Political news

• Contaminated blood scandal inquiry announced

  11-07-2017 22:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Inquiry to be held into contaminated blood scandal that left at least 2,400 people dead, the prime minister says.
  
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• Steve Bell on the UK's EU divorce bill – cartoon

  11-07-2017 21:44 via theguardian.com
  
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• Theresa May courts working class by backing rights for low-paid

  11-07-2017 21:14 via ft.com
  But PM resists parental pay for self-employed as Taylor review urges gig economy reform
  
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• Donald Trump Calls His Son 'A High-Quality Person' And Social Media Explodes

  11-07-2017 20:55
  
  US President Donald Trump has called his son “a high-quality person” and applauded “his transparency”.
  The apparent support for Donald Jr follows the controversy about his son’s meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer to obtain damaging information on Hillary Clinton.In a statement read out by White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, President Trump said: “My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency.”
  At the br
  
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• Aristocrat convicted of abusing Article 50 campaigner Gina Miller

  11-07-2017 20:27 via ft.com
  Lord St Davids sent menacing messages to woman who challenged Brexit
  
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• Boris Johnson: EU can 'go whistle' over Brexit divorce bill

  11-07-2017 19:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK foreign secretary also says there is "no plan" for Britain failing to get a Brexit deal.
  
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• UK has no plan B if Brexit talks fail says Johnson

  11-07-2017 19:54 via ft.com
  Foreign secretary says Britain is not making contingency arrangements
  
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• UK has no plan B if Brexit talks fail, insists Boris Johnson

  11-07-2017 19:54 via ft.com
  Foreign secretary says Britain is not making contingency arrangements
  
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• Boris Johnson: UK has no plan B if Brexit talks fail

  11-07-2017 19:54 via ft.com
  Foreign secretary says Britain is not making contingency arrangements
  
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• Brexit: Lack of NI Executive 'slightly problematic', says David Davis

  11-07-2017 19:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  David Davis says technology could help maintain a "frictionless border" when UK leaves the customs union.
  
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• David Davis rejects claims government has softened its stance on Brexit since election - Politics live

  11-07-2017 19:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May’s speech at the launch of the Taylor report on employment in the modern economyLunchtime summaryDavid Davis’s evidence on Brexit to Lords committee - Summary 6.19pm BSTThat was one of the less revelatory committee hearings we’ve had on Brexit. That may be because the committee was pressed for time, and with the chair trying to let a large number of peers have a say, there was not mu
  
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• Aristocrat guilty over 'menacing' Gina Miller Facebook post

  11-07-2017 19:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 4th Viscount St Davids posted "menacing" Facebook comments about the Brexit campaigner.
  
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• Journalist Chasing Trump Collusion With Russia Just Can't Believe Trump Jr Got The Scoop

  11-07-2017 19:16
  
  Already hailed the “smoking gun”, Donald Trump Jr has released images of an email exchange showing he knew he was meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer to get intelligence on Hillary Clinton.
  The US President’s eldest son posted his emails with British publicist Rob Goldstone on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, exchanges which have Trump’s offspring declaring: “I love it.”Here is page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq&mdas
  
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• English Language Test For Nurses May Be 'Too Rigorous', Says David Davis

  11-07-2017 19:11
  
  David Davis has risked a cabinet row after he suggested the English language tests for foreign-born nurses was “too rigorous”.
  The sharp drop in the number of people applying to come and work in the NHS from overseas - including native English speakers - has been attributed to the test.
  Speaking to the Lords EU committee today, Davis indicated he believed the language requirement should be loosened. 
  “On staffing, the difficultly here is there are a whole series of issues
  
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• A judicious adjustment to the gig economy

  11-07-2017 18:44 via ft.com
  The Taylor report offers useful reform rather than revolution
  
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• Boris Johnson Slapped Down Twice By Theresa May Over Brexit Claims

  11-07-2017 18:11
  
  Downing Street has slapped down Boris Johnson after he said the government had made “no plans” for what to do if the UK failed to secure a Brexit deal with the EU.
  No.10 also distanced itself from the foreign secretary’s claim that Britain would not pay any money to Brussels as the price of leaving the union.
  Speaking to MPs today, Johnson said “there is no plan for no deal because we are going to get a great deal.”
  But a spokeswoman for Theresa May said this aftern
  
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• Brexit: UK must retain 'voice' in setting business standards

  11-07-2017 18:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Membership of bodies that set product safety standards cannot be taken for granted, peers warn.
  
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• Seven key recommendations from the Taylor review

  11-07-2017 17:58 via ft.com
  Former Blair adviser says UK government should clearly define who is a ‘worker’
  
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• Donald Trump Jr Releases Emails Proving Russia Was Supporting His Father

  11-07-2017 17:43
  
  President Donald Trump’s son has posted emails proving he was offered documents as “part of Russia and it’s government’s support for Mr Trump″.
  Donald Trump Jr. posted his emails with publicist Rob Goldstone on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon in which he tells a person promising him damaging information about Hillary Clinton: “If it’s what you say I love it.”
  The emails with Goldstone show Trump Jr was told that the Russian government had information
  
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• Taylor Review: All work in UK economy should be fair

  11-07-2017 17:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The author of a government review into work says a modern economy should be fair and decent.
  
