Political news

• Chancellor needs to find an extra £33bn a year to end austerity, says IFS

  12-07-2017 23:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Tax and spending watchdog warns that Treasury might need to return to its spending squeeze in aftermath of BrexitPhilip Hammond would need to spend an extra £33bn a year to “end austerity” according to a leading tax and spending watchdog.The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the chancellor could use his autumn budget to reverse major cuts scheduled to hit public spending and still keep the government’s spending deficit at 2.4% of GDP by 2021. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• EU pharma bosses warn of Brexit medicines threat

  12-07-2017 23:03
  Industry flags danger of life-saving drugs being held at borders if no deal is reached
  
  Read more

• Steve Bell on Donald Trump Jr – cartoon

  12-07-2017 21:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Stormzy Hailed In Parliament As 'Poet Laureate' For Grenfell Tower

  12-07-2017 21:47
  
  Stormzy has been celebrated in Westminster as one of the rappers “calling out Grenfell Britain in gut-wrenching prose”. 
  Kensington’s new MP Emma Dent Coad hailed the work of Kensington’s own “poets laureate”, which include hip hop artists Akala, AJ Tracey, Lowkey, Peaky and Potent Whisper.  
  She also slammed the area’s “philistine council” which, she said, “does not recognise their talent” but spent £30m over
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Stormzy Hailed In Parliament Among 'Poet Laureates' For Grenfell Tower

  12-07-2017 21:47
  
  Stormzy has been celebrated in Westminster as one of the rappers “calling out Grenfell Britain in gut-wrenching prose”. 
  Kensington’s new MP Emma Dent Coad hailed the work of Kensington’s own “poet laureates”, which include hip hop artists Akarla, AJ Tracey, Lowkey, Peaky and Potent Whisper.  
  She also slammed the area’s “philistine council” which, she said, “does not recognise their talent” but spent £30m ove
  
  Read more

• Nicky Morgan elected as chair of Treasury select committee

  12-07-2017 21:29
  Prominent Europhile, and first woman to fill role, sees off rivals including Rees-Mogg
  
  Read more

• Nicky Morgan to lead Treasury committee

  12-07-2017 21:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The ex-education secretary sees off Eurosceptic Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg for the coveted position.
  
  Read more

• Nicky Morgan beats pro-Brexit MP to chair of Treasury committee

  12-07-2017 21:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Former cabinet minister and prominent advocate of soft Brexit voted in ahead of Jacob Rees-Mogg to influential postNicky Morgan, the former cabinet minister, has won the contest to chair parliament’s influential Treasury select committee, beating the arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg to position herself as a thorn in the side of the government’s plans for leaving the EU.The former Treasury minister and education secretary was elected against Rees-Mogg, her nearest rival, by MPs across a
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The Guardian view on select committees: chairs of power | Editorial

  12-07-2017 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Parliament’s system of electing select committee chairs has been a great success. The new incumbents have something to live up toTheresa May and Jeremy Corbyn invariably make the big political headlines, even when they skip prime minister’s questions, as they did on Wednesday in order to be with the Spanish royal visitors, leaving Damian Green and Emily Thornberry to deputise capably. But a hung parliament is a backbenchers’ parliament as much as a party leaders’ parliame
  
  Read more

• Understudies take PMQs up a notch – which wasn't hard | John Crace

  12-07-2017 20:51 via theguardian.com
  
  With the Maybot and Corbyn out of the way, the deputies happily traded insults over Brexit safe in the knowledge they could do no worse than their bossesOne day after announcing she was open to policy suggestions from Labour, the Maybot passed up the first opportunity to indulge in cross-party dialogue by choosing to dodge prime minister’s questions in favour of tapas with King Felipe of Spain. First secretary Damian Green didn’t look unduly bothered to be stepping in as understudy.
  
