Political news

• Hope not Hate sues Nigel Farage for up to £100k

  22-04-2017 23:02
  
  Thousands of donors backed anti-fascism charity’s online appeal in libel case against ex-Ukip leaderThe anti-fascism charity Hope not Hate has launched legal action against Nigel Farage after he accused the organisation, which campaigns for racial and religious harmony, of pursuing “violent and undemocratic means”.A libel claim was filed in the high court by the charity on Friday for up to £100,000, in damages for reputational harm along with an injunction to restrain the
  
  Read more

• Election is a Tory power grab, says EU Brexit chief

  22-04-2017 22:33
  
  European parliament’s Brexit coordinator says result will be an irrelevance in BrusselsTheresa May’s claim that she will be strengthened in the Brexit talks by a general election victory has been dismissed as nonsense by the European parliament’s Brexit coordinator, who has condemned the prime minister as a political opportunist.In an outspoken attack, Guy Verhofstadt suggests the prime minister was motivated by party political considerations rather than the national interest i
  
  Read more

• Tim Farron’s pledge to voters: Lib Dems won’t make coalition deals

  22-04-2017 22:30
  
  ‘We want to be main opposition’ says party leader as Conservatives stretch poll lead to 19 pointsThe Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has ruled out any form of coalition with the Tories or Labour after the general election as he sets out a bold ambition to attract enough Remain voters to form the main opposition party in parliament.In a dramatic shift of strategy for a party that entered coalition with the Conservatives in 2010 in the “national interest”, Farron said in
  
  Read more

• Tim Farron: ‘If you want to prevent hard Brexit then the Lib Dems have a clear message’

  22-04-2017 22:30
  
  The Lib Dem leader says his party is ruling out a coalition with Labour or the Tories, and he is hoping that anti-Brexit sentiment lifts its voteTim Farron is on home territory and it is hard to keep him moving. He has hardly set foot outside the door of the Liberal Democrats’ office in Kendal when a local councillor waves him down. “Did you get your credit card back, Tim?” he asks. Farron left it in the car park ticket machine the day before, when preoccupied with thoughts of
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Ten thousand march for science in London

  22-04-2017 20:18
  Researchers fear impact of Brexit on EU collaboration and loss of faith in facts
  
  Read more

• Labour manifesto set to swing to the left

  22-04-2017 19:52
  Man responsible for document has floated public ownership of all land and banks
  
  Read more

• Conservatives on course for landslide victory in election, poll suggests

  22-04-2017 18:17
  
  Observer/Opinium survey indicates Tory party has doubled its lead over Labour to 19 points since Theresa May’s announcementThe Tories have more than doubled their lead over Labour to 19 points since Theresa May called a snap general election last Tuesday, according to a new poll that suggests the Conservatives are heading for a landslide victory on 8 June.The survey by Opinium for the Observer, conducted on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, puts the Tories on 45% (up seven points compar
  
  Read more

• Theresa May Refuses To Rule Out Tax Rises After General Election

  22-04-2017 17:21
  
  Theresa May has refused to rule out abandoning a 2015 election manifesto pledge not to raise taxes.
  Speaking on the campaign trail in Dudley, in the West Midlands, the prime minister would not be drawn on the issue when asked if the 2015 pledge not to put up income tax, VAT or national insurance would be included this time.
  However, May insisted that the Conservatives would remain the party of “lower taxes”..@theresa_may insists the Tories are "a lower tax party", amid speculati
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Signing up

  22-04-2017 17:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Government figures show it is young people dominating registrations ahead of the election on 8 June.
  
  Read more

• HS2 is on its way but bid troubles and snap election could still derail project

  22-04-2017 17:00
  
  The new line’s progress is anything but speedy and, in light of controversy and recent political events, it could grind to a halt‘Passengers awaiting the 2026 fast train to Birmingham: your service is on its way. Honest.” If this announcement has left the public sceptical after seven years of relaunches and debate, there are signs that HS2 is starting to carve its first marks on the landscape. Is anything now stopping the £55.7bn high-speed rail scheme from becoming physi
  
  Read more

• BHS crash sets trend for a chain of closures on UK high streets

  22-04-2017 17:00
  
  The retail sector is still reeling a year after the collapse of the chain, with rising numbers of staff on zero-hours contracts and other big hitters shutting shop as the internet squeezes their share of profitsWhen BHS crashed into administration, taking 11,000 jobs along with it a year ago, one employee described the feeling as a “terrible gut-punch”.A year on, the high street is still reeling from the body blow. More than two-thirds of the retailer’s 164 stores are still lyi
  
  Read more

• May refuses to rule out tax rises under future Tory government

  22-04-2017 15:37
  
  PM avoids commitment to tax and pensions lock as chancellor says he needs more ‘flexibility’ in running the economyTheresa May has repeatedly refused to rule out tax rises under a future Conservative government in a campaign speech in Dudley.Pressed by reporters on whether she would commit to her predecessor David Cameron’s tax and pensions pledges, the prime minister stressed the Tories were a party of low taxes and asked voters to “just look at what the Conservatives ha
  
  Read more

• Eric Pickles Standing Down As Conservative MP At General Election 2017

  22-04-2017 14:25
  
  Sir Eric Pickles is standing down as an MP after 25 years.
  The former Tory party chairman said he would not run for the Brentwood and Ongar seat he has held since 1992 in the general election on 8 June.
  On Saturday morning, he tweeted the news:Looking forward to #GE2017 as a canvasser, not a candidate. Thank you Brentwood and Ongar for your support and friendship over 25 years pic.twitter.com/gMN3ZeDEQL— Sir Eric Pickles (@EricPickles) April 22, 2017
  He also said on Twitter that he would b
  
  Read more

• Donald Trump May Prioritise EU Over UK For Trade Deal - And Remainers Aren't Surprised At All

  22-04-2017 13:15
  
  Post-Brexit Britain could be pushed behind the European Union in the queue for a trade deal - and many Remain voters have reacted to the news with heavy sarcasm.
  According to the Times, the States could strike a free-trade agreement with the bloc now Donald Trump has had a change of heart on the issue.
  The US president was finally convinced it would be easier than he first thought by Angela Merkel, the newspaper said.It claimed the German chancellor persuaded Trump that talks on a deal would be
  
  Read more

• 'Everything's basically on fire'

  22-04-2017 10:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  News of a snap poll means many late nights and cancelled weekends for some over the coming weeks.
  
  Read more

• Charities must speak out on failing social care

  22-04-2017 06:08
  Head of new inquiry into future of civil society says charities should make themselves heard
  
  Read more

• General election 2017: Tories move to dampen tax hike fears

  22-04-2017 05:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Party sources say Philip Hammond was not hinting at rises when he spoke of tax "flexibility".
  
  Read more

• UK in last-ditch plea to delay air pollution plan

  22-04-2017 00:43
  Court bid to extend strategy deadline due to policy ‘purdah’ surrounding snap election
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!