Political news

• Uber faces legal challenge on VAT

  20-03-2017 23:01 via ft.com
  Campaigning UK barrister questions why fares are exempt from tax
  
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• MPs slam funding crisis and 'postcode lottery' of children's services

  20-03-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Report finds under-funded social services stretched to brink of collapse, and huge differences in treatment of youngstersChildren’s social services are being engulfed by a funding crisis in which nine out of 10 local authorities are struggling to meet their legal duties and families face a postcode lottery, a damning report has concluded.
  The inquiry by MPs, led by a former Conservative children’s minister, Tim Loughton, has found “wildly different approaches” in the ways
  
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• Corbyn and team criticised for briefing against Watson over Momentum row

  20-03-2017 22:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Labour MPs say deputy leader has been wrongly vilified after he spoke out against Momentum’s plan to increase influence with help of Unite union
  Jeremy Corbyn and his team are facing strong criticism from their MPs over briefings against Tom Watson after the deputy Labour leader spoke out against the influence of the grassroots movement Momentum and the leader of the Unite union, Len McCluskey.At an angry parliamentary Labour party meeting, senior figures including John Cryer and John Spel
  
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• Far-right millionaire: I'll use social media network to back Scottish independence

  20-03-2017 22:34 via theguardian.com
  
  Jim Dowson, whose Patriotic News Agency spread anti-Clinton and pro-Trump propaganda during the US elections, says: ‘England is finished’
  A far-right millionaire with Ulster loyalist connections plans to use his international social media network, which backed Donald Trump, to support Scottish independence. Jim Dowson, a former financial backer of the British National party and former member of Britain First, confirmed on Monday that he will be deploying his “Patriotic News Age
  
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• UK to trigger article 50 on 29 March, but faces delay on start of talks

  20-03-2017 21:43 via theguardian.com
  
  EU sources say Theresa May missed chance of swift start to Brexit negotiations, which are now likely to start in June Theresa May has informed the European council that she will trigger article 50 on Wednesday 29 March, but European sources have made clear that Britain could be forced to wait until June to embark on formal talks.
  The prime minister’s decision to name the date on which the two-year Brexit clock will start ticking down came as her official spokesman also quashed speculation
  
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• The Guardian view on triggering Brexit: into an unknown future | Editorial

  20-03-2017 21:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Article 50 will be triggered next week, and there will be no election to interfereIt is weeks since the prime minister posed for the US Vogue photographer Annie Leibovitz in January. The images released today that portray her sitting, hair blown off her face as if riding into battle, coincided aptly with two announcements that emerged from Downing Street which underline how she has recovered authority in the week since the humiliating defeat on a key budget proposal. The first was that the lette
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Under Fire As Parliamentary Labour Party Angrily Defends Tom Watson In Momentum Row

  20-03-2017 20:58
  
  Jeremy Corbyn and his media chief have come under attack from angry Labour MPs over claims that left-wing group Momentum was plotting to take over the party.
  Voices were raised at the weekly meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Monday as tempers boiled over at briefings that deputy leader Tom Watson had been ‘reckless’ in raising concerns about the grassroots movement.
  PLP chairman Jon Cryer said that Momentum now looked like “a party within a party”, a des
  
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• 5 WTF Moments From Sean Spicer's Latest Press Conference

  20-03-2017 20:57
  
  White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has once more stepped into the breach to defend Donald Trump’s embattled administration.
  In a role most of us wouldn’t wish on our worst enemies, Spicer sought to defuse criticism of Trump’s expensive trips to Florida, his golfing habit, baseless wiretapping claims, and the ongoing investigation into Russian links.
  These are five WTF moments from his latest briefing.
  1). Describing $2m dollar ‘Winter White House’ trips as &ldq
  
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• Death by 1,000 penalty rate cuts, starring Fiona the Underemployed Bettong | First Dog on the Moon

  20-03-2017 20:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Cutting penalty rates is just another ideological assault on working people. The renewal of the left can’t come soon enough Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published
  Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and printsContinue reading...
  
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• Charge electric cars smartly to take pressure off national grid – minister

  20-03-2017 20:45 via theguardian.com
  
  SSE trials ‘demand-side response’ where vehicles start charging a few hours after being plugged in, when demand is lowerElectric cars are putting increasing pressure on the UK’s power grids, making it vital they are recharged at the right time of day, a minister has said. John Hayes, transport minister, said it was important that such battery-powered cars were topped up in smart ways to avoid unduly stressing the energy system. Continue reading...
  
