Political news

• Billy Connolly leads the way in Queen’s birthday honours list

  16-06-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Actor knighted in recognition of services to entertainment and charity, and is joined by Paul McCartney, JK Rowling and Delia Smith on the listArise Sir Big Yin: the famously foul-mouthed and anarchic comedian Billy Connolly, whose 75th year has already been marked with towering gable-end mural portraits in his native Glasgow, has been knighted in the Queen’s birthday honours list.Connolly has in the past been teased and even heckled for his friendship with members of the royal family, inc
  
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• Brexit talks 'to focus on withdrawal first'

  16-06-2017 22:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Formal Brexit negotiations will first focus on issues to do with the UK's withdrawal from the EU, the European Commission has said.
  
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• Protesters force way into Kensington Town Hall over Grenfell Tower fire

  16-06-2017 21:55 via ft.com
  London mayor calls for rapid government action as tensions run high in west London
  
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• David Lammy Fights Back Tears Describing Khadija Saye, Who Died In Grenfell Tower Fire

  16-06-2017 21:52
  
  David Lammy MP on Grenfell Tower fire: "This is a tale of two cities. This is what Dickens was writing about" #c4news pic.twitter.com/egmcDXyXJE— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 16, 2017
  David Lammy has fought back tears while describing his friend who died in the Grenfell Tower fire.
  The Labour MP had frantically appealed for information about Khadija Saye, an artist his wife had mentored, when she was unaccounted for after fire gutted the 24-storey tower she lived in on Wednesday.
  O
  
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• London fire: People rehoused 'within three weeks'

  16-06-2017 20:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Theresa May says £5m will be available for survivors, and the cause of the London fire is being looked at.
  
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• Ingram Pinn’s illustration of the week: With a paddle

  16-06-2017 20:16 via ft.com
  Theresa May reaches for salvation from the DUP
  
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• Theresa May Chased Away By Grenfell Tower Protesters After She Visits Victims

  16-06-2017 19:44
  
  Theresa May has been chased out of Kensington by an angry crowd shouting “coward!” and “shame on you!”, as she was bundled into her car amid growing anger over the Grenfell Tower fire.
  After facing huge criticism for failing to visit victims of the fire earlier, May went to St Clementine’s Church where she privately met with victims who have lost everything in the blaze that gutted the tower on Wednesday and killed at least 30 people. 
  As she was inside, angry
  
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• The Grenfell fire ignites anger at UK inequality

  16-06-2017 19:44 via ft.com
  An inquiry and police investigation must yield answers and action
  
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• Arlene Foster calls for 'sensible Brexit'

  16-06-2017 19:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The DUP leader was speaking after meeting newly-elected Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dublin.
  
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• Protesters storm Kensington Town Hall over Grenfell Tower fire

  16-06-2017 19:34 via ft.com
  London mayor calls for rapid government action as tensions run high in west London
  
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• London fire: May offers £5m to victims amid criticism of response

  16-06-2017 19:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Prime minister offers cash and help with housing to victims and visits scene of deadly blaze after initial response criticised• Grenfell Tower fire – latest updatesTheresa May has announced a package of measures to help the families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, including £5m of cash handouts to be distributed to residents, but appeared to row back on an earlier commitment to rehouse people in the local area.
  In a statement announcing the funding, Downing Street pledged t
  
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• DUP promises to use pact with Conservatives to tone down austerity

  16-06-2017 19:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Labour said to be considering amendments to Queen’s speech on school cuts, winter fuel allowance and the bedroom taxThe Democratic Unionist party has said it will act as a “brace against hard austerity” in its deal with the Conservatives, as rebel Tory MPs suggested that they could torpedo unpopular policies by tacitly backing Labour amendments to the Queen’s speech.The DUP’s leader, Arlene Foster, said it was “right and proper” that her party would vote
  
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• SSE boss gets 72% pay rise weeks after arguing against cap on bills

  16-06-2017 19:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Alistair Phillips-Davies to receive £2.92m after financial year in which profit margin on households rose from 6.2% to 6.9%The boss of one of the UK’s biggest energy companies has been given a 72% pay rise, just weeks after arguing against consumers having their bills capped to save them £100 a year.Alistair Phillips-Davies, the chief executive of SSE, will be paid £2.92m in 2017 after receiving the maximum possible bonuses for leading a “robust performance” b
  
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• Events held to remember murdered MP Jo Cox

  16-06-2017 18:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  On the anniversary of her murder Jo Cox's family urge people to come together to celebrate her life.
  
