Political news

• Ben Jennings on the Tories' recent highs and lows – cartoon

  14-07-2017 21:20 via theguardian.com
  
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• Ingram Pinn’s illustration of the week: New Balls Please

  14-07-2017 20:45 via ft.com
  The UK government finally publishes its repeal bill, which faces stiff opposition
  
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• Diana inquest counsel appointed lord chief justice

  14-07-2017 20:38 via ft.com
  Sir Ian Burnett’s appointment comes at challenging time for court system
  
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• Channel Tunnel rail link sold on to consortium for £3bn

  14-07-2017 19:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Canadian pension funds Borealis and Ontario Teachers sell HS1 in deal thought to value track, stations and lease at £3bnThe Canadian pension funds that own Britain’s HS1 high-speed railway between London and the Channel tunnel have sold to a consortium of UK and foreign investors.Borealis and Ontario Teachers, which paid £2.1bn for the HS1 concession from the UK government when the line was privatised in 2010, have sold the remainder of the 30-year lease in a deal valued at &po
  
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• British companies must have voices heard on Brexit, says MP

  14-07-2017 19:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Rachel Reeves, new chair of the business select committee, has pledged to explore risks involved and hold rogue firms to accountRachel Reeves, the chair of the House of Commons business select committee, says she will use her powerful new role to ensure Britain’s companies can make their voices heard on Brexit.The Labour MP for Leeds West, and former Bank of England economist, beat three of her colleagues, including Liam Byrne, to the job on Wednesday, in an election among MPs from all par
  
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• What it takes to make Theresa May cry | Letters

  14-07-2017 19:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Sasha Simic says there’s plenty that May could have cried about but didn’t, Keith Flett suggests she should follow Spinoza’s injunction, and Carolyn Kirton says May was a poor home secretary and is now a floundering prime ministerThe PM (Theresa May says she shed a ‘little tear’ over election exit poll, theguardian.com, 13 July) shed no tears for the 1,182,954 forced to survive on food banks. She shed no tears for nurses, firefighters and other public sector employe
  
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• Theresa May And David Davis Confronted By Romanian Journalist At Spectator Summer Party

  14-07-2017 19:05
  
  A Romanian journalist got into a plush party to ask Theresa May and Davis about Brexit, in two incredibly awkward exchanges.
  The Spectator’s annual summer party is meant to be a space for journalists and senior politicians to meet and talk off-the-record in a relaxed setting.
  GQ columnist Nimrod Kamer, who claimed to have “blagged” his way into the party on Thursday night, filmed myself gradually edging toward the the group at which the prime minister was standing.
  After gettin
  
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• New acid laws possible after upsurge in attacks

  14-07-2017 18:35 via ft.com
  Two teenagers arrested after five victims targeted with corrosive liquids in London
  
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• The Downfall Of Theresa May In 15 Handshakes

  14-07-2017 18:34
  
  Today marks one year since Theresa May became the nation’s Prime Minister and it’s an understatement to say a lot has happened since.
  In 365 days containing a Trump election victory, the triggering of Article 50 and a UK General Election, May’s star has fallen from a position of near-invulnerability to... well, let’s have a look.-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post UK, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumptio
  
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• Home Office fined £366,900 for breaking pay cap for abuse inquiry chief

  14-07-2017 17:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Home Office fined £366,900 for failing to get approval for pay cap-busting salary for Alexis Jay.
  
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• Ofcom made serious errors over Murdoch Sky bid, say high-profile MPs

  14-07-2017 17:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Senior figures urge deeper probe amid concerns about Sky broadcasting standards ‘being taken in direction of Fox News’A group of high-profile senior MPs have claimed that Ofcom made a “serious legal error” in its handling of Rupert Murdoch’s bid for Sky and could face a judicial review unless the government orders a full investigation into the threat to broadcasting standards from the deal.Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader, Sir Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat
  
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• Marmalade Brexit row spreads as German MEP preserves humour

  14-07-2017 16:58 via ft.com
  Von Weizsäcker in a jam after proposal to ‘sweeten the bitter aftertaste of Brexit’
  
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• Lord Chief Justice: Sir Ian Burnett appointed

  14-07-2017 16:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Downing Street says Lord Justice Burnett will take over, following the retirement of Lord Thomas.
  
