Political news

• Donald Trump's Transgender Ban Slammed By UK Military Leaders

  26-07-2017 23:37
  
  Senior British military figures have spoken in support of transgender people serving in the Armed Forces after Donald Trump announced that the trans community will be barred from the US forces.Vice Admiral Jonathan Woodcock, who as the Second Sea Lord is among the Royal Navy’s top brass, tweeted he was “so proud” of the UK’s transgender personnel who “bring diversity to our Royal Navy”.
  And the UK’s Ministry of Defence said LGBT+ members &
  
  Read more

• May strategist quits in further blow to Downing Street stability

  26-07-2017 22:58 via ft.com
  Writer of PM’s successful speeches is latest of aides to resign or be dismissed
  
  Read more

• Steve Bell on Chris Grayling's trials with the supreme court – cartoon

  26-07-2017 22:46 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• UK military chiefs praise transgender troops

  26-07-2017 21:10 via bbc.co.uk
  Comments come after Donald Trump says transgender personnel are to be banned from the US military.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Diesel and petrol car ban: Clean air strategy 'not enough'

  26-07-2017 20:55 via bbc.co.uk
  The clean air strategy should include a scrappage scheme and clean air zones, campaigners say.
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on employment tribunal fees: denial of justice | Editorial

  26-07-2017 20:53 via theguardian.com
  The UK’s supreme court has ruled the government wrong to levy charges. They undermine the rule of law. Ministers must respect the limits of powerDave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison, can be forgiven for boasting that Wednesday’s supreme court ruling against employment tribunal fees is “the biggest victory in a court in British employment history”. The justices’ decision that the fees, of between £400 and £1,200, are an unconstitutional deni
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on air pollution proposals: too little, much too late | Editorial

  26-07-2017 20:42 via theguardian.com
  If the UK government is serious about cutting noxious emissions, it needs to step on it. We should not have to wait 23 years to breathe easyOnly 20 years ago, it would have sounded like the stuff of fantasy: a clean, green image of the 21st century, with Britons gliding along in electrified, no doubt self-driving, cars. Even now, the pledge to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 has a bold, vaguely futuristic ring to it. That is its political genius. In fact, it reflec
  
  Read more

• Government's air quality plan branded inadequate by city leaders

  26-07-2017 20:41 via theguardian.com
  Michael Gove’s pledge to ban new petrol and diesel cars in 23 years is not enough to tackle health crisis now, say campaigners The government’s new clean air plan has been branded inadequate by the leaders of eight heavily polluted cities, as campaigners said banning petrol and diesel cars from 2040 would not help the thousands dying each year from illnesses linked to toxic fumes.
  The long-awaited report was published by Michael Gove, the environment secretary, on Wednesday, after a
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Phasing out diesel and petrol cars is a woefully tiny step towards cleaner air | Caroline Lucas

  26-07-2017 19:28 via theguardian.com
  Even if the ban came in sooner, it would still fall short. Rather than tinkering with the transport system, we need to completely rethink how we travel• Caroline Lucas is co-leader of the Green partyToday’s air pollution announcement from the Tories is the latest in a string of green-sounding policies from a government that had previously gone quiet on the environment. Sadly, like so many of their plans, scratch beneath the surface and the green all but disappears.The ban on new diese
  
  Read more

• Former MP Stewart Jackson hired as Brexit adviser

  26-07-2017 19:28 via bbc.co.uk
  Stewart Jackson says he is honoured to become David Davis' chief of staff.
  
  Read more

• Does the UK plan to tackle air pollution stack up?

  26-07-2017 19:25 via ft.com
  Ministers have refined their proposals, but critics say they do not go far enough
  
  Read more

• UK economic growth rate edges slightly higher

  26-07-2017 19:04 via bbc.co.uk
  Stronger service sector offsets weaker manufacturing and construction growth in three months to June.
  
