Political news

• WaughZone Special: Theresa May Triggers Brexit's Article 50 Process

  29-03-2017 22:48
  
  The five things you need to know now Brexit has really started…1) MAKING HER-STORY
  At 12.29pm, the Prime Minister’s Parliamentary Private Secretary George Hollingbery leaned over the Commons frontbench and handed Chancellor Philip Hammond his smartphone. It displayed a tweet by EU chief Donald Tusk, the very 2017 confirmation that Theresa May had been waiting for: Brexit was really, finally, definitely under way. Tusk had the PM’s letter in his hand. The two-year countdown cl
  
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• May confirms role of security in any Brexit deal

  29-03-2017 21:41
  Policing co-operation will influence terms of departure, PM says in interview
  
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• There's no going back – May has burned the boats of a divided nation | Martin Kettle

  29-03-2017 20:59
  
  The PM’s article 50 speech invoked a misty-eyed vision of a fairer Britain – but Brexit will not produce that kind of country Like Aeneas fleeing from Troy on the shore of Italy, or Cortés on the coast of Mexico, it was a moment for the burning of the boats. On Wednesday Theresa May burned hers. But they were our boats too that she burned, Britain’s boats, boats in which, for half a century, postwar Britain has tried to reconcile its history and its future in Europe &nda
  
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• Article 50: PM says 'significant' increase to Welsh powers

  29-03-2017 20:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May predicts more decision making for devolved nations post-Brexit in her Article 50 letter.
  
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• Scottish independence: Sturgeon to press on with referendum

  29-03-2017 20:49
  
  First minister condemns Theresa May’s decision to trigger article 50 and dismisses promise of new powers for ScotlandNicola Sturgeon has pledged to press on with a fresh independence referendum after dismissing Theresa May’s promise of substantial new powers for Scotland after Brexit.The first minister said May’s decision to trigger article 50 on Wednesday, beginning the UK’s divorce from the EU, was one of the most destructive acts by a British leader in modern history,
  
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• Angela Merkel rejects one of Theresa May's key Brexit demands

  29-03-2017 20:46
  
  Divorce settlement must come before talks about future relationship, says chancellor, as EU leaders respond to article 50 letterAngela Merkel has rejected one of Theresa May’s key Brexit demands, insisting negotiations on Britain’s exit from the European Union cannot run in parallel with talks on the future UK-EU relationship.
  “The negotiations must first clarify how we will disentangle our interlinked relationship,” the German chancellor said in Berlin. “Only when
  
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• Theresa May: EU Response To Article 50 Is Just What I Expected

  29-03-2017 20:04
  
  The EU’s reaction to the UK triggering Article 50 is what Theresa May “expected”, the Prime Minister told friends this evening.
  Speaking before she addressed a meeting of Tory backbenchers, the Prime Minister revealed she was not phased by the reaction across Europe to her letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk.
  In a press conference after receiving the Article 50 notification, Tusk told the UK: “We already miss you.”
  German Chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to
  
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• Bridge tribute to Westminster attack victims

  29-03-2017 19:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  "London will never be divided" says one imam, as thousands remember the victims of the attack.
  
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• UK’s most senior judge echoes criticism of Liz Truss

  29-03-2017 19:37
  Lord Neuberger says justice secretary should have swiftly rebuked attacks against judiciary
  
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• May pulls the Article 50 trigger, gently but firmly

  29-03-2017 19:36
  The UK prime minister strikes a responsible tone on a historic day
  
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• Relief in Europe as May signals appetite for deal

  29-03-2017 19:30
  Careful wording reduces risk of flare-ups in coming months but big differences remain
  
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• Article 50: Merkel pushes back against May

  29-03-2017 19:22
  Germany resists drive for speedy trade deal but EU welcomes conciliatory tone
  
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• May garlands demand for divorce with plea for peace

  29-03-2017 18:57
  Prime minister adopts conciliatory stance for ‘great turning point in our national story’
  
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• Theresa May Accused Of 'Blatant Threat' To End EU Security Links If Brussels Fails To Agree Trade Deal

  29-03-2017 18:48
  
  Theresa May has been accused of making a “blatant threat” to end British crime and security co-operation with the EU if she fails to get a free-trade deal after Brexit.
  The Prime Minister sparked a backlash after she explicitly linked a new deal on trade with continued co-operation on crime and terrorism.
  Critics claimed that May was putting both Britons’ and Europeans security on the line in her drive to get a “hard Brexit”.
  And as Labour and the Liberal Democrats,
  
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• May makes link between trade and security deals

  29-03-2017 18:30
  PM warns EU against weakening collaboration in the fight against crime and terrorism
  
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• EU leaders react as UK PM Theresa May officially triggers Brexit

  29-03-2017 18:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  There is "no reason to pretend this is a happy day", European Council President Donald Tusk says.
  