  Read more

• Grenfell Tower Fire: In Their Own Words, Residents Reveal Their Pain And Anger Four Weeks After Blaze

  12-07-2017 20:29
  
  The charred skeleton of Grenfell Tower looms large above North Kensington like a grim tombstone.
  It is just as difficult to gaze up at the fire-ravaged shell of the building as it is for residents – bereft and utterly traumatised by this inferno - to look the constant stream of ‘visitors’ to their borough in the eye.
  The smell of smoke is long gone, replaced by that of many floral tributes to the 80+ victims, while weather-beaten pictures of the missing remain taped to shop win
  
  Read more

• Hilariously, the world is going to end much sooner than we thought | First Dog on the Moon

  12-07-2017 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The other night I tried out some of my new material about how the world might end at a comedy event especially for cynical peopleSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and printsContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• 'Sinister' abuse

  12-07-2017 19:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Tory and Labour MPs talk about intimidation they have faced - as ministers announce inquiry.
  
  Read more

• PM orders inquiry into intimidation of MPs during general election

  12-07-2017 19:15 via theguardian.com
  
  May says she is ‘horrified by stories from colleagues’ as Commons debates abuse suffered in real life and on social mediaTheresa May has ordered an investigation into intimidation experienced by candidates during the last election after a barrage of complaints by MPs about death threats and harassment.The prime minister asked the committee on standards in public life to prepare a report, saying she was “horrified by stories from colleagues about the scale and nature of the inti
  
  Read more

• Theresa May Vows To Push On With Education Reforms As Tories Grill Her On Non-Brexit Plans

  12-07-2017 19:10
  
  Theresa May has reassured Tory backbenchers she will push on with the agenda she set out on the steps of Downing Street - just a day after trying to reboot her floundering leadership.
  Addressing a meeting of the Conservative backbench 1922 meeting in Parliament, May focused on housing and education reforms when challenged on what she would be focusing on besides Brexit.
  Her appearance at the meeting was the second in the five weeks since the General Election, although this appearance was notice
  
  Read more

• Renewable power critic is chosen to head energy price review

  12-07-2017 19:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Government’s preferred choice of Oxford economist Dieter Helm is controversial owing to criticism of wind and solar powerAn academic who is a vocal critic of the price of renewable power is the government’s preferred choice to head a review of the financial cost of energy in the UK.Dieter Helm, an economist at the University of Oxford, has been chosen by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to carry out the review, the Guardian has learned. The Conservat
  
  Read more

• Grenfell Tower Fire: Brexit Delayed Review Of Safety Regulation, Labour MP Suggests

  12-07-2017 19:00
  
  Civil servants were too busy with Brexit to carry out a review into building safety regulation, it was claimed as the fallout from Grenfell Tower continued today. 
  The extraordinary allegation came from former shadow housing minister Ruth Cadbury in Parliament as she called for answers on how the EU divorce proceedings could be impacting on vital work to improve fire safety.
  Ministers have faced intense scrutiny over a promised review - ordered by a coroner in the wake of the fatal Lakanal
  
  Read more

• Rudd's refusal to publish full report into extremist funding 'unacceptable'

  12-07-2017 18:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Opposition parties criticise ‘security-led’ decision to release only summary, saying mention of Saudi Arabia is being buriedOpposition parties have condemned the government for opting not to publish a much-delayed report into the funding and support of extremist groups, saying the decision appeared intended to bury any criticism of Saudi Arabia.But the home secretary, Amber Rudd, said the move was based on national security and claimed that the full report contained sensitive and det
  
  Read more

• UK’s financial watchdog raises concerns over pension cash-ins

  12-07-2017 18:51
  FCA ready to intervene after 2015 reforms gave savers the chance to withdraw funds
  
  Read more

• EU says Brexit talks could fail after Johnson's 'go whistle' remarks

  12-07-2017 18:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Michel Barnier says so-called ‘divorce bill’ is indivisible from other parts of negotiation and payment is a matter of trustThe European Union has said the Brexit talks could be derailed by an escalating fight over money as it fired back at Boris Johnson for telling the EU leaders to “go whistle” if they expected Britain to pay a divorce bill for withdrawing from the bloc. “I am not hearing any whistling, just a clock ticking,” said the EU negotiator Michel Ba
  
