Political news

• FBI's Investigation Into Trump Campaign's Ties To Russia Convenes Grand Jury

  03-08-2017 22:40
  
  Special Counsel Robert Mueller has convened a grand jury as part of his investigation into possible collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia in last year’s election, sources tell the Wall Street Journal.
  The report follows Mueller stepping up the probe by hiring several high-powered lawyers.
  Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Greg Andres, a former Justice Department attorney who specialised in corruption and bribery cases, joined the investigation.So
  
  Read more

• Michael Gove makes waves with Danish fisheries pledge

  03-08-2017 20:09
  Minister accused of mixed messages on foreign access to UK waters
  
  Read more

• 17 From '17: Kemi Badenoch: 'Left-Wing Teachers Told Me Oxbridge Wouldn't Take People Like Me'

  03-08-2017 20:01
  
  It was one of the most plum seats up for grabs in the 2017 election - Saffron Walden in Essex. Having been represented by Sir Alan Haselhurst for 40 years - and with a very healthy majority of 24,991- it is the perfect constituency for an ambitious young Tory to launch a career.
  Step forward Kemi Badenoch, a parliamentarian not afraid to speak her mind.
  In her maiden speech, the former systems analyst declared Brexit the “greatest ever vote of confidence” in the UK. 
  She made a
  
  Read more

• The Guardian view on ‘blood on our hands’: the law’s ultimate warning | Editorial

  03-08-2017 19:59
  Sir James Munby is right. The purpose of justice is to defend the rights of the most vulnerable individuals in societyFinally, the decade of austerity is being challenged by voices the government simply cannot ignore. First there was the angry and unprecedented lament of the normally helpful Prison Governors Association, whose president, Andrea Albutt, said that her colleagues were “devastated at the complete decline of our service” caused by cuts and capricious reforms. Th
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 9 Incredible Moments From Donald Trump’s Leaked Phone Calls With Australia And Mexico's Leaders

  03-08-2017 19:59
  
  Donald Trump’s early attempts at international diplomacy suggest he’s not going to deploy subtlety when a figurative brick through the window will do. 
  After white-knuckle handshakes with French President Emmanuel Macron and shoving a fellow Nato leader aside, more secrets behind the US President’s art of the global deal have been revealed.
  The Washington Post has obtained transcripts of two conversations Trump had with foreign leaders: Mexican President Enrique Peñ
  
  Read more

• The long-term cost of uncertainty on Brexit

  03-08-2017 19:33
  Businesses are slow to invest despite a strong external environment
  
  Read more

• Ken Livingstone: Venezuela crisis due to Chávez's failure to kill oligarchs

  03-08-2017 19:28
  Ex-London mayor says wealthy families using power over trade to undermine Hugo Chávez’s successor, Nicolás MaduroKen Livingstone, a former mayor of London, has blamed the turmoil in Venezuela on the unwillingness of the former president, Hugo Chávez, to execute “oligarchs” after he came to power.Livingstone, who is suspended from the Labour party, also blamed the economic crisis in the country on the government’s failure to take his advice on investme
  
  Read more

• Family Judge Sir James Munby Says 'We Will Have Blood On Our Hands' If Care Isn't Found For Suicidal Teen

  03-08-2017 18:25
  
  Pressure is mounting on Jeremy Hunt to address the lack of mental health care for children, after a judge warned “we will have blood on our hands” if none is found for a suicidal teen. 
  Sir James Munby, the most senior family court judge in England and Wales, revealed there are no places available for the girl in an “appropriate clinical setting” when she is freed from a secure unit in 11 days.
  He said he felt “shame and embarrassment” that he “can
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• EU fishing boats can still operate in UK waters after Brexit, says Gove

  03-08-2017 18:09
  Environment secretary’s remarks to Danish industry leaders contradict his insistence that Britain ‘take back control’ after quitting EU common fisheries policyMichael Gove has told the Danish fishing industry that boats from EU countries will still be able to operate in UK waters after Brexit, as the UK does not have enough capacity to catch and process all its fish alone.The comments from Gove, recounted by Danish fishing leaders after they met the environment secretary, promp
  
  Read more

• 'Assassination' threat to former Plymouth MP Oliver Colvile

  03-08-2017 17:28 via bbc.co.uk
  Oliver Colvile was told to jump off a high bridge in a message during the general election campaign.
  
