Political news

• UK aims to capture catastrophe bond market

  20-07-2017 23:35 via ft.com
  Government overrules approach of the regulator to keep City competitive
  
  Read more

• Public Sector Workers Could See 1% Pay Cap Lifted - But Only If Other 'Savings' Are Found

  20-07-2017 23:00
  
  The 1% public sector pay cap could be lifted for some workers – but only if ministers find the money from “efficiency savings” in their budgets.
  Under the latest option being considered by the Treasury, the seven-year wage squeeze could be allowed to end in Government departments that unearth cuts in other areas.
  The hardline approach to the controversial issue – only funding pay rises from cuts elsewhere – may spark anger from Labour and the trade unions who have
  
  Read more

• Michael Gove Caves To 'Transitional' Brexit Plan To Reduce Harm To Business

  20-07-2017 23:00
  
  Michael Gove and other key Cabinet Brexiteers have finally agreed that the UK needs a “transitional” period after Brexit to keep skilled EU migrants coming into Britain, HuffPost UK has been told.
  As Downing Street confirmed for the first time that the “implementation phase” was now Government policy, sources said that the Environment Secretary has changed his view on the controversial issue since the general election.
  Gove, who along with Boris Johnson led the Vote Leav
  
  Read more

• Cabinet Brexiteers Agree To 'Transitional' Brexit Plan To Reduce Harm To Business

  20-07-2017 23:00
  
  Michael Gove and other key Cabinet Brexiteers have finally agreed that the UK needs a “transitional” period after Brexit to keep skilled EU migrants coming into Britain, HuffPost UK has been told.
  As Downing Street confirmed for the first time that the “implementation phase” was now Government policy, sources said that the Environment Secretary has changed his view on the controversial issue since the general election.
  Gove, who along with Boris Johnson led the Vote Leav
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Cabinet accepts Brexit transition will mean years of free movement

  20-07-2017 23:00
  Senior source tells Guardian mood has shifted under pressure from British businesses to secure a workable dealThe British cabinet has accepted that free movement of people for up to four years after Britain leaves the EU will be part of a Brexit transition deal, according to a senior source.As the EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, underlined the need for clarity on the British side at the end of the latest round of exit negotiations, soft Brexiters in the cabinet are now confident they have a
  
  Read more

• UK given ultimatum on Copernicus space project

  20-07-2017 22:17 via ft.com
  Agency tells Britain to commit before end of year or risk losing contracts
  
  Read more

• Bury Council elections: Bosses 'delayed child safeguarding to help Labour'

  20-07-2017 21:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Senior bosses failed to act quick enough after claims were made against a councillor, reports say.
  
  Read more

• Steve Bell on Britain's stance at the Brexit negotiations – cartoon

  20-07-2017 21:19
  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• UK abandons rail upgrades and delays decision on network funding

  20-07-2017 21:13 via ft.com
  Electrification of lines to cut costs and reduce carbon emissions abandoned
  
  Read more

• Tories use 'take out the trash' day to dump controversial reports

  20-07-2017 20:58
  Official documents that include details of deep cuts to police numbers published too late to be scrutinised by MPsTheresa May has been accused of an “absolute affront” to democracy after dumping dozens of official documents online on parliament’s last day of term, showing the police force numbers have dropped to a 30-year low and the number of soldiers has fallen by 7,000.
  The government has published very little for weeks after the election but about 22 written statements and
  
  Read more

• Diane Abbott Struggles To Explain How Labour Would Fund Extra Police Officers Again

  20-07-2017 20:52
  
  Diane Abbott has struggled to explain how Labour would fund thousands of new police officers during an awkward TV interview. Again.
  Speaking to ITV, the Shadow Home Secretary attempted to explain Labour’s plan for 10,000 extra officers after figures were published showing crime was rising in England and Wales.
  Abbott was trying to outline how Labour would raise the £300 million needed to fund the policy.
  “What we’ve said is that we would find the money to recruit the 10,0
  
  Read more

• Diane Abbott Slams ITV After Struggling To Explain How Labour Would Fund Extra Police Officers In Interview