  Read more

• Theresa May Announces Investigation Into 'Shocking' Abuse Of MPs During General Election Campaign

  12-07-2017 18:01
  
  The government has announced a review into the abuse of MPs, activists and voters during the last general election.
  Theresa May has asked the Committee on Standards in Public Life to investigate widespread reports from candidates that they were victims of racist graffiti, death threats and abuse on social media during the campaign.
  The prime minister said she was “horrified” by the stories she had heard from MPs since the election.
  The committee, chaired by Lord Bew, has been tasked
  
  Read more

• Racism, misogyny, threats: politicians who have suffered abuse

  12-07-2017 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  With parliament set to debate a rise in intimidation, we look at abuse received by Labour and Tory MPs and candidatesMPs are to debate abuse and intimidation of parliamentary candidates in UK elections on Wednesday after a cross-party report said misogyny, racism and bigotry was on the rise.Labour and the Conservatives have each accused the other of failing to act to stamp out abuse by their members and activists. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Former aide to Tory minister appears in court on rape charges

  12-07-2017 16:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Jon Boulton, 27, who was a speechwriter for Rob Wilson, is charged with six counts of rapeA former aide to an ex-Tory minister has appeared in court charged with six counts of rape.
  Jon Boulton, 27, of Stockwell, south-west London, who was a speechwriter and media adviser to the former minister for civil society Rob Wilson, is accused of raping a woman at an address in Wimbledon, south-west London in April last year. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Brexit 'No Deal': Office For Budget Responsibility Contradicts Damian Green PMQs Claim

  12-07-2017 16:39
  
  The Tory government is facing fresh embarrassment over Brexit after the UK’s budget watchdog flatly contradicted claims that it will weigh up the financial risks of quitting the EU without a trade deal.
  Standing in for Theresa May at Prime Minister’s question time, First Secretary of State Damian Green surprised MPs by suggesting the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) would produce an expert report on the issue.
  But the OBR swiftly confirmed to HuffPost UK that its first ever &ls
  
  Read more

• 'Completely evasive': readers on a Brexit-dominated PMQs

  12-07-2017 16:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Guardian readers felt Emily Thornberry had the edge over Damian Green, as the deputies battled over Brexit and ‘suggestion boxes’
  Damian Green came under pressure to defend the government’s Brexit plans, after shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry asked if the government are making it up as they’re going along” at Prime Minister’s Questions.Thornberry and Green, the first secretary of state, were standing in for Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn, the former ke
  
  Read more

• UK pensions ruling wins equal benefits for gay couple

  12-07-2017 16:00
  Landmark court case rules schemes cannot pay less to same sex surviving partners
  
  Read more

• Barnier says UK must accept principle of Brexit bill

  12-07-2017 15:56
  EU negotiator says no progress until Britain agrees to its financial obligations
  
  Read more

• Brexit: EU negotiator Barnier firm on citizens' rights

  12-07-2017 15:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The EU's top negotiator says European courts must be responsible for protecting citizens' rights.
  
  Read more

• Donald Trump Jr's Sean Hannity Interview And 17 Questions He Should Have Been Asked

  12-07-2017 15:24
  
  Donald Trump Jr last night faced the media to defend himself, after he sensationally released emails that blew the lid off the longtime story that Trump’s team were unaware of Russian support for his 2016 US Presidential election campaign, and did not seek it.
  His choice of inquisitor? Sean Hannity of Fox News who, judging by his preview tweets of the interview, wasn’t really interested in pressing him too hard on matters.Tonight 10 est. FNC. Also I have a message
  
  Read more

• 'You're Supposed To Be Building Consensus, Man' - Emily Thornberry Brings Sass To PMQs

  12-07-2017 14:48
  
  "You're supposed to be building consensus" - Labour's @EmilyThornberry takes on @DamianGreen at #PMQs https://t.co/n9O6GdwMUq pic.twitter.com/9XYkW61u3R— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 12, 2017
  With Theresa May rubbing shoulders with the King of Spain, it was left to cabinet office minister Damian Green and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry to front up Prime Minister’s Questions this week. 
  And the Labour frontbencher brought her own particular brand of sass to proceedin
  
