Political news

• Labour police policy hit by error-strewn Diane Abbott interview

  01-05-2017 23:47
  Britain’s opposition party struggles to present itself as economically competent
  
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• Labour pledges extra 10,000 ‘bobbies on the beat’

  01-05-2017 23:47
  Community policing roles would be paid for by reversing capital gains tax cuts
  
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• Abbott gaffes hit Labour pledge on policing

  01-05-2017 23:47
  Shadow home secretary stumbles in trying to explain costing of promise
  
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• Tom Watson labels Boris Johnson a 'cheese-headed fopdoodle'

  01-05-2017 23:00
  
  Description by deputy Labour party leader follows foreign secretary calling Jeremy Corbyn a ‘mutton-headed old mugwump’Boris Johnson will be subjected to a Boris-style attack on Tuesday from the deputy Labour leader, Tom Watson, who will describe the foreign secretary as a “cheese-headed fopdoodle”.The description follows Johnson’s description of Jeremy Corbyn as a “mutton-headed old mugwump” in his first intervention of the election campaign. Continue r
  
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• Simon Danczuk Could Stand As Independent After Rochdale MP Banned By Labour

  01-05-2017 21:22
  
  Simon Danczuk has been banned from standing for Labour in any seat in the general election following his suspension from the party.
  The Rochdale MP was suspended by the Labour Party in December 2015 after it was revealed he’d sent lewd texts to a 17-year-old girl.
  Sources close to the politician have told HuffPost UK that Danczuk is weighing up whether to run as an independent.
  If so, he has until May 11 to submit nomination papers.Danczuk has been MP for the marginal seat since winning i
  
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• Why is anyone surprised the UK and EU do not agree about Brexit?

  01-05-2017 20:48
  
  London’s pro-Brexit media and politicians should have known something was awry before May and Juncker’s disastrous dinnerLike a collision between supertankers, the clash between British and European Brexit negotiators has been a long time coming, but no less spectacular for it.The EU course was set at least six months ago, when European commission negotiators first determined that the most practical way to disentangle Britain’s complex membership was to separate out the even mo
  
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• UK Election Countdown: progressive mistake

  01-05-2017 20:33
  38 days to go: a desperate proposal from a desperate party
  
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• I fear Theresa May is negotiating us all towards Brexit disaster | Keir Starmer

  01-05-2017 20:15
  
  The prime minister’s complacent and rigid attitude is isolating Britain, and increasing the possibility that we will crash out without a deal“Deluded”. “In another galaxy”. “The more I hear, the more sceptical I become.” These are just some of the ways the European commission president, Jean-Claude Junker, reportedly described Theresa May’s approach to Brexit following his meeting with her last week. He obviously hadn’t got the memo about str
  
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• After dinner, the knives come out over Brexit

  01-05-2017 20:02
  Leaks from meeting at Number 10 threaten to poison talks ahead
  
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• After dinner, the knives come out

  01-05-2017 20:02
  Leaks from meeting at Number 10 threaten to poison talks ahead
  
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• Our apathy makes politics vulnerable to capture

  01-05-2017 19:36
  The public is to blame for the debasement of political communication into slogans
  
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• May dismisses reports of frosty dinner with EU chief as 'Brussels gossip'

  01-05-2017 19:35
  
  PM rejects devastating accounts of her Downing Street meeting with European commission chief Jean-Claude JunckerTheresa May is fighting off accusations of a botched and humiliating start to the Brexit negotiations as claims emerged that the prime minister was told by the European commission’s president, Jean-Claude Juncker, that there may not be any point in her even turning up to the first day of talks. Related: How Juncker's Downing Street dinner turned sourContinue reading...
  