  Read more

• Carney warns Brexit uncertainty is building

  03-08-2017 17:20 via bbc.co.uk
  Bank Governor warns Brexit is weakening investment as Bank holds rates and cuts growth forecasts.
  
  Read more

• Trump’s great feat? Making Mitt Romney seem the epitome of common sense | Emma Brockes

  03-08-2017 17:05
  The normalisation of the US president’s behaviour is worrying – but more terrifying is the normalisation of Republicans we once considered screwballsIt has become a truism of the Trump era that the political divisions that have polarised the US electorate have, on a micro-scale, torn families apart. Around Christmas and Thanksgiving, newspapers in the US abounded with advice columns on how to deal with the horror of Trump-voting relatives. We are all supposedly straining to burst our
  
  Read more

• Brexit: Trade envoys' views on EU 'irrelevant'

  03-08-2017 17:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Iain Duncan Smith is criticised for saying politicians who oppose Brexit should not be trade ambassadors.
  
  Read more

• Yes, Labour had a great election. But they got a leg-up from the Tories | Deborah Mattinson

  03-08-2017 16:54
  A new study confirms that a shoddy Conservative campaign gifted votes to Jeremy Corbyn. Labour won’t always be able to rely on such charityThe British Election Study, published this week, tells a positive story for Labour. Its online panel, which interviewed more than 1,000 people each day between the local elections in May and the eve of the general election, reveals fascinating information on why voters made their decisions. It also confirms some conclusions already drawn about the parti
  
  Read more

• Universities stop spying on their students? Now that’s a radical idea | Giles Fraser | Loose canon

  03-08-2017 16:48
  Talking radical nonsense – and generally learning in the end that it is radical nonsense – is partly what higher education is for. Snooping on Muslims isn’tIn his biography of Tony Blair, John Rentoul tells the story of a young Blair being summoned to the dean of his college in Oxford to explain the presence of a lipstick that a cleaner had found in his room. “Oh, that’s mine,” said Blair, dismissing what the cleaner had taken to be evidence of female guests.
  
  Read more

• Brexit: Gove confirms foreign access to UK fishing grounds

  03-08-2017 15:35 via bbc.co.uk
  Danish fishermen are told that some foreign trawlers will still have access to UK waters after Brexit.
  
  Read more

• Theresa May’s moment to deliver Brexit with a soft landing

  03-08-2017 15:03
  The UK prime minister needs to show leadership with a strategic reboot in the autumn
  
  Read more

• HIV Prevention Drug Prep Could Be Given To 10,000 People As NHS Announces First Trial

  03-08-2017 14:46
  
  The NHS has announce it will trial funding an HIV prevention drug it previously resisted having to prescribe.
  Last year, the NHS lost a legal battle after the High Court ruled it did have the legal ability to prescribe PrEP, in a case brought by charity the National Aids Trust.
  PrEP is an antiretroviral pill that sharply reduces a HIV-negative person’s risk of contracting it during sex. In November the Daily Mail was accused of “outright homophobia” after describing it as
  
  Read more

• Boris Johnson to be target of Momentum campaign

  03-08-2017 14:43
  Labour-affiliated group to train activists in preparation for taking marginal seats, such as that held by foreign secretary
  Momentum is to launch a series of training camps for Labour activists to target 160 marginal constituencies in a campaign aimed at unseating MPs such as the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson.The grassroots group of Jeremy Corbyn supporters, which was credited with helping motivate voters before the 8 June general election, will run the one-day workshops across the country in
  
  Read more

• London council leader criticises new tower block fire safety tests

  03-08-2017 14:39
  Official response to Grenfell Tower blaze questioned by leader who evacuated Camden building
  
  Read more

• Camden leader criticises new tower block fire safety tests

  03-08-2017 14:39
  Findings in response to Grenfell Tower blaze ‘don’t tell us anything new’
  
  Read more

• Ken Livingstone Suggests Venezuela's Problems Down To Hugo Chavez’s Decision Not To 'Kill All The Oligarchs'