  20-07-2017 20:52
  
  Diane Abbott has accused ITV of “carefully editing” an interview where the MP struggled to explain how Labour would fund thousands of new police officers as she hit out at “gotcha journalism” and claimed she has received death threat and abuse in the aftermath.
  Speaking to the broadcaster, the Shadow Home Secretary attempted to explain Labour’s plan for 10,000 extra officers after figures were published showing crime rose by 10% in England and Wales in the last year
  
  Read more

• Revolutions are for zealots and fools – as the Brexit Bolsheviks will find out | John Harris

  20-07-2017 20:39
  Leaving the EU was meant to be Thatcherism’s finale, but could turn out to be its death instead• John Harris is a Guardian columnistThe centenary year of the Russian revolutions of 2017 highlights an accidentally topical question: what do revolutionaries do when they actually get their revolution? The immediate aftermath of the Bolshevik takeover of October 1917, wrote Leon Trotsky, often boiled down to “legislative improvisation”. In his autobiography, My Life, he explain
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on Sir Vince Cable as Lib Dem leader: a voice for the centre | Editorial

  20-07-2017 20:32
  The Liberal Democrats are still in intensive care after the bruising experience of coalition and an election fought in a newly polarised country. But that leaves an important space for them to fillNot only does Sir Vince Cable have the experience to lead the Liberal Democrats, he has actually done the job before. He held the reins temporarily before Nick Clegg was chosen in 2007. Since then, Sir Vince has published a well-received book on the causes of the financial crisis and served a
  
  Read more

• Brexit Briefing: Tell Us What EU Want

  20-07-2017 19:53
  
  You can sign up for this briefing by clicking here, and you’ll receive it straight to your inbox every Thursday afternoon.
  If you like what you read, make sure you subscribe to our Commons People podcast here for even more analysis about what goes on in Westminster. 1) David Davis And Michel Barnier Seem To Be At Different NegotiationsThe second round of UK/EU negotiations took place this week, and the fault lines we all predicted seem to be growing wider, not closing.I
  
  Read more

• Vince Cable named Lib Dem leader as no other candidate emerges

  20-07-2017 19:39
  Former business secretary officially announced as leader of the Liberal Democrats after resignation of Tim FarronVince Cable has pledged to offer an “exit from Brexit” as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, signalling he will continue to push his party’s demand for a second referendum on EU membership.
  The 74-year-old former business secretary was named party leader as the only candidate on the ballot paper when nominations closed at 4pm on Thursday. Former leader Tim Farr
  
  Read more

• Women are right to be angry at the pay gap

  20-07-2017 19:34 via ft.com
  The BBC shows how far the UK is from achieving earnings parity
  
  Read more

• May promises business leaders no Brexit ‘cliff edge’ for companies

  20-07-2017 19:28 via ft.com
  PM tells first meeting of Number 10 business council she is aiming for transition deal
  
  Read more

• Lib Dem leader Vince Cable's 'exit from Brexit' hope

  20-07-2017 19:13 via bbc.co.uk
  British people should have the option to stay within the EU when negotiations end, Vince Cable says.
  
  Read more

• Grenfell Survivors Should Blame Theresa May Not The Judge Over 'Narrow' Inquiry, Says Labour MP

  20-07-2017 18:54
  
  Grenfell survivors should blame Theresa May if the focus of the public inquiry is too narrow, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary has said.
  Richard Burgon told HuffPost UK he was “disturbed” to see judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick in the firing line as anger grew over what issues the probe will cover. 
  Burgon called for survivors to direct their ire at May, because, despite Moore-Bick leading the inquiry, only she has the power to broaden its terms. The former solicitor also
  
  Read more

• Blame Theresa May Not The Judge Over 'Narrow' Grenfell Inquiry, Says Labour MP

  20-07-2017 18:54
  
  Theresa May should be blamed if the focus of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry is too narrow, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary has said.
  Richard Burgon told HuffPost UK he was “disturbed” to see judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick in the firing line as anger grew over what issues the probe will cover. 
  Burgon called for people to direct their ire at May, because, despite Moore-Bick leading the inquiry, only she has the power to broaden its terms. The former solicitor also re
  
  Read more

• Unreliable narrator? Andrea Leadsom mistakenly resurrects Jane Austen

  20-07-2017 18:49
  Leader of Commons refers to face of new £10 note as one of Britain’s greatest living authors, causing much mirth among MPsA cabinet minister prompted laughs from MPs when she mistakenly praised Jane Austen as one of the UK’s “greatest living authors” just days after the 200th anniversary of the writer’s death.Andrea Leadsom, leader of the Commons, was attempting to praise the Pride And Prejudice author, who will feature on the new £10 note, which is sche
  
