Political news

• Labour Pledges Free Meals To All Primary School Children

  05-04-2017 23:49
  
  A Labour government would fund free school meals for all primary school children by charging VAT on private school fees, it will say tomorrow.
  Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner and leader Jeremy Corbyn will say on Thursday they want to ensure children get the “basic right of a healthy lunch at school”, and “remove the stigma” associated with free meals.
  In turn, they argue the policy will improve children’s health and their performance at school. 
  
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• Ken Livingstone: Jeremy Corbyn announces new investigation

  05-04-2017 23:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn criticises what Ken Livingstone has said since being suspended.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn faces outcry over Ken Livingstone remarks

  05-04-2017 21:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Labour MPs and senior figures in Jewish community incensed at decision to let former London mayor stay in partyJeremy Corbyn is facing demands to force Ken Livingstone out of Labour for his comments linking Adolf Hitler and Zionism, as 100 of his own MPs criticised the party’s response to a growing antisemitism crisis.The Labour leader came under pressure to take more action after an unprecedented outcry from MPs and senior figures in the Jewish community about the decision to let Livingst
  
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• 'Scores' Of Jewish Labour Members Are Quitting The Party Over Ken Livingstone Ruling

  05-04-2017 20:09
  
  ”Scores” of Labour members are quitting the party in protest at Ken Livingstone’s suspension, the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) has said.
  The group, which is the oldest affiliate of Labour, claimed that despite pleas for people to “stay and fight”, many of its members saw Livingstone being spared expulsion for his repeated outbursts about Hitler as a step too far.
  “JLM has received messages from scores of our members, many of whom are considering leaving
  
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• Hardliners stay ‘Zen’ over May’s softer Brexit mantras

  05-04-2017 19:40 via ft.com
  Prime minister managing to please most of her party most of the time
  
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• Theresa May softens stance on Brexit roadblocks

  05-04-2017 19:08 via ft.com
  UK PM accepts possible extension of EU rules after 2019
  
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• Theresa May begins to dismantle Brexit roadblocks

  05-04-2017 19:08 via ft.com
  UK prime minister accepts possible extension of EU rules after 2019
  
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• Only 80 candidates standing for UKIP in local elections

  05-04-2017 18:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The small number standing in Wales is despite dramatic electoral breakthroughs over the previous year.
  
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• London attack: Families attend Westminster service

  05-04-2017 18:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Relatives of those killed in last month's terror attack join the congregation at a multi-faith event.
  
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• Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's Chief Strategist, Removed From National Security Council

  05-04-2017 18:04
  
  Donald Trump has removed chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council, White House sources told The Huffington Post in the US.
  The presence of Bannon, the ex-Breitbart News boss, on the influential advisory body has been controversial given the website’s nationalist views and his lack of experience.
  Bloomberg, which first reported the news, said the move was part of a larger shake-up within the NSC.
  Established in 1947, the council includes top officials in foreig
  
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• Livingstone faces fresh probe over Hitler remarks

  05-04-2017 17:10 via ft.com
  Case has become test of Labour’s willingness to tackle alleged anti-Semitism in party
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon 'would agree to meet Trump'

  05-04-2017 17:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scotland's first minister would not decline any invitation to meet US president during his UK visit.
  
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• ‘Brexit betrayal’ poses a hazard for Theresa May

  05-04-2017 16:58 via ft.com
  Some MPs do not want a deal with the EU and will try to force her hand
  
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• European parliament overwhelmingly backs red lines for Brexit negotiations

  05-04-2017 16:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Resolution on negotiating mandate insists transition arrangement for UK after 2019 can last no longer than three yearsThe European parliament has overwhelmingly voted in favour of a tough negotiating stance towards the British government in the Brexit negotiations.MEPs in Strasbourg approved a resolution setting out the parliament’s red lines in the coming talks by 516 votes to 133, with 50 abstentions, comfortably exceeding the two-thirds majority sought by parliament leaders to show unit
  
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• Record UK car registrations in March

  05-04-2017 16:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A change in the number plate and tax changes boost registrations to a monthly record.
  
