Political news

• Steve Bell on the Trump administration and Syria – cartoon

  10-04-2017 23:17
  
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• The Guardian view on council funding: cheap politics, bad policy | Editorial

  10-04-2017 20:09
  
  The whole philosophy of how to pay for local services is about to change, and it doesn’t look goodThe Guardian’s analysis of who in Britain is housing and educating the refugees and asylum seekers who should be shared across the country shows that the responsibility falls on fewer than a third of councils. That is not only a shaming example of how many prosperous local authorities have found ways to avoid the appeal to help, which is bleakly revealed in the raw numbers showing that L
  
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• Push to end Northern Ireland deadlock stalls again

  10-04-2017 19:36
  UK sets deadline of Friday for five parties to agree to restore devolved assembly
  
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• Tory Brexit Advert 'Embarrassingly' Features Aberdeen Port Which Benefited From Millions In EU Funding

  10-04-2017 19:21
  
  This is my Plan for Britain. A plan to get the right deal for Britain abroad and a better deal for ordinary working people at home. pic.twitter.com/1l9ddAfkmw— Theresa May (@theresa_may) April 10, 2017
  Theresa May’s latest party political broadcast demonstrates the “chaos” in government over Brexit as it features the Port of Aberdeen which would not have received funding under the prime minister’s Brexit plan, the Labour Party has said.
  In a campaign video released
  
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• Tory election spending: MP admitted to police some claims were wrong

  10-04-2017 19:02
  
  Admission by Johnny Mercer calls into question Conservative party’s claim that all local spending had been correctly declaredA Conservative MP admitted in a police interview that some of his election expenses were wrong but excused the errors on the grounds that he had no previous political experience, according to a report on how police handled the inquiry.
  Johnny Mercer, Tory MP for Plymouth Moor View, was investigated by police after the general election in 2015 and a file was handed to
  
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• NHS looks to hedge funds to finance improvements

  10-04-2017 18:40
  
  Health service financial regulator has been in talks with private sector
  
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• Johnson struggles to make impact on Syria crisis

  10-04-2017 18:31
  UK foreign secretary faces doubts over level of autonomy and policy inconsistencies
  
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• Cuts to legal aid for prisoners ruled unlawful

  10-04-2017 18:27
  
  Campaigners win court of appeal battle against 2013 limits introduced by Chris Grayling in three out of five categoriesThe government has lost a key court of appeal battle over access to legal aid for prisoners in a ruling that campaigners have called a groundbreaking victory.Campaigners said the ruling vindicated their concerns that the system had become “inherently unfair” after the government stopped certain categories of prisoners from receiving criminal legal aid in 2013.Continu
  
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• Forget empire: Britain wants less of the world

  10-04-2017 17:49
  What should strike observers is the relative absence of imperial neurosis
  
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• CIA hacking tools used on 40 groups, research finds

  10-04-2017 17:44
  Any link between WikiLeaks claims and spying would further embarrass US intelligence
  
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• Scrapping speed bumps is a ludicrous 'solution' to air pollution

  10-04-2017 17:32
  
  It wouldn’t work, and our roads would become even more dangerous. Why is the government wasting time considering it?My small residential street in south-east London, like many similar roads, has speed bumps. They’re not very pretty, and drivers tend to accelerate between them, slowing at the last moment to cross each hump with a thwack of the suspension.So, why not get rid of them, as is reportedly being mooted by some in government, who seemingly believe smoother driving is the pain
  
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• Ed Miliband performs a-ha’s hit Take on Me on The Last Leg skit – video

  10-04-2017 17:29
  
  Former Labour leader Ed Miliband lip-synchs to Take on Me by a-ha in a skit aired on Channel 4’s comedy chatshow The Last Leg on Friday evening. Miliband mimes the words and pretends to play a guitar, a keytar, drums and even panpipes. The clip ends with the shot cutting to Miliband dressed as the director of the music video, deadpanning: ‘Talk about a mid-life crisis’ Continue reading...
  
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• Ed Miliband’s a-ha moment – why politicians cut loose on The Last Leg

  10-04-2017 17:19
  
  With the former Labour leader singing Take on Me, the Channel 4 chatshow cemented its reputation for getting our leaders to let their hair down. Host Adam Hills explains how they do itEd Miliband’s appearance on Channel 4 chatshow The Last Leg saw him have another go at a bacon sandwich photoshoot – this time in a leather jacket, on a motorbike – and form the Ed Mili-Band to performing a cover of a-ha’s Take on Me in various states of 80s dress. He also made a risque joke
  
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• Court ruling wipes away the last remnants of Grayling's MoJ legacy

  10-04-2017 16:06
  
  Authoritarian period at department mostly wiped away as Grayling loses new court case
  