  Read more

• Princess Diana had a good heart, but spare us this cult of empathy | Christina Patterson

  26-07-2017 19:03 via theguardian.com
  One legacy seems to be a requirement that leaders and politicians feel our pain. All I ask is that they are competent• Christina Patterson is a freelance journalistWatching the ITV film Diana, Our Mother, on Tuesday night, it was like falling in love again. Yes, of course she was beautiful. She had the smile of a film star. But it wasn’t just her beauty or the radiance that shone out of every frame. It was the compassion in Diana’s smile, and the kindness in her eyes that&n
  
  Read more

• Hammond admits UK consumers hurt by pound's fall as GDP grows by 0.3%

  26-07-2017 18:57 via theguardian.com
  Chancellor acknowledges ‘pain’ of inflation caused by post-referendum depreciation of sterling, after figures reveal scale of slowdownPhilip Hammond has admitted that consumers are suffering from the pound’s sharp post-referendum fall, after what government statisticians have called a “notable slowdown” in growth in the first half of the year.The economy grew by just 0.3% in the second quarter of 2017 following 0.2% expansion in the first three months of the year, O
  
  Read more

• Treasury will need to plug gap in tax as drivers switch to electric cars

  26-07-2017 18:54 via theguardian.com
  About 65% of the pump cost of petrol and diesel goes to fund public spending. As this falls, alternative sources of revenue will be needed
  The switch to electric cars poses a big financial problem for the government – because every time a driver switches from a petrol or diesel car to an electric vehicle, the government loses 57.95p per litre in fuel tax at every fill-up. In total, duties on petrol and diesel add up to almost £28bn a year for the exchequer. Worse for the chancellor o
  
  Read more

• Sajid Javid appoints Grenfell task force to run fire recovery

  26-07-2017 18:48 via ft.com
  Communities secretary strips powers from Kensington & Chelsea council
  
  Read more

• BBC apologises after Tory donor insults Jeremy Corbyn

  26-07-2017 17:43 via theguardian.com
  World at One host Martha Kearney apologises for the language used by Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie MullinsThe BBC has apologised after Jeremy Corbyn was called a “twat” in a Radio 4 interview by Charlie Mullins, the boss of Pimlico Plumbers and a Conservative party donor.Mullins was being interviewed on Radio 4’s World at One when host Martha Kearney asked whether the UK should attempt to remain part of the single market after Brexit. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Victory on employment tribunal fees: this is what justice feels like | Jason Moyer-Lee

  26-07-2017 17:41 via theguardian.com
  The Tories’ vicious fees have been a disaster for working people. Today’s supreme court ruling that they are unlawful is a cause for joy• Jason Moyer-Lee is the general secretary of the Independent Workers’ Union of Great BritainJuana and Julio are a Colombian couple who came to Europe in search of a better life. After years of working in factories in Spain they fled the economic crisis there, came to London, and started work as cleaners. For years they did not have writte
  
  Read more

• Sir Vince Cable's mission for the Lib Dems - and Britain

  26-07-2017 17:39
  
  The new Lib Dem leader must plot a course to profit from the failings of his rivals
  
  Read more

• John McDonnell not ruling out single market membership

  26-07-2017 17:38 via bbc.co.uk
  The shadow chancellor says Labour is on "the same page" over wanting access to the single market.
  
  Read more

• Foreign Office eases Tunisia travel advice for British tourists

  26-07-2017 17:30 via theguardian.com
  Tour companies can send holidaymakers to north African country, government guidance says, with a warning to be vigilantThe Foreign Office has changed its Tunisia travel advice for British tourists, meaning tour companies can start sending holidaymakers to the north African country again. Tourists were warned in 2015 not to travel to Tunisia after 38 people, including 30 Britons, were killed by a gunman at Sousse, and tour companies and cruise operators suspended visits for more than two years.Co
  
  Read more

• Gove says chlorinated chicken would be banned under any UK-US trade deal - Politics live