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• Martin Rowson on triggering article 50 – cartoon

  20-03-2017 20:21 via theguardian.com
  
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• Ethics committee may ask Osborne to decline Evening Standard role

  20-03-2017 20:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Under-fire former chancellor tells fellow MPs ‘parliament is enhanced when we have people from all walks of life’The ethics committee assessing George Osborne’s new job as editor of the Evening Standard is understood to be actively considering a call for the former chancellor to delay or decline the role.The former chancellor was widely criticised for his decision not to quit his Tatton seat in north-west England since it was announced that he would take up the position. He irr
  
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• Britain can complete trade talks within two years, says UK's EU envoy

  20-03-2017 20:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Sir Tim Barrow says EU has duty to negotiate not just the divorce but also the future trading relationshipThe UK can complete the negotiations for a new trading relationship with the EU inside the two-year Brexit timetable since UK and EU trading regulations are already in complete convergence, Sir Tim Barrow, the new UK envoy to the EU, has said.
  He also said the EU had already “welcomed the clarity of the UK naming a date for the triggering of article 50”, saying the date was full
  
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• Theresa May Thinks Donald Trump Is A 'Gentleman' After White House Hand Grab

  20-03-2017 20:09
  
  Theresa May has insisted Donald Trump was being “being a gentleman” when the US President held her hand in the White House.The eye-catching photo of the Prime Minister and Trump - which flashed around the world and dominated British newspaper front pages - was his attempt to steady her on her feet as they walked down a ramp, May told the style magazine American Vogue.
  The awkward moment, followed by the President patting May’s hand in his, sparked suggestions that he was
  
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• Osborne squeezes in half an hour of working tirelessly for Tatton

  20-03-2017 19:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Tories line up excuses for multi-skilled MP: it’s a matter of liberty; or the right to take liberties. And don’t mention conflict of interestGeorge Osborne nodded approvingly at the ATM in the House of Commons. As he had requested, it had been updated to dispense roubles as well as pounds.It wasn’t easy trying to fit in being editor of the London Evening Standard along with his other jobs as £650,000-a-year adviser to BlackRock, Kissinger fellow, after-dinner speaker and
  
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• May’s Brexit trigger date yields initiative to EU27

  20-03-2017 19:48 via ft.com
  Control over timing and structure of negotiations now lies with bloc’s other members
  
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• May’s Brexit date yields initiative to other members

  20-03-2017 19:48 via ft.com
  Control over timing and structure of negotiations now lies with the EU bloc
  
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• What German unification teaches Brexit doomsayers

  20-03-2017 18:57 via ft.com
  Technocrats have a vested interest in talking up the complexity of negotiations
  
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• Let’s kick the MPs out of London during parliament’s facelift | Patrick Barkham

  20-03-2017 18:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Regional sessions might defuse some hostility towards the capital, and challenge groupthink. We need to run the Westminster circus out of town
  For two days in 1284, the government of England and Wales was administered from the tiny island of Ynys Enlli off the Welsh coast. An entourage of 100 people quaffed wine in tents on this holy island while Edward I dispensed alms after his brutal conquest of Wales. Whoever is governing Britain in 2023 would be wise to study Edward I’s canny statesma
  
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• What is Labour's future?

  20-03-2017 18:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  What's at stake for Labour as senior figures trade blows over links between Momentum and the Unite union?
  
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• Tax experts braced for epic UK finance bill

  20-03-2017 18:44 via ft.com
  Legislation is longer than Lord of the Rings, largely due to measures introduced by Osborne
  
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• Being PM is about delivering, not about being popular, May tells American Vogue – as it happened

  20-03-2017 18:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenChristine Shawcroft’s Today interview - SummaryNo 10 lobby briefing - SummaryGuardian/ICM poll suggests Tories have 19-point lead over LabourTheresa May’s Vogue interview - SummaryAfternoon summary 5.41pm GMT 5.22pm GMTTheresa May must be one of the hardest people in British public life to interview. She seems to have little interest in introspection, and even less in answering questions from journalists. Yester
  
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• Theresa May: Trump was 'being a gentleman' when he held my hand

  20-03-2017 18:42 via theguardian.com
  
  British PM uses interview with American Vogue to defend US president’s behaviour during their meeting in Washington Theresa May has insisted Donald Trump was simply “being a gentleman” when he grasped her hand during a visit to the US, creating an image that caused widespread embarrassment.The prime minister has used an interview with American Vogue to praise the meeting with the president, who she said had achieved a “stunning election victory” given his lack of ex
  
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• Over-optimistic ministers manipulate Brexit debate

  20-03-2017 18:15 via ft.com
  At each stage they spin the new bottom-line as something they half-expected all along
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn And Tom Watson Have 'Robust' Chat About 'Hard Left' Momentum Take Over Claims

  20-03-2017 18:08
  
  Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson have had a “robust” but “constructive” discussion following accusations from Labour’s deputy leader that the “hard left” is attempting to take over the party.
  In a joint statement issued on Monday afternoon, Corbyn and Watson said the shadow cabinet had “agreed on the need to strengthen party unity”.
  The comments came following a extraordinary morning which saw Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell forced to deny the
  
