Political news

• Donald Trump Aide Stephen Miller Says Statue Of Liberty Poem Is Meaningless

  02-08-2017 22:34
  
  A senior Donald Trump aide has angrily argued the ‘welcome immigrants’ poem carved on the Statue of Liberty is meaningless because it was added later, as he made a fierce defence of a strict new immigration policy backed by the US President.Stephen Miller on Wednesday brushed off the significance of the “The New Colossus” during a heated exchange with CNN reporter Jim Acosta.
  During the daily White House press briefing, Miller was expanding on fresh legislation on im
  
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• Replace anti-Brexit UK trade envoys, says Iain Duncan Smith

  02-08-2017 21:24
  PM is forced to defend continuing government roles for appointees who voted against the triggering of article 50Theresa May has been forced to defend her appointment of “trade envoys” to champion the UK’s bilateral relationships after a senior Conservative figure called for them to be sacked as a result of their opposition to Brexit.The former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said it was unacceptable that so many of the 21 appointees, who are not paid for their roles but do have e
  
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• The Guardian view on Grenfell and the housing crisis: no more excuses | Editorial

  02-08-2017 21:17
  Tackling the shocking inequality exposed by the fire is not easy. But it must be doneBritain’s hugest home prices have always been found in central London, and two boroughs – Westminster, and Kensington and Chelsea – always have the highest of all. These are properties in tree-lined streets or magnificent mansion blocks that are worth more than a whole street in some other towns, and have rental values to match. Since Grenfell, the consequences for social housing and the people
  
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• Kate Evans on Theresa May and the pressures of Brexit – cartoon

  02-08-2017 21:04
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• Tories accuse Labour of trying to kick Brexit into the 'long grass'

  02-08-2017 20:48
  Claims party is playing games follow Keir Starmer’s comments on securing transition period in which UK stays in single marketLabour has been accused of attempting to kick Brexit into the “long grass” after Keir Starmer revealed that he planned to pile pressure on the government to keep Britain inside the single market during a transitional period.The shadow Brexit secretary made clear that he could exploit Theresa May’s lack of majority by working cross party to secure a
  
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• Job advert reveals surprise plans for new trade authority

  02-08-2017 20:19
  Trade Remedies Organisation will take over tasks from European Commission
  
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• Notting Hill Carnival To Hold Minute's Silence In Memory Of Grenfell Victims

  02-08-2017 19:35
  
  A minute’s silence will be held during this year’s Notting Hill Carnival to remember the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed the lives of at least 80 people. 
  Organisers have announced that the celebrations at the annual west London event will stop at 3pm on August 28 to mark the tragedy.
  Despite controversy surrounding the decision to go ahead with the celebrations, chairman Pepe Francis said it “feels right” that the carnival continues.Francis confirm
  
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• Taoiseach 'disrespecting the will of the British people', says DUP leader – video

  02-08-2017 19:19
  Remark by the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, comes after the Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, says he hopes Brexit never happens. Foster adds that his comments about the Irish border are unhelpful and urges him to accept that the UK will leave the EURead the story in fullContinue reading...
  
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• MPs should get their own house in order | Letters

  02-08-2017 18:21
  Paul Bristow says MPs ought to be banned from consultant lobbying. Plus, Brian Cathcart says Stanley Baldwin stood up to the press, unlike Theresa MayThe decision by Westminster’s lobbying registrar forcing Policy Connect, a not-for-profit company set up and run by the Labour MP Barry Sheerman, to register as a lobbying firm is a first (Sheerman becomes first serving MP to be registered as a lobbyist, 31 July). To his credit Sheerman declared on the register of members’ financial int
  
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• UK drug strategy sounds hollow when the government ignores its own advisers | Letter from Yasmin Batliwala, chair of the drug charity WDP

  02-08-2017 18:20
  Its refusal to consider evidence-based interventions such as consumption rooms is discouraging, writes Yasmin Batliwala, chair of drug charity WDPIt is very disappointing to see that the government continues to ignore the wise counsel from its own Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. WDP, a drug and alcohol charity, is in favour of encouraging informed discussion on harm reduction for those who take illicit substances, and the government’s refusal to even consider the possibility of su
  
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• UK election result paved way for real Brexit debate, says French ambassador

  02-08-2017 18:08
  In exclusive interview, outgoing ambassador Sylvie Bermann says June vote has allowed diverse opinions to be heardThe general election result was a game-changer that has paved the way for a “real debate” over Britain’s approach to leaving the EU, according to the outgoing French ambassador to the UK.Sylvie Bermann suggested that the outcome of the vote, in which Theresa May lost her parliamentary majority, had opened the door to a wider variety of opinions and strengthened the
  