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• Grenfell Tower fire becomes focal point for political rage

  16-06-2017 18:47 via ft.com
  Grief turns to anger for residents as search for cause and loved-ones goes on
  
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• Ignored warnings?

  16-06-2017 18:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ministers have been accused of failing to act on lessons from an earlier tower block fire. Did they?
  
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• Grenfell Tower Fire: Protesters Storm Kensington Town Hall And March On Downing Street

  16-06-2017 18:22
  
  Protesters have stormed Kensington Town Hall, chased Theresa May from the borough and marched on Downing Street, in a fraught evening of anger over the Grenfell Tower fire.
  Fury has built over the failure to prevent the blaze that gutted the high-rise building on Wednesday morning, killing at least 30 people, injuring scores and leaving many homeless.
  Protesters gained entry to Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council’s offices, demanding answers, and were confronted by police late on Friday
  
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• Arlene Foster: An Ulsterwoman with the keys to power

  16-06-2017 17:35 via ft.com
  The knives were out for her – then Northern Ireland’s hardline unionist became kingmaker
  
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• Corbynista Labour Member Who Stood As Independent Candidate In Amber Rudd's Seat Expelled From Party

  16-06-2017 16:07
  
  A Corbynista Labour member and whistleblower who stood as an independent candidate in Home Secretary Amber Rudd’s seat has been expelled from the party.
  Former solicitor Nicholas Wilson contested Hastings and Rye in the general election earlier this month, winning 412 votes.  
  Labour missed out on winning the seat by just 346 votes after a tense recount, and the party said Wilson’s actions had been ‘particularly detrimental’ and were a breach of its membership rules.
  
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• Hammond refuses to confirm UK will leave EU single market

  16-06-2017 16:02 via ft.com
  Chancellor expected to have more influence on Brexit after poor election result for May
  
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• It shouldn't take a deadly fire for us to start caring about social housing tenants

  16-06-2017 15:32
  
  We should have been standing up for social housing tenants long before this
  
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• UN says Prevent extremism policy is 'inherently flawed'

  16-06-2017 15:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK home office says a UN Human Rights Council report on counter-terror strategy is 'simply not true'.
  
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• Man held by police outside Parliament

  16-06-2017 15:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Armed police have Tasered a man outside Parliament after he reached for a knife when approached by officers.
  
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• The week that Brexit began to bite

  16-06-2017 15:00 via ft.com
  Household incomes have been hit while Britain’s political leadership looks unstable
  
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• Week in review: Grenfell could break the back of the Tories

  16-06-2017 14:49
  
  May's inability to show any human empathy is a disaster for the Conservatives
  
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• Now is not the time to fall out of love with austerity

  16-06-2017 14:18 via ft.com
  Like it or not, we cannot wish away our public finance problems
  
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• Grenfell fire tragedy prompts inspection of 4,000 UK tower blocks

  16-06-2017 14:10 via ft.com
  Thousands could be rehoused across country as London death toll rises to at least 30
  
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• Labour urges UK government to drop ‘reckless’ Brexit plan

  16-06-2017 14:05 via ft.com
  Keir Starmer writes to Brexit secretary David Davis urging him to ‘reset’ EU exit strategy
  
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• The Queen Shows Up Theresa May After Meeting Grenfell Tower Fire Victims At Scene

  16-06-2017 13:47
  
  The Queen has met Grenfell Tower victims as rage continued to boil over Theresa May’s failure to personally meet them. 
  Downing Street claimed the prime minister could not meet with residents in the wake of the disaster because of “security concerns”. 
  But the Monarch and Prince William have arrived and now - amid fears the death toll could climb to more than 100 - fresh questions are being asked about May’s woeful response to the tragedy. Slightly weakens
  
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• Philip Hammond to prioritise economic prosperity in Brexit talks