  26-07-2017 17:20 via theguardian.com
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenLunchtime summaryAfternoon summary 4.20pm BST 4.13pm BSTAfter the supreme court judgement on tribunal fees the lawyer Adam Wagner posted this on Twitter.Supreme Court's Employment Tribunal Fees judgment is the latest in a line slowly dismantling Chris Grayling's attacks on access to justice Related: From court fees to a books ban: Chris Grayling's short-lived justice policiesContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Daily Mail's Verdict On Theresa May's Holiday Dress Provokes Anger

  26-07-2017 16:54
  
  The Daily Mail has once again prompted criticism of its treatment of female politicians with its latest take on Prime Minister Theresa May’s clothes.
  The paper’s front page featured a full length shot of the PM in a pink dress, which she wore while on holiday visiting Lake Garda in Northern Italy, alongside the headline “Oh dear, Theresa!”
  Inside, the Mail’s fashion editor, Fiona McIntosh, gave her verdict on the outfit, and it is far from complimentary.What the Mai
  
  Read more

• BBC Presenter Apologises After Tory Donor Calls Jeremy Corbyn A 'T***' Live On Air

  26-07-2017 16:49
  
  BBC presenter Martha Kearney had to apologise during a live radio interview today after her Conservative donor guest called Jeremy Corbyn a “twat”.
  Kearney was speaking to businessmen Charlie Mullins, the boss of Pimlico Plumbers who has donated to the Tories, on Radio 4′s World at One programme.
  Asked if Corbyn should be campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU single market, Mullins said:“Course we should be staying in, Jeremy Corbyn’s a twat ain’t h
  
  Read more

• Steve Rotheram: New Ferry Gas Blast Has Become A Forgotten Disaster

  26-07-2017 16:39
  
  Victims of a gas blast which destroyed dozens of homes and businesses have been “completely forgotten” by the government, according Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram.
  Residents in New Ferry ,Wirral, were woken on March 25 by a huge explosion which left 33 people injured - two of them seriously - reduced several buildings to rubble and left homes uninhabitable.
  Many have been unable to return to even collect their possessions because their houses have been deemed too unsafe to enter - b
  
  Read more

• From court fees to a books ban: Chris Grayling's short-lived justice policies

  26-07-2017 16:36 via theguardian.com
  Employment tribunal fees are the latest in a string of Grayling measures to be quashed or ditchedThe supreme court’s ruling that employment tribunal fees unlawfully hindered access to justice is the latest instance of measures introduced by the former justice secretary Chris Grayling being quashed or ditched. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The government's air pollution plan is a beautiful smokescreen

  26-07-2017 16:29 via theguardian.com
  A ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040 is a great vision for the future but does nothing to address a public health emergency happening right nowWhat a beautiful smokescreen. A UK ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2040 conjures up the clean, green vision of an all-electric future and is absolutely the right thing to tackle climate change – emissions from transport are high and not falling. But for the public health emergency of today, with most urban areas already havin
  
  Read more

• The EU moves on from the UK

  26-07-2017 15:31 via ft.com
  The belief that Brexit is both desirable and unstoppable is catching on in Europe
  
  Read more

• Donald Trump Says Transgender People Will Not Be Allowed To Serve In US Military

  26-07-2017 15:19
  
  Donald Trump has announced that transgender people will not be allowed to serve in “any capacity” in the US military.
  The US President tweeted on Wednesday that the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail”.After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow......— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Jul
  
  Read more

• David Lammy urges Grenfell inquiry chair to 'uncover the truth'

  26-07-2017 15:05 via theguardian.com
  Labour MP writes to Sir Martin Moore-Bick asking him to appoint advisory panel of survivors, victims’ families and residentsDavid Lammy has written to the chair of the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire to demand a two-stage investigation into the specific causes and circumstances of the blaze and its implications for national policy.The Labour MP has also urged Sir Martin Moore-Bick to appoint an advisory panel of survivors, victims’ families and local residents “to b
  