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• Boris Johnson has 'cold war mentality' over Syria, says Corbyn

  10-04-2017 15:53
  
  Labour leader says foreign secretary’s decision to cancel trip to Moscow sends all the wrong signals and risks escalating crisisJeremy Corbyn has accused Boris Johnson of having a “cold war mentality” after the foreign secretary cancelled a trip to Russia, saying Johnson seemed more keen on encouraging further bombing than creating a fertile ground for dialogue.
  Speaking after Johnson called off a visit to Moscow on Sunday scheduled for talks with his Russian counterpart, Serge
  
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• Trump tax cut plan will be as big a flop as failed healthcare reforms | Nouriel Roubini

  10-04-2017 15:42
  
  Many Republicans are unlikely to support adding trillions of dollars to public debt to reduce corporation and personal taxesPresident Donald Trump’s first major legislative goal – to “repeal and replace” the 2010 Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) – has already imploded, owing to Trump and congressional Republicans’ naivety about the complexities of healthcare reform. Their attempt to replace an imperfect but popular law with a pseudo-reform that wo
  
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• Carney could raise hackles across the Channel

  10-04-2017 15:11
  Governor warned that without an EU deal, PRA would supervise European companies
  
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• The Real Reason Syrians Are Changing Their Social Media Profile Pictures To Donald Trump

  10-04-2017 14:49
  
  Donald Trump’s intervention in Syria has sparked a curious wave of support and criticism, manifesting in the social media profile pictures of the troubled country’s citizens.
  The US President has been hailed as Abu Ivanka Trump - Arabic for ‘the Father of Ivanka Trump’ - after bombing a Syrian military airfield on Friday.
  The controversial intervention prompted a host of social media memes in Syria - ranging from pictures of Trump imposed with Arabic text reading &l
  
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• Boris Johnson must prove he can be taken seriously on world stage | Heather Stewart

  10-04-2017 14:45
  
  Seeking to act as a diplomatic bridge across Atlantic is particularly risky for politician known as floppy-haired frontman of Brexit“If it had been any other foreign minister, probably no one would have even noticed he was going.” Crispin Blunt, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs committee, put his finger on the risks of having Boris Johnson, former mayor of London and the colourful figurehead of the Brexit campaign, as Britain’s chief diplomat.Johnson was mocked by
  
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• Downing Street Refuses To Back Trump's Stance On Further Syria Airstrikes

  10-04-2017 13:37
  
  Downing Street today refused to give its unconditional backing to further US airstrikes in Syria if the Assad regime carried out more chemical weapon attacks.
  Yesterday, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned the Syrian government that further chemical weapons attacks against its own people “would not go without a response in the future.”
  President Trump sanctioned the bombing of an Syrian airfield last week in retaliation for a sarin gas attack on civilians in the country -
  
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• Yes, we’re letting diesel cars choke our kids. Here’s how we got in this mess | Iain Reeve

  10-04-2017 13:30
  
  Diesel vehicles are the new enemy, because they’re so bad for the air we breathe. But not so long ago, politicians were urging us to buy them“You told us to buy diesels!”These days the average diesel driver is not a happy camper. Hot on the heels of Volkswagens being fitted with a hidden cheat code, we now have the government telling us diesels are not a green choice after all. Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, is blaming diesel cars for poor air quality in the capital and call
  
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• The 2017 polls

  10-04-2017 11:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A guide to the elections taking place in England, Scotland and Wales on 4 May, 2017.
  
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• Ken Livingstone Hitler Suspension 'Too Lenient' And Should Be Reviewed, Say Labour NEC Members

  10-04-2017 11:21
  
  Ken Livingstone’s punishment for his comments about about Hitler and Zionism was “for too lenient” and should be reviewed, two members of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) have said.
  Last week Livingstone escaped expulsion from the Labour Party and instead had another year added to his current suspension. 
  The decision by Labour’s national constitutional committee (NCC) caused uproar and was widely condemned by Labour MPs who said the former Lo
  
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• Students pay high fees and deserve value for money. This bill won’t help | Jim Dickinson

  10-04-2017 11:09
  
  Student approval ratings are abysmal, but the higher education bill offers no hope that universities’ performances will be properly regulated
  Imagine if a major car manufacturer released a new model that 25% of drivers couldn’t agree was “running smoothly” after three years of ownership. Or a major driving school where one in four customers said they had not received “sufficient advice and support” before their test – or where almost as many couldn&rsquo
  
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• Osborne & the City: Either mainstream politics condemns this or the populists will

  10-04-2017 10:58
  
  Osborne may not have broken any rules but voters won't see it that way
  
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• Independent Scotland would be welcome to join EU, say Green MEPs

  10-04-2017 10:44
  
  Letter signed by 50 politicians offers full support to ensure swift and smooth transition if Scotland leaves UKFifty European politicians have said Scotland would be “most welcome” to rejoin the European Union as a full member if it voted for independence.The group of mainly Green party politicians said they would help ensure any transition to full membership was “as swift, smooth and orderly as possible”. Continue reading...
  
