Political news

• 10 Times Theresa May's Brexit Rhetoric Collided With Reality

  10-08-2017 20:41
  
  A disastrous General Election, MPs plotting your demise and the clock ticking on getting a deal with the EU.
  Theresa May’s famous Lancaster House speech in January, which set out her Government’s hardline approach to Brexit, must now seem like a long time ago for the Prime Minister. 
  As her team prepares to sit down and thrash out an agreement with the EU 27, here are ten times May’s Brexit rhetoric has clashed with some cold, hard realities. 
  1. The UK will get the&n
  
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• Brexit places Britain’s judges in the line of fire

  10-08-2017 19:22
  They have reason to worry, given ministers’ failure to defend them
  
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• Tony Blair: UK civil service has genuine problem with change

  10-08-2017 18:58 via theguardian.com
  Former prime minister describes civil servants as brilliant in a crisis, but unresponsive over reform to health and education Former prime minister Tony Blair has criticised the UK civil service, saying there is a “genuine problem with the bureaucracy” of the country. He has said UK civil servants are “superb” at coping in a crisis, but failed to implement major reform during his time in office.Related: Blair reveals he 'toyed with Marxism' after reading book on TrotskyCo
  
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• BBC defends Lord Lawson climate change interview

  10-08-2017 18:51 via bbc.co.uk
  The Green Party and leading scientists criticised the Today programme for interviewing the climate change sceptic.
  
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• Northern rail

  10-08-2017 18:46 via bbc.co.uk
  Transport secretary Chris Grayling faces growing pressure for faster journeys and better connections.
  
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• London Midland loses West Midlands rail franchise

  10-08-2017 17:37 via bbc.co.uk
  West Midlands Trains will take over services in December, the Department for Transport says.
  
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• Chris Williamson Made A Video Blaming Neoliberalism For Grenfell And It Got Pretty Intense

  10-08-2017 16:44
  
  Labour MP Chris Williamson has published a video blaming the “violent ideology of neoliberalism” for the Grenfell Tower fire. 
  The shadow fire minister uploaded the clip on his Facebook page on Thursday, condemning 30 years of “deregulation, privatisation and cuts”, which, he said, were what led to the June 14 blaze. 
  Speaking directly to camera, Williamson branded Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair “equally complicit” as Margaret Thatcher. &ldquo
  
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• NHS waiting lists climb to highest level in a decade

  10-08-2017 16:35
  About 4m patients waiting for treatment during traditionally quiet summer period in England
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Criticises Donald Trump For Threatening North Korea

  10-08-2017 16:31
  
  "It's unthinkable...it would kill millions" @JeremyCorbyn comments on the growing nuclear tensions between Trump and North Korea pic.twitter.com/9O6VsGsjp4— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 10, 2017
  Jeremy Corbyn has criticised Donald Trump for threatening North Korea after the US president said he was willing to unleash “fire and fury” in response to any military aggression from Kim Jong Un.
  Speaking in Cornwall today, the Labour leader said it was “much better to bring
  
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• BBC Under Fire For Allowing Climate Change Denier Nigel Lawson On Radio 4

  10-08-2017 16:28
  
  The BBC has come under fire for allowing former chancellor Nigel Lawson to discuss climate change - which he described as “clap trap” - on the Today programme.
  The Green Party has lodged an official complaint and the broadcaster was criticised by prominent scientists Brian Cox and Jim Al-Khalili, who said it was “irresponsible and highly misleading” to suggest major environmental threats were a debatable issue. 
  Lord Lawson, responding to an intervention on the dang
  
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• Defend Europe Trolled By Oscar Champs Of Proactiva Open Arms

  10-08-2017 16:23
  
  The Defend Europe mission is raising a few eyebrows after a prolonged period of silence and an apparent stalling of its voyage.
  The ship chartered by the group, the C-Star, has spent the last few days circling off the coast of Tunisia, far from its intended target of the search and rescue zones near the Libyan shore.Additionally, the last update from aboard the boat was a picture posted on Twitter four days ago, showing the crew shouting at a boat through a megaphone.Our crew sending a message t
  
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• Driving test examiners 'attacked' by failed candidates

  10-08-2017 16:21 via bbc.co.uk
  There were 240 incidents against staff by failed driving test candidates in 2016, the DVSA says.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn to US and North Korea: Ratchet down the rhetoric

  10-08-2017 15:46 via bbc.co.uk
  The Labour leader urges Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un to end their 'dangerous' war of words.
  
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• Madame Tussauds announces Theresa May waxwork

  10-08-2017 15:45 via bbc.co.uk
  The figure will join waxworks of world leaders such as Donald Trump and Angela Merkel.
  
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• Fixed odds betting machines are ruining lives

  10-08-2017 15:27
  
  The government is stumbling before the might of the gambling industry, but action is needed now.
  
