Political news

• Jeremy Corbyn, Tom Watson And Trade Unions Have 'Carved Up' Safe Seats For 2017 General Election

  25-04-2017 23:22
  
  Labour candidacies for key vacant seats in the general election have been carved up under a secret plan agreed between Jeremy Corbyn, Tom Watson and leading trade unions, HuffPost UK can reveal.
  The agreement ensures that each of the wings of the party and its union backers get their share of plum constituencies where MPs are standing down.
  Key figures set to benefit include Sam Tarry, director of Momentum and Corbyn’s former leadership campaign director and Stephanie Peacock, GMB politic
  
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• In charts: Brexit puts battleground seats in flux

  25-04-2017 22:25
  Parties will be taking referendum result into account in tightest marginals
  
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• Zac Goldsmith seeking re-election as Conservative MP

  25-04-2017 22:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Local Conservative party members meet on Wednesday to choose between Mr Goldsmith and two other candidates.
  
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• Partner Of Paris Police Officer Murdered By Jihadist Delivers Moving Eulogy

  25-04-2017 19:56
  
  The partner of the Paris police officer who was murdered in a Jihadist attack, has said he will “suffer without hatred”, while holding back tears.
  Addressing the crowd at Xavier Jugele’s funeral, Etienne Cardiles described planning a holiday with him the day he died, only to return home that night “with an extreme and profound pain” that will “maybe one day, weaken. I do not know”.
  Jugele, 37, was killed when a 39-year-old man claiming allegiance to Isla
  
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• May warns against complacency as poll shows win in Wales

  25-04-2017 19:44
  PM sweeps into principality but strategists fear stories of Tory dominance
  
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• A costly and incoherent stance on UK migration

  25-04-2017 19:12
  Theresa May’s hardline approach is incompatible with an open economy
  
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• Tax-free pension curbs dropped ahead of election

  25-04-2017 18:53
  Plan to cut allowance was aimed at over-55s who accessed retirement savings
  
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• UK Election Countdown: Labour’s well-constructed fudge

  25-04-2017 18:52
  44 days to go: Labour’s bind over Brexit
  
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• Snap election raises concerns for non-party campaigners

  25-04-2017 18:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Charities fear being choked with red tape and confusing rules ahead of the snap general election.
  
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• Local approach will help moderates dethrone Corbyn

  25-04-2017 18:34
  Previous efforts to unseat the party’s leader have been disorganised
  
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• UK councils build a credit bubble

  25-04-2017 18:23
  Fuelled by cheap state loans, local authorities are trying to plug the funding gap with property investments
  
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• Gay Sex Is Not A Sin, Says Tim Farron

  25-04-2017 18:20
  
  Tim Farron has said he does not believe gay sex is a sin, having previously repeatedly refused to answer the question.
  The Lib Dem leader told the BBC this afternoon he had not wanted to “pontificate on theological matters” but had decided to reveal what he thought as it had become an issue in the general election campaign.
   “I don’t believe that gay sex is a sin,” he said. “It’s not and I don’t feel it is.”
  Farron, a committed Christian
  
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• Blue Riband Chocolate Biscuit Production Is Not Moving To Poland Because Of Brexit

  25-04-2017 18:15
  
  Confectionery giant Nestle has dismissed claims that it is cutting almost 300 jobs in the UK, and moving production of the Blue Riband chocolate biscuit to Poland, because of Brexit.
  Trade unions and the Liberal Democrats pointed to the Government’s decision to pull the UK from the Single Market for causing job losses mainly at the company’s sites in York and Newcastle.
  The company is proposing 143 job cuts in York, 110 at Fawdon, 15 in Halifax and seven in Girvan, Ayrshire, th
  
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• Tim Farron: I don't think gay sex is a sin

  25-04-2017 17:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Lib Dem leader tells the BBC he does not want people getting "the wrong impression" about his views.
  
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• Brexit timetable Part 1: Evolution of the EU position

  25-04-2017 17:41
  The openness, transparency and orderliness contrast with Britain’s erratic and secretive approach
  
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• Cunning plan

  25-04-2017 17:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour has a clear Brexit plan but some in the party would prefer more robust opposition to the Tory position.
  
