP and financial adviser is untenable, writes John Gapper
  
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• Donald Trump Ignores Angela Merkel When She Suggests Shaking Hands During White House Meeting

  17-03-2017 18:46
  
  Donald Trump seemed to ignore Angela Merkel’s suggestion they shake hands, in an incredibly awkward moment during their first meeting.
  The German chancellor was sitting stiffly with the president before a group of photographers in the White House on Friday.
  When the snappers clamoured for the pair to shake hands, Merkel - who rarely speaks English in public - asked Trump if he wanted to do this.Looking like he would rather be anywhere else and looking away from her, Trump either did not he
  
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• Donald Trump Ignores Angela Merkel When She Suggests Handshake During White House Meeting

  17-03-2017 18:46
  
  Donald Trump seemed to ignore Angela Merkel’s suggestion they shake hands, in an incredibly awkward moment during their first meeting.
  The German chancellor was sitting stiffly with the president before a group of photographers in the White House on Friday.
  When the snappers clamoured for the pair to shake hands, Merkel - who rarely speaks English in public - asked Trump if he wanted to do this.Looking like he would rather be anywhere else and looking away from her, Trump either did not he
  
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• YouTube advertising backlash gathers pace

  17-03-2017 18:45
  Public and private campaigns have appeared alongside videos advocating extremism
  
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• Martin Rowson on George Osborne's new role at London Evening Standard – cartoon

  17-03-2017 18:36
  
  Continue reading...
  
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• News of the World owner loses court fight over Tommy Sheridan defamation case

  17-03-2017 18:31
  
  Supreme court refuses attempt by owner of now defunct newspaper to have 2006 civil jury verdict set aside The UK’s highest court has refused an attempt by the owner of the now defunct News Of The World to appeal against former MSP Tommy Sheridan’s defamation victory a decade ago.Sheridan won the high-profile case against the newspaper after it printed allegations about the then Scottish Socialist party MSP’s sex life, which included claims he had visited a swingers’ club.
  
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• ‘Will he give up sleep?’ Constituents criticise Osborne over new job

  17-03-2017 18:29
  
  Many in Tatton, Cheshire, say they cannot understand how MP will both represent them and edit London Evening StandardConstituents of George Osborne in the Cheshire constituency of Tatton were largely critical of the former chancellor’s decision to take on the editorship of the London Evening Standard, arguing that it would make it hard for him to represent the seat.
  Richard Page, whose mother, Beth, was on the selection committee that gave Osborne the party’s nomination, said: &ldquo
  
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• Osborne's new job confirms disturbing Tory dominance of the media | Roy Greenslade

  17-03-2017 18:17
  
  From Johnson to Gove, Tories are revelling in their links to papers, and proprietors no longer try to hide their rightwing viewsAfter the crop of cynical jokes about George Osborne becoming editor of the London Evening Standard, let’s get serious. However odd the appointment appears, and few journalists will think it anything other than that, is it really fair to suggest that the paper’s owner, Evgeny Lebedev, has taken leave of his senses?Osborne is not the first person chosen to be
  
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• Osborne’s new editorship adds to Theresa May’s woes

  17-03-2017 18:17
  PM fights back at Tory conference following a week marred by Budget U-turn and SNP bid
  
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• Prime Minister Theresa May wants 'more united Britain'

  17-03-2017 18:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May sets out her desire to create a "more united" Britain, in a speech in Cardiff.
  
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• Osborne's workload

  17-03-2017 18:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Will the former chancellor be able to juggle journalism, politics and his other jobs?
  
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• FTSE 100 hits another record closing high - as it happened

  17-03-2017 18:02
  
  All the day’s economic and financial news, as shares in London climb higher and finance ministers meet in GermanyLondon stock market closes at record levels againMarkets subdued after busy weekCarney warns G20 to complete financial reformsThe agenda: Eurozone data, G20 meeting5.01pm GMTBoom! The FTSE 100 has ended a busy week at a new all-time closing high.But it’s only a modest rally - the blue-chip index has finished 9 points higher at 7424 points, adding to yesterday’s recor
  
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• George Osborne to be London Evening Standard editor

  17-03-2017 17:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The ex-Chancellor's got a new position, but which other politicians took on unexpected jobs?
  
