Political news

• Brenda the Civil Disobedience Penguin on marriage equality: all in, both flippers! | First Dog on the Moon

  11-08-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Let’s hijack this debate and vote yes to the country we want Australia to be and yes to a big smack on the snout of killer whale conservatismSign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are publishedGet all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and printsContinue reading...
  
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• Donald Trump's Vision Of A Post-Brexit Trade Deal Could Be Very Bad For Britain

  11-08-2017 21:18
  
  “Brexit has caused a lot of uncertainty, a lot of confusion,” Emanuel Adam, director of trade and policy at British American Business, says. The transatlantic network, which represents more than 2,000 companies, asked its members if they thought Britain should leave the EU - 95% said no.
  Fourteen months after the referendum, they are trying to adjust to an uncomfortable political reality.
  Some of its American members have been working to anticipate the different types of Br
  
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• Ukip allows anti-Muslim activist to stand in leadership contest

  11-08-2017 21:10 via theguardian.com
  National executive’s approval of Anne Marie Waters threatens to cause major divisions over party’s future direction Ukip’s ruling body has permitted an anti-Muslim activist with close links to the far right to stand for its leadership, opening a potentially major division within the party over its future direction.
  The party’s national executive has approved the candidacy of Anne Marie Waters among the 11 people who will be put to a vote of members next month. Continue re
  
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• Corbyn continues on campaign trail towards another chance

  11-08-2017 19:13 via theguardian.com
  Labour leader takes post-holiday road show to Bristol and Swindon, drawing crowds as he challenges Theresa May to call electionFor the first time in three summers he is not fighting for the party leadership, and he has just been through a gruelling general election. But Jeremy Corbyn was campaigning again on Friday, and is planning to continue doing so for the rest of the summer to capitalise on Theresa May’s political travails.The Labour leader spent the second day of his post-holiday pol
  
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• Martin Rowson on Donald Trump’s North Korea threat – cartoon

  11-08-2017 19:06 via theguardian.com
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• Cash-strapped councils ‘cannot afford’ fire safety upgrades

  11-08-2017 18:47
  UK authorities say they should not pay for improvements after Grenfell Tower fire
  
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• Keeping Steel Industry Afloat Will Be Huge Post-Brexit Test For Government, Says Labour MP

  11-08-2017 18:36
  
  Keeping the UK’s steel industry afloat will be one of the biggest post-Brexit tests for the government, according to a Labour MP.
  Caroline Flint, who represents Don Valley, said British steel firms must be given the best possible chance to supply major projects including HS2 and the Hinkley Point nuclear power station.
  She submitted a written question to ministers asking how much steel required for HS2 will be sourced in the UK and says the government must continue to provide weekly updat
  
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• Tata Steel signs agreement for new pensions deal

  11-08-2017 18:22 via bbc.co.uk
  The deal will affect thousands of current and former workers, with 130,000 pension scheme members across the UK.
  
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• Sadiq Khan criticised for backtracking on pledge for London public energy company

  11-08-2017 17:54 via theguardian.com
  Mayor is letting down Londoners by leaving out a manifesto pledge to create a not-for-profit energy company from his new environment strategy, say green groupsCampaigners have condemned the mayor of London’s new environment strategy for falling short by failing to announce the establishment of a publicly owned energy company for Londoners, one of his manifesto promises.Sadiq Khan published his environment policy on Friday, which aims to turn the capital into a zero waste and zero emissions
  
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• Tata Steel agrees deal to offload British Steel pension fund

  11-08-2017 17:14
  Steelmaker will inject £550m and set up new defined benefit fund
  
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• Make 'upskirt' photography a sexual offence - Labour

  11-08-2017 16:03 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour backs campaign by a woman who found men had taken photographs up her skirt at a music festival.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn urges Trump and Kim to talk 'in the interests of sanity'

  11-08-2017 16:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urges Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un to "calm down" and start talking.
  
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• A new centrist party would split the Tories, not Labour | Paul Mason

  11-08-2017 15:22 via theguardian.com
  A proposed new anti-Brexit movement would attract neoliberals in thrall to flawed free market economics. In short, half the Conservative partyOne Thursday night in the next couple of years we could go to sleep knowing that, by Friday morning, neoliberalism in Britain will be over. If a left-led Labour party comes to power, leading a coalition determined to scrap free market economics, that will be a good day for working people. It will be a bad day for Virgin Care, Portland Communications and Sa
  
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• CCTV To Be Installed In All Slaughterhouses In England, Defra Announces

  11-08-2017 15:19
  
  CCTV will be mandatory in all slaughterhouses in England under new plans unveiled by the Government in a move hailed by animal welfare advocates.
  Environment secretary Michael Gove’s announcement on Friday comes after years of campaigning by organisations such as Animal Aid and Compassion in World Farming (CIWF).
  Under the new plans, the footage will be viewed by the Food Standard Agency’s official vets, who monitor and enforce animal welfare standards in slaughterhouses.Gove said: &
  
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• Corbyn: Trump and Kim should get round negotiating table

  11-08-2017 15:10 via bbc.co.uk
  The Labour leader says the US and North Korea should talk "in the interest of sanity and safety".
  