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• Gender pay gap widening at one in four government bodies, figures show

  10-08-2017 15:03 via theguardian.com
  Gap across civil service has shrunk by two points since 2010, suggesting equality will take another 37 yearsIt will take the civil service more than 37 years to achieve pay equality between men and women, and one in four government departments and agencies have seen the gender pay gap widen over the past decade, according to a Guardian analysis.Data shows that the average male civil servant in 2017 is paid £28,280 and the average female employee £24,680 – a gap of £3,600
  
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• 17 From '17: Ellie Reeves On Her Journey Into Politics At A Young Age

  10-08-2017 14:53
  
  The 2017 General Election saw 92 MPs elected to the Commons for the very first time. In a series of exclusive interviews, HuffPost UK is speaking to new MPs from the Conservatives, Labour, SNP and Lib Dems. This week, it’s Lewisham West and Penge’s Ellie Reeves.
  Ellie Reeves is no stranger to politics. An employment rights lawyer who branched out on her own to represent women with maternity rights issues, she is now following in the footsteps of older sister Rachel, who be
  
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• UK to sign deal with Scottish government before repeal bill

  10-08-2017 14:39 via theguardian.com
  Damian Green says agreement will set out post-Brexit powers for Holyrood but rejects claim that repeal bill should be rewrittenThe UK government expects to sign a formal deal with Scotland setting out its new powers before Brexit, to head off a confrontation over the repeal bill.Damian Green, the first secretary of state, said an agreement between the two governments would be published before the EU repeal bill came into force, outlining new powers for Holyrood and the policies set at UK level.
  
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• Brexit: Ministers warned not to treat repeal bill as 'blank cheque'

  10-08-2017 13:46 via bbc.co.uk
  Opposition MPs fear powers granted to government in the EU Withdrawal Bill are too wide-ranging.
  
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• Huge Scale Of Modern Slavery And Human Trafficking In UK Laid Bare In 'Deeply Troubling' Report

  10-08-2017 13:41
  
  Modern slavery and human trafficking are affecting “every large town and city in the country”, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said, revealing there are tens of thousands of victims. 
  The immense scale of the problem was detailed on Thursday in a “deeply troubling” new report and Labour has said Home Secretary Amber Rudd has “serious questions to answer”. 
  The NCA is currently assisting on 300 live police operations targeting modern slavery,
  
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• Abuse concerns hampered by 'racism fear'

  10-08-2017 13:18 via bbc.co.uk
  Rotherham MP Sarah Champion says she will be attacked for her comments about the latest grooming case.
  
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• Madame Tussauds Are Making A Theresa May Waxwork And Everyone's Making The Same Joke

  10-08-2017 13:02
  
  Madame Tussauds in London has revealed a sneak peak of its upcoming wax figure of Prime Minister Theresa May.
  The clay May is only in the early stages of construction, with just a head, hair and beaded jewellery to her name.The chosen outfit and, of course, the shoes will not be revealed until the finished model is unveiled, which is expected to be later this year.
  Edward Fuller, general manager of Madame Tussauds London, said: “Following the recent general election, we look forward to hea
  
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• SNP MP Calls For Cross-Party Alliance To Defeat Hard Brexit

  10-08-2017 12:45
  
  The SNP’s Europe spokesman has appealed to other parties in remain-voting Scotland to block hard Brexit in Westminster. 
  Stephen Gethins has called on Scotland’s 13 Tory and seven Labour MPs to join the SNP’s 35 MPs in a Commons bid to keep the UK in the single market. 
  He said if Scottish MPs were to form an alliance and UK Labour MPs switched to back single market membership, the Government, which is reliant on a Tory-DUP majority of six, could be defeated.Geth
  
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• Sebastian Gorka Interview On Radio 4's Today Programme Prompts Disbelief

  10-08-2017 12:39
  
  Sebastian Gorka is back again, this time gracing the airwaves on Radio 4′s Today programme where he spoke in his characteristic baritone about the ongoing North Korea crisis.
  Far from reassuring everyone the world isn’t hurtling towards nuclear destruction, the interview with President Trump’s Deputy Assistant instead instilled a foreboding sense of doom amongst listeners.
  Gorka dismissed comments made by US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who said yesterday that there
  
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• Home Secretary Amber Rudd targeted by email hoax

  10-08-2017 11:57 via bbc.co.uk
  The Home Office says the minister "exchanged pleasantries" before spotting the wind-up.
  
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• Epic night out: Gove and Osborne visit opera on German holiday

  10-08-2017 11:30 via theguardian.com
  Former cabinet colleagues spend summer break together enjoying Wagner’s Ring Cycle and its stories of power and betrayalFor most politicians and newspaper editors, the August parliamentary recess is a welcome opportunity to take a break from Westminster intrigue.
  But for Michael Gove and George Osborne it was something of a busman’s holiday as they attended a drama of epic proportions drawn out in unexpected twists of power and betrayal.Continue reading...
  
