Political news

• UK looks to retain Brussels customs deal

  14-08-2017 23:10 via ft.com
  Brexit paper seeks frictionless trade — but EU blessing may be needed for new trade talks
  
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• London garden bridge project collapses in acrimony after £37m spent

  14-08-2017 20:51
  Boris Johnson claims Sadiq Khan ‘killed’ project after mayor said taxpayers should be ‘very angry’ over wasted public fundsIt was intended to be a “floating paradise” for London but instead Joanna Lumley’s vision of a Thames garden bridge has collapsed amid acrimony, with the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, and his predecessor Boris Johnson arguing over how £37m of public money had been spent on a project without a brick being laid. The actor had c
  
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• Donald Trump Finally Condemns White Supremacists After Charlottesville Violence

  14-08-2017 18:53
  
  Donald Trump has finally condemned the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists, calling them “criminals and thugs” and saying: “Racism is evil.”
  Trump caused outrage when, after one person was killed and 19 injured when a car drove into protestors opposing a Far Right rally in Virginia, he condemned violence on “both sides”.
  He was under public pressure to specifically condemn them ever since. On Sunday, White House officials clarified that Trump was referr
  
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• May urged to reconsider Trump's state visit over Charlottesville response

  14-08-2017 18:22
  Lib Dem leader Vince Cable says US president’s initial failure to condemn white supremacists should prompt rethinkTheresa May has been urged to reconsider her offer of a state visit for Donald Trump after his failure to immediately condemn the white supremacist groups that targeted Charlottesville in Virginia at the weekend.No date has been set for the US president’s visit amid concern in the White House about the possibility of protests, but he remains on the list of officially invi
  
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• Alex Salmond Made A 'Joke' About Having Sex With Nicola Sturgeon, Theresa May And Ruth Davidson

  14-08-2017 18:10
  
  Alex Salmond has been told to apologise cracking a “joke” about having sex with female politicians. 
  The former First Minister of Scotland has been called “gross” after he attempted a double entendre involving a string of powerful women, including his old boss Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and Prime Minister Theresa May.
  He told the crowd at his sell-out ‘Salmond Unleashed’ comedy show: “I promised you today we&rsquo
  
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• London's Garden Bridge project officially abandoned

  14-08-2017 17:30 via bbc.co.uk
  The Garden Bridge Trust says it is winding up the £200m project as London's mayor does not back it.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Slams Donald Trump For Failing To Criticise White Supremacists

  14-08-2017 17:22
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has criticised Donald Trump for his failure to specifically condemn white supremacist groups following the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
  On Saturday a woman was killed when a car rammed into a group of pedestrians protesting a white supremacist rally.
  Trump has condemned the “violence” and “hate” but has stopped short of specifically criticising white supremacist groups.
  This morning the president published several tweets, but none focused on the v
  
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• Donald Trump Condemns Ken Frazier, Who Quit White House Over His Refusal To Condemn White Supremacists

  14-08-2017 17:18
  
  Donald Trump has condemned a businessman who quit a White House panel in protest of Trump’s refusal to condemn the white nationalist groups after the deadly violence at the weekend.
  Ken Frazier, the head of Merck pharmaceuticals, said in a statement he was stepping down “as a matter of personal conscience” and “to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.”
  Trump responded to his resignation by attacking Frazier on Twitter.
  A ‘Unite The Ri
  
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• Corbyn: Trump comments on Charlottesville 'not enough'

  14-08-2017 16:58 via bbc.co.uk
  The Labour leader says Donald Trump "should be able to condemn" white supremacists.
  
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• Pro-EU MPs plot to defeat UK government over ‘hard’ Brexit

  14-08-2017 16:49 via ft.com
  Cross-party group to target Open Skies, customs union and Euratom
  
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• Big Ben Has Sparked The Best Brexit Conspiracy Theory To Date

  14-08-2017 15:47
  
  The EU Referendum debate was littered with some truly bonkers conspiracy theories.
  From fears that the election registration site was purposely crashed by the government to worries that your ballot paper would be doctored if you didn’t #UsePens, Britain reached near-hysterical levels of ridiculousness ahead of the vote. 
  But the fun didn’t stop there. News that Big Ben will be silenced for the next four years has sparked an incredible tongue-in-cheek Brexit ‘conspiracy the
  