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• Booze still has power in the political bubble

  11-08-2017 15:08
  Politics is a sociable business and alcohol its lubricant — but we are more sober now
  
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• Libyan Navy Orders NGO Ships To Stay Out Of Mediterranean Search And Rescue Zone

  11-08-2017 15:00
  
  AQUARIUS, Mediterranean Sea - The Libyan Navy has ordered foreign ships to stay out of search and rescue zones off the country’s coast, just days after footage emerged of a coast guard vessel firing warning shots at an NGO vessel.
  During a press conference in Tripoli on Thursday officials said only those with authorisation from Libyan authorities would be allowed to enter.
  General Ayoub Qassem, said: “We want to send out a clear message to all those who infringe Libyan sovereign
  
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• Grenfell Tower inquiry judge tells Theresa May his priorities

  11-08-2017 14:46 via theguardian.com
  Prime minister confirms receipt of letter in which Moore-Bick outlines views after weeks of discussions with survivorsThe judge leading the Grenfell Tower public inquiry has written to the prime minister with recommendations about which issues it should examine. Sir Martin Moore-Bick sent a letter to Theresa May on Thursday outlining his views after weeks of discussions with survivors, an inquiry source told the Press Association. Continue reading...
  
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• Sex worker robbed at knifepoint faces deportation after contacting police

  11-08-2017 14:23
  
  Sex workers warn that the threat of prosecution and deportation is preventing them from reporting crime
  
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• Former Tory aide renews call for anti-Brexit party

  11-08-2017 14:22 via bbc.co.uk
  Brexit will 'make Black Wednesday look like a picnic', says James Chapman
  
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• Week in review: Gina Miller and far-right terrorism

  11-08-2017 14:11
  
  We appear to have learned nothing from the murder of Jo Cox
  
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• Brexit Bill Could Remove The Right To Sue The Government

  11-08-2017 14:07
  
  The Brexit Bill could bar people from suing the Government over things like air pollution and employment rights.  
  According to reports, the new legislation will ban individuals and companies from launching compensation claims against Whitehall post-Brexit.
  As it stands, all EU citizens are able to sue a member state government for damages if their rights were infringed by the failure of a country to implement EU law.
  But under the Brexit Bill, parts of the law covering the enviro
  
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• Defend Europe Ship, The C-Star, Breaks Down In Mediterranean, NGO Sent To Rescue

  11-08-2017 13:24
  
  The ship chartered by Defend Europe has suffered a “minor technical problem” and authorities have ordered one of the very boats the group is campaigning against to rescue it.
  The NGO, Sea-Eye, posted a statement on their Facebook page saying they had been told by authorities to come to the rescue of the C-Star.It reads: “Since Our cutter Sea-Eye is closest to the C-Star, we have been instructed by the MRCC Rome (the emergency service for the Western Mediterranean) to get the sh
  
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• Anger over 'untrue' climate change claims

  11-08-2017 12:55 via bbc.co.uk
  Scientists respond furiously to claims about climate change made in a BBC radio interview.
  
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• Amber Rudd Says Political Correctness Must Not Stop UK Tackling Child Sex Abuse

  11-08-2017 12:51
  
  Political correctness must not get in the way of tackling child sex abuse, Amber Rudd has said amid calls to review racially-motivated crimes. 
  The Home Secretary was speaking after the convictions of 17 men and one woman over the sexual abuse of under-age girls in Newcastle. 
  Rudd labelled the case “an abhorrent case of sexual predators preying on young women and girls”. 
  Much like the Rotherham and Oxford grooming scandals, victims were conned into thinking they were
  
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• National Presidential Joke Day: Donald Trump's Habit Of Making Fun Of Unfunny Things

  11-08-2017 12:46
  
  We all know that President Donald Trump says what he thinks, that’s what got him into the White House in the first place.
  But as you may have noticed, some of the things he says are met with a serious backlash, which is often followed by the comments being brushed off or assumed to be ‘just a joke’.
  On National Presidential Joke Day (and no, this day wasn’t just created for him), we take a look back at some of his most inappropriate comments that have been
  
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• Alex Salmond Cut Off During Live BBC Interview As He Begins Sadomasochism Story

  11-08-2017 12:33
  
  Alex Salmond was abruptly cut off during a live BBC Radio 4 interview this morning just as he was about to tell an anecdote about sadomasochism.
  The former SNP leader was speaking to Today presenter John Humphrys when he said: “When I came on the programme this morning you were talking about sadomasochism.
  He added: “I actually once was a part of a three part live...”
  Humphrys jumped in. “Got to stop you at exactly that point. How frustrating. The programme has come to a
  
