Political news

• The Guardian view on politics at Easter: Jesus of platitudes | Editorial

  16-04-2017 20:25
  
  Religious identity is profoundly tied into nationalism. It can weaponise clichesTheresa May’s Easter message marked another step towards the return of religion as part of identity politics. There’s nothing new in substance: hers is unnervingly similar to David Cameron’s Easter message last year. He claimed that: “Responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion and pride in working for the common good … are Christian values and they should give us the confidence
  
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• UK attorney general in bid to block case against Tony Blair over Iraq war

  16-04-2017 19:57
  
  Jeremy Wright QC argues crime of aggression does not exist in English law, even though his predecessor reportedly claimed otherwiseThe government’s top law officer is going to court to demand the rejection of an attempt to prosecute Tony Blair over the Iraq war, the Guardian has learned.The planned intervention by the attorney general comes after a judge ruled the former Labour prime minister had immunity from the attempt to bring a criminal charge against him and that pursuing a prosecuti
  
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• Shallow thinking of a political charlatan | Brief letters

  16-04-2017 19:30
  
  Steve Hilton | Female literary characters | Anti-Scots sentiment | North Korea’s nuclear weapons | The Yotam Ottolenghi effectDecca Aitkenhead is pure gold. Who better to puncture the overinflated ego of this shallow-thinking charlatan (Steve Hilton: ‘I’m rich, but I understand the frustrations people have’, 15 April)? Can anyone give an example of anything lasting that he has achieved for the benefit of mankind? Helping the worst postwar prime minister to gain office is&
  
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• Home secretary urged to revoke Asma al-Assad's British citizenship

  16-04-2017 19:18
  
  Liberal Democrats write to Amber Rudd after British-born wife of Syrian president uses social media to support his regimeThe home secretary has been urged to consider revoking the British passport of Asma al-Assad, the UK-born wife of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, after her social media posts in support of his regime.Led by their foreign affairs spokesman, Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrats have written to Amber Rudd calling on her to use her powers to withdraw Asma Assad’s citizens
  
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• Theresa May urged to honour climate and wildlife commitments

  16-04-2017 18:40
  
  Celebrities and pressure groups warn UK prime minister against entering into ‘environmental race to the bottom’ to secure post-Brexit trade dealsLeading environmental campaigners have warned the government against scaling back on commitments to tackle climate change and end the illegal market in wildlife in order to secure post-Brexit trade deals.Greenpeace, WWF, Friends of the Earth and high-profile figures including Andy Murray and Will Young are among those who have signed a joint
  
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• Diesel scrappage scheme aims to tackle pollution

  16-04-2017 18:40 via ft.com
  Subsidy of £1,000-£2,000 per vehicle under consideration to help boost air quality
  
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• Libor rigging: chancellor urged inquiry into Bank of England allegations

  16-04-2017 17:54
  
  Labour’s John McDonnell brands government silence over claim of collusion from within Threadneedle street as unacceptable John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, is calling on Philip Hammond to hold an urgent public inquiry into whether Bank of England officials colluded in the rigging of the Libor rate.The senior Labour politician said Hammond’s silence on the issue was unacceptable after a BBC Panorama programme said it had evidence of pressure exerted by Threadneedle Street on the
  
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• UK fights to keep hold of two main EU agencies

  16-04-2017 17:47 via ft.com
  David Davis says he does not accept that the bloc’s medicine and banking regulators will have to move from London
  
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• London battles to keep hold of two main EU agencies

  16-04-2017 17:47 via ft.com
  David Davis claims medicine and banking bodies will not have to leave Canary Wharf
  
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• Teachers back moves towards primary Sats boycott

  16-04-2017 16:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Teachers move closer to boycotting Sats, saying they are damaging children's education.
  
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• Britain Set To Lose EU Banking And Medicine Agencies 'Within Weeks'

  16-04-2017 16:27
  
  EU diplomats are plotting to issue a crushing blow to Theresa May’s Brexit strategy by withdrawing flagship agencies from Britain ‘within weeks’, it has been reported.
  Officials at a meeting held last Tuesday agreed an uncompromising position over the future of the EU’s banking and medicine regulators - which employ about 1,000 people in London.
  The Observer reported that a ‘beauty contest’ between remaining member states will begin within two weeks, as
  
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• Cornwall's Liberal Democrats lead the doorstep fightback

  16-04-2017 16:04
  
  Despite losing all its local MPs in 2015, the party is once more the biggest in Cornwall council, and seeking further gains in MayThe canvassing team meets promptly in a village hall car park on the edge of Bodmin Moor. A plan of action is hatched and the activists – some fresh-faced, others battle-hardened – sweep through the village of Lewannick speedily and efficiently.“I didn’t think I’d like this bit, having to knock on people’s doors,” says the Lib
  
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• PM observes 'coming together' after Brexit in Easter message

  16-04-2017 15:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The prime minister says in her Easter message she is "confident" of Christianity's role in society.
  