  16-06-2017 13:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Chancellor says negotiating team is open to ideas from Brussels and will try to find solution that works for UK and EUThe British government will prioritise the economy and jobs in the Brexit negotiations beginning next week, Philip Hammond has said, in remarks that will be seen as a clear signal of his desire for a soft Brexit.
  The chancellor said the British negotiating team would be open to ideas from their counterparts in Brussels as to how best to maintain economic prosperity ahead of the o
  
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• Hard arguments for a soft Brexit

  16-06-2017 13:36 via ft.com
  There are sensible responses to the claim a softer deal would disrespect the referendum
  
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• A shock to the system: how Corbyn changed the rules | Gary Younge

  16-06-2017 13:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Everyone thought the election was a foregone conclusion. They had no idea what was really going on. By Gary Younge
  When the clock struck 10 last Thursday night, there was a moment of collective disorientation. With each tolling of the bell, the solid political ground we had been standing on was shaken by tectonic shifts below. On television, the anchors sounded unconvinced by the news they were announcing: according to the exit poll, the Tories had lost their majority and Labour had gained seats
  
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• Writer's Heartbreakingly Poetic Series Of Tweets Captures Shock And Horror Of Grenfell Tragedy

  16-06-2017 13:13
  
  A writer has captured the shock and grief of Londoners in the wake of the Grenfell disaster in a series of poetic tweets.
  Jack Bernhardt was passing the scene of the tragedy, which has so far claimed 30 lives with dozens more people reported missing, on his tube journey home on Thursday.
  He described the silence in his carriage as the train approached the site and his belief that people in the capital have been left shocked, angered and ashamed by the incident. 
  The Guardian contributor an
  
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• Ignore the toxic myth about bike lanes and pollution – the facts utterly debunk it

  16-06-2017 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A series of articles in conservative media are pushing the bizarre argument that separated bike lanes worsen air quality. Here’s why it’s rubbishJuliet Samuel is a regular columnist for the Telegraph, who opines authoritatively about politics, society and business. And yet last month she wrote something which was very obviously incorrect.Something needed to be done, Samuel said, about the “epidemic of bike lanes taking over otherwise useable roads all across London”. She
  
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• Man believed to be carrying a knife arrested outside parliament

  16-06-2017 12:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Suspect detained at gunpoint and searched before being led away, near scene where attacker killed a police officer in MarchA man believed to have been carrying a knife has been arrested by armed police outside the gates of parliament.Officers held the man on the ground at gunpoint at the entrance to New Palace Yard, the scene of a terrorist attack in March in which a police officer, PC Keith Palmer, was killed.Continue reading...
  
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• Brexit talks: Hammond says jobs and economy the priority

  16-06-2017 12:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK should focus on protecting jobs and the economy in Brexit talks, says Chancellor Philip Hammond.
  
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• Corbyn's critics

  16-06-2017 11:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Labour MPs have had to send out for new supplies of humble pie since the election.
  
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• Glastonbury 2017: Jeremy Corbyn Confirmed For Appearance Following 2016 Cancellation

  16-06-2017 11:10
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has been confirmed to appear at Glastonbury next weekend, a year after withdrawing from a scheduled talk at the last minute.The news was announced by MP Clive Lewis, who tweeted that the leader of the Labour party will be joining him for a talk at the Left Field tent on Saturday 24 June.
  Clive wrote on Twitter: “Chuffed to be speaking on Sat June 24 at #Glastonbury2017. Recharge your activism at the Leftfield tent with special gueststar @jeremycorbyn.”Chuffed to be spea
  
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• Are Clement Attlee and Jeremy Corbyn similar?

  16-06-2017 11:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  John Bew, author of Citizen Clem, compares the two Labour leaders
  
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• The Waugh Zone Friday June 16, 2017

  16-06-2017 10:50
  
  1. UNFINISHED SYMPATHY
  The heartbreak for the residents and families of Grenfell Tower continues. But as the sheer scale of the disaster emerges, the growing anger is also palpable. That anger was typified when Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was heckled by a young boy: “How many children died? What are you gonna do about it?” The Mayor shook his hand and said he would do all he could to help.
  But at least Khan met the residents, which is something Theresa May singularly, unfathomably fa
  
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• London fire: Corbyn calls for empty flats to be requisitioned

  16-06-2017 10:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Empty properties owned by the rich should be used for the homeless of Grenfell Tower, Labour's leader says.
  
