Political news

• Learner drivers to be allowed motorway lessons

  12-08-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  A change to in the law will see L-plates on the UK’s motorways within months, in a move welcomed by road safety groupsSince the UK’s first motorway opened to traffic almost 60 years ago, the nation’s M-roads have been free of cars displaying the dreaded L-plate.But learner drivers will finally be allowed to have lessons on motorways in a matter of months after a change in the road rules. The move follows years of pressure from road safety groups over what they argued was a long
  
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• The growing gulf in life expectancy shows how austerity has deepened inequalities

  12-08-2017 23:00 via theguardian.com
  The prime minister vowed to fight health injustice. These new figures must be awake-up callPublic health experts sometimes rework the map of a city’s train or underground system to illustrate the wide differences in life expectancy between wealthy areas and poor ones. For example, every one of the eight stops travelled on the London tube’s Jubilee line east from Westminster, the heart of government, to post-industrial Canning Town in the East End counts for up to a year in diminished
  
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• Tory Brexit policy is chaotic. The fightback must begin at once | David Miliband

  12-08-2017 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Democracy did not end in June last year. It is essential MPs have a say on the future or the country may be driven off a cliffFor many years Britons and Americans have been proud of the quality of their governance. Yet today our politics and government are setting new standards for dysfunction. Rather than stability and global leadership there is confusion.The US is suffering from a serious inability to legislate. There is a genuine risk of the country defaulting on its debts. Jeb Bush called Do
  
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• David Miliband: we need a second vote on Brexit deal

  12-08-2017 22:30 via theguardian.com
  Former Labour minister enters fray over Europe to urge fightback on ‘act of economic self-harm’David Miliband has made a dramatic entry into the debate about Britain’s exit from the EU with an impassioned call for politicians from all parties to work together to avoid the Tory high command driving the country “off a cliff”.Labour’s former foreign secretary warned that Brexit is an “unparalleled act of economic self-harm” and suggested that it is up
  
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• David Davis linked to City trader fined for insider dealing

  12-08-2017 21:45 via theguardian.com
  Brexit secretary supported banker Ian Hannam in court after accepting lucrative post at his companyDavid Davis backed a City high-flyer’s appeal against a huge fine for insider dealing a month after accepting a lucrative position at one of his companies, the Observer has established.The Brexit secretary has been a staunch ally of star banker Ian Hannam for many years. Both men were members of 21 SAS Reserve Regiment and Hannam donated £2,000 to Davis’s Tory leadership campaign
  
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• A new centrist pro-EU party can be a catalyst even if it flops

  12-08-2017 19:14 via ft.com
  Warnings from SDP veterans miss the point of nudging Labour’s Brexit position
  
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• UKIP's Mike Hookem quits role over Anne Marie Waters leadership bid

  12-08-2017 19:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Mike Hookem says he cannot "turn a blind eye" to extremism, as Anne Marie Waters bids to lead party.
  
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• North Korean Regime Must Fix Nuclear Crisis Themselves, Says Boris Johnson

  12-08-2017 18:41
  
  Boris Johnson has said the regime of Kim Jong Un is responsible for the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear programme and must now “fix it”.
  In a series of posting on his Twitter feed, the Foreign Secretary said Britain was working with the United States and allies in the region to find a diplomatic solution to the stand-off between Pyongyang and Washington.The North Korean regime is the cause of this problem and they must fix it— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 12, 20
  
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• Alex Salmond Thinks Scotland Will be Independent Within Four Years

  12-08-2017 17:39
  
  Alex Salmond believes Scotland will be independent within four years and vowed to play “whatever part is necessary” in a second referendum campaign.
  The former First Minister said Brexit is the key driving force and will dictate the timing of another independence vote, the Press Association reported.
  Salmond is hosting a sold out run of chat shows at the Edinburgh Festival and speaking before his debut performance on Sunday, he said: “I think Scotland will become independent, I
  
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• Ukip deputy whip quits over anti-Islam views of leadership candidate

  12-08-2017 14:06 via theguardian.com
  Mike Hookem says he could not be seen as supporting Sharia Watch founder Anne Marie Waters, who has called Islam ‘evil’A Ukip MEP has quit his post as a party whip after an anti-Islam campaigner was cleared to stand in the party’s leadership election. Mike Hookem said he was resigning as deputy whip in the European parliament after the chief whip, Stuart Agnew, declared his support for Anne Marie Waters.Continue reading...
  
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• Government to consider laser pen licence after attack rise

  12-08-2017 12:55 via bbc.co.uk
  Ministers could bring in new measures to reduce laser attacks, following warnings from pilots.
  
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• Britain must ask for more time to negotiate Brexit | Gina Miller

  12-08-2017 07:00 via theguardian.com
  A transitional arrangement for getting out of the European Union is not the answer for this country. We need to extend the exit timetableAs our government navigates the complexity of taking Britain out of the European Union after 44 years, the harsh reality of the two-year timetable for exit – which shrinks to 18 months if you allow time for ratifying any deal – appears to be dawning. No wonder many politicians are settling on the idea that Britain needs a transitional arrangement be
  
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• Grooming gangs should get longer sentences 'if abuse is racist'

  12-08-2017 05:51 via bbc.co.uk
  The solicitor general says racism must be "front and centre" of justice, if it is part of sex abuse.
  
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