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• More United to start funding centrist election candidates

  01-05-2017 19:15
  Online group set up after Jo Cox murder alarmed at rise of political extremism
  
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• More United to start funding centrist candidates

  01-05-2017 19:15
  Online group set up after Jo Cox murder alarmed at rise of political extremism
  
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• Tony Parsons Roasted For Jean-Claude Juncker Tweet After Theresa May's Disastrous Brexit Meeting

  01-05-2017 18:35
  
  The Bank Holiday Brexit peace was shattered in spectacular fashion after details of Theresa May’s apparently disastrous Downing Street dinner with Jean-Claude Juncker emerged.
  German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine today printed a devastating insider account of the meeting between the Prime Minister and the EU Commission President from last Wednesday, with the over-arching theme being that Theresa May is deluding herself over Brexit.Extraordinarily damning report in the Faz on M
  
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• 9 Damning Reports By MPs Buried By The Election

  01-05-2017 18:29
  
  Theresa May’s decision to call a snap General Election didn’t just catch the public unawares, it also surprised MPs working away on scrutinising Government policy.
  More than 30 reports and announcements have been published since Parliament broke up, and while some - such as how social media companies are failing to crack down on terror videos and child abuse images - have received attention, others have been largely ignored.
  Here are nine findings which deserve wider attention. 
  
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• Northumberland vote sets test for Tory optimism

  01-05-2017 18:25
  Signs of shifting demographics and attitudes in Labour stronghold
  
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• Northumberland local election vote sets test for Tory optimism

  01-05-2017 18:25
  Signs of shifting demographics and attitudes in Labour stronghold
  
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• Will Brexit renew Vauxhall’s revolution fever?

  01-05-2017 18:22
  The south London seat is set for one of the sharpest contests of the election
  
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• UK hits out at European Commission after Brexit meeting leak

  01-05-2017 18:21
  Report says Juncker ‘10 times more sceptical’ after last week’s Downing Street dinner
  
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• Conservatives eye £19.5m funding drive ahead of June election

  01-05-2017 17:47
  
  Late push comes amid fears from some within party that donations have fluctuated since EU referendumThe Conservatives have launched a late push to raise up to £19.5m for the general election campaign as the party seeks to capitalise on its wealthy supporters.The fundraising follows concerns among the party hierarchy that donations have fluctuated since the EU referendum. Many of the hedge fund directors who were friends of the former prime minister David Cameron, or wished to stay in the E
  
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• UK hits out at Brussels after Brexit meeting leak

  01-05-2017 16:43
  Report says Juncker ‘10 times more sceptical’ after last week’s Downing Street dinner
  
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• It is time to quell talk of tightening policy at the BoE

  01-05-2017 14:43
  Rock bottom interest rates are supporting the UK economy in a weak patch
  
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• It is time to quell talk of tightening at the BoE

  01-05-2017 14:43
  Rock bottom interest rates are supporting the UK economy in a weak patch
  
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• Theresa May's Attempts At Door-Knocking In Aberdeenshire Did NOT Go Well

  01-05-2017 13:57
  
  All politicians know it’s important to get out there and meet the voters - so what better way than a good door-knock?
  In fact, Theresa May herself apparently believes firmly that she is a “doorstep campaigner”.
  When shown her election itinerary, the prime minister was apparently less than impressed.According to the Press Association, she responded: “Stop trying to limit how much time I am spending on the doorstep.
  “I am a doorstep campaigner and from now on I w
  
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• Brexit and the slide into nationalism

  01-05-2017 13:53
  There is a British ‘finest hour’ reflex susceptible to appeals to glorious isolation
  
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• Theresa May Dismisses Disastrous Dinner With EU President As 'Brussels Gossip'

  01-05-2017 13:38
  
  Theresa May has dismissed a disastrous dinner with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as “Brussels gossip”, as the the PM was warned of deluding herself over Brexit.
  German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) today printed a devastating insider account of the meeting between the Prime Minister and Juncker last Wednesday.
  The details, briefed by senior Commission sources, reveal Juncker told May as he left that he was “ten times more skeptical than I was be
  
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• Theresa May Deluding Herself Over Brexit Deal, Says EU President As Dinner Party From Hell Details Leak

  01-05-2017 13:38
  
   
  Theresa May is deluding herself over Brexit, the EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker claimed after a disastrous Downing Street dinner last week.
  German newspaper FAZ today printed a devastating insider account of the meeting between the Prime Minister and Juncker last Wednesday.
  The details, briefed by senior Commission sources, reveal Juncker told May as he left that he was “ten times more skeptical than I was before” about securing a good Brexit deal.
  May was accused
  