  Read more

• MPs threatened with arrest after protest at Viagogo office in London

  20-07-2017 18:48
  Nigel Adams and Sharon Hodgson warned police would be called in they didn’t leave after joining protest at office of ticket resale siteTwo MPs have been threatened with arrest after attempting to “doorstep” the bosses of Viagogo at the controversial ticket resale company’s “secret” offices in central London.Conservative MP Nigel Adams and Labour’s Sharon Hodgson said they felt they had no choice but to turn up at Viagogo’s offices on Fenchurch Stre
  
  Read more

• More ex-ministers take private sector jobs amid 'revolving door' claims

  20-07-2017 18:46
  Watchdog says 52 former ministers took roles outside parliament, up from 33 the previous yearThe number of former ministers taking up jobs outside parliament has risen by nearly 60% in a year, official figures disclose.The increase, from 33 former ministers to 52, coincides with complaints that lawmakers are routinely making use of a “revolving door” to pursue lucrative contracts in the private sector. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• UK may fail to get trade deal with EU unless it agrees not to lower standards, says Barnier - Politics live

  20-07-2017 18:43
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including David Davis’s press conference with Michel Barnier at the end of this week’s Brexit talksDavis/Barnier press conference - Summary and analysisDavis/Barnier press conference - Verdict from the Twitter commentariatAfternoon summary 5.43pm BST 5.17pm BSTJust in case you haven’t had enough of Michel Barnier, the House of Lords European Union committee has now published the transcript of the meeting
  
  Read more

• Britons in Europe 'face huge loss' if EU and UK cannot agree on rights

  20-07-2017 18:42
  UK citizens in EU react with dismay as Brussels threatens to withdraw offer on free movement unless Britain matches itBritish citizens living in the European Union say they will suffer “a huge loss” if negotiators from the UK and Brussels do not settle their differences over the rights of citizens to live and work across the continent after Brexit.The EU had offered to allow the 1.2 million Britons living in Europe before Brexit to continue to have the right to freedom of movement, s
  
  Read more

• Five Bits Of Buried Bad News From The Last Week Of Parliament

  20-07-2017 18:26
  
  Today marks the last day of term for MPs, as Parliament prepares to break for a six-week long recess.
  It’s not unusual to see governments rush out unpopular announcements quietly in written and oral statements from ministers - often cramming dozens of announcements into the final few days of business - and this summer is no exception.
  Here are five bits of bad news Theresa May would rather people weren’t talking about:
  1. Child refugees 
  The Home Office has been under pressure
  
  Read more

• Tower blocks face new safety tests in wake of Grenfell tragedy

  20-07-2017 18:23 via ft.com
  UK focuses on how combinations of different types of cladding panels behave in a fire
  
  Read more

• Theresa May set for three-week hiking trip to Italy and Switzerland

  20-07-2017 18:17
  Downing Street refuses to say which cabinet minister will be in charge while prime minister is awayTheresa May is planning to take three weeks of holiday in northern Italy and Switzerland this summer, without naming a cabinet minister to be in charge during her lengthy absence from No 10.The prime minister will travel to Italy on Monday for about five days, before returning for the weekend and then attending the centenary commemorations of the first world war battle of Passchendaele in Brussels.
  
  Read more

• 'Vince Cable is a building block': Lib Dems on the party's future

  20-07-2017 17:50
  From optimism to fears the party is at a crossroads, we hear from Liberal Democrat readers as Vince Cable becomes leader
  Vince Cable is officially the new leader of the Liberal Democrats. He stood unopposed in the leadership election, with no other candidates putting their name forward before nominations closed at 4pm on Thursday. Related: Vince Cable named Lib Dem leader as no other candidate emergesContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• EU calls on UK to urgently make offer on divorce bill

  20-07-2017 17:50
  EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, says he needs to know what Britain is willing to pay before talks can move forwardThe EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has warned the British government that it must make clear its opening position on the divorce bill this summer in order for progress to be made on a wider deal. Related: UK and EU must compromise over Brexit divorce bill, says David Davis - Politics liveContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Theresa May To Take A Three-Week Summer Holiday - Away From Brexit And Her MPs