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• Kay Burley Tells Douglas Carswell He 'Looks Scared' Of Triggering A By-Election

  29-03-2017 18:27
  
  .@DouglasCarswell: "Do I strike you as someone who is scared of by-elections?"- @KayBurley: "Yes, you do, actually." pic.twitter.com/rhg6L4oYNv— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 29, 2017
  Douglas Carswell was today accused by Sky News’ Kay Burley of “running scared” of the voters by refusing to trigger a by-election in his Clacton constituency after quitting Ukip.
  The ex-Ukip MP now sits as an independent in the House of Commons having ditched his former party on Saturday.
  Carsw
  
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• Toshiba-led UK nuclear project mired in uncertainty

  29-03-2017 18:13
  Westinghouse’s move into bankruptcy protection raises new questions over British plan
  
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• Key points from the Article 50 letter

  29-03-2017 18:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  What's in Theresa May's letter to the EU triggering Brexit?
  
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• Barrow delivers Brexit letter without wheels coming off | Jennifer Rankin

  29-03-2017 18:05
  Despite the Daily Telegraph’s fears, there were no conspicuous acts of sabotage when Sir Tim Barrow delivered the article 50 letterSir Tim Barrow, Britain’s ambassador to the EU, delivered the letter Europe had been waiting for at lunchtime on Wednesday. After 31 years in the diplomatic service, stints as Britain’s envoy to Moscow and Kiev, a KCMG and an MBE, it was a funny sort of career pinnacle – to become the nation’s most eminent postman.Related: Theresa May ha
  
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• 'It’s bloody good, it’s brilliant': 1066 country bids adieu to the EU

  29-03-2017 18:00
  
  Hastings was where the Norman conquest started, and for some residents Brexit was a battle to reject foreign controlIt is the most famous date in British history, when Duke William swept in from Normandy and brought England to its knees, seizing the throne and replacing the Anglo-Saxon elite with a French-speaking ruling class. Now, 950 years on, Hastings is finally saying adieu to what the majority of the town feels was another European invasion.“I like it, it’s bloody good, it&rsqu
  
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• Article 50 a leap in the dark - Sturgeon

  29-03-2017 17:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  First minister claims Theresa May still cannot answer basic questions on what Brexit will actually mean.
  
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• Nigel Farage Celebrates With A Pint After PM Triggers Article 50

  29-03-2017 17:23
  
  It’s the day he’s been hoping for as long as anyone can remember - and boy, did Nigel Farage look smug on Wednesday while celebrating the triggering of Article 50.
  In a video posted by Raheem Kassam, editor-in-chief of right wing publication Breitbart News’ London edition, the former Ukip leader was unsurprisingly shown celebrating with a pint.
  The Ukip MEP thanked the publication as well as White House chief strategist and former Breitbart chief executive Steve Bannon for
  
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• HS2 scraps contract on conflict of interest claims

  29-03-2017 17:17
  CH2M withdraws from £170m deal following investigation by losing bidder
  
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• John Bercow Congratulates Tory MPs On Their 'Brexit Baby', Makes Awkward Sex Gag

  29-03-2017 17:16
  
  Two Tory MPs will be celebrating more than just the triggering of Article 50 today. 
  Andrea Jenkyns and her husband Jack Lopresti had news of the birth of their son, Clifford George, announced in the historic parliamentary debate on Brexit. PM congratulates Tory MPs @andreajenkyns & @Jackloprestimp on the birth of their son Clifford George this morning #brexitbaby— John Stevens (@johnestevens) March 29, 2017
  Tory backbencher Jason McCartney broke the news to MPs, saying:
  