  Read more

• Northern English leaders demand rise in transport investment

  26-07-2017 15:01 via ft.com
  Ministers accused of favouring South East by backing £30bn London rail line
  
  Read more

• EU must change stance to protect citizens' rights, say Lib Dems

  26-07-2017 14:58 via theguardian.com
  European commission’s approach of ‘nothing is agreed till everything is agreed’ puts citizens’ rights at risk, party saysEU citizens in the UK and Britons living in Europe will face a further 18 months of turmoil unless the European commission urgently changes its stance on agreeing an early deal on citizens’ rights, a former Lib Dem cabinet minister has warned.The party is writing to negotiators at the European commission and the European parliament, as well as The
  
  Read more

• The government must act now to tackle the crisis in our youth jails

  26-07-2017 13:52
  
  The Chief Inspector of Prisons' report provides a horrifying insight into the conditions in which children are held
  
  Read more

• Michael Gove: UK won't accept US chlorinated chickens

  26-07-2017 13:42 via bbc.co.uk
  The UK would not agree a US trade deal which included chlorine-washed chicken, Michael Gove says.
  
  Read more

• Employment tribunal fees unlawful, Supreme Court rules

  26-07-2017 13:42 via bbc.co.uk
  Trade union Unison argued fees of up to £1,200 a case prevented workers getting access to justice.
  
  Read more

• Ministers vow to end employment tribunal fees after court defeat

  26-07-2017 13:35 via theguardian.com
  Supreme court rules fees of up to £1,200 are ‘inconsistent with access to justice’ and government may have to pay back £27m The government has been forced into a humiliating overhaul of employment tribunal fees after the supreme court ruled they were inconsistent with access to justice.The highest UK court came down in favour of the trade union Unison, which argued that fees of up to £1,200 were preventing workers – especially those on lower incomes – fr
  
  Read more

• 7 Places You Can Go To Get Your PMQs Fix Now Parliament Is In Summer Recess

  26-07-2017 12:50
  
  There is no more Prime Minister’s Questions for the next few months as parliament takes its summer recess.
  For many some of you, that will come as devastating blow to your Wednesday afternoon routine.
  But fear not, as we have come up with a few pastimes that go some way to replicating that rowdy-politicians-shouting-at-each-other void in your life.
  1. Head to Oxford Circus tube station at rush hourThere will inevitably be shouting from station staff, people looking confused and a general s
  
  Read more

• Diesel And Petrol Car Ban Branded 'Cynical And Headline-Grabbing' By Campaigners

  26-07-2017 12:26
  
  Government plans to ban petrol and diesel cars from being sold in the UK within the next 25 years have been branded ‘cynical’ by environmental campaigners.
  Friends of the Earth say the measures, announced as part of the delayed Air Quality Plan, are nothing more than a “headline-grabbing move” which passes the responsibility on tackling the issue to local councils.
  The charity wants Clean Air Zones, which prohibit polluting vehicles from highly-populated areas, to be impl
  
  Read more

• What is behind the UK government’s air quality plan?

  26-07-2017 12:18 via ft.com
  Blueprint to be released on Wednesday after years of prevarication
  
  Read more

• Student Debt Poll Reveals Just 17% Of Young Voters Thought Jeremy Corbyn Would Forgive Tuition Fee Bills

  26-07-2017 12:16
  
  A poll has revealed that just 17% of voters believed Jeremy Corbyn would wipe student debt for recent graduates if he was elected. 
  A fiery debate has raged in recent weeks over the Labour leader’s pre-election comments about the historic debt, which is now thought to be worth £100 billion. 
  In a interview with NME less than a week before polling day, Corbyn said: “Yes, there is a block of those that currently have a massive debt, and I’m looking at ways that we
  
