Political news

• Ben Jennings on Donald Trump’s missile strikes against Syria – cartoon

  07-04-2017 21:25 via theguardian.com
  
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• Corbyn’s antiwar stance leads to new split with MPs

  07-04-2017 19:34
  Labour leader criticises US strike on Syria, but deputy Tom Watson signals support
  
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• Free speech and historical accuracy in the Livingstone affair | Letters

  07-04-2017 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Whatever motivated Ken Livingstone to play the Hitler card in a bizarre, unprompted and unwanted attempt to defend Naz Shah, justifications on the basis of alleged historical accuracy (Letters, 6 April) miss the point that the context and purpose of such remarks need to be taken into account.It is difficult to see them as anything other than another way of saying that Zionism equals Nazism, an equation that is not only offensive to many Jews and others who resolutely oppose Israel’s polici
  
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• Barnier ‘lobbied to stop May withdrawing article 50 in two years’

  07-04-2017 19:28 via theguardian.com
  
  EU negotiator requested ‘red line’ amid fears PM could ‘abuse’ process to extend negotiations, Brussels sources say
  The EU’s chief negotiator lobbied for the UK to be barred from stopping the article 50 process without the rest of the union’s consent, it has been claimed.Senior Brussels sources say Michel Barnier asked for the line stopping the UK from unilaterally reversing the process to be included in a European parliament resolution that passed on Wednesda
  
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• EU considering excluding UK from trade talks

  07-04-2017 18:21
  Brussels worried Britain could take advantage of ‘sensitive information’
  
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• Savage attack on Kurdish refugee divides Croydon

  07-04-2017 17:34
  Ragged Shrublands housing estate was scene of mob violence
  
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• Savage attack on Kurdish boy divides Croydon

  07-04-2017 17:34
  Ragged Shrublands housing estate was scene of mob violence
  
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• Tory AMs face backlash over Mark Reckless move from UKIP

  07-04-2017 17:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A UK Conservatives source says Tory AMs have put their positions "in jeopardy".
  
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• Lib Dem leader Tim Farron backs US air strikes on Syria

  07-04-2017 17:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Lib Dem leader Tim Farron says the Trump administration was right to launch air strikes.
  
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• Green Party attacks 'extreme Brexit' at local election campaign launch

  07-04-2017 16:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley urges activists to fight to save EU environmental protections at local election campaign launch.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn says US air strikes in Syria 'wrong'

  07-04-2017 16:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Labour leader says US action will make the Syrian war worse as UK government backs strikes.
  
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• London mayor should ‘accept’ £46m loss and cancel Garden Bridge

  07-04-2017 16:35
  Review concludes cancellation better than proceeding and risking extra costs for taxpayer
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon meets Hillary Clinton in New York

  07-04-2017 16:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  First Minister Nicola Sturgeon meets the former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in New York.
  
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• Syria airstrikes: UK offers verbal but not military support to US

  07-04-2017 16:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Defence secretary backs US response to gas attack but says Britain is not committed to military action against Assad
  The British government was not asked to provide military support to the US attack on Syria but believes it was a “wholly appropriate” response to the deadly use of chemical weapons on civilians, the defence secretary has said.Sir Michael Fallon said the UK would not get directly involved in action with combat troops or aircraft in Syria without parliamentary approval.C
  
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• Trump's bombing in Syria was illegal - but the UN left no other choice

  07-04-2017 16:08
  
  The UN's failure has legitimised the action taken by the US
  
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• MSNBC Host Brian Williams Hails 'Beautiful' Navy Ship Warheads Attacking Syria

  07-04-2017 15:55
  
  you dope pic.twitter.com/JL3lxKZfDa— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) April 7, 2017
  American anchor Brian Williams sparked an immediate backlash for describing US warships launching missiles into Syria as “beautiful”.
  Brian Williams, a host on network MSNBC, even evoked a song by Leonard Cohen to hail the “fearsome armaments”. 
  Launching into the bizarre monologue on Thursday, Williams talked about the beauty of weapons used in retaliation to a chemical attack
  