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• Can George Osborne be an MP and an editor? Let the people decide | Martin Bell

  17-03-2017 17:55
  
  As the previous MP for Tatton, I know how independent minded its constituents are. So call a byelection, George, to see if they approve of your multitaskingBeing a member of parliament is a full-time job – as I know from my personal experience, as George Osborne’s predecessor. Being a newspaper editor is also a full-time job. Giving external advice and speeches, however well remunerated, also takes time. Doing all three together, it seems to me, would require the talents of Superman.
  
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• Theresa May echoes Ed Miliband with promise to reform energy market

  17-03-2017 17:53
  
  Prime minister tells Conservative spring conference that market is not working and she is prepared to ‘step in’Theresa May’s government is preparing to intervene in Britain’s energy market to weaken the influence of the big six providers and stop the poorest families being forced on to the most expensive tariffs.In a speech that had echoes of the previous Labour leader, Ed Miliband, who promised to introduce an energy price freeze, the prime minister argued that the marke
  
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• George Osborne facing calls to quit as MP over Evening Standard job

  17-03-2017 17:34
  
  Former chancellor appointed as London daily’s new editor is under pressure from Labour and some Tories to resign as Tatton MPGeorge Osborne is coming under growing pressure to step down as Conservative MP for Tatton in Cheshire, after his surprise appointment as the editor of the London Evening Standard.Evgeny Lebedev, the owner of the paper, announced the news on Twitter on Friday, saying he was “thrilled” and describing the former chancellor as “London through and throu
  
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• George Osborne Editorship Sees BBC Journalist Amol Rajan Criticised For Tweets About Appointment

  17-03-2017 17:26
  
  The BBC journalist, who broke the news that George Osborne will be the next Evening Standard editor, has been accused of doing “PR” for the MP and newspaper’s owner. 
  The broadcaster’s media editor Amol Rajan called the shock appointment “a huge coup” for the newspaper, which will see the former Chancellor remain a Tory MP while editing the daily London publication.
  However, several MPs have since called for Osborne to stand down from
  
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• 'Workshy' Wills is getting flak – I hear Russia's in need of cosmonauts | John Crace

  17-03-2017 17:22
  
  From prince being under fire for having no proper job to George Osborne fitting yet another job in with his MP’s dutiesPrince William is getting a lot of flak for going on a lads’ ski trip to Verbier, though the headlines of “Don’t you have a proper job to go to?” appear to have been mainly an excuse for newspapers to print pictures of the prince drinking and dancing in nightclubs. Not least because the simple fact is that he doesn’t have a proper job to go to
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn brands George Osborne's new editor job 'ludicrous'

  17-03-2017 17:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Jeremy Corbyn says MP, bank adviser and newspaper editor George Osborne has taken multi-tasking to a 'ludicrous' level.
  
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• Theresa May warned of Tory revolt over school spending cuts

  17-03-2017 17:11
  
  George Osborne among nine MPs who met education secretary to raise concerns about proposals for new funding formulaTheresa May has been warned she faces a revolt by Conservative MPs over school cuts, with more than a third of Tories in marginal seats facing slashed budgets. With pressure mounting on the prime minister, Downing Street repeatedly stressed the new schools funding formula was a consultation, hinting that the government was in listening mode. Continue reading...
  
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• Osborne defends new job as Evening Standard editor

  17-03-2017 16:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  George Osborne says there are "plenty of examples" of MPs doubling up as editors of newspapers and magazines.
  
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• EU Brexit negotiator to meet campaigners on citizens' rights

  17-03-2017 16:54
  
  Michel Barnier agrees to discussion before formal talks and says he is committed to addressing the issue ‘as a top priority’ The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has agreed to meet a delegation of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in Europe before formal talks with Britain.In a letter to campaigners he promised Europe was “committed to address this issue as a top priority in the upcoming negotiations” and that “our g
  
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• Osborne, an ‘editor of substance’. What substance, crystal meth? | Marina Hyde

  17-03-2017 16:43
  
  His ascent to the Evening Standard continues the trend of people who used to be journalists cocking up the country, and people who cocked up the country becoming journalistsWhat a privilege to be able to welcome George Osborne to the ranks of journalistic colleaguery. The former News of the World cover star and chancellor is the new editor of the London Evening Standard, a role he will combine with his jobs as MP for Tatton and being a £650,000-a-year escort for an investment fund. Osborne
  
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• George Osborne joins short list of serving MP journalists

  17-03-2017 16:42
  A handful of other figures have simultaneously juggled the two professions
  
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• What can be learned from Slovakia's 'velvet divorce'?