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• Britain could have stayed if the EU had changed

  29-03-2017 16:47
  Investment will equip future generations to succeed in a fast-changing labour market
  
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• Theresa May eases trigger pull of Article 50

  29-03-2017 16:40
  
  Praise of ‘liberal democratic values’ draws laughter in the Commons
  
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• Households across England face 4% council tax rise

  29-03-2017 15:57
  Steepest increase in a decade to pay for elderly care
  
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• An island nation chooses non-splendid isolation

  29-03-2017 15:47
  After Brexit, Britain and Europe will both be less than the sum of their parts
  
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• First EU response to article 50 takes tough line on transitional deal

  29-03-2017 15:01
  
  Exclusive: Leaked European parliament resolution puts three-year limit on transition arrangement and says no to free trade agreement in next two yearsBritain will not be given a free trade deal by the EU in the next two years, and a transition arrangement to cushion the UK’s exit after 2019 can last no longer than three years, a European parliament resolution has vowed, in the first official response by the EU institutions to the triggering of article 50 by Theresa May.A leaked copy of the
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Uses Tory Division Over 'Cake-Eating' Policy To Attack Theresa May's Brexit Plan

  29-03-2017 14:59
  
  Jeremy Corbyn attacked ministers’ on Wednesday for contradicting one another over whether Britain could “have its cake and eat it” - minutes after Article 50 was triggered. 
  Responding to a statement by Theresa May declaring the two year countdown to Brexit had officially begun, Corbyn skewered the different lines peddled by Boris Johnson and Philip Hammond.
  The Foreign Secretary had said back in October of the upcoming EU negotiations:Our policy is having our cake an
  
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• Donald Tusk Tells Britain 'We Already Miss You' After Theresa May Triggers Article 50 To Begin Brexit Talks

  29-03-2017 14:49
  
  Donald Tusk has bid an emotional farewell to the United Kingdom after Theresa May triggered Article 50 and begun the formal two year Brexit process.
  Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, a downbeat president of the European Council told the people of the UK: “We already miss you. Thank you and goodbye.”“There’s no reason to pretend this is a happy day - neither in Brussels or London,” he said.
  “There is nothing to win in this process and I am talkin
  
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• Article 50 Letter In Full Makes Rights Of EU Nationals A Priority In Brexit Negotiations

  29-03-2017 14:47
  
  EU nationals’ rights in Britain should be agreed early in the Brexit talks, Theresa May has indicated in her Article 50 letter which lays out seven key areas of negotiations.
  The letter, hand delivered to European Council President Donald Tusk on Wednesday, acknowledged the “obvious complexity in the discussions we are about to undertake”.
  The Government has been accused previously of treating the three million EU nationals in Britain as “bargaining chips”
  
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• Brexit begins as Theresa May triggers Article 50

  29-03-2017 14:46
  UK prime minister sets out Britain’s negotiating stance in statement to MPs
  
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• Article 50: a legacy overturned

  29-03-2017 14:44
  A thought for the former politicians who fought to take the UK into Europe
  
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• Brexit: The UK's letter triggering Article 50

  29-03-2017 14:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May's letter to European Council president Donald Tusk sets out the UK's intent to withdraw.
  
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• Brexit statement

  29-03-2017 14:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May addresses MPs after triggering Article 50, beginning the countdown to the UK's exit from the EU.
  
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• Fog in Channel, Britain cut off

  29-03-2017 14:01
  Nostalgia can make new realities bearable but it cannot make Brexit go away
  
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• UK’s Brexit Article 50 letter decoded

  29-03-2017 13:58
  FT journalists explain the key passages of the UK government’s letter triggering the exit process
  
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• Leavers, beware: Theresa May is offering the exact opposite of what you voted for | Tim Farron

  29-03-2017 13:57
  
  Quitting the single market while keeping immigration at current levels and smearing all criticism of rock-hard Brexit as treachery – that seems to be the planTheresa May’s tactic is clear: to accuse anyone who dares question her headlong, blindfold charge towards hard Brexit of being democracy deniers. This despite it looking increasingly likely that the result of her reckless, divisive Brexit will be to leave the single market and not reduce immigration – the very opposite of
  