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• Scrap garden bridge to avoid wasting more public funds, report says

  07-04-2017 15:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Multiple failings identified in controversial, cash-strapped project to build botanical link across river Thames in London
  The Thames garden bridge project should arguably be scrapped now rather than risk losing more public cash on a project inspired more by politics than value for money, a report has concluded.The findings by Margaret Hodge, a senior Labour MP who formerly chaired the public accounts committee, could spell the end for the controversial plan for the flora-filled link across the
  
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• It’s not so tough at the top for London’s mayors

  07-04-2017 15:14
  One reason for their popularity is that with so little power not much can go wrong
  
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• Schools funding row offers lesson in unfairness

  07-04-2017 14:59
  Tackling a dysfunctional system is a brave move but needs refinement
  
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• Schools funding row exposes underlying unfairness

  07-04-2017 14:59
  Tackling a dysfunctional system is a brave move but needs refinement, writes David Laws
  
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• Easter egg hunt sermon from Theresa May suggests a divine right | John Crace

  07-04-2017 14:49 via theguardian.com
  
  From one offspring of a vicar to another: piety and holiness are not conferred by association, nor does it give you a free passOne of the few advantages of being 60 is that I am definitely too old to be called up for the army in the event of war. Though obviously I would like it on record that I am fully ready to do my bit in the home guard (Streatham Old Pals Regiment) in any forthcoming invasion of Spain. Or any other country we engage in the Brexit war of independence. I was once invited to G
  
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• The New European Editor Matt Kelly Wants His Paper To Be 'Unwavering' In Defending The EU

  07-04-2017 14:48
  
  The New European wasn’t meant to last. As Article 50 is triggered, the pro-Remain paper shows no signs of stopping. Editor Matt Kelly talks about how he plans to challenge Brexit, why he gave Arron Banks a column and what he can learn from The Daily Mail.
  The editor of The Daily Mail urged its 1.5 million readers to vote Leave. Triumphing at the annual Press Awards last month to win Newspaper Of The Year, he sounded irked. “I’ve been a profound eurosceptic for years,&rdquo
  
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• New European Editor Matt Kelly Wants His Paper To Be 'Unwavering' In Defending The EU

  07-04-2017 14:48
  
  The New European wasn’t meant to last. As Article 50 is triggered, the pro-Remain paper shows no signs of stopping. Editor Matt Kelly talks about how he plans to challenge Brexit, why he gave Arron Banks a column and what he can learn from The Daily Mail.
  The editor of the Daily Mail urged its 1.5 million readers to vote Leave. Triumphing at the annual Press Awards last month to win Newspaper Of The Year, he sounded irked. “I’ve been a profound eurosceptic for years,&rdquo
  
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• UK steps back from the cliff edge

  07-04-2017 14:40
  A disorderly exit from EU looks more remote, but there are still reasons for caution
  
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• Bank of England orders financial firms to draft Brexit contingency plans

  07-04-2017 14:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Mark Carney sets 14 July deadline to see plans, saying firms must prepare for ‘all eventualities’ as he calls on politicians not to cut City adrift from Europe The Bank of England has given financial firms a deadline of 14 July to explain how they are planning for the UK’s departure from the EU and warned them to be ready for all possible outcomes, including a hard Brexit.The Bank wrote to hundreds of banks, insurers and other financial firms on Friday ordering them to get cont
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: US Syria attack 'wrong' without UN backing

  07-04-2017 14:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says a UN investigation, ceasefire and peace talks are now top priority.
  