  17-03-2017 16:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Can a messy Brexit breakup be avoided? Politics Europe looks at Czechoslovakia's "velvet divorce".
  
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• Theresa May's difficult week could be more than just a glitch

  17-03-2017 15:50
  
  Election expenses scandal and Sturgeon’s ambush see PM’s reputation as a safe pair of hands questioned as never before Theresa May launched a slick new government website on Thursday, promising a “plan for Britain”, but for the first hour or so it just displayed an error message.Technical gremlins can attack at any time, but somehow the glitch felt symbolic of the prime minister’s week. Continue reading...
  
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• EU sources: May must mention UK's financial settlement in article 50 notice

  17-03-2017 15:25
  
  Failure to refer to multibillion-pound Brexit divorce bill in notification letter would receive condemnatory responseTheresa May faces being publicly criticised by the EU if her letter triggering article 50 fails to refer to Britain’s obligation to settle its divorce bill and make an “orderly withdrawal” from the bloc.A failure of the UK to announce its intention to act in good faith over the terms of its withdrawal, including a multibillion-pound financial settlement, is likel
  
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• Politics quiz: Scottish independence, budget U-turns and Brexit

  17-03-2017 15:14
  
  It’s been a lively week in UK politics, from article 50 machinations to arguments over a second Scottish independence referendum
  Who said she might quit as an MP after one term, saying of Westminster: “Professionally, it is more just that so little gets done. It is so old and defunct in terms of its systems and procedures – a lot of the time, it is just a waste of time.”Boris JohnsonMhairi BlackSarah ChampionGeorge OsborneThe Brexit bill passed its last parliamentary hurd
  
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• Brexit diaries: 'We are at a turning point in the UK's political history'

  17-03-2017 15:11
  
  A second vote on Scottish independence splits opinion – as does the chancellor’s failure to mention Brexit in his budgetThe pattern has been the same among our Brexit diarists for the past 10 weeks: Theresa May is felt to be significantly outperforming Jeremy Corbyn when it comes to her approach to the EU across most leavers and remainers, Conservative and Labour supporters.
  This week the score was an average of 5.7 out of 10 for the prime minister and 2.9 out of 10 for the Labour le
  
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• Theresa May lashes out at SNP as rift deepens

  17-03-2017 15:00
  
  PM accuses Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon of ‘tunnel vision’ in her pursuit of second independence referendumTheresa May has lashed out at the “divisive and obsessive nationalism” of the SNP, accusing the party of having long planned to use Brexit as a means of engineering a second independence referendum.The prime minister used a speech at the Conservative party’s spring conference in Cardiff to deepen her rift with Nicola Sturgeon as she criticised the fi
  
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• All state schools in England 'to face funding gap by 2020'

  17-03-2017 14:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Even schools benefitting from new funds will see gains wiped out, research suggests.
  
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• 9 Embarrassing Stories About George Osborne The Evening Standard Wouldn't Publish Now He's The Editor

  17-03-2017 14:33
  
  George Osborne managed to prove he’s still capable of sparking major political earthquakes, by announcing on Friday he would become the editor of London’s Evening Standard newspaper.
  The title has a circulation of more than 850,000 copies a day - and the decision for the former Chancellor of the Exchequer to turn his hand to journalism prompted debate around the Standard’s previous editorial choices. 
  The paper supported the Tories in the 2015 UK general election, and Cons
  
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• A tale of two negotiating teams

  17-03-2017 14:25
  The UK is looking less disciplined and co-ordinated in its approach to the talks
  
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• George Osborne Faces Demands To Quit As MP After Accepting Evening Standard Editor Job

  17-03-2017 14:17
  
  George Osborne is facing calls to quit as an MP after he was announced as the new editor of the Evening Standard.
  The former chancellor has insisted he will continue to serve as MP for Tatton alongside his new job in London - as parliament was where the country’s “future is debated”.
  The news of the former Conservative chancellor’s appointment was greeted with shock by politicians and journalists.
  A spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn said Osborne’s appointment was &ldq
  
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