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• ‘Trench warfare’ set to disrupt autumn parliament

  02-08-2017 17:56
  Failure of Tory-Labour ‘pairing’ deal puts MPs under pressure to attend every vote
  
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• Ryanair chief warns of post-Brexit summer holiday chaos

  02-08-2017 17:31
  Michael O’Leary says UK needs ‘Plan B’ as flight cancellations loom
  
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• Debates, Dementia Tax And Diane Abbott: Voters Reveal What Changed Their Minds In The General Election

  02-08-2017 17:21
  
  Voters have revealed the top issues that made them change their minds about which party to vote for in the general election.
  British Election Study, which examines the result in detail every time the British electorate goes to the polls, surveyed 1,000 randomly-selected people on every day of the 2017 general election campaign, from the day after the local elections on May 5 until the day before the vote on June 8.
  Research fellow Chris Prosser shared his findings in ‘word cloud&rsqu
  
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• Boris Johnson Wrong To Claim 'No Plan' For No Brexit Deal, Says Brexit Department

  02-08-2017 17:10
  
  Boris Johnson has been been slapped down by David Davis’ Brexit department for claiming the government had “no plan” for what to do should the UK fail to secure an exit deal with the EU.
  The foreign secretary’s comment on July 11 appeared to directly contradict reassurances made by Davis, the Brexit secretary, that contingency planning was underway.
  Johnson told the House of Commons last month: “There is no plan for no deal because we are going to get a great deal&
  
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• ‘Trainspotting generation’ drives record drugs deaths

  02-08-2017 17:06
  More drugs-related deaths of people aged 40-49 in 2016 than any other age group
  
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• Irish PM 'disrespectful' for hoping Brexit will not happen, says DUP

  02-08-2017 17:05
  Arlene Foster joins war of words over future of Irish border by saying taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s Brexit comments were disrespectful to British voters Arlene Foster, the Democratic Unionist party leader, has accused the Irish taoiseach of “disrespecting” the will of the British people by publicly admitting that he hoped Brexit would never happen.Foster intensified the war of words over the fate of the Irish border after Brexit by saying Leo Varadkar’s comments that the issu
  
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• Why are prisoners rioting? Serial ministerial incompetence | Tom Gash

  02-08-2017 16:28
  Our justice system is collapsing because key issues were never addressed by Chris Grayling and Michael Gove when they had the chanceToday is the second day of rioting at the Mount prison, and “disturbances” across the prison system in England and Wales are becoming increasingly frequent. Levels of violence and self-harm in our prisons are the highest they’ve been in decades. The president of the Prison Governors Association, Andrea Albutt, was right to express “grave conc
  
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• Student Ellen Kenyon Peers Who Posed As Fake Socialist MP 'Ana Key' Expelled From Labour Party

  02-08-2017 16:04
  
  A university student who was reported to the police for posing as a fake socialist MP as part of an art project has been kicked out of the Labour Party. 
  Goldsmiths University student Ellen Kenyon Peers sparked uproar on Tuesday after it was revealed she had passed herself off as the newly elected MP for Deptford and Greenwich - a constituency which is set to be created in the next election. 
  The 24-year-old - who called herself Ana Key - was accused of running a fake Twitter account
  
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• Andy McDonald struggles to give Labour's transport figures

  02-08-2017 14:34 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour's shadow Transport secretary struggled to give a precise figure for Labour's total transport spend during an interview for BBC 5 live.
  
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• Drug Deaths In England And Wales Hit Record High As Heroin, Cocaine And MDMA Kill More Than Ever

  02-08-2017 14:17
  
  Drug deaths have hit a record high in part because a “Trainspotting Generation” of older heroin users are dying after years of addiction, experts have said. 
  Deaths from heroin, cocaine and MDMA have all more than doubled since 2012 in England and Wales, Government figures published on Wednesday revealed, with fatalities from each drug at the highest ever recorded level.
  It is the fourth year in a row deaths have risen. The figures prompted experts to condemn the Government&rsqu
  
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• Jacinda Ardern: how the New Zealand politician shamed the TV dinosaurs

  02-08-2017 14:02
  Hours after taking office, the young Labour leader faced down pundits asking if she planned on starting a family, a question rarely asked of men in politics Age: 37.Location: The dark ages. Continue reading...
  