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• Jeremy Fleming named head of Britain’s GCHQ

  20-03-2017 18:07 via ft.com
  Career spy is currently deputy director of MI5 and will succeed Robert Hannigan
  
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• George Osborne Shrugs Off Conflict Of Interest Fears During Commons Debate On Evening Standard Job

  20-03-2017 18:07
  
  George Osborne has brushed aside concerns over conflicts of interest as a result of his appointment as Evening Standard editor, saying Parliament is “enhanced” by people of different experience.
  The former Chancellor shocked the media and political worlds when it was announced on Friday he would be put in charge of the capital’s only evening paper.
  As well as prompting fears over a series of conflicts of interest, not least his role at a major City firm and the paper’s fi
  
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• Career spy Fleming named head of UK’s GCHQ

  20-03-2017 18:07 via ft.com
  Deputy director of MI5 will succeed Robert Hannigan at electronic surveillance agency
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn 'Helped' Momentum Activist Sam Wheeler To Get On Manchester Gorton Longlist

  20-03-2017 17:34
  
  Jeremy Corbyn personally intervened in Labour’s selection for the Manchester Gorton by-election to back a Momentum candidate, HuffPost UK has learned.
  As deputy leader Tom Watson sparked a fresh row over the left-wing movement, party sources said that Corbyn had recommended that Sam Wheeler should be in the running for the traditionally safe seat.
  A member of the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) by-election panel was advised by the party leader that Wheeler –
  
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• Downing Street Refuses To Rule Out 2019 Scottish Independence Referendum

  20-03-2017 17:34
  
  Theresa May today left the door open for a Scottish referendum in the aftermath of Brexit, as Downing Street refused to rule out a summer 2019 vote.
  SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon today tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament demanding an independence referendum be held between autumn 2018 and spring 2019.
  Despite the limited timeframe put forward in the motion, Sturgeon has repeatedly claimed over the weekend that she is open to negotiate the timing of the vote – and would be prepared to w
  
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• Boris Johnson to meet Steve Bannon in White House visit

  20-03-2017 17:29 via theguardian.com
  
  UK foreign secretary to meet senior figures including Donald Trump’s top aide in trip that comes shortly after wiretap rowBoris Johnson will meet key White House figures including Donald Trump’s most powerful aide, Steve Bannon, during a trip to the US this week, the Guardian understands.The foreign secretary is also expected to meet Stephen Miller and Kellyanne Conway as well as Republican congressional leaders, and is likely to see the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.Continue rea
  
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• There’s no secret plot. Momentum just wants a fair say in the Labour party | Conrad Landin

  20-03-2017 17:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Internal warfare is damaging Labour’s prospects, but the grassroots organisation is simply following the right’s tactics to take control of the party machineAnother week, and yet another fierce debate as the battle for the soul of the Labour party continues. Tom Watson has warned of an “entryism threat”, and, for his part, been accused of “a concerted attempt to interfere” in Unite’s general secretary election. Related: This is a battle about who owns th
  
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• Can England avoid a meltdown of national identity? | Paul Mason

  20-03-2017 17:09 via theguardian.com
  
  After a hard Brexit and the end of the union, the English will need to define what they stand for – and how they are ruledScotland can, should and hopefully will leave the United Kingdom. The question for non-Scottish Brits now is, if we are going to say goodbye to the union, how should we frame our own national consciousness after that? What institutions should we design?The original argument for independence was strong: Scotland has developed a national culture and consciousness on a dif
  
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• Paul Golding, Britain First Leader, Yells 'Fuck Off You Foreign C*nt' During London Demo

  20-03-2017 16:33
  
  Britain First’s website has an entire page explaining how the far-right group is “patriotic” but definitely not racist. It emphasises:
   'Race' does not feature in our policies or outlook in any way.Which makes leader Paul Golding’s decision to post a video of himself yelling “fuck off you fucking foreign c*nt’ on Twitter all the more baffling.I'm in London right now and THIS is what's happening!
  Britain First vs Antifa scum! pic.twitter.com/rFzu3EaPe
  
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• Four select committees launch joint inquiry into UK air pollution crisis

  20-03-2017 15:52 via theguardian.com
  
  MPs say unprecedented investigation will study harm caused by toxic air and scrutinise government efforts to tackle it MPs from four influential committees are coming together to launch a joint inquiry into the scale and impact of the UK’s air pollution crisis.In an unusual development, the environmental audit committee, environment, food and rural affairs committee, health committee and transport committee will hold four sessions to consider mounting scientific evidence on the health and
  
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• Wales warns on devolution as May visits Swansea