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• Treasury inquisitor Andrew Tyrie quits as Tory MP

  25-04-2017 17:22
  Master of the awkward question and the stinging aside decides not to seek re-election
  
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• Theresa May Warns Tory Voters The Polls Could Be Wrong And Jeremy Corbyn Can Win

  25-04-2017 16:31
  
  Theresa May has said all the opinion polls pointing towards an easy Conservative victory at the general election could be wrong as she claimed it was the “most important” vote the country had faced in her lifetime.
  An ICM poll released yesterday showed the Conservatives were on 48% with Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour trailing far behind on 27% - a 21-point lead for the prime minister.
  And a shock poll in Wales by ITV Wales/YouGov also published yesterday put the Conservatives on 40% to
  
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• UKIP burka ban policy 'misguided' says party's MEP

  25-04-2017 16:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UKIP's foreign affairs spokesman resigns his post in protest at leader Paul Nuttall's call to ban the burka.
  
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• General Election 2017: Labour's 'day one' pledge to EU nationals

  25-04-2017 16:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The party says it would prioritise jobs and workers' rights, and guarantee the status of EU citizens.
  
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• Karen Danczuk wants to be Labour candidate in Bury North

  25-04-2017 15:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  She served as a Labour councillor from 2012 to 2015 in her home town of Rochdale.
  
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• General election 2017: Tory MPs Tyrie and Haselhurst to stand down

  25-04-2017 15:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Treasury select committee chairman is to stand down - as will veteran Tory Sir Alan Haselhurst.
  
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• Labour’s Brexit agony

  25-04-2017 14:35
  Party appears confused as it tries to reconcile competing pressures
  
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• Brexit guide: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU

  25-04-2017 13:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A guide to how the UK will leave the European Union following the 23 June referendum vote.
  
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• Poorest Households Pay More In Taxes Than The Richest 10%, New Figures Reveal

  25-04-2017 13:50
  
  Britain’s poorest households pay more of their incomes in taxes than the very richest, official figures reveal today.
  The latest release from the Office for National Statistics shows the poorest 10% of households fork out 42% of their income in taxes – including VAT and council tax.
  Conversely, the richest 10% pay 34.3% - according to analysis by the Equality Trust.
  Today’s figures also show that average income for the richest fifth of households is £84,700 – more t
  
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• Labour pledges to guarantee rights of EU citizens

  25-04-2017 13:35
  Remaining in customs union should be ‘on table’, says shadow Brexit secretary Starmer
  
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• Revealed: Labour's General Election 2017 Doorstep Message; Tories Are Party Of 'The Privileged Few'

  25-04-2017 13:30
  
  Labour’s key message to voters in the general election contrasts Jeremy Corbyn’s plans for the NHS, schools and housing with a Tory government that protects “the privileged few”.
  A memo to all MPs, which has been leaked to HuffPost UK, shows the party’s main doorstep pitch will focus on pledges to “give the NHS the money it needs”, a living wage of £10 per hour, guaranteed pensions, a million new homes and reduced class sizes.
  The core list of tal
  
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• Foreign universities will rejoice over May’s stance

  25-04-2017 13:30
  Prime minister’s policy on overseas students puts a UK export industry at risk
  
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• UK public sector borrowing falls by £20bn

  25-04-2017 12:54
  Surge in corporation tax receipts to record high last year leaves deficit reduction on target
  
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• Tory MPs Quit Pro-EU Open Britain Group After It Draws Up General Election Hit List Of Conservatives

  25-04-2017 12:17
  
  Nicky Morgan, Anna Soubry and Dominic Grieve have quit the Open Britain campaign group in protest at the pro-EU organisation’s decision to draw up a hit list of Tory MPs.
  In a post on Facebook, the three former ministers said:“As long standing Conservative Party members and MPs it is untenable for us to play any further role in an organisation, such as Open Britain, which is advocating campaigning against Conservative MPs or candidates. I and we will not be doing so.”Open Brit
  
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• Government deficit at lowest since financial crisis, says ONS

  25-04-2017 12:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Government borrowing falls to the lowest level since 2008, but it is set to rise again this year.
  