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• Recycling should be simpler, say Lords

  11-07-2017 17:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  There should be one recycling system - including the same colour-coding of bins - across councils, peers say.
  
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• Anne Marie Morris defended after racist language suspension

  11-07-2017 16:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Anne Marie Morris's local party president says she "hasn't got a racist thought in her head".
  
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• Theresa May defends labour flexibility after work rights report

  11-07-2017 16:19 via ft.com
  PM resists ‘overbearing regulation’ as Taylor review calls for ‘gig economy’ reforms
  
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• Boris Johnson Says There Is 'No Plan' For Brexit Without A Deal But David Davis Said There Was

  11-07-2017 16:01
  
  Theresa May has been asked to urgently clear up the “shocking” confusion over the Brexit process, after Boris Johnson today directly contradicted David Davis over whether the government had made contingency plans for leaving the EU without a deal.
  Speaking in the Commons today, the foreign secretary said “there is no plan for no deal because we are going to get a great deal.”
  However in March, the Brexit secretary sought to reassure voters that the government was prepared
  
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• Ukip MEPs Hold Secret Meeting To Discuss How To Block Anti-Islam Candidate From Leadership Contest

  11-07-2017 15:56
  
  UKIP MEPs are holding an emergency meeting in Brussels in a desperate attempt to block a far-right anti-Islam campaigner winning the party’s leadership
  The controversial Anne Marie Waters - backed by former EDL leader Tommy Robinson - is believed to be gaining support in the race to succeed Paul Nuttall as Ukip leader.
  There are fears that far-right activists have joined the party in order to instill Waters - who has described Islam as “evil” and a “killing machine&rdquo
  
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• Will Brexit Actually Happen? You'd Goddam Better Hope So

  11-07-2017 15:49
  
  With more and more people expressing doubt over whether or not Brexit will actually happen, now seems as good a time as any to remind ourselves just why it should definitely still go ahead.
  1) Because No One Wants To Holiday In Europe Anyway
  Wayne knows what’s good for him - a solid weekend camping in the UK, none of this foreign holiday bollocks.
  He made this point incredibly clearly to James O’Brien this week and definitely didn’t get totally put in his place and exposed
  
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• European leaders can ‘go whistle’ over EU divorce bill, says Boris Johnson

  11-07-2017 15:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Foreign secretary hits out at ‘extortionate’ demands in event of Britain’s withdrawal from the European UnionBoris Johnson has suggested European leaders can “go whistle” if they expect Britain to pay a divorce bill for withdrawing from the European Union.Speaking in the House of Commons, the foreign secretary also told MPs that the government had “no plan for no deal” because of its confidence in securing a strong Brexit settlement with the bloc. Contin
  
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• Theresa May one year on after becoming UK prime minister

  11-07-2017 15:17 via ft.com
  PM’s olive branch to opposition parties is an acknowledgment of her vulnerability
  
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• Brexit: Boris Johnson on UK paying any exit bill to EU

  11-07-2017 15:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Boris Johnson says: "'Go whistle' seems to me to be an entirely appropriate expression."
  
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• UK watchdog raises rail competition concerns about FirstGroup

  11-07-2017 14:17 via ft.com
  Transport company is involved in two franchises offering train services to Exeter
  
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• Iain Duncan Smith on poverty levels in the UK

  11-07-2017 14:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Even as one of the wealthiest countries in the world, one in five Brits is classed as living in poverty.
  
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• Prime ministerial terms: May, Thatcher, Blair, Brown and Churchill

  11-07-2017 14:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A look at some of the shortest and longest UK premierships in history.
  
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• Contaminated Blood Scandal Inquiry Announced By Theresa May

  11-07-2017 13:45
  
  A Hillsborough-style inquiry is be held into the contaminated blood scandal that left 2,400 people dead, Theresa May has announced.
  The Prime Minister revealed the decision to her Cabinet on Tuesday morning, delighting campaigners and families affected by what has been described as “one of the greatest peacetime disasters” to hit the UK.
  No.10 confirmed that the new probe would take the form of either a full public inquiry or a panel similar to that which investigated the Hillsborou
  
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• Boris Johnson Says UK Will Not Pay 'Extortionate' Brexit Bill To EU

  11-07-2017 13:37
  
  Boris Johnson has accused the European Union of demanding an “extortionate” amount of money in the Brexit negotiations and said the United Kingdom will not pay.
  It has been reported that Brussels could ask for €60bn, or as much as €100bn, from Britain as the price for leaving the EU.
  The price tag is based on financial obligations the other member states believe the UK would need to settle on its way out the door.
  Speaking in the Commons today, Johnson said: “The sums
  
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• Boris Johnson Accuses EU Of Demanding 'Extortionate' Amount Of Money From UK For Brexit

  11-07-2017 13:37
  
  Boris Johnson has accused the European Union of demanding an “extortionate” amount of money from the United Kingdom in the Brexit negotiations.
  It has been reported that Brussels could ask for €60bn, or as much as €100bn, from Britain as the price for leaving the EU.
  The price tag is based on financial obligations the other member states believe the UK would need to settle on its way out the door.
  Speaking in the Commons today, Johnson said: “The sums that I have see
  
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• Labour's Rebecca Long-Bailey 'won't use morally wrong Uber'

  11-07-2017 13:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Shadow business secretary says drivers are "exploited" but Uber says they like being their own boss.
  