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• Tony Blair Is 'Really Serious' About 'Remaking The Centre Left' Of British Politics

  10-08-2017 10:01
  
  Tony Blair has said he is “really serious” about “remaking the centre left in British politics”.
  In an interview with BBC Radio 4, the former prime minister said he believed there was an “urgent need” for progressive politics to “recapture its traction” with voters.
  Blair recently launched his Institute for Global Change think-tank which he said was designed to reinvigorate the centre-ground of British politics.
  Speaking to the Reflections wit
  
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• Tony Blair reveals brief student flirtation with Trotsky

  10-08-2017 10:00
  Former premier says biography of Russian revolutionary was ‘like a light going on’
  
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• North Korea Calls Donald Trump 'Senile' And 'Bereft Of Reason'

  10-08-2017 09:01
  
  The Trump Administration continues to break the mould in the most astounding of fashions, this time by prompting statements from North Korea that many in the West agree with.
  As the rhetoric over the dictatorial state’s plane to launch a volley of ballistic missiles toward the US Pacific territory of Guam increases, General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the North’s strategic rocket forces, launched a more personal attack on the President.
  In a statement on state media, he said: &ld
  
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• Monumental ‘Donald Trump Chicken’ Roosts Near The White House

  10-08-2017 08:46
  
  Another day, another unprecedented moment in Donald Trump’s presidency. 
  A giant inflatable chicken with Trump-like hair appeared near the White House on Wednesday. Aerial photos of the display show the fowl, known as “Trump Chicken” or “Chicken Don,” standing on the plot of land south of the White House called the Ellipse.
  The area is situated between the president’s residence and the Washington Monument. It’s also in perfect v
  
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• Wax it means wax it: Madame Tussauds sets to work on Theresa May

  10-08-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  London attraction says it is in first stages of four-month process of creating figure of UK prime ministerHer automated slogans and stilted election campaign may have earned her the nickname “Maybot”, but an even more lifeless incarnation of the prime minister is about to be unveiled.Madame Tussauds has announced the commission of a wax figure of Theresa May that is to be placed outside the Downing Street set at the London attraction, joining political heavyweights such as Donald Tru
  
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• The Sun sets on tabloids’ political influence in Essex heartlands

  10-08-2017 06:01
  In Canvey Island, newspaper is loved for sport and gossip but young readers go online
  
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• The Sun frets about the political power of British tabloids

  10-08-2017 06:01
  In Canvey Island, newspaper is loved for sport and gossip but young readers move to web
  
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• Sun sets on tabloid influence in Britain’s working-class heartlands

  10-08-2017 06:01
  In Canvey Island, newspaper is loved for sport and gossip but young readers go online
  
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• Brexit and customs union — what’s at stake for Britain

  10-08-2017 06:01
  Without a transition deal, border hold-ups, paperwork and rules of origin pose obstacles
  
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• Labour criticises government hospital asset sales

  10-08-2017 05:32 via bbc.co.uk
  Figures show the amount of NHS land in England earmarked for sale has more than doubled in a year.
  
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• BBC’s move to Salford had ‘negligible’ effect on local employment

  10-08-2017 01:02
  Report warns government not to overestimate benefits of relocating public bodies
  
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• University education proves less attractive to more pupils

  10-08-2017 01:01
  Cost of tuition fees and student debt cited among the main reasons
  
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• Theresa May’s cabinet split three ways over Brexit transition

  10-08-2017 01:01
  Even hardline group including Fox is said to accept the need for pragmatic approach
  
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• Number Of Rough Sleepers Set To Explode 76% by 2027 If Government Does Not Change Course

  10-08-2017 01:01
  
  Rough sleeping will rocket by 76% by 2027 if power-holders fail to take long-term action on homelessness now, a leading charity has warned. 
  Crisis has called on the government to urgently overhaul policy as experts estimated that, based on current trends, the number of people living on the streets, in hostels or on someone’s sofa was set to explode over the next decade. 
  The charity picked out the benefit cap, sanctions, a severe lack of affordable housing, cutbacks to homelessn
  
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• Grenfell Tower Fire: Elizabeth Campbell Told She Should Be 'Ashamed' Of Herself Over Handling Of Disaster

  10-08-2017 00:58
  
  Elizabeth Campbell was told she should be “so ashamed” of herself over the handling of the Grenfell Tower fire as scores of survivors are still living in hotels eight weeks after the blaze.
  The leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, which has been repeatedly criticised for its handling of the disaster, was told to come to meetings prepared with answers and not to “fob” residents off.
  Campbell joined representatives from the council, Public Health England and the Metrop
  
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