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• Spending on Syria crisis is ‘UK aid at its best’

  16-04-2017 15:56 via ft.com
  Britain has sought to lead international efforts on helping those affected by the war
  
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• Theresa May's Easter Message Of Unity Post-Brexit Criticised

  16-04-2017 15:03
  
  Theresa May has been criticised for hinting God would have supported Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.
  In an Easter message highlighting “unity” after last year’s referendum, the Prime Minister linked Christian values to bringing the country together after Brexit.
  “And as we face the opportunities ahead of us – the opportunities that stem from our decision to leave the European Union and embrace the world – our shared interests, our shared
  
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• Brexit will damage UK standards of living, say economists

  16-04-2017 14:16 via ft.com
  Verdict comes a year on from Treasury forecast of dire economic consequences
  
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• Workers In Small Firms Earned £2,000 Less Than Previously Thought Under Tory-Lib Dem Coalition

  16-04-2017 13:07
  
  Fresh evidence of Britain’s pay squeeze has emerged with new figures showing workers in small firms earned £2,000 less than previously thought under the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition.
  Labour seized on revisions by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which downgraded wages and bonuses by an average of 1.7% between 2010 and 2015, under David Cameron’s first term in office.
  Average weekly earnings, a key measure of the health of the economy, were between £7 and &poun
  
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• How Britain can build a successful, lasting industrial strategy

  16-04-2017 12:03
  
  The UK has had three grand plans in 10 years. It’s time to get everyone to agree on the targets and stick to themFor many years, the idea that a government of the right should have an industrial policy was heresy. The state’s role was to keep inflation and taxes low, then stay out of the way so that market forces could operate. Ronald Reagan summed up the philosophy when he said the nine most dangerous words in politics were: “I’m from the government and I’m here to
  
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• Scrapped free schools 'wasted' nearly £140m, says NUT

  16-04-2017 11:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ministers are accused of wasting millions on cancelled or closed free schools.
  
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• Theresa May urges religious tolerance in Easter message – video

  16-04-2017 11:51
  
  Prime minister Theresa May urges tolerance in a video message posted on the 10 Downing Street YouTube channel on Sunday to mark the celebration of Easter. May references her own childhood growing up in a vicarage and also says the “strong tradition” of religious freedoms which exist in Britain must be treasuredAlastair Campbell: PM is wrong to hint that ‘God would have voted leave’Continue reading...
  
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• Foreign Office 'concerned' by N Korea missile test reports

  16-04-2017 10:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Foreign Office says it is closely monitoring the situation after Pyongyang's missile launch failed.
  
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• Alastair Campbell: Theresa May is wrong to hint that ‘God would have voted Leave’

  16-04-2017 07:00
  
  Former Labour spin doctor attacks Theresa May for bringing her personal faith into her Easter messageTheresa May has drawn on her childhood memories of growing up in an Oxfordshire vicarage to emphasise her Christian values, which she says “can and must bring us together” over Brexit. Related: Theresa May condemns National Trust for axing 'Easter' from egg huntContinue reading...
  
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• UK mayoral elections: ‘It’s too quiet; nobody’s calling us’

  16-04-2017 06:01 via ft.com
  The FT talks to Tees Valley voters where Labour has the best chance in a Brexit heartland
  
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• Easter eggs for all tastes – cartoon

  16-04-2017 01:05
  
  Chris Riddell gift-wraps a special selection Continue reading...
  
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• Corbyn had a good week. But are people ready to listen to his ideas? | Helen Lewis

  16-04-2017 01:05
  
  More free school meals and a £10 minimum wage are good policies. Now he has to convince the votersWhen Boris Johnson turned up to announce his withdrawal from the Conservative leadership contest last summer, his aides scrambled to cover up the “exit” sign in the room. They knew the assembled press would have found the image irresistible – and it might well have come to define his career.If only someone close to Jeremy Corbyn had been similarly alert when he was invited to
  
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