  Read more

• Michael Gove Insists UK Will Not Accept Chlorinated Chicken

  26-07-2017 11:56
  
  Michael Gove has insisted the UK will not accept imports of chlorinated chicken, deepening a row that has split the cabinet.
  The environment secretary was asked on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme whether accepting the controversial foodstuff would be a compromise the UK was willing to take as part of a trade deal with the US post-Brexit.
  He responded: “No. I have made it perfectly clear we are not going to dilute our high environmental standards or our animal welfare standards in
  
  Read more

• Employment Tribunal Fees Ruled Illegal By Supreme Court In Blow To Government

  26-07-2017 11:43
  
  The Supreme Court has ruled that fees for bringing employment tribunal cases are unlawful.
  Under laws brought in by Chris Grayling in 2013, the then justice secretary, people in England and Wales had to pay as much as £1,200 to pursue claims against their employer.
  But the court ruled today this was unlawful under both domestic and EU law because it “had the effect of preventing access to justice”.
  Ministers argued the fees were needed to reduce malicious claims against employ
  
  Read more

• Supreme Court rules that UK employment tribunals should be free

  26-07-2017 11:24 via ft.com
  Court scraps the fee system introduced in 2013 and government will refund £27m
  
  Read more

• Make a dull subject interesting – Sajid Javid shows you how

  26-07-2017 11:21 via ft.com
  The politician uses property law to exhibit the tricks and turns of written oratory
  
  Read more

• Why investing £60k in home adaptations saves public money | Luke Clements

  26-07-2017 10:41 via theguardian.com
  The savings are clear, but pressure on budgets is restricting opportunities for disabled young people and their familiesLuke Clements is Cerebra professor of law and social justice at Leeds UniversityMary* is remarkable. Her meagre rented flat is not. She works several menial jobs, bringing in just enough to keep her family finances afloat. And it’s a constant battle to get decent care for her disabled child.I was visiting with two students as part of a research project (pdf) investigating
  
  Read more

• UK-US trade deal would not allow chlorinated chicken imports – Gove

  26-07-2017 10:21 via theguardian.com
  Environment secretary responds to Liam Fox’s remarks by saying UK would avoid deal requiring it to accept lower standards The UK would back out of any trade deal that required it to accept lower standards, such as allowing imports of chlorinated chicken from the US, the environment secretary has said, deepening the cabinet split over the issue.Michael Gove has opposed the suggestion by the trade secretary, Liam Fox, that the UK should be open to the prospect of allowing poultry treated wit
  
  Read more

• Sadiq Khan Accuses Donald Trump Of Acting Like A '12-Year-Old'

  26-07-2017 09:46
  Sadiq Khan has spoken of his recent spat with Donald Trump, accusing the US President of acting like a “12-year-old” and breaking “basic” political rules.
  In an in-depth interview with The New Yorker the London Mayor discusses his now-infamous tussle with the US President in the wake of the London Bridge terrorist attack.
  Khan said: “The basic rule amongst politicians and amongst leaders is a sense of solidarity—it is almost like our version of NATO&rsquo
  
  Read more

• Dunkirk reveals the spirit that has driven Brexit: humiliation | Rafael Behr

  26-07-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The national shame of 1940’s disorderly retreat from Europe was felt again when Britain joined the EEC in 1973. And that emotion still burns• Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnistIt would be consistent with a certain kind of Britishness for the nation to ruin itself through sheer embarrassment. Having gone to the trouble of voting to leave the EU, a change of heart would just be too awkward: like complaining about a haircut while still in the chair. So we watch the mirror in mounting an
  
  Read more

• Steve Bell’s If ... Vince Cable and Nick Clegg talk savage austerity

  26-07-2017 07:10 via theguardian.com
  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• UK urged to push for EU foreign policy observer status role after Brexit

  26-07-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  Proposal suggested earlier this year but there is scepticism about whether the idea will find support within European UnionThe UK has been urged to formally propose a role for itself in the EU’s foreign policy after Brexit by taking up observer status at the twice-weekly meetings of diplomats that shape the bloc’s relations with the rest of the world.Related: EU and Britain fail to reach agreement on half of issues in Brexit talksContinue reading...
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!