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• Revealed: NHS cuts could target heart attack patients in Surrey and Sussex

  14-07-2017 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Organisations in the area are considering limiting angiogram and angioplasty despite positive evidence for proceduresPatients at risk of a heart attack could be denied vital tests and potentially life-saving operations under NHS plans to make £55m of budget cuts in Surrey and Sussex, the Guardian can reveal.
  NHS organisations in Surrey and Sussex are considering restricting the number of patients who have an angiogram or an angioplasty – the insertion of stents to tackle blocked arte
  
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• Week in Review: Theresa May's first year report card

  14-07-2017 15:57
  
  Twelve months of moral, political, economic, strategic and presentational failure.
  
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• UK drug strategy 'hollow' without more money, says Burnham

  14-07-2017 15:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Manchester mayor says police and other services cannot do more to tackle spice crisis unless there is more fundingPublic safety will be put at risk and emergency services stretched to breaking point unless the government provides funds over and above its “hollow” new drugs strategy, Andy Burnham has warned.The mayor of Greater Manchester said he did not believe the Home Office proposals were radical enough to tackle the worsening drug crisis in cities across Britain. Continue reading
  
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• UKIP's MEP and former leader on the UK's road towards Brexit

  14-07-2017 15:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nigel Farage tells Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn, to "get a grip and get on with it."
  
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• Sky News' Beth Rigby's review of the political week

  14-07-2017 15:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Beth Rigby goes over the political headlines of the last few days, with a few sweet treats.
  
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• The high stakes battle over university heads’ pay

  14-07-2017 15:20 via ft.com
  Soaring salaries are worsening the reputation of UK student finance, writes Miranda Green
  
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• Acid attacks: ministers consider restricting sales of corrosive liquids

  14-07-2017 15:14 via theguardian.com
  
  After string of assaults in London, Home Office and MPs look at licensing, sentencing and policing issuesThe Home Office is considering tough new restrictions on corrosive substances after a string of acid attacks in London, amid calls from one London MP for more severe sentences for possession of harmful acids.On Friday two teenage boys, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old, were arrested as police launched a major investigation into a five acid attacks that took place in less than 90 minutes across
  
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• Britain fiddles while the clock ticks on Brexit

  14-07-2017 14:48 via ft.com
  UK appears bogged down, with uncertainty mounting over how events will unfold
  
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• Brexit: Warning of 'constitutional crisis' over repeal bill

  14-07-2017 14:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Welsh and Scottish governments seek to block repeal bill that would end supremacy of EU law.
  
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• Labour MP Says Grenfell Tragedy 'Shows System Is Broken' In Maiden Speech

  14-07-2017 14:45
  
  A new Labour MP used her maiden speech to say the Grenfell tragedy shows that ‘the system is broken’.
  Ellie Reeves, who replaced veteran member Jim Dowd in Lewisham West and Penge, told the Commons she had entered politics to tackle inequality and ensure people had equal chances in life no matter what their background.
  Speaking about last month’s blaze, which claimed the lives of more than 80 people, Reeves said the: “The enormous loss of life at Grenfell and the prevent
  
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• Donald Trump's Handshake Reaches Whole New Levels Of Bizarre

  14-07-2017 14:27
  
  Another day, another weird attempt by Donald Trump to assert his authority using an unnecessarily aggressive greeting.
  Not content with nearly dislocating the shoulder of France’s First Lady yesterday...... he today set about engaging in his most bizarre handshake to date.Séquence serrages de mains toniques pour les deux couples présidentiels. #14juillet pic.twitter.com/vunk3yxm5I— franceinfo (@franceinfo) July 14, 2017
  Let’s dissect this...
   1) That’s
  
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• Lord Adonis's Brexit comments not a sackable offence – No 10

  14-07-2017 14:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Government infrastructure adviser had said leaving single market was as bad a mistake as appeasing Nazis in 1930sA Downing Street spokeswoman has said Theresa May will not sack Labour peer Lord Adonis as a senior government adviser, despite him comparing leaving the EU to British appeasement of the Nazis in the 1930s. The spokeswoman said the prime minister “completely disagrees” with the comments by Lord Adonis, the former Labour transport secretary who chairs the government’s
  