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• Labour must be bold – universal benefits offer a popular way forward | Abi Wilkinson

  07-04-2017 14:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Free school meals are a good place to start, but a broader shift away from means testing could convince jaded voters that the party has something to offerOne undeniable fact about universal welfare provision is that affluent people benefit. If they break their leg playing polo or, perhaps, overdo it on the Dom Pérignon and need their stomach pumping, a billionaire is as entitled to treatment at the nearest A&E as you are. They can send children to the local school, free of charge (eve
  
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• Don’t say divorce, say special relationship: the thorny language of Brexit

  07-04-2017 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Using soap opera-style breakup metaphors to describe Britain’s EU departure is part of a cheapening of politicsDon’t call Brexit a divorce, said Theresa May recently. “I prefer not to use the term of divorce from the European Union because very often when people get divorced they don’t have a very good relationship afterwards,” she explained to parliament. And indeed, in her subsequent passive-aggressive article 50 letter to European council president Donald Tu
  
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• Week in Review: When the world was turned on its head

  07-04-2017 13:56
  
  There have been surprises from Trump, May and Corbyn this week
  
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• Why I support Trump’s Syria strike | Tim Farron

  07-04-2017 13:33 via theguardian.com
  
  When Assad first used chemical weapons I didn’t vote to punish him, and I regret that. It’s up to Theresa May now to kickstart the diplomatic processI am in no doubt that what will end the war in Syria is what ultimately ends every conflict: words and diplomacy, not weapons. But when diplomacy fails and civilians suffer, as they have been doing for many years in Syria, and when they are the victim of weapons that have been outlawed by the international community for their horrific an
  
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• Westminster Bridge attack victim Andreea Cristea dies

  07-04-2017 13:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The family of Romanian tourist Andreea Cristea pays tribute to the 31-year-old "shining ray of light".
  
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• Nigel Farage Has Finally Turned On Donald Trump Over Syria Air Strikes

  07-04-2017 12:41
  
  Nigel Farage has broken with his unwavering support for Donald Trump and attacked the US President for launching air strikes in Syria. 
  The former Ukip leader, who gives unofficial counsel, spoke at rallies, and was a dinner guest of Trump, today criticised the retaliation taken against a chemical attack that killed at least 70 Syrian civilians.
  So far, 59 cruise missiles have been targeted at an airbase in the troubled country, but the action is unlikely to stop there. US Secretary of Sta
  
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• Local elections: Greens warn of Brexit 'environment threat'

  07-04-2017 12:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Greens calls for EU air, water and climate laws to be saved after Brexit at local election launch.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Condemns US Air Strike On Syria, Saying It Risks 'Escalating' Conflict

  07-04-2017 12:29
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has warned that the US air strike against the Assad regime “risks escalating the war in Syria still further”.
  In a statement, the Labour leader said that President Trump’s decision to hit back at the alleged use of chemical weapons by Damascus was in danger of “intensifying a multi-sided conflict”.
  The US used two of its warships in the Mediterranean Sea to launch 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles in the early hours of Friday - the first direct America
  
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• BoE tells City to plan better for ‘no-deal’ Brexit

  07-04-2017 12:03
  Mark Carney says post-crisis consensus on tighter financial regulation at risk
  
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• Bank of England asks to see companies’ Brexit plans

  07-04-2017 12:03
  Mark Carney cites stagnant profitability and increased legal complexity among risks
  
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• The government's rape clause is a callous attack on victims

  07-04-2017 12:00
  
  Child tax credit reform isn't just cruel, it puts women at risk
  
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• Passport checks for patients is an abandonment of NHS principles | Zoe Stewart

  07-04-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  It is a founding tenet of the NHS that everybody has a right to healthcare. It’s simply not true that ‘health tourists’ are to blame for the cash crisisRather than use World Health Day to draw attention to global health priorities, this year, healthcare providers are being asked to implement racist government policies and compromise our professional values. Earlier this year, health minister Jeremy Hunt announced that, from April 2017, NHS trusts would be legally obliged to che
  
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• US Syria Strikes 'Entirely Appropriate' Response To Chemical Attack, Says Michael Fallon

  07-04-2017 10:23
  
  Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said the the British government supports the US cruise missile strike on the Syrian air base from where a chemical attack on civilians was launched.
  President Donald Trump ordered the attack on Thursday and it was carried out in the early hours of Friday. It is the first direct US attack on the Syrian government.
  Speaking this morning, Fallon said the strike was “entirely appropriate” response to the use of a nerve agent by Syrian President Assad&
  
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• Defence Secretary: We 'fully support' US action in Syria

  07-04-2017 09:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon says the UK fully supports US missile strike in Syria
  