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• Under-25s Earn £610 Less Than Older Colleagues Thanks To The Tories' National Living Wage

  05-04-2017 16:32
  
  Under-25s are set to earn £600-a-year less than older colleagues for doing the same work thanks to the National Living Wage, according to a fresh investigation of the pay plan.
  The National Living Wage came into force on April 1, meaning that while those aged 25 and older saw their pay go up to at least £7.50 an hour, under 25s can expect a minimum of £7.05 an hour.
  The change in pay rates was announced by then-Tory Chancellor George Osborne in 2015, and one minister later clai
  
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• 'No progress' at power-sharing talks, says O'Neill

  05-04-2017 16:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sinn Féin's leader in Northern Ireland blames the government and the DUP for negotiation failures.
  
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• Lord Mandelson Says EU Exit Bill 'Small Change' And UK Should Pay As Fast As Possible

  05-04-2017 16:05
  
  Lord Mandelson has said any EU ‘exit bill’ would be “small change” and the United Kingdom should pay up as soon as possible.
  The former European commissioner and cabinet minister said today Theresa May needed to “bite the bullet” in the upcoming negotiations and “settle the tab”.
  It has been reported that Brussels could demand the UK pay £50bn on its way out the door in order to settle commitments it made as a member.
  It could be a
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Orders New Investigation Into Ken Livingstone's 'Grossly Insensitive' Hitler Remarks

  05-04-2017 15:36
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has ordered a fresh investigation into Ken Livingstone’s “grossly insensitive” remarks about Jews and Hitler.
  Labour’s senior disciplinary panel sparked a backlash on Tuesday when it decided to suspend rather than expel the former Mayor of London over his comments about anti-Semitism.
  But amid a clamour from Jewish groups and MPs and Shadow Cabinet ministers for a re-think, Corbyn on Wednesday decided to allow the party’s ruling National Executive Com
  
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• Donald Trump's Twitter And His Top Ten Most Contradictory And Embarrassing Tweets

  05-04-2017 15:03
  
  10) Syria
  Let’s start with a topical one - just yesterday Donald Trump laid the blame for Tuesday’s horrific gas attack in Syria firmly at the door of the previous administration.
  The President said the “heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime” were “a consequence of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution”, whilst sidestepping questions on what he might do in response.
  Yet back in 2013 Trump was pleading with Obama not to take fir
  
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• Theresa May’s bad news for Brexiters

  05-04-2017 14:36 via ft.com
  PM has given 2 indications she is willing to compromise on previously hard position
  
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• MEPs agree Brexit negotiation plan

  05-04-2017 14:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The European Parliament agrees Brexit "red lines" but Nigel Farage likens them to the "mafia".
  
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• European Parliament adopts Brexit resolution

  05-04-2017 14:23 via ft.com
  Politicians stress trade talks can only begin when divorce is settled
  
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• European MPs adopt Brexit resolution

  05-04-2017 14:23 via ft.com
  Politicians stress trade talks can only begin when divorce settled
  
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• PM hints at help for diesel car owners over 'toxin tax'

  05-04-2017 13:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May says she will "take into account" diesels were championed by previous governments.
  
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• Thousands on 50p-a-week housing benefit, Panorama finds

  05-04-2017 13:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A nominal 50p a week is all that remains for those subject to the welfare cap, Panorama finds.
  