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• Who Is Rob Goldstone, The Man Behind The Donald Trump Jr/Russia Meeting?

  11-07-2017 13:29
  
  Donald Trump Jr is under increasing scrutiny after it was reported he was aware information he was offered on Hillary Clinton was part of a Russian government effort to influence the 2016 US election.
  The meeting in June of last year between the President’s eldest son and a Russian lawyer occurred at the behest of a Moscow-based singer with family ties to Trump’s businesses, according to a participant in the talks.
  Trump Jr has denied anything came of the meeting although his story a
  
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• Trump’s populist antitrust promises fall short of policy

  11-07-2017 13:13 via ft.com
  Campaign rhetoric aimed at big business deals fades into a conventional stance
  
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• Long time coming

  11-07-2017 13:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Will the King of Spain's UK visit sweep Brexit tensions under the red carpet?
  
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• US decision on Sudan sanctions hangs in the balance

  11-07-2017 12:51 via ft.com
  Divisions in Trump administration may halt permanent revocation of boycott
  
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• Salmond to star in Edinburgh Fringe show

  11-07-2017 12:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The former Scottish first minster will host Alex Salmond Unleashed during the annual arts festival in August.
  
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• Taylor Review: Government Report Calls For Increased Protections For UK's 'Gig Economy' Workers

  11-07-2017 12:13
  
  A government review into the employment of the UK’s “gig economy” workers has called for better quality jobs and “dignity at work”. 
  The Taylor Review, headed up by Tony Blair’s former advisor Matthew Taylor, sets out a number of recommendations to “protect” people working for companies such as Uber and Deliveroo. 
  “The review calls on the government to adopt the ambition that all work should be fair and decent with scope for fulfi
  
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• Labour MP Calls For Grammar Schools To Reform Or Lose Public Funding

  11-07-2017 12:05
  
  Grammar schools must do more to help children from poorer backgrounds or risk losing their public funding, according to a senior Labour MP.
  Lucy Powell will use a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday to highlight the fact that less than 3% of grammar school pupils are eligible for free school meals - the government’s indicator of low income - compared with more than 13% across all high schools.
  The Manchester Central MP, who served as shadow education secretary until June last year, will cal
  
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• Teachers face another year of 1% pay cap

  11-07-2017 11:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More than 500,000 teachers in England and Wales face another year of real-term pay cuts.
  
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• Is Theresa May Labour? And More Bizarre Most Googled Questions About Tory Cabinet Members

  11-07-2017 11:21
  
  No, Theresa May is not Labour. That’s the answer to one of the most Googled question about the Prime Minister right now.
  Another disturbing question showing up in the top results is: “Is Theresa May dead?”
  Maybe it was former chief whip Andrew Mitchell’s recent comments that the Prime Minister is “dead in the water” that got lost in translation.Anyway, panic not, we can thankfully confirm May is well and truly alive. Here she is welcoming Australian Prime Mini
  
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• Politicians Who Shocked The System By Joining Forces

  11-07-2017 11:14
  
  We live in deeply polarised political times, where the left and right have so little respect for each other that their discourse can easily descend into insults. But sometimes people are able to rise above the noise and find common cause, even from opposite ends of the political divide.
  Freedom of speech is a uniting principle that doesn’t require a political affiliation to support it. Nonetheless it still raised eyebrows when a giant of the American Left, philosopher, author and activist
  
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• Using Uber Is 'Morally Unacceptable', Says Labour's Rebecca Long-Bailey

  11-07-2017 11:10
  
  Using Uber is not “morally acceptable” Labour’s shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey has said.
  Her intervention on Tuesday came as the government-ordered review into the employment rights of workers in the gig economy was published.
  Speaking to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, Long-Bailey said Uber was “exploiting their workers”.
  “Well, I don’t personally use Uber because I don’t feel that it’s morally acceptable, but that&
  
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• US President Donald Trump 'to visit UK in 2018'

  11-07-2017 10:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Downing Street and the White House are believed to be looking at options for the visit.
  
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• The Waugh Zone Tuesday July 11, 2017

  11-07-2017 10:13
  
  1. NASTY TASTE
  A year since she took over as PM, it’s Theresa May’s big relaunch speech today. Last July as she stood outside No.10, she was full of optimistic talk and reforming zeal on behalf of ‘ordinary working families’ and looking forward to a long, five-year plan (no snap election she told us repeatedly) for Brexit and beyond. On the side of the worker not the wealthy, ‘red Tory Theresa’ sounded positively revolutionary.
  Today, the mood is more Hobbes
  
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• We can't negotiate with Europe until we understand it

  11-07-2017 10:12
  
  The EU doesn't 'need us more than we need them'. It needs political unity - and the sooner we recognise it, the better.
  
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