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• Politics Live - readers' edition: Monday 10 April

  10-04-2017 10:09
  
  Discuss today’s politics and share links to breaking news, and to the most interesting stories and blogs on the web9.09am BSTI’m not writing my usual blog this week 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 express your views robustly, but please treat others with respect and don’t reso
  
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• How we can start a social care revolution in seven easy steps | Katie Johnston

  10-04-2017 09:50
  
  The budget’s £2bn for social care is a short-term fix that masks the true scale of the crisis. We need to transform funding, commissioning and provisionThe government’s commitment to provide an additional £2bn for social care in the spring budget was presented as a solution to help ease pressure on the NHS and councils over the next three years. While the measure has addressed the immediate funding crisis, there is concern that this is no more than a short-term fix. The a
  
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• Len McCluskey 'has lost the plot' over Unite election, says rival

  10-04-2017 09:41
  
  Gerard Coyne rubbishes union leader’s claims that rightwing Labour MPs are trying to oust him The Unite leader Len McCluskey has “lost the plot” over claims that a group of rightwing Labour MPs are seeking to oust him, his main challenger for the top position in Britain’s biggest trade union has said.Gerard Coyne spoke as Unite members vote to decide whether he or McCluskey should be Unite’s general secretary – a choice with significance for the future directi
  
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• Steve Bell’s If ... Tom Watson shoves Jeremy Corbyn aside

  10-04-2017 08:10
  
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• MPs' Children Cared For In Creches Just Yards From One Of The UK's Most Polluted Roads

  10-04-2017 08:07
  
  Children of MPs are being cared for within yards of some of the most polluted roads in the country, new analysis of the UK’s air quality has discovered.
  Crèches located in the heart of Westminster - used by MPs and other Parliamentary staff - are within 150meters of roads where the level of nitrogen dioxide in the air is more than 1.5 times above the legal limit.
  The analysis, carried out by Greenpeace, also shows that in Education Secretary Justine Greening’s Putney constitu
  
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• Labour’s 1997 victory was a watershed for women – but our gains are at risk | Harriet Harman

  10-04-2017 08:00
  
  The election of 101 female MPs heralded an era in politics that changed lives for the better. There can be no going backOn 1 May it will be the 20th anniversary of 101 Labour women being elected to parliament. This transformed not only the face of the Commons, but the agenda of politics and the work of government. Their arrival at Westminster in 1997 was to be the start of a whole swath of changes to back women up in their changing lives.Now we live, once again, under a Tory government which mea
  
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• Labour: we'll raise minimum wage to £10 an hour in 2020

  10-04-2017 08:00
  
  Jeremy Corbyn to pledge big rise on Tory ‘national living wage’ of £9 per hour if his party wins power at the next general election
  The minimum wage will rise to £10 an hour within months if Labour wins the next general election, Jeremy Corbyn will say on Monday. In a bid to win over voters ahead of local polls in May, the Labour leader is setting out the details of the party’s longer-terms plans for a a higher minimum wage, which will benefit nearly 6 million worke
  
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• Keep on protesting. Most of them do work … eventually | Zoe Williams

  10-04-2017 07:30
  
  From CND to Iraq, many leftwing campaigns have filtered into popular opinion, even if they didn’t immediately affect policy. We should have more faith in themAt its peak, the demonstration of the English Defence League in Birmingham on Saturday might have attracted 100 people, but its protracted, straggly beginnings prompted some wag to tweet, “5 people at the EDL rally. There were more present at my c-section”. The difference between five and 100 is pretty homeopathic in prote
  
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• Russia decries cancelled Boris Johnson visit and warns on further Syria attacks

  10-04-2017 07:20
  
  Moscow says decision to cancel trip shows Britain has no real influence and new aggressions in Syria will be met with forceRussian officials have launched a scathing attack on the UK before a gathering of G7 foreign ministers on Monday, criticising Boris Johnson’s decision to cancel a trip to Moscow due to increased tensions about Syria.The foreign secretary faced criticism at home and abroad on Sunday for postponing the visit, prompting his allies to say critics had put “polls and p
  
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• UK outsourcing deals extended amid Brexit workload

  10-04-2017 05:01
  Civil servants too busy managing EU exit to focus on new and better-value tenders
  
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• Free school breakfasts boost progress, study finds

  10-04-2017 01:01
  Improvement in maths and writing equivalent to two months’ extra schooling a year
  
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