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• Grenfell Tower: 'We need to act immediately'

  16-06-2017 10:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Communities minister Sajid Javid says the Grenfell Tower fire should not have happened
  
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• Sajid Javid Says Government Will Consider Knocking Down Tower Blocks At Risk Of Grenfell-Type Disaster

  16-06-2017 10:22
  
  The government will consider knocking down other tower blocks at risk of a Grenfell-style disaster, Sajid Javid has said.
  The Communities and Local Government Secretary told the BBC work is underway to examine the 4,000 similar high-rises across the country.
  He said ‘all necessary action’ will be taken to keep people safe in the wake of the west London incident, including examining cladding used on such buildings. Experts previously warned ministers about the type of cladding used at
  
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• What do Manus Island detainees and Tony Abbott have in common? | First Dog on the Moon

  16-06-2017 09:13 via theguardian.com
  
  The $70m Manus Island settlement is the largest human rights payout in Australian legal history. Aussies punching above our weight again. Oi oi oi!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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• New charities minister, but government isn't interested | Asheem Singh

  16-06-2017 08:33 via theguardian.com
  
  The Office for Civil Society was once a bold idea, but government has parked charities and campaign groups in a siding. It’s time to demand changeSo Tracey Crouch is the new minister for civil society, adding that responsibility to her existing role as sports minister. A minor department gets an obscure minister in the rump of government. Who cares? Politics is in freefall, wrestling with Brexit, social care and austerity. But this unremarkable inauguration tells us so much about why the w
  
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• Theresa May can still shape Brexit. But she may not have the skills | Martin Kettle

  16-06-2017 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  If she continues to seek a hard exit from the EU, the prime minister will split her party and be remembered as a fleeting, failed leaderWhen a political party has existed for as long as Britain’s Conservatives, nothing is entirely without precedent. This even goes for the dire situation in which Theresa May finds herself after she threw away her majority in a snap election before setting out to govern with a divided party in a hung parliament. Related: Have no pity for May. Don’t for
  
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• Morrisons' indignation over shareholder rebellion is misplaced | Nils Pratley

  16-06-2017 08:18 via theguardian.com
  
  If the supermarket wants investors to back its executives’ pay, it shouldn’t annoy them with a top-up that looks greedyWhen 48% of shareholders rebel against a company’s remuneration report, most chairmen scuttle into the shadows muttering empty words about seeking further engagement with investors. So Andy Higginson, chairman of Morrisons, deserves some credit for coming out fighting after more than half of investors either voted against the proposal or withheld their vote. Mo
  
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• The eurozone must reform or die | Kenneth Rogoff

  16-06-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Many EU politicians are loath to admit it, but the status quo is probably not sustainable; there must be either greater fiscal integration or a break-upWith the election of a reform-minded centrist president in France and the re-election of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, seeming ever more probable, is there hope for the stalled single-currency project in Europe? Perhaps, but another decade of slow growth, punctuated by periodic debt-related convulsions, still looks more likely. With a det
  
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• Keir Starmer: Labour can change course of Brexit after May's election rejection

  16-06-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Shadow Brexit secretary says there is now a majority for a new approach and Theresa May must ditch ‘extreme Brexit’Labour will work with MPs from across the House of Commons to force Theresa May to change course on Brexit after last week’s general election wiped out her majority, Keir Starmer, Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary says.
  May is in talks about forming a government with the backing of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party. But Starmer told the Guardi
  
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• Theresa May orders public inquiry into Grenfell Tower fire as criminal investigation begins – as it happened

  16-06-2017 06:51 via theguardian.com
  
  This live blog has closed. Follow our latest coverage of the Grenfell Tower fire hereFriends appeal for news of the missing
  Residents were betrayed, says new MPLammy: fire is corporate manslaughter Have you been affected? Share your stories8.52am BSTCoverage of the fire continues here: Related: Grenfell Tower fire: Scotland Yard opens criminal investigation into tragedy – latest updates5.51am BSTThis blog is closing now but we will be launching a new one soon. Thanks very much for reading.
  
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