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• I voted for Corbyn. And I still want Scottish independence | Cat Boyd

  11-08-2017 12:30 via theguardian.com
  My decision to back Labour in the general election caused outrage. But I’m a socialist, not a nationalist – like thousands of others in ScotlandRoughly five years ago I co-founded the Radical Independence Campaign in Scotland. I knocked on thousands of doors, spoke at hundreds of meetings, and wrote columns for Scotland’s only pro-independence daily newspaper. But my values, like the values of radical independence, have always been socialist, not nationalist; and in the general
  
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• Number Of Cancer Patients Waiting Longer For Treatment Has Skyrocketed, Labour Says

  11-08-2017 12:08
  
  The number of cancer patients waiting longer than they should for treatment has skyrocketed in the last five years, Labour says.
  Analysis of latest quarterly figures by the party shows 26,710 patients waited at least two months following an urgent GP referral - 87% higher compared with the same period five years ago.
  The statistics, released by NHS England this week showed in June, two of eight cancer targets were not met, including the 85% standard for 62 days between referral from a
  
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• Grenfell Tower Fire Donations 'Not Reaching Survivors Quickly Enough'

  11-08-2017 11:24
  Just a fraction of the £18.9 million raised in the wake of the Grenfell fire has reached survivors, according to data released by the Charity Commission.
  The regulator said that £7.25 million had been sent to distributing organisations on the ground, with just £2.8 million being distributed so far - less than 15%. 
  Nearly two months have passed since the devastating blaze ripped through the 24-storey Lancaster West Estate tower block, killing at least 80 people. There
  
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• Tory Ministers Secretly Support Creating New Anti-Brexit Political Party, Claims Former Government Aide

  11-08-2017 11:12
  Two current Conservative cabinet ministers support the creation of a new political party to oppose Brexit, a former senior adviser to David Davis has claimed.
  James Chapman, the former Daily Mail political editor who went on to work for George Osborne and Brexit secretary David Davis, has said he believes leaving the EU will be a “catastrophe”.
  And he said pro-Remain MPs on all sides needed to come together in a new party to fight Theresa May’s Brexit plan.
  Chapman, who now wo
  
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• Two cabinet ministers 'interested in new anti-Brexit party idea'

  11-08-2017 10:04 via theguardian.com
  James Chapman, ex-David Davis aide, says ministers contacted him after his tweets proposing centrist ‘Democrats’ partyA former aide to David Davis and George Osborne claims two serving cabinet ministers have expressed interest in his idea of forming a centrist party aimed at blocking Brexit.James Chapman stepped up his online campaign for a proposed “Democrats” party he has been mounting while on holiday in Greece, saying Brexit signalled the demise of the Conservatives.
  
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• Donald Trump's Twitter Nuclear Boast Torn Apart By Expert, Stephen Schwartz

  11-08-2017 09:30
  
  The last few days have seen a host of threats, insults and posturing as North Korea and the USA square up to each other and teeter on the brink of nuclear annihilation (sort of). 
  Having warned Kim Jung Un that the state would experience a “fire and fury the likes the world has never seen”, before adding on Thursday that his threat may not have been “tough” enough, the president has sought to back up his position with a bold claim about his country’s weapo
  
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• Ex-MI5 chief warns against crackdown on encrypted messaging apps

  11-08-2017 09:18 via theguardian.com
  Jonathan Evans says although encryption services have hampered terrorism fight he does not support curtailment of its useA former head of MI5 has spoken out against curtailing use of encryption in messaging apps despite warning that Islamist terrorism will remain a threat for up to another 30 years.Jonathan Evans said the terrorist threat to Britain was a “generational problem”, and suggested the Westminster Bridge attack in March may have had an energising effect on extremists.Conti
  
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• UK criticised over sales of military equipment to Venezuela

  11-08-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Theresa May urged to suspend controlled export licences to Venezuelan government while violent clashes continueBritain has sold military equipment worth millions of pounds to Venezuela in the last decade, it has emerged, prompting calls for Theresa May to suspend controlled export licences while the country in is the grip of violent clashes between police and protesters.Government figures show military equipment was approved for sale from UK-based companies to Venezuela’s armed forces as r
  
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• Plaid Cymru needs to raise its game, Simon Thomas AM says

  11-08-2017 07:12 via bbc.co.uk
  Plaid AM Simon Thomas says the party is not performing as well as it should be in the assembly.
  
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• Britain spent 'twice as much on overseas fossil fuels as renewables'

  11-08-2017 07:01 via theguardian.com
  Nearly half of £6.1bn energy spending in developing countries from 2010-14 went on oil, coal and gas-fired schemes, data showsThe UK has spent more than twice as much overseas support on fossil fuels projects as on renewable ones so far this decade, according to research commissioned by the Catholic aid agency Cafod.The Overseas Development Institute, which analysed the figures, found that 46% of Britain’s £6.1bn energy spending in developing countries between 2010 and 2014 wen
  
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