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• Trump/Fox News Lawsuit Claims White House Collusion Over Seth Rich Conspiracy Theory

  02-08-2017 13:55
  
  An explosive new lawsuit claims President Trump personally reviewed a fabricated Fox News story about the murder of a Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer in order to distract attention from the ongoing Russia investigation.
  It was filed on Tuesday against Fox by an investigator who had been looking into the killing of Seth Rich, who died in 2016 in what police say was a botched robbery.
  The investigator alleges that Fox quoted him as saying things he never said and was willing to show Tr
  
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• 'Trainspotting generation' most likely to die from drug use

  02-08-2017 13:54
  Surge in deaths among 40- to 49-year-olds last year helps fuel another record high in drug use deathsPeople in the “Trainspotting generation” are most likely to die from drug use, after a sharp rise in deaths among 40- to 49-year-olds last year, official statistics show. The mortality rate among this age group rose from 95.1 deaths per million people in 2015 to 108.0 in 2016, helping fuel another record high in drug use deaths (those involving illegal drugs), which hit 2,593 last yea
  
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• Labour Shadow Transport Secretary Unable To Say How Much Labour Will Spend On Transport

  02-08-2017 13:43
  
  Labour's Shadow Transport Sec @AndyMcDonaldMP can't give @EmmaBarnett a precise figure for Labour's total transport spend #5liveDaily pic.twitter.com/1rBWQ1mD2M— BBC Radio 5 live (@bbc5live) August 2, 2017
  Labour’s shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald struggled today to explain how much the party would spend on transport if it were in power.
  Appearing on BBC Radio 5′s Emma Barnett programme, McDonald was asked how much of Labour’s proposed £250bn fund National
  
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• Brexit negotiations

  02-08-2017 13:43 via bbc.co.uk
  The UK's exit from the EU is being negotiated in Brussels. What's being talked about and what progress has been made so far?
  
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• MP Jacinda Ardern Slaps Down Question On Maternity Leave After Just 24 Hours In Top Job

  02-08-2017 12:49
  
  Women in British politics are no stranger to being asked pointed questions about their intentions to have a family (Theresa May and Nicola Sturgeon being two cases in point) - and now the leader of the Opposition in New Zealand has had to slap down similar probing.
  Less than 24 hours into her new role as leader of New Zealand’s Labour Party, Jacinda Ardern was asked twice about whether she had plans to have children.
  Ardern, who is NZ Labour’s youngest ever leader, was appearing on T
  
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• Ryanair's Michael O'Leary: UK in denial over Brexit impact

  02-08-2017 11:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary says the UK is denial about the possible impact of Brexit on flights.
  
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• Huge number of empty homes near Grenfell 'simply unacceptable'

  02-08-2017 11:22
  Labour says it would allow councils to charge 300% vacant-homes premium after disclosure about Kensington and Chelsea Labour has condemned as “simply unacceptable” the 1,652 unoccupied properties in the London borough where the Grenfell Tower fire took place, calling for government action to bring them back into use.
  The Liberal Democrats are also demanding increased surcharges on long-term empty homes, following a report in the Guardian about the owners of vacant properties in Kensi
  
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• Daily Mail Front Page On Airport Queues Causes Some Confusion

  02-08-2017 09:48
  
  The Daily Mail has sparked confusion and derision after expressing outrage about airport delays within the European Union - despite repeatedly criticising border controls for not being tight enough.
  The Mails’ front page on Wednesday declared: “Shambles at EU airports”.Its reported that British tourists are queueing for “up to four hours” due to to the “botched introduction of tougher EU border checks”, noting that travellers from outside the S
  
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• 'Secrecy' in the MOJ

  02-08-2017 09:41 via bbc.co.uk
  John Podmore, former prison governor, says we need 'independent inquiries' into the riots
  
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• It is 2020 in the Republic of Australia and gay marriage is legal | First Dog on the Moon

  02-08-2017 09:28
  By 2022, Prime Minister McManus will enact a dictatorship of the proletariat and a treaty with Indigenous Australians. A slippery slope indeedSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published
  Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and printsContinue reading...
  
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• Ireland's departing UK ambassador shares 'sadness' over Brexit

  02-08-2017 08:00
  Dan Mulhall reveals fears that Britain’s exit from EU will reverse decades of improving relations between the two states
  The departing Irish ambassador to the UK has expressed his personal “sadness” that Brexit is threatening to reverse decades of improving relations since peace was established 20 years ago. Dan Mulhall said the border checks between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were a non-starter and that Ireland’s “hope” was that Britain woul
  
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• More young Britons spending longer out of work and education

  02-08-2017 05:51
  Neets who remain adrift of the system become increasingly unemployable
  
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• More young Britons out of work and education

  02-08-2017 05:51
  Neets who remain adrift of the system become increasingly unemployable
  
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• Raising state pension age leaves 1m women £50 a week poorer

  02-08-2017 01:03
  Poverty has risen but reform saves Treasury £4.2bn a year, says IFS
  
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