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• NHS Privatisation Could Cause Another Contaminated Blood Tragedy, Widow Warns

  14-07-2017 12:59
  
  A widow who unearthed vital information about the contaminated blood scandal after her husband died of HIV has warned the UK could face another tragedy if NHS services are put at risk of privatisation.
  Carol Anne Grayson and her husband Peter Longstaff were robbed of a normal life after Peter’s treatment for haemophilia left him infected with hepatitis and HIV.
  When he died in 2005 aged just 47, Carol enrolled as a mature student at Sunderland University and penned a dissertation on the t
  
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• The contradictions of Britain’s Great Retain Bill

  14-07-2017 12:56 via ft.com
  Continuity and certainty are as indispensable as they are unachievable
  
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• Legal highs and chemsex drugs targeted in new strategy

  14-07-2017 12:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Home Office's new scheme aims to share intelligence on emerging drugs and help users recover.
  
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• Farron: I decided to quit 'two weeks into the election'

  14-07-2017 12:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Outgoing Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has revealed that he made the decision to stand down as Liberal Democrat leader two weeks into the general election campaign.
  
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• A new breed of ambassadors become ‘our (wo)man at home’

  14-07-2017 12:22 via ft.com
  How will the UK foreign office explain that diplomacy no longer means posting abroad?
  
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• Donald Trump's Air Force One Conversation Contains One Incredibly Worrying Thing About Russia

  14-07-2017 11:57
  
  The White House yesterday released a transcript of a conversation between Donald Trump and reporters which covered everything from trade to North Korea to the border wall (which will be see-through apparently).
  But one sentence more than any other should stand out as cause for alarm.  
  Whilst discussing the conversation he had with Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit over the weekend, Donald Trump said the following:“Somebody said later to me, which was interesting. Said, let me tel
  
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• Tim Farron Reveals He Decided To Quit As Lib Dem Leader Just Two Weeks Into The Election Campaign

  14-07-2017 11:55
  
  Tim Farron has revealed he decided to quit as Liberal Democrat leader two weeks into the election campaign.
  In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live’s Emma Barnett, Farron said he decided he could not reconcile being leader of the party with his Christian faith.
  “I made the decision about two weeks into the election campaign,” he said.
   “I thought there isn’t a way forward out of this without me either compromising or just causing damage to the party in the long
  
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• The Tory-DUP deal makes a united Ireland easier to deliver

  14-07-2017 10:54
  
  Increased spending in Northern Ireland could start to bring north and south together
  
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• Donald Trump's Border Wall Is Getting Smaller And... See-Through

  14-07-2017 10:09
  
  Donald Trump has revealed his much-vaunted border wall with Mexico will be shorter than originally planned and... transparent. 
  Speaking aboard Air Force One in a conversation reporters were originally led to believe was off the record, the President argued the threat of large bags of drugs being thrown over the barrier necessitated the move.
  He said: “One of the things with the wall is you need transparency. You have to be able to see through it. In other words, if you can’t se
  
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• The Waugh Zone, Friday July 14

  14-07-2017 10:00
  
  1) Battle Of Britain
  Theresa May is already facing battles in Westminster and Brussels, but the next wave of attacks could come from Edinburgh and Cardiff.Numerous front pages today are leading on the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly threats to vote down the Brexit Bill presented yesterday.Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Welsh Leader Carwyn Jones issued a joint statement branding the Bill “a naked power grab, an attack on the founding principles of devolution and co
  
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• Lord Adonis: Leaving the EU will 'impoverish millions'

  14-07-2017 09:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Lord Adonis says leaving the EU will have serious economic consequences.
  
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• Who said it: Craig Kelly or Ian the Climate Denialist Potato? Take the quiz | First Dog on the Moon

  14-07-2017 09:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Like Ian the Climate Denialist Potato, Craig Kelly, MP, has a history of saying stupid things about the environment. Who made these statements?Sign 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...
  