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• EU agriculture chief calls on UK to stay in customs union

  14-08-2017 15:13 via ft.com
  Brussels’ top Irish official Hogan fears threats to trade and N Ireland peace deal
  
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• Partition Of India: This Mash-Up Of India's and Pakistan's National Anthems Is Hauntingly Moving

  14-08-2017 15:08
  
  A mash-up of the national anthems of India and Pakistan has been released to mark 70 years since the partition of India.
  The song, shared on Facebook by pro-peace group Voice of Ram, is called the “peace anthem” and is intended to encourage unity between the nations.
  The track features a number of singers from both India and Pakistan who take it in turns to sing parts of India’s Jana Gana Mana and Pakistan’s Pāk Sarzamīn.Commentators on the video - which ends wi
  
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• London Garden Bridge plans finally fall down

  14-08-2017 15:01 via ft.com
  Long-running saga involving celebrity backers to cost the taxpayer £46m
  
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• London Garden Bridge plans finally collapse

  14-08-2017 15:01 via ft.com
  Long-running saga involving celebrity backers to cost the taxpayer £46m
  
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• Learndirect faces collapse after failing to suppress Ofsted report

  14-08-2017 15:01 via ft.com
  Private equity owners extracted millions from UK’s largest adult training provider
  
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• GoDaddy Bans Neo-Nazi Site The Daily Stormer For Attacking Charlottesville Victim Heather Heyer

  14-08-2017 14:14
  
  GoDaddy has said it will no longer host a neo-Nazi and white supremacist website that published vitriolic comments about a woman killed during violence at a far-right rally in Virginia at the weekend.  -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post UK, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
  
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• Donald Trump’s Reelection Campaign Releases Television Ad

  14-08-2017 13:00
  
  Donald Trump’s reelection campaign released its first television advertisement on Sunday, a 30-second spot that attacks Democrats and touts the accomplishments of his first seven months in office.
  The ad’s release comes amid intense criticism of Trump’s response to the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a planned rally by white supremacists led to violence that killed a counter-protester.
  Speaking on Saturday from his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump stoppe
  
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• Lord Adonis Says Universities Are 'Coining It' And Challenges Vice Chancellor To Slash £295k Salary

  14-08-2017 12:57
  
  Lord Adonis challenged a university vice chancellor to halve his £295,000 salary so students could be offered cheaper fees. 
  Labour peer Adonis, who once headed Tony Blair’s policy unit, rounded on Southbank University vice-chancellor David Phoenix live on air during a BBC Radio 4 interview on the Today programme. 
  He said universities were “coining it” and the salaries of highly-paid staff should be reduced dramatically before getting into a heated row with Pho
  
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• Jess Philips Says Left-Wing Men Are The 'Actual Worst' Sexists

  14-08-2017 12:54
  
  Labour MP Jess Phillips has said left-wing men are the “actual worst” sexists.
  The MP for Birmingham Yardley told the Edinburgh International Book Festival that “well meaning” men on the left were worst than right-wing when it came to the fight for equality.
  “When they close their eyes at night and think of amazing people who have changed the world, it’s always some white dude that pops into their head,” The Times reported she said.
  Phillips said while
  
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• A 1943 US Government Film About Fascism Is Suddenly Very Relevant Today

  14-08-2017 12:41
  
  As white supremacists unleashed a wave of deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend, a 74-year-old government film became an unlikely viral hit. 
  “Don’t Be A Sucker,” which was produced by the United States Department of War during World War II, warns of the dangers of fascism and bigotry. 
  The full film is above, but shorter clips such as this one were widely circulated on social media over the weekend: 
  1947 anti-fascist
  
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• Jeremy Hunt Denies Billing Taxpayer For Personal £44,000 Toilet

  14-08-2017 12:10
  
  Jeremy Hunt has said reports he has installed a £44,000 toilet and shower in his new office are “totally false”.
  According to The Sun, the health secretary had the bathroom with a “designer toilet” built in the department so he could freshen up after cycling to work.
  However Hunt said the new bathroom was for everyone in the building to use and was designed to encourage cycling.1/2 Today's @TheSun story totally false. TRUE I requested shower for long dist cyclists
  
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• Scottish ministers urged to lead fight against 'period poverty'

  14-08-2017 11:47 via bbc.co.uk
  A Labour MSP says access to sanitary products should be a basic right for anyone who needs them.
  