  03-08-2017 14:08
  
  Ken Livingstone has suggested the crisis in Venezuela is in part due to president Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez’s decision not to “kill all the oligarchs” in the country.
  The former London mayor said when he met Maduro he found no reason to believe him to be anything other than a “genuine democratic socialist”.
  Asked by TalkRadio what was behind the problems in the Latin American country, he said: “One of the things that Chavez did when he ca
  
  Read more

• Ken Livingstone: Venezuela crisis caused by Chávez's failure to kill oligarchs

  03-08-2017 13:44
  Ex-London mayor says wealthy families using power over trade to undermine Chávez’s successor, Nicolás MaduroKen Livingstone, a former mayor of London, has blamed the turmoil in Venezuela on Hugo Chávez’s unwillingness to execute “oligarchs” after he came to power.Livingstone, who is suspended from the Labour party, also blamed the economic crisis in the country on the government’s failure to take his advice on investment in infrastructure, which
  
  Read more

• Lower annual welfare cap affects 68,000 families

  03-08-2017 13:42 via bbc.co.uk
  A typical household loses about £50 a week after annual cap fell to £23,000 in London and £20,000 outside.
  
  Read more

• Mary Turner obituary

  03-08-2017 13:38
  Trade unionist who led the GMB for 20 years and was the authentic voice of ordinary men and womenThe trade union leader Mary Turner, who has died from cancer aged 79, had a particular set of personal skills that enabled her to survive a lifetime in the difficult and challenging world of trade union politics while engendering respect and affection on all sides. As president of the GMB for 20 years, where she was known as “our Mary”, she spoke truth to the people she represented, as we
  
  Read more

• UK universities need urgent Brexit 'clarity' from ministers

  03-08-2017 13:20 via bbc.co.uk
  Brexit is causing crucial EU staff at UK universities uncertainty and anxiety, says the Russell Group.
  
  Read more

• The weird fantasy world of Brexit transition

  03-08-2017 13:03
  
  Those who created this state of affairs will be ridiculed for years for what they have done
  
  Read more

• Ray of hope for families kept apart by UK immigration enforcement

  03-08-2017 12:38
  
  New legal amendment means some couples may be reunited after years apart
  
  Read more

• Jeremy Corbyn spotted on holiday in Croatia

  03-08-2017 12:30
  British tourists see Labour leader in Dubrovnik on cycling holiday coinciding with Theresa May’s breakJeremy Corbyn has been spotted on a cycling holiday in Croatia during his first summer in three years not spent fighting a Labour leadership election.The Labour leader was seen by other British tourists walking through the coastal city of Dubrovnik. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Venezuela: US sanctions 'not right', says Corbyn ally

  03-08-2017 12:21 via bbc.co.uk
  An ally of Jeremy Corbyn urges talks, as Labour expresses fears of growing "authoritarianism".
  
  Read more

• Chris Williamson Refuses To Say If He Considers Himself More Like Hugo Chavez Or Tony Blair

  03-08-2017 11:12
  
  A shadow Home Office minister has refused to say if he regarded himself as being more similar to Hugo Chavez or Tony Blair.
  Labour MP Chris Williamson was discussing unrest in Venezuela on BBC Newsnight when he was quizzed by host Evan Davies, who asked him: “Do you think you’re closer to Chavez and Maduro in your political philosophy or Tony Blair?”Are you closer in political philosophy to Hugo Chavez or Tony Blair? @EvanHD asks Labour Shadow Home Office Minister @DerbyChrisW
  
  Read more

• Sarah Huckabee Sanders Says It’s Not ‘Appropriate To Lie,’ But ...

  03-08-2017 11:02
  
  White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at Wednesday’s briefing that she didn’t think it was “appropriate to lie from the podium or any other place.”Press Sec.: "I don't think it's appropriate to lie from the podium or any other place...my job is to communicate the president's agenda." pic.twitter.com/3ErYtffkhd— ABC News (@ABC) August 2, 2017
  Sanders’ job is to defend President Donald Trump’s actions, and defend
  
  Read more

• Donald Trump Boy Scout 'Phone Call' And His Dubious Relationship With Facts

  03-08-2017 09:32
  
  Two phone calls described by President Donald Trump that didn’t actually happen represent the latest chapter in a long-running series of disputes revolving around the President’s rocky relationship with facts.
  White House Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders, on Wednesday found herself explaining that compliments Trump had described receiving in phone calls from the Mexican president and the Boy Scouts did happen - just not on the phone.
  “I wouldn’t say it was a lie. That&rsquo
  