  Read more

• Angela Rayner Reminds Damian Green She Is A Woman

  12-07-2017 14:37
  
  Answering @RupaHuq's question, @DamianGreen calls @AngelaRayner Labour's 'education spokesman'. Rayner says 'I'm a woman, not a man'. #PMQs pic.twitter.com/9sKzDTpFrv— BBC Parliament (@BBCParliament) July 12, 2017
  Angela Rayner reminded Damian Green that she was a woman today, after the first secretary of state referred to her as a Labour “spokesman”,
  Green, who was standing in for Theresa May at prime minister’s questions, took aim at Rayner as he dismissed a Labour MP&
  
  Read more

• Theresa May Vanishes From Tory Homepage After Election Disaster

  12-07-2017 14:36
  
  Theresa May has vanished from the front of the Conservative website since losing her party its majority in the General Election, it was revealed today.
  Labour MP Toby Perkins quizzed Tory First Secretary of State Damian Green over why the Prime Minister’s image no longer greets visitors to the Tory’s homepage in the Commons this afternoon.
  May has been an ever-present on the front of the website since taking over as Prime Minister almost exactly a year ago, but has now been removed.
  
  Read more

• Government could end Brexit talks without a deal, says Damian Green

  12-07-2017 14:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Standing in for Theresa May at PMQs, first secretary of state tells Emily Thornberry that Britain will reject ‘punishment deal’ The government could still walk away from negotiations with the EU with no agreement to avoid a “punishment deal”, Theresa May’s deputy, Damian Green, has told a prime minister’s questions dominated by plans for Brexit.Green, the first secretary of state, stood in for May as she was taking part in the state visit by the king and queen
  
  Read more

• May warned not to 'cut off nose to spite face' as Tories revolt over Euratom

  12-07-2017 14:18 via theguardian.com
  
  MPs say leaving European nuclear treaty without replicating benefits could lead to ‘economically crushed’ communities The Conservative revolt over Theresa May’s plan to withdraw from the Euratom nuclear treaty has grown, with one former minister accusing the government of cutting off its nose to spite its face.A string of Tory MPs opposed leaving the body for nuclear cooperation during a Westminster Hall debate called by Labour’s Albert Owen, suggesting May has no Commons
  
  Read more

• PMQs: Thornberry hammers Tories over no-deal Brexit

  12-07-2017 14:07
  
  Labour stand-in does strong work against government confusion over Brexit, but her side are essentially in same position.
  
  Read more

• Virgin Trains did not break data laws bv releasing Jeremy Corbyn CCTV images

  12-07-2017 13:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Company had ‘legitimate interest’ in showing Labour leader apparently passing empty seats on ‘ram-packed’ serviceVirgin Trains did not breach data protection laws when it published CCTV images of Jeremy Corbyn trying to find a seat on one of its services, the Information Commissioner’s Office has ruled.While normally such publication would breach the rules, Virgin had a “legitimate interest” in releasing footage of Corbyn to counter what the train compan
  
  Read more

• Notting Hill carnival will honour Grenfell. It must not be moved | Ismahil Blagrove

  12-07-2017 13:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Calls to cancel or move carnival disrespect the community and the regular attendees and contributors who died in the tower• Ishmahil Blagrove is a writer and film-maker, and the author of Carnival – a Photographic and Testimonial History of the Notting Hill CarnivalIn the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, questions have been raised as to the appropriateness of celebrating the Notting Hill carnival while the grisly tomb of so many still scars North Kensington’s skyline. Related
  
  Read more

• EU Negotiator Michel Barnier Warns Boris Johnson 'Clock Is Ticking' On Brexit Talks

  12-07-2017 13:22
  
  "I'm not hearing any whistling, just a clock ticking" says @MichelBarnier during a #Brexit negotiations update pic.twitter.com/aBhsVCSMxE— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 12, 2017
  Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has hit back at Boris Johnson’s suggestion the UK will not pay any money as it leaves the union.
  The foreign secretary yesterday accused the Brussels of wanting Britain to pay an “extortionate” sum and agreed that the EU could “go whistle&r
  