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• Tony Blair: I Would Get Close To Donald Trump If I Was Still Prime Minister

  05-04-2017 12:43
  
  Tony Blair insists he would cosy up to Donald Trump if he were still Prime Minister, as he defended Theresa May’s relationship with the controversial US President.
  Blair, who developed close ties with Bill Clinton and George W Bush during his ten years in Downing Street, admitted dealing with Trump “has got its challenges”, but the current Prime Minister has taken the right approach.
  May was the first world leader to meet Trump after he was inaugurated as President, and was eve
  
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• Nigel Farage Heckled For 'Unacceptable' Attack On MEPs In European Parliament Brexit Debate

  05-04-2017 12:09
  
  Nigel Farage was heckled by shouts and cries of disbelief for launching an “unacceptable” attack on MEPs on Wednesday.
  The ex-Ukip leader was forced to retract his criticism, correcting it with one that left his successor, Paul Nuttall, smirking. 
  Farage blasted Brussels bosses for using Gibraltar as a bargaining chip in negotiations between the EU and Britain and branded them “the mafia”.
  “You’ve shown yourself with these demands to be vindictive, to be
  
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• English mayoral candidates

  05-04-2017 11:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Check candidates running in six regions of England which are holding mayoral elections in 2017.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Should Quit Over Livingstone Verdict, Says Former Senior Labour Official Mike Creighton

  05-04-2017 11:41
  
  One of Labour’s most senior former officials has urged Jeremy Corbyn to step aside in the wake of the decision not to expel Ken Livingstone.
  Mike Creighton, Labour’s Director of Audit and Risk Management until last month, said that it was “incomprehensible” that the former Mayor of London had been given “a slap on the wrist” despite being found guilty of bringing the party into disrepute.
  Creighton, who effectively ran the party’s legal, governance and
  
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• Brexit: Officials urged to be more 'savvy' when hiring consultants

  05-04-2017 11:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Senior MP concerned about private consultants taking advantage of Brexit civil servants.
  
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• Children born out of wedlock are still being punished by the state

  05-04-2017 11:34
  
  Cuts to bereavement benefits are bad enough but for unmarried couples the situation is even worse
  
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• Momentum Accused Of Campaigning Against Labour Council Seen As 'Unsupportive' Of Jeremy Corbyn Ally

  05-04-2017 11:30
  
  Momentum, the grassroots left-wing group, has been accused of campaigning against a Labour-run council because it is “unsupportive” of a shadow minister who backs Jeremy Corbyn.
  In an email to Momentum members sent by its South Tyneside branch, seen by The Huffington Post UK, activists were urged to mobilise in favour of local MP Emma Lewell-Buck.
  The pro-Corbyn campaigners were urged to “redress the balance” of the South Shields Constituency Labour Party (CLP) as i
  
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• Momentum Accused Of Campaigning Against Labour Council Seen As 'Unsupportive' Of Jeremy Corbyn

  05-04-2017 11:30
  
  Momentum, the grassroots left-wing group, has been accused of campaigning against a Labour-run council because it is “unsupportive” of a shadow minister who backs Jeremy Corbyn.
  In an email to Momentum members sent by its South Tyneside branch, seen by The Huffington Post UK, activists were urged to mobilise in favour of local MP Emma Lewell-Buck.
  The pro-Corbyn campaigners were urged to “redress the balance” of the South Shields Constituency Labour Party (CLP) as i
  
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• David Miliband 'grieves for state of Labour Party'

  05-04-2017 10:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Former leadership contender says the public perceives Labour as "going backwards".
  
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• Met police hands victims of crime over to the Home Office for immigration enforcement

  05-04-2017 10:31
  
  Met admits passing on details of both victims and witnesses of crime
  
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• Sure Start Children's Centres Cut By A Third Under Tories, Labour Claims

  05-04-2017 10:08
  
  The Conservatives are responsible for a collapse in the number Sure Start children’s centres since 2010, Labour has said.
  According to figures obtained by the party, there are now 1,240 fewer centres than when Labour left office - a fall of around 34%.
  A Freedom of Information request has revealed that over 230 centres have closed in the last year.
  The north east and London have seen the biggest fall, according to the figures, with 40% of centres having closed.
  And in Swindon and Sol
  
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• Donald Trump Responds To Syria Gas Attack By Blaming Obama