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• Pound To Euro Exchange Rate Rises As Brexit Is Formally Triggered

  29-03-2017 13:55
  
  The pound regained earlier losses against the Euro as Brexit negotiations were formally triggered by Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday afternoon.
  The delivery of a letter commencing Article 50, the formal process of leaving the European Union, saw the value of the pound reach a high of 0.65 percent against the Euro to €1.1589, before declining to €1.1536.
  The rise has brought the pound to a five-day high thus far, but did little to repair a longer term decline in i
  
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• Article 50 Letter Picture Prompts Britons To Suggest What Theresa May Was ACTUALLY Writing

  29-03-2017 13:45
  
  As Theresa May was pictured signing the letter which will formally trigger the process to divorce the UK from the European Union, some people had their own suggestions for what that letter might actually say. 
  The document, handed to European Council president Donald Tusk in Brussels by Sir Tim Barrow, the British ambassador to the EU on Wednesday afternoon, signals the start of two years of negotiations to extract the UK from the union.
  Some on social media had some humorous suggestions fo
  
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• London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Boerse deal blocked by EU

  29-03-2017 13:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  EU regulators block London Stock Exchange's £21bn merger with German stock exchange Deutsche Boerse.
  
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• Brexit: Theresa May triggers Article 50 process of leaving EU

  29-03-2017 13:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK formally begins divorce proceedings with the European Union after 44 years as a member.
  
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• Moment of truth for Sunderland as Brexit begins

  29-03-2017 13:31
  City that poked establishment in the eye is cautiously optimistic
  
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• Article 50 Triggered: 6 Hugely Complicated Brexit Deals Theresa May Now Has Just 2 Years To Make

  29-03-2017 13:30
  
  With Article 50 triggered, Theresa May now has two years to carry out the most complex set of negotiations in UK history.
  The future of Britain’s trading relationship with the EU - and ultimately the world - rest on the deal the Government can secure with Brussels.
  Sign up here for Huff Post UK’s weekly Brexit Briefing, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday afternoon.
  Here are six vital areas the PM has just two years to secure agreements on.
  1) The Divorce BillThe most con
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Suffers Worst Ever Polling On Which Leader Would Make A Better Prime Minister

  29-03-2017 13:29
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has had his statesmanship credentials dashed by a disastrous new poll. 
  The Labour leader faced his lowest rating yet when the public were questioned on who would make a better prime minister: Him or Theresa May.
  Corbyn slipped to just 13%, while May stormed ahead with 51%. The PM’s lead of 38% is the highest ever recorded by YouGov. 
  The bad news for Labour was compounded by news that this was the first week that people who voted for the party were now more l
  
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• Article 50 Triggered By Theresa May As UK Begins Two Year Countdown To Brexit

  29-03-2017 13:27
  
  Theresa May has triggered Article 50 and begun the two year countdown to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.
  Sir Tim Barrow, the UK’s ambassador to the EU, formally notified Brussels of the decision at 12.25pm today when he handed over a letter to Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council.
  In her letter to Tusk, the prime minister said: “We are leaving the European Union, but we are not leaving Europe - and we want to remain committed partners and allies to our fr
  
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• Leave Voters Want A Brexit Britain With Capital Punishment, School Beatings And Inefficient Lighting

  29-03-2017 12:43
  
  New poll results released on Brexit Day give a fascinating and terrifying glimpse into what Leave voters want post-Brexit Britain to look like.
  The YouGov survey asked people on both sides of the referendum result what should be brought back once the UK leaves the European Union.
  Over half of Leave voters deemed capital punishment and dark blue passports as their most pressing desire with only slightly smaller majorities pushing for the reintroduction of the imperial measurement system and the r
  
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• Marine Le Pen Snaps At BBC's Emily Maitlis For Questioning Russian Aggression, Tears Into War Rant

  29-03-2017 12:24
  
  Far-right French leader Marine Le Pen has accused a BBC presenter of warmongering, snapping at a question probing her resilience to Russian aggression. 
  Le Pen, who heads Front National and is leading the French Presidential race, went into a furious rant when asked if she would protect the Baltic nations that straddle Europe’s border with Russia.
  “You want war at all costs,” she raged at Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis in an interview on Tuesday.
  “What is your prob
  
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