  20-07-2017 17:49
  
  Theresa May is to take a three-week holiday this summer in Italy and Switzerland, Downing Street has revealed.
  The Prime Minister will head off on Monday for a five-day break in northern Italy, followed by a further fortnight in the Swiss Alps, No.10 said.
  She will briefly visit Belgium between the two legs of her trip, to attend an official World War One centenary commemoration of the battle of Passchendaele.
  The PM’s spokeswoman said that May and her husband Philip would spend much of t
  
  Read more

• Forced migration was UK's worst child abuse scandal, Gordon Brown says

  20-07-2017 17:49
  Former PM says that now scale of abuse of those sent to Australia and Canada up to 1970s is clearer, compensation is neededThe former prime minister Gordon Brown has described the forced migration of British children as a bigger sex abuse scandal than that perpetrated by Jimmy Savile.
  Giving evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, Brown said the mass transportation of 130,000 British children overseas between the 1940s and 70s amounted to “government-enforced trafficki
  
  Read more

• Vince Cable Elected Lib Dem Leader Unopposed With Promise To Prepare For 'Exit From Brexit'

  20-07-2017 17:45
  
  Vince Cable has become the new leader of the Liberal Democrats.
  He was the only candidate.
  The 74-year-old former business secretary said he wanted to help lead an “exit from Brexit” with a second referendum. He had previously argued a second referendum would be “disrespectful”.
  Amid internal-Tory arguments over Brexit, Cable said while Philip Hammond was at least a “grown up” while Boris Johnson was “in short trousers” and Liam Fox was &ldquo
  
  Read more

• The Vince Cable story: Profile of new Lib Dem leader

  20-07-2017 17:36 via bbc.co.uk
  The life and times of the new Liberal Democrat leader.
  
  Read more

• Rising crime spells deep trouble for Theresa May

  20-07-2017 17:34
  Problem for PM is that crime figures are accompanied by news that police numbers have reached lowest level since 1985The latest set of police recorded crime figures published on Thursday showing accelerating double-digit rises across England and Wales spells serious political trouble for Theresa May and her home secretary, Amber Rudd.Related: Crime rise is biggest in a decade, ONS figures showContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Sajid Javid Ready To Name And Shame Over Grenfell Cladding Tests

  20-07-2017 17:23
  
  Ministers are prepared to name-and-shame as it is revealed cladding samples from seven tower blocks have not been sent for combustibility testing yet. 
  In the wake of the Grenfell Tower inferno, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said it is “simply unacceptable” that a month after testing began, the samples have not been seen by experts.All seven tower blocks are managed by housing associations and Javid said he expects see samples submitted “without any further delay&rdquo
  
  Read more

• Putting Department Of Health In Charge Of Contaminated Blood Inquiry 'Akin To Asking South Yorkshire Police To Lead Hillsborough Probe'

  20-07-2017 17:20
  
  Putting the Department of Health in charge of a planned inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal would be akin to putting South Yorkshire Police in charge of the Hillsborough disaster investigation, an MP has claimed.
  Labour’s Diana Johnson tabled an urgent question on the final day of Parliament after writing to the prime minister to ask that the department be barred from conducting the probe or setting out its scope due to its direct involvement in the tragedy. 
  She said: “
  
  Read more

• Fail to prepare, prepare for glorious success in Brexit negotiations | John Crace

  20-07-2017 17:18
  Michel Barnier searched for the British position, and there it was, standing with a finger in your ear, staring at the floorMore than half an hour later than planned, Michel Barnier and David Davis walked into the lecture theatre to give their joint press conference to mark the end of the latest round of Brexit negotiations in Brussels. The extra time didn’t appear to have been put to any noticeable useful effect. The handshakes were no more than polite and neither man made much effort to
  
  Read more

• Defend Europe Ship C-Star Detained Near Suez Canal

  20-07-2017 17:15
  
  A ship chartered by far-right group Defend Europe to hamper the rescue of refugees in the Mediterranean has been detained near the Suez Canal.
  According to anti-extremist group, Hope Not Hate, naval authorities surrounded the vessel and took over control from those on board.
  An employee at the Suez Canal Authority confirmed “it was arrested by the security authorities” because of “a matter of security due to the lack of documentation and papers”.
  Satellite tracking shows
  