  05-04-2017 09:51
  
  Faced with the horror of Tuesday’s gas attack on Syrian civilians, the Trump administration was initially silent before reverting to a well-trodden line - blame Obama.
  The President said the “heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime” were “a consequence of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution”, whilst sidestepping questions on what he might do in response.
  It was a clear reference to four years ago, when Obama failed to deliver on his
  
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• Liam Fox Slammed For Saying UK Has 'Shared Values' With Philippines After Meeting With Rodrigo Duterte

  05-04-2017 09:32
  
  Liam Fox has been widely condemned after suggesting that the UK has “shared values” with the Philippines after meeting with the country’s president, who has personally bragged about shooting and throwing people out of a helicopter.
  The international trade secretary, whose department was created after the EU referendum to promote worldwide trade, made the comment as he called for closer ties with the nation.
  Under Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on drugs, more than 7,000
  
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• Idris Elba Blasts Tory Housing Benefit Cuts During Skepta's Shelter Gig

  05-04-2017 08:46
  
  Actor Idris Elba has attacked government cuts to housing benefits for 18-21-year-olds during an impassioned speech at a charity fundraising gig. 
  The 44-year-old Luther star hit out at the moves which came into effect in April and stop out-of-work young adults from automatically receiving the benefits, as he threw his support behind housing and homelessness charity Shelter.
  Elba was speaking at a fund-raising gig for the charity at Islington Assembly Hall headlined by Mercury Prize-winner S
  
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• May suggests EU migration will continue post-Brexit

  05-04-2017 08:39 via ft.com
  PM indicates free movement of EU citizens to UK would carry on in transition period
  
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• Labour suspends Livingstone for another year over Hitler comments

  05-04-2017 08:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Critics claim relations between Labour and Jewish community are at ‘new all-time low’ as former London mayor avoids permanent expulsion Ken Livingstone has avoided expulsion from Labour after a disciplinary panel ruled he should be suspended for another year for bringing the party into disrepute over comments about antisemitism, Hitler and Zionism.
  The former mayor of London, who has been a member for almost 50 years, was censured by the party for suggesting that Hitler at one point
  
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• The Women Activists Who Fell In Love With Police Spies And Are Still Waiting For Justice

  05-04-2017 07:58
  
  When Alison* told her family that her partner, who had disappeared without a trace after a five year relationship, was actually a police spy, her suspicions were dismissed as those of a spurned spouse.
  The pair had began their relationship in May 1995 and it wasn’t long until they moved in together. It seemed like the “ideal” relationship, Alison recalls. But one day in 2000, she came home from work to find that Mark had disappeared, leaving only a note. Alison has not see
  
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• UK infrastructure projects struggle to attract pension funds

  05-04-2017 06:01 via ft.com
  Institutional investors tend to prefer assets that are up and running
  
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• New tax year — the changes you need to know about

  05-04-2017 06:00 via ft.com
  From the apprenticeship levy to the Isa allowance, April 6 spells some big reforms
  
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• India dents UK trade hopes with lapsed deal

  05-04-2017 06:00 via ft.com
  Move highlights difficulty of Brexit Britain relying on Commonwealth boost
  
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• Brexit: Theresa May suggests free movement extension

  05-04-2017 04:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May says there will be an "implementation phase" for any changes to immigration rules.
  
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• NHS And Social Care Faces Turmoil Unless Funding Pumped In, Warns Lords Report

  05-04-2017 01:18
  
  A “shocking” lack of planning by the Government is placing the future of the health service at risk, a Lords committee warned today.
  A damning report from the House of Lords called for a cash boost to stop the NHS and social care services from deteriorating.
  It warned low-paid nurses and carers are leaving the health service as they approach a decade of miserly pay increases.
  Health funding has come under scrutiny since the General Election, and in January NHS chief Simon Stevens sa
  
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• High pay eroding trust in business, says MPs' report

  05-04-2017 01:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  MPs say corporate pay has risen so high there is no credible link between earnings and performance.
  
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• Social care spending cuts differ widely across England

  05-04-2017 01:01 via ft.com
  Little of the variation can be explained by differing local demands
  
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