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• Two Teenagers Arrested After Five Acid Attacks In London In Under 90 Minutes

  14-07-2017 09:13
  
  Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with a spate of acid attacks that took place in east London last night [Thursday].  
  Five attacks were carried out in under 90 minutes across Hackney, Stoke Newington and Islington, with one 24-year-old victim suffering “life-changing injuries”, heightening calls for the carrying of acid to be criminalised. 
  A 16-year-old boy was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning on suspicion of grevious bodily harm and robbery
  
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• Teenager Arrested After Five Acid Attacks In Under 90 Minutes In East London

  14-07-2017 09:13
  
  An MP has called for the carrying of acid to be criminalised as five acid attacks were carried out in under 90 minutes in east London.
  Stephen Timms also said there was “a case” for reviewing stop and search guidelines following the recent rise in attacks.
  One victim suffered “life-changing” injuries during one of the attacks in east London on Thursday night, Press Association reported.
  A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and robbery f
  
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• Teenager Arrested After Five Acid Attacks In London In Under 90 Minutes

  14-07-2017 09:13
  
  An MP has called for the carrying of acid to be criminalised after five acid attacks were carried out in under 90 minutes in London.
  Stephen Timms also said there was “a case” for reviewing stop and search guidelines following the recent rise in attacks.
  One victim suffered “life-changing” injuries during one of the attacks in east London on Thursday night, Press Association reported.
  A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and robbery fol
  
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• Nicky Morgan wants Treasury Committee to widen its scope

  14-07-2017 08:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The new chair of the Treasury Committee Nicky Morgan wants the body to look beyond banks and Brexit.
  
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• Harriet Harman seeks political unity in fight to stop abuse of female MPs

  14-07-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Anyone engaging in misogynistic abuse should be expelled, says senior Labour figure Harriet Harman has called on Labour women to speak out against any abuse and intimidation aimed at female Conservative MPs, warning that “a misogynistic attack on one woman is a misogynistic attack on all women”. Related: MP abuse and the gig economy - Politics Weekly podcastContinue reading...
  
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• Brexit bill to cause constitutional clash with Scotland and Wales

  14-07-2017 06:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Great repeal bill rejected by Nicola Sturgeon and Carwyn Jones over concerns about human rights and Westminster ‘power grab’Theresa May appeared to be heading for an explosive constitutional clash over Brexit after the Scottish and Welsh governments said they could not support the great repeal bill – the key proposals drawn up to extricate Britain from the EU.The historic legislation, formally known as the European Union (withdrawal) bill, came under sustained attack after it w
  
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• Tim Farron: I decided to quit before general election

  14-07-2017 06:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The outgoing Lib Dem leader denies deceiving voters by continuing to campaign.
  
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• Repeal bill: key legal points on the Brexit measure

  14-07-2017 06:02 via ft.com
  Lawyers highlight how the government has sweeping rights to make changes to EU law
  
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• Insurers urged to widen UK terror cover after London attacks

  14-07-2017 06:02 via ft.com
  Minister seeks talks as Borough Market traders highlight financial impact of assault
  
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• OBR boosts Hammond in fight against austerity opponents

  14-07-2017 05:00 via ft.com
  Budget watchdog warns on ‘sensitive’ public finances and calls for debt reduction
  
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• Drugs Strategy Condemned As 'Business As Usual' For Ignoring These Radical Solutions As Deaths Soar

  14-07-2017 01:01
  
  The Government’s new drugs strategy has been condemned as “business for usual” for failing to embrace radical solutions to soaring drug deaths.
  The Home Office announced its long-awaited strategy that pledges to crack down on drug dealders and cut demand by expanding education on drugs and alcohol and expanding the Prevention Information Service.
  Writing on HuffPost UK, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the plan would target “unscrupulous drug dealers” while trying to
  
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• Drug Gangs 'Exploiting Middle Class Kids To Sell Class A Drugs', Parliamentary Report Warns

  14-07-2017 01:01
  
  Middle class children are at risk of being groomed to sell drugs by criminal gangs, a parliamentary report has warned.
  Police believe gangs’ use of children to sell Class A drugs has spread from London to other cities like Liverpool and Greater Manchester, the All Parliamentary Group on runaway and missing children and adults said in its new report.
  One middle class parent told the APPG: “My son became involved in a gang where he was exploited to sell class A drugs at the age o
  
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