  20-03-2017 15:10 via ft.com
  UK prime minister to tour Wales, N Ireland and Scotland ahead of starting Brexit
  
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• Spokesman says May will not call snap election

  20-03-2017 15:06 via ft.com
  Several Tories want an early poll to give PM a solid backing for her Brexit strategy
  
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• Downing Street says May will not call snap election

  20-03-2017 15:06 via ft.com
  Several Tories want an early poll to give PM solid backing for her Brexit strategy
  
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• Donald Trump Approval Ratings Tweet Backfires

  20-03-2017 14:48
  
  On Monday morning CNN reported that Donald Trump’s approval rating was at an all-time low of 37%, with an overall rating of -21.President Trump's job approval rating: 37%Americans who disapprove of his performance: 58%Latest Gallup numbers: https://t.co/rQn6fBqXdq— CNN (@CNN) March 20, 2017
  The President clearly did not approve and fired out a tweet once again calling the network “fake news” and implored Americans to listen to Fox News instead.Just heard Fake News CNN is
  
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• Whitehall feels the pinch

  20-03-2017 14:44 via ft.com
  Departments dealing with Brexit are feeling under pressure over scant resources
  
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• Snap General Election Ruled Out By Downing Street

  20-03-2017 14:18
  
  A snap General Election was ruled out by Downing Street today as it confirmed the next vote would not be until 2020.
  Rumours of a Spring election gained traction over the weekend after the Sunday Express reported Conservative Party chairman Patrick McLoughlin had discussed holding a vote on May 4 with the chief whip.
  While the Fixed Term Parliament Act has the next General Election locked in for 2020, Theresa May could go to the country early if two-thirds of MPs back the move.
  Labour’s el
  
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• This is a battle about who owns the soul of the Labour party | Suzanne Moore

  20-03-2017 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  A secret recording reveals that even Momentum has given up on Corbyn. Does anyone inside Labour have any idea how ludicrous this all looks?So he is not immortal after all? The part of the Labour party that supports Jeremy Corbyn is edging out of its fantasy that Corbyn will lead them to a great victory in 2020. Related: Secret tape reveals Momentum plot to seize control of LabourContinue reading...
  
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• UK to trigger Brexit process on March 29

  20-03-2017 12:39 via ft.com
  Formal letter to Brussels invoking Article 50 will start 2-year EU negotiation period
  
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• Article 50 Trigger Date Is March 29, Downing Street Confirms

  20-03-2017 12:32
  
  Theresa May will officially trigger the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union on March 29, it was confirmed today.
  The Prime Minister will send a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk activating Article 50 next Wednesday, starting the clock on two years of intense negotiations.
  The PM’s spokesman announced this morning that May will make a statement to the House of Commons on the same day to notify MPs she has begun Brexit talks.
  The UK’s permanent representative
  
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• May would be mad to hold a snap general election

  20-03-2017 11:57
  
  Going to the polls again now makes no sense at all
  
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• Across the Channel

  20-03-2017 11:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Everything you need to know about the French presidential election.
  
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• Donald Trump Voters On Now Regretting Their Decision

  20-03-2017 11:39
  
  During the presidential election campaign Donald Trump promised to “drain the swamp” and fight for “forgotten Americans”.
  Yet within just a few weeks of entering the White House you’d be forgiven for thinking he’s already forgotten that pledge. Since his inauguration Trump has brought numerous billionaire banking and oil executives into his inner circle as well as personal friends and financial donors.And his proposed budget slashes even eliminates comple
  
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• UK home care industry ‘on the brink of collapse’

  20-03-2017 11:33 via ft.com
  Companies going bankrupt or pulling out of contracts, research concludes
  
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• Jon Lansman hits back at MPs over criticism of Unite-Momentum pact

  20-03-2017 11:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Plans by grassroots group to affiliate with Unite union could ‘destroy Labour party as an electoral force’, says Tom WatsonMomentum’s Jon Lansman has hit back after fierce criticism by Labour MPs of his intention to affiliate trade union Unite to his grassroots group as a way to consolidate its power in the party.The plans for Momentum to affiliate the UK’s biggest union and take full control of Labour’s structures by electing new representatives were described as &
  
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• Tom Watson Warns Of 'Hard Left' Jon Lansman Momentum Plot To Take Over Labour

  20-03-2017 10:41
  
  Tom Watson has warned there is a “hard left” plot by the Momentum campaign group to take over Labour.
  Labour’s deputy leader this morning urged party and union members to join the “battle for the future existence of the Labour party”.
  The civil war erupted over the weekend after The Observer published a recording of Momentum’s founder, Jon Lansman, revealing plans for the Unite union to affiliate to and fund the group.
  Lansman also said it was &ldqu
  
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