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• Big Ben Is About To Fall Silent For Four Years - Here's Why

  14-08-2017 11:09
  
  The chimes of the world’s most iconic clock are to be silenced for the next four years while major conservation works are carried out.
  Big Ben’s famous bongs will sound for the last time at noon on Monday, August 21, before they are paused until 2021 - ending more than 150 years of almost continuous timekeeping.
  The Elizabeth Tower, home to the Great Clock and Big Ben, is undergoing a complex programme of renovation aimed at preserving the landmark for future generations.
  A man with
  
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• Neil Hamilton: Plaid Cymru should work with UKIP

  14-08-2017 10:43 via bbc.co.uk
  UKIP's Neil Hamilton said Plaid Cymru should work with the party to "take Wales forward".
  
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• Big Ben to be silenced for four years for maintenance

  14-08-2017 10:24
  People are being asked to gather to mark the moment, at noon on 21 August, when restoration work halts the hourly chimesThe bongs of Big Ben, the bell inside the clock tower above the Houses of Parliament, are to be silenced for four years for conservation works.The Elizabeth Tower, home to the bells that make up the Great Clock and the most photographed building in Britain, is undergoing a programme of restoration work. Continue reading...
  
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• Hammond gets into bed with the Brexit headbangers

  14-08-2017 10:20
  
  The chancellor is now signed up to Year Zero Brexit
  
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• Conservative MP Heidi Allen Says She Will Quit Party If Jacob Rees-Mogg Is Made Leader

  14-08-2017 10:08
  
  A Conservative MP has said she would quit the party should Jacob Rees-Mogg ever become its leader.
  Heidi Allen said while Rees-Mogg was “fabulous in his own right” he was “not the future” of the Tory party that she was “desperate to find”.
  The South Cambridgeshire MP told BBC Radio 4′s Westminster Hour on Sunday evening: “I couldn’t be in the Conservative Party if he was my leader.”
  “That’s nothing nasty to dislike Jacob at
  
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• Mike Pence Defends Donald Trump Over Failure To Specifically Condemn White Supremacists

  14-08-2017 09:30
  
  Mike Pence and the White House have scrambled to defend Donald Trump after the president failed to specifically condemn white supremacists following violence at a far-right rally in Charlottesville that left three people dead. 
  A state of emergency was declared in Virginia this weekend after the rally - thought to be the largest gathering of white supremacists in the US for over a decade - turned violent, leaving at least 35 others injured and one 32-year-old woman dead after a car ploughe
  
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• Period Poverty: Scotland Could Offer Free Sanitary Products Under New 'Universal System'

  14-08-2017 08:06
  
  Scotland could become the first country in the world to introduce legislation that eliminates period poverty. 
  Labour MSP Monica Lennon will table a Bill in the Scottish Parliament on Monday that places a legal duty on ministers to provide the “basic right” of universal free sanitary products.  
  It comes after a series of reports revealed young women are using socks, tissues and even skip school during their period because they cannot afford tampons or towels.If Lennon&rsqu
  
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• Daily briefing: Brexit policy papers, Japan GDP surprise, business book of 2017

  14-08-2017 07:16 via ft.com
  Crucial week looms for negotiating the UK’s departure from the EU as Theresa May returns from holiday
  
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• UK maths books fail DfE test for Asian-style lessons

  14-08-2017 05:00 via ft.com
  Only one publisher approved for schools to master Singapore and China teaching style
  
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• Nuclear industry warns of looming skills crisis

  14-08-2017 05:00 via ft.com
  Tens of thousands of workers needed to complete Hinkley power plant
  
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• Vulnerable children not in crisis are 'left in limbo'

  14-08-2017 01:03 via bbc.co.uk
  Action for Children estimates 140,000 children referred to social services do not get the help they need.
  
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• Pay growth to stay weak, says forecast

  14-08-2017 01:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Pressure on wages is set to continue, with pay rises forecast at 1% over the next year, a survey says.
  
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