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• Pro-Jeremy Corbyn Group Protests Against New Statesman Magazine Over ‘Treachery’

  07-04-2017 09:40
  
  For those who don’t know, the New Statesman is a political magazine with progressive, left leanings.
  Around 35,000 print copies are sold each week, but many more digest its content on a suite of websites, blogs and newsletters.
  Yet despite being more favourable to the Labour Party than any other party in British politics, it is not slavishly devoted.
  This is its most recent front cover.We have a rather spectacular issue this week… Here’s the cover: pic.twitter.com/gKCtTL9tVA&m
  
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• Sturgeon praises Clinton in New York

  07-04-2017 08:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she owed female leaders like the former US Secretary of State a "debt of gratitude".
  
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• Politics Live - readers' edition: Friday 7 April

  07-04-2017 08:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Discuss today’s politics and share links to breaking news, and to the most interesting stories and blogs on the web7.57am BSTIn solidarity with the Green party, who have floated the idea of a three-day weekend, I’m not writing my usual blog today but here, as an alternative, is the Politics Live readers’ edition. It is a place for you to discuss today’s politics, and to share links to breaking news and to the most interesting stories and blogs on the web.Feel free to expr
  
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• Mothercare to raise prices after pound's Brexit slide

  07-04-2017 08:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Childrenswear and maternity retailer says it plans to increase price of clothing and toys by up to 5% this summerMothercare’s chief executive has said the price of its clothing and toys would increase by 3% to 5% this summer following the decline in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote.Mark Newton Jones said the childrenswear and maternity specialist had limited price rises by striking better deals with suppliers, but with half its goods bought in dollars the retailer was not able
  
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• Brexitland: The truth from well-to-do Fareham: this was no working-class uprising | Owen Jones

  07-04-2017 07:25 via theguardian.com
  
  As he continues his journey around leave-voting areas, Owen Jones finds middle-class Brexiters variously motivated, but happy with the choice they made
  • Brexitland: People can’t find homes. No wonder they were angry
  • Brexitland: ‘Too many foreigners – way, way too many’Since the Brexit vote, the 48% who sought to remain have been demonised as a privileged elite attempting to subvert an authentic working-class revolt. “The working class have spoke!”
  
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• German Mittelstand wants 'soft Brexit'

  07-04-2017 07:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The country's small and medium-sized firms say a "hard Brexit" would harm both Germany and the UK.
  
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• Bereaved families bring case against government over prisoner suicides

  07-04-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Justice secretary Liz Truss and governor of HMP Woodhill are subject of case brought by relatives of people who have taken their lives at the prisonRelatives of prisoners at HMP Woodhill who have taken their own lives are to bring a legal challenge against the institution’s governor and the justice secretary for allegedly failing to introduce basic safety measures. Eighteen prisoners have killed themselves at the jail in Milton Keynes since early 2013 despite repeated recommendations and g
  
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• Forget the waffle of ‘global’ Britain – and learn to hug Germany close | Martin Kettle

  07-04-2017 06:59 via theguardian.com
  
  A Brexit Britain would be wise to seek the closest relationship it can sensibly achieve with the European Union’s biggest member stateAt the end of last week I sat in the spacious and splendidly restored country home of a former prime minister of Prussia, some 50 kilometres from the German-Polish border, and listened to two speeches in English. The first was given by Philip Hammond. The second, a couple of hours later, was given by Boris Johnson. Both professed undying friendship, respect
  
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• Gibraltar fears identity loss over Yanito decline

  07-04-2017 06:00
  Younger generation tends to eschew unique vernacular that mixes Spanish and English
  
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• US Bombs Syria In First Direct Military Strike Against Assad Regime

  07-04-2017 05:39
  
  Donald Trump has urged other “civilised nations” to join efforts “seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria” after launching a barrage of cruise missiles at a government air base.
  The US military launched its first direct attack on the Syrian government on Thursday, marking an escalation of American involvement in the country’s six-year civil war. 
  Around 60 cruise missiles were targetted at the Shayrat Air Base after US President Trump blamed Bashar
  
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