  Read more

• Grenfell Tower Fire 'Was A Result Of Putting Profits Before People' Campaigners Say In Statement

  20-07-2017 15:48
  
  Grenfell Tower fire was a result of “putting profits before people”, campaigners have said in a powerful statement released on Wednesday.
  In a speech read out on behalf of the Justice for Grenfell action group, residents who lived near to the tower said people had paid for cuts to services “with their lives”.“Grenfell Tower is emblematic of the deep, problematic problem of inequality that exists across the United Kingdom; the entirely predictable result of the syste
  
  Read more

• Donald Trump's New York Times Interview - The Highlights

  20-07-2017 15:35
  
  Spare a thought for the US media -  not only are they fake news and the enemy of the people but they also have to transcribe Donald Trump interviews.
  The latest bearers of this bothersome burden are Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times who sat down with the President for a chat earlier this week.
  It was filled with such gems as this...Guys, Trump thinks health insurance costs $1/month but you save it up and by the time you are 70 you "get a nic
  
  Read more

• EU Warns Of 'Fundamental' Differences With UK Over Rights Of Its Citizens After Brexit

  20-07-2017 15:31
  
  Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has warned “fundamental” differences remain between Brussels and the UK over the future status of EU citizens.
  In a press conference alongside Brexit secretary David Davis this morning, Barnier also said the issue of how much money the UK owed the EU “must be settled”.
  The EU wants its citizens who remain in the UK after Brexit to have their rights overseen by the European Court of Justice.
  But Theresa May has
  
  Read more

• Saturday Night Live Writer Replies To Donald Trump's Tweets Like They're Texts And It's Brilliant

  20-07-2017 15:20
  
  Ever noticed something strange about President Donald Trump’s tweets? Probably.
  Josh Patten, a writer for US TV show Saturday Night Live, recently came to the realisation that many of them read like text messages, warranting a friendly reply.
  So he began responding to Trump’s tweets as if they were direct messages from the President to him, and the results are hilarious - especially because many of them don’t seem that odd.Proud to unveil my new, incredibly stupid pro
  
  Read more

• Culture secretary keeps Rupert Murdoch waiting over Sky deal

  20-07-2017 15:15
  Karen Bradley says she is still minded to refer takeover to competition regulator, but needs more time to consider submissionsRupert Murdoch’s bid to take over Sky has been dealt a blow after the culture secretary said she needed more time to deliberate before calling in the competition regulator after being inundated with tens of thousands of submissions opposing the £11.7bn deal.Karen Bradley said she had hoped to be able to make a final decision on whether to ask the Competition a
  
  Read more

• Tim Farron: it was my decision to bet the farm on Brexit

  20-07-2017 15:14
  Outgoing Lib Dem leader, preparing to hand over to Vince Cable, says he was told before general election he might lose seatTim Farron braced himself to “go down with the ship” in the final days of the general election campaign, as private Liberal Democrat polling showed his party could be left with just three seats – excluding his own.As he prepares to step down in favour of the former business secretary Vince Cable leading the Lib Dems, Farron said he had made a conscious deci
  
  Read more

• The Liam Fox-Philip Hammond split over Brexit on display

  20-07-2017 15:00 via ft.com
  The disagreement is at the heart of cabinet disarray over leaving the EU
  
  Read more

• Britons living in Europe could lose right to live in another EU country

  20-07-2017 15:00
  Threat of potential restriction on UK citizens after Brexit emerges at end of intense technical talks in BrusselsTell us how the Brexit negotiations affect you British people living in the European Union could lose the right to live in another EU member state after Brexit, it emerged at the end of talks in Brussels.
  British officials raised the issue with their European counterparts during three-and-a-half days of intense technical talks. The EU made clear it would not move without a reciprocal
  
  Read more

• Recess ideas from Pound, Millar, Watson, Hain and Mak

  20-07-2017 14:56 via bbc.co.uk
  Daily Politics reporter Emma Vardy asked a few politicians what they would getting up to over summer.
  
  Read more

• David Lammy and Andrew Neil on tower block death claims

  20-07-2017 14:51 via bbc.co.uk
  A Labour MP is asked about his claims over an alleged cover-up over the number of deaths in the Grenfell Tower fire.
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!