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• Pregnant Women Considering Abortions Because Of Tories' Benefit Cap, MPs Reveal

  01-05-2017 12:21
  
  Pregnant women are considering abortions because of the impact of the Government’s new benefit cap, MPs revealed today.
  Last November, the Tories slashed the amount of benefit and tax credits out-of-work families can receive from £26,000 to £20,000-a-year - £23,000 in London.
  This morning, the Work and Pensions Committee published evidence of the impact of the cut, including the revelation that some women are considering terminating their pregnancies because of fears ove
  
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• Tony Blair Admits He'll Get Hit By A 'Bucket Of Wotsit' On His Return To Politics

  01-05-2017 12:20
  
  Tony Blair has admitted he knows he’ll get hit by “a bucket of wotsit” for rejoining the world of politics.
  In an interview with the Daily Mirror marking the 20th anniversary of Labour’s landslide General Election victory, the former prime minister said he was willing to get his hands dirty once more.
  He told the paper: “I know the moment I stick my head out the door I’ll get a bucket of wotsit poured all over me, but I really do feel passionate about this.
  &l
  
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• Tory candidate defends spending up to £1m on West Midlands mayor campaign

  01-05-2017 10:44
  
  Andy Street, the former John Lewis boss who quit to run, defends targeting voters before spending rules took effectThe Conservatives’ candidate to become West Midlands mayor has defended spending up to £1m on the campaign, dwarfing his opponents’ spending power. Related: City mayors could head off post-Brexit divisionsContinue reading...
  
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• Tony Abbott is back with his lady opinions! Why can't he leave us alone? | First Dog on the Moon

  01-05-2017 09:27
  
  The sex discrimination commissioner has rudely suggested that companies with government contracts should show they are hiring 40% women. She should pull her head in!Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published
  Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and printsContinue reading...
  
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• Tony Blair announces return in bid to influence Brexit debate

  01-05-2017 09:22
  
  Former PM is not standing in election but says he feels compelled to re-enter political fray to warn of economic perils of quitting single marketTony Blair has said he plans to become more involved in the debate surrounding Britain’s departure from the European Union because of the harm it would cause the country.The former prime minister said he would be “getting out more and reconnecting with voters” because of his worries about the economic damage incurred by leaving the sin
  
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• Twenty years after Labour win, Tories are on top

  01-05-2017 05:00
  Party has lost sight of New Labour’s successes and key constituencies have swung back
  
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• Brighton And Isle of Wight Labour Candidates Reject Call For Them To Quit In Favour Of Greens

  01-05-2017 03:16
  
  Labour’s general election candidates in Brighton Pavilion and on the Isle of Wight have rejected a call for them to stand down in order to help the Green Party beat the Conservatives in their seats.
  Jon Cruddas, who served as Ed Miliband’s policy coordinator, was among those who said on Sunday that a deal between the left-wing parties was the best way to prevent a “Tory landslide” on June 8.
  Writing in The Guardian, Cruddas was joined by former shadow cabinet minister Cl
  
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• Blair's legacy

  01-05-2017 01:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Tony Blair came to power 20 years ago - how did he change the UK and what is his lasting legacy?
  
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• MPs slam ‘freeriding’ gig economy companies

  01-05-2017 01:01
  Select committee scathing of self-employment ‘myth’ that fails to fund welfare state
  
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• Fine social media over hate speech, say MPs

  01-05-2017 01:01
  Twitter, Facebook and Google told they are putting ‘profit before safety’
  
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• Facebook And Twitter Branded A 'Disgrace' By MPs For Not Tackling Online Hate

  01-05-2017 01:01
  
  Facebook, Twitter and other social media giants have been branded a “disgrace” by MPs for failing to crack down on the distribution of terror recruitment videos and images of child abuse on their networks.
  In a report published today, the Commons home affairs committee said the government should consider changing the law to punish the tech firms for failing to remove illegal or “dangerous” content.
  Yvette Cooper, the Labour chair of the committee, said the way the intern
  
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