  Read more

• UK interest rates aren't about to rise as real pay slides | Larry Elliott

  12-07-2017 13:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Some at the Bank of England flirted with a rise, but the latest ONS figures suggest the doves will continue to hold sway The City has been getting mightily excited in recent weeks at the prospect of the Bank of England raising interest rates next month. Sorry to disappoint, but it’s not going to happen. In truth, it was never going to happen. The Old Lady has been showing a bit of leg, that’s all. Related: UK pay squeeze intensifies as real wages continue to fallContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Theresa May’s biggest mistake? Tying herself to a sinking Donald Trump | Jonathan Freedland

  12-07-2017 13:02 via theguardian.com
  
  The rush to lash Britain’s fortunes to the US president was always humiliating. Now, after Donald Trump Jr’s Russian revelations, it looks even worse• Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnistThere are few more perilous lines of work than being an ally of Donald Trump. Vouch for him one minute, usually by insisting that the latest accusation against him is bogus, and the next you’ll be left looking like a fool – as he or his family confirm that the very charge you d
  
  Read more

• Retired UK businessman wins equal pension benefits for husband

  12-07-2017 11:52
  Exemption allowing schemes to pay far less to same sex partners breaks law, Supreme Court rules
  
  Read more

• New Kensington Council Leader Elizabeth Campbell Has 'Never Been Inside A High Rise Tower Block'

  12-07-2017 10:22
  
  The newly-appointed leader of Kensington Council - tasked with helping the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire - is already facing claims that she is “out of touch” after she admitted she has never been inside a high rise tower block. 
  Tory councillor Elizabeth Campbell provoked a furious backlash after she revealed that she had never been inside one of the blocks, which are home to some of Kensington’s poorest residents, despite being responsible for family and
  
  Read more

• The Waugh Zone Wednesday July 12, 2017

  12-07-2017 10:13
  
  1. ZOMBIE AND SONS
  As the UK heads off on its Brexit voyage, the feeling that the Tory party is a ship without a captain is all too palpable. Theresa May’s ‘relaunch’ speech yesterday confirmed that impression, as she stumbled on her words, dodged questions and admitted her lack of a majority meant she couldn’t be sure of legislating on anything. At the Taylor Report launch on workers’ rights in the ‘gig economy’, the PM even had to face the ignominy of
  
  Read more

• Food prices set to soar as hard Brexit approaches

  12-07-2017 09:27
  
  Pushing Britain out of the Customs Union will trigger significant price increases at the supermarket check out.
  
  Read more

• What the UK employment review will mean for workers

  12-07-2017 06:06
  Happy Deliveroo drivers, a bubble tea café and a worker juggling three jobs
  
  Read more

• The fatal divide for business in Brexit Britain

  12-07-2017 06:01
  The debacle stems from an intellectual elite’s ignorance of industry and science
  
  Read more

• Labour: Tory general election campaign 'negative and nasty'

  12-07-2017 02:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  MPs are to hold a debate on the "abuse and intimidation" of MPs.
  
  Read more

• Grenfell Tower Fire: Ministers Still Clueless Over Unsafe High-Rises

  12-07-2017 01:15
  
  Ministers have no idea how many tower blocks are a fire risk, four weeks after the Grenfell inferno claimed at least 80 lives. 
  The west London disaster saw the Government urgently order inspections of all 4,000 of the UK’s high-rises, with Theresa May promising as many as 100 tests-a-day. 
  But one month after the catastrophe, the Housing Minister Alok Sharma has admitted the Government does not know how many tower blocks are still unsafe. The flammable cladding on North Ken
  
  Read more

• Three in four university leavers worry Brexit will hit jobs

  12-07-2017 01:03
  Number of graduates applying to work in banking, finance and accountancy falls
  
  Read more

• UK government signs deal with big banks to increase SME lending

  12-07-2017 01:02
  Tie-up between UK Export Finance and lenders aims to boost exports post-Brexit
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!