  Read more

• Everyone deserves a civil service career, including ex-offenders | Ian Watmore

  03-08-2017 08:23
  A more diverse civil service needs to hire more people with criminal records, to help turn lives around and to set a good example to other employersIan Watmore is the first civil service commissioner Back in 2008 when I was a permanent secretary in the civil service, my then secretary of state, John Denham announced to great applause that I had just recruited the first civil service modern apprentice – a young woman called Marzena Bujalska.It turned out to be a defining moment more general
  
  Read more

• Do your fellow Brits a favour. Stop going on holiday | Simon Jenkins

  03-08-2017 08:00
  We’re addicted to travel, and the government is our pusher, tempting us into ever more hellish journeysI’m in a hurry. You’re in my way. They are bloody tourists. My journey is vital, yours discretionary and theirs absurdly unnecessary. Transport policy has always been the orchestration of selfishness. This coming week, travel to Europe’s most popular air destinations will apparently be hell. “Security” will mean hours of queues at immigration, thoug
  
  Read more

• Labour speaks out on Venezuela as pressure mounts on Corbyn

  03-08-2017 07:47
  Emily Thornberry describes Maduro’s presidency as ‘increasingly authoritarian’ and calls for rule of law to be respected Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, has said Venezuela’s government has a duty to answer concerns about Nicolás Maduro’s “increasingly authoritarian rule”, as pressure mounted on Jeremy Corbyn to speak out.The party leader was a longtime admirer of Venezuela under its late socialist leader Hugo Cháv
  
  Read more

• A second Brexit referendum? It’s looking more likely by the day | Vernon Bogdanor

  03-08-2017 07:00
  The election changed everything and now deadlock in parliament looms. The final deal may have to go back to the people• Vernon Bogdanor is professor of government at King’s College LondonNegotiations on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU have now begun in earnest. They are required, according to article 50, to “take account of the framework” for Britain’s “future relationship with the union”. But what is that future relationship to be?Economically, th
  
  Read more

• Soldier turned politician

  03-08-2017 04:52 via bbc.co.uk
  Ex-soldier Johnny Mercer on why he decided to become an MP despite a lack of faith in the political class.
  
  Read more

• Countryside faces 'damaging uncertainty'

  03-08-2017 03:54 via bbc.co.uk
  The National Trust weighs into the campaign to keep subsidies for Britain's farmers at the current level.
  
  Read more

• Will you bugger off to play golf? And other questions more pertinent than pregnancy | Van Badham

  03-08-2017 03:36
  Jacinda Ardern is the latest female leader subject to questioning over her reproductive capacity. How about more questions related to leadership capacity?
  Van Badham is a Guardian Australia columnistIt only took seven hours for the new leader of the New Zealand Labour party to be publicly subjected to hoary stereotypes of sexist nonsense. I despair that that’s unlikely to even be a record. But there’s Jacinda Ardern, 37 years old. Preselected unanimously and seizing the political opp
  
  Read more

• Government cuts 'leave sexual health services at tipping point'

  03-08-2017 01:01
  With demand rising, councils say patients face longer waits to see a specialist and efforts to tackle outbreaks could be hit Sexual health services are at “a tipping point” with clinics unable to keep up with demand for tests and treatment, local council leaders have warned.Central government cuts to local authorities’ public health budgets have left sexual health services struggling to cope with a 25% rise in patients seeking help over the last five years, the Local Government
  
  Read more

• FTSE 100 chiefs hit with £1m pay cuts following investor outcry

  03-08-2017 01:01
  Average earnings of business leaders drop 17 per cent to £4.5m in 2016, report shows
  
  Read more

• Neighbourhoods Face 'Slow Death' Fuelled By Social Media And Technology, Ex-Downing Street Advisor Warns

  03-08-2017 00:32
  
  Neighbourhoods across the UK risk a “slow death”, a former Downing Street adviser has warned as research reveals most people know who lives near them.
  A new report commissioned by the social network Nextdoor, which aims to link people living in the same area, found 60 per cent would not feel able to borrow a cup of sugar from their neighbours.
  The report blames social media, the internet, and communications technology for the growing alienation between neighbours, whic
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!