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• Edwina Currie Lambasted For Tweet About Child Poverty And Obesity

  25-04-2017 11:56
  
  Edwina Currie has been roundly lambasted for suggesting children living in poverty in the UK can’t be going hungry at the same time the country faces an epidemic of child obesity.
  The former Tory MP was reacting to recent report that found up to three million British children will go hungry in the school holidays without access to school meals.How can "3 million UK children be going hungry in the holidays" when there's a national epidemic of child obesity? Eh?— Edwina Currie (@Edwina
  
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• Tactical election

  25-04-2017 11:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Brexit may encourage more pacts between political parties in the run-up to the general election.
  
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• The Conservatives are making a comeback in Scotland - Sturgeon should be worried

  25-04-2017 11:48
  
  Ruth Davidson has helped to detoxify the Scottish Conservatives' brand
  
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• Labour's Barry Gardiner Left Red-Faced After GMB's Susanna Reid Reveals 'Remain' Logo On His iPad

  25-04-2017 11:23
  
  Labour’s Barry Gardiner was embarrassed on ITV’s Good Morning Britain this morning after host Susanna Reid revealed to viewers that he still had a ‘Remain’ campaign sticker on his iPad.
  The shadow business secretary said he accepted the result of the referendum.
  “I voted against Brexit. But I am a democrat. I sometimes think the Liberal Democrats have forgotten the second name in their title,” he said.
  The Lib Dems have argued there should be a second referend
  
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• Labour's Brexit policy remains a terrible muddle

  25-04-2017 11:01
  
  There are improvements but Labour's Brexit position is still far from clear
  
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• There is no progressive majority to stop Brexit - or much else

  25-04-2017 10:17
  
  A "progressive alliance" is an idea that has plenty of support but few obvious prospects for success - with Ukip bleeding votes to the Conservatives, Tory dominance is on the way
  
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• The Waugh Zone April 25, 2017

  25-04-2017 09:29
  
  The five things you need to know on Tuesday, April 25…1) THE SEARCH PARTY
  Keir Starmer today unveils Labour’s Brexit policy for the general election. One one reading, his pitch appears to be not so much a change in policy from the Tories but a change in tone: let’s be nicer to the EU27 and they will give us a deal that helps both sides. The flaw in this could be that actually some in Brussels are in agreement with Tory Eurosceps: there is no such thing as a ‘soft’
  
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• Open Britain Attack List Of Brexit-Backing MPs Drawn Up Ahead Of General Election

  25-04-2017 09:07
  
  A coalition of pro-EU campaign groups has drawn up a hit list of Brexit-backing MPs they will try to oust at the General Election by flooding their seats with activists.
  Key Leave supporters will be targeted in 20 constituencies while support will be given to 20 MPs who have spoken out against a hard exit from the EU since the referendum.
  It comes as Labour sets out its Brexit strategy and the Tories continue to warn that Jeremy Corbyn’s party is seeking to “disrupt”
  
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• Refugees 'Consigned To Homeless And Hunger By Government Policy', Parliamentary Group Says

  25-04-2017 08:11
  
  Refugees are being left homeless and destitute because Government policy fails to support them, a cross-party parliamentary committee has warned.
  Asylum seekers have just 28 days to leave their Home Office accommodation once they are granted refugee status, and this leaves many to rely on charity as they try to make their first steps integrating in Britain, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees said in its report.
  The committee also warned of a “two tier system”, with stark d
  
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• May heads to Wales aiming to break Labour’s grip

  25-04-2017 06:01
  Poll shows ‘unprecedented’ surge in support for Conservative party
  
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• UK tries to deter EU nationals over residency

  25-04-2017 05:00
  New Home Office guidance to avert avalanche of applications in wake of Article 50
  
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• Mandelson jibe hits Labour’s Brexit policy relaunch

  25-04-2017 01:12
  Ex-minister describes stance as ‘equivocal’ as Starmer prepares to lay out strategy
  
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• Promise post-Brexit visas for academics, say MPs

  25-04-2017 01:01
  EU citizens make up 16 per cent of university staff and most are minded to leave
  
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