Political news

• Theresa May accused of U-turn over EU court’s role after Brexit

  22-08-2017 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Latest Brexit policy paper leaves open possibility of European court of justice retaining say on UK lawTheresa May was accused of a climbdown over the future sovereignty of British courts after a newly published government paper appeared to leave open the possibility that the European court of justice would influence UK law after Brexit.The latest of a flurry of Brexit policy papers, due to be published on Wednesday, will repeat the government’s insistence that the “direct jurisdicti
  
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• Britain softens Brexit stance on EU court

  22-08-2017 23:30
  UK takes ‘constructive’ position on ECJ and dispute resolution for trade and divorce deals
  
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• James Brokenshire won't say when NI talks will resume

  22-08-2017 19:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Secretary of State James Brokenshire said he "would come forward with further information in my own way".
  
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• Scottish and Welsh leaders to co-operate on Brexit strategy

  22-08-2017 19:47
  Sturgeon and Jones fear legislative damage to devolution
  
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• Donald Trump's Afghanistan Strategy 'Inspired By Picture Of Women In Miniskirts'

  22-08-2017 19:46
  
  Donald Trump’s decision to change his longstanding views of the war in Afghanistan was partly inspired by a picture of women in miniskirts, reports The Washington Post.
  Last night the President, in a rare display of admitting he was wrong about something, dedicated the US to staying involved in the now-17-year conflict, until it wins “in the end”.
  The pivot, announced during his first Address to the Nation, was in stark contrast to his previous views expressed, unsurprisingly,
  
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• UK’s ailing infrastructure can no longer be ignored

  22-08-2017 19:44
  Successive governments have failed to make sufficient investment
  
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• Airports call for urgent post-Brexit deal on UK-EU flights

  22-08-2017 19:07 via theguardian.com
  Owners of five major UK airports say uncertainty over future of flights is hitting passenger numbers hard, in report submitted to ministersAirports have joined forces to press the government to urgently strike a post-Brexit deal on flights between the UK and the EU, warning that the current uncertainty alone would be enough to see bookings drop by up to 41%.A report submitted to ministers by the owners of Manchester, Stansted, Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports concludes that even if fli
  
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• Jones says Edinburgh talks 'not about blocking Brexit'

  22-08-2017 18:15 via bbc.co.uk
  Carwyn Jones says talks with Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh are about ensuring people in Wales and Scotland "have the powers they should".
  
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• US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s Wife Goes Full Marie Antoinette In Instagram Rant

  22-08-2017 18:14
  
  Donald Trump swept to power last year on the back of the promise to ‘drain the swamp’, a commitment to rid Washington of the kinds of politicians who are out-of-touch with ordinary Americans.
  But now the wife of Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary has been accused of acting like Marie Antoinette after unleashing a ‘let them eat cake’-style rant on Instagram where she boasted about her wealth and belittled those less well off.
  Louise Linton, a 36-year-old Scottish-born
  
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• Scottish and Welsh governments to propose Brexit bill changes

  22-08-2017 18:14 via bbc.co.uk
  The Scottish and Welsh governments will work together to propose amendments to UK Brexit legislation.
  
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• Women-Only Train Carriages Could Combat Rise In Sex Attacks, Jeremy Corbyn Ally Suggests

  22-08-2017 18:08
  
  Women-only train carriages may be needed to create a “safe space” to combat a rise in sex attacks, a key ally of Jeremy Corbyn has declared.
  Shadow minister Chris Williamson said that the idea should be looked at following a steady increase in assaults in recent years.
  The suggestion of gender-specific carriages was first proposed by Corbyn during his first leadership campaign in 2015 but was dropped following criticism.
  However, Williamson, shadow fire minister and a long-time clos
  
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• How Michael Gove reinvented himself as radical UK environmentalist

  22-08-2017 17:18
  Environment secretary’s reforming zeal has delighted conservationists
  
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• Tories Under Fire Over NHS Cuts As Andrea Leadsom Lobbies Jeremy Hunt To Halt Local Hospital Downgrade

  22-08-2017 16:52
  
  Tory MPs have been dubbed “wildly hypocritical” over NHS cuts after it emerged that Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom is lobbying Jeremy Hunt over the downgrade of her hospital.
  Leadsom, the Leader of the Commons, has written to the Health Secretary to urge him to review a decision to axe a consultant-led maternity unit at Horton General Hospital in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
  A local clinical commissioning group decided this month to make permanent a downgrade to a midwife-led unit, prompt
  
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• ‘Tory’ is a swearword in the north. Is George Osborne a strange exception? | Helen Pidd

  22-08-2017 16:41 via theguardian.com
  I wasn’t sure about his northern powerhouse. But the former MP for Tatton is right to tell Theresa May that improving transport links is vitalTempting though it is to tell George Osborne to butt out and stop interfering, now he edits a London newspaper instead of representing a northern seat, I must lightly applaud the former chancellor for still banging on about the north-south divide. Related: Osborne calls for May to back 'northern powerhouse' rail plansContinue reading...
  
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• Why England’s north is still waiting for its powerhouse | Andy Burnham

  22-08-2017 16:38 via theguardian.com
  My experience in the Treasury taught me that the test for assessing projects is biased against poorer regions. The north must not be pushed to the back of the queue any moreI will start with a confession: I was the chief secretary to the Treasury who brought together the funding package for London’s £15bn Crossrail 1 project.Services are not yet running on Crossrail 1, but already the government is dropping heavy hints that it will give the green light to London’s £30bn C
  
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• Britain’s joyless jobs market can be bad for your health

  22-08-2017 15:11
  Researchers found people in poor quality work had the highest levels of stress
  
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• A bad job may be more unhealthy than unemployment

  22-08-2017 15:11
  Researchers found people in poor quality work had the highest levels of stress
  
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• Call for business properties in Scotland to be revalued more often

  22-08-2017 14:58
  Independent review urges assessments every three years instead of the usual five
  
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• Tory splits over the Efta court

  22-08-2017 14:57
  The Brexit secretary is treading carefully as some leading MPs oppose the issue
  
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• Children Of Divorcing EU Parents Will Be Caught In Legal Turmoil If 'No Deal' On Brexit

  22-08-2017 13:12
  
  Children of divorcing parents could be caught up in a judicial war after Brexit if the UK and EU do not agree a deal, Government officials warned today.
  The UK’s departure from the EU means an end to raft of laws and conventions designed to help parents of different nationalities settle divorce and child access cases.
  If the EU does not agree to UK demands to replicate the existing rules – a situation not enjoyed by any other country – a British parent would be in a substantia
  
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• Dominic Chappell To Be Prosecuted But MP Says Sir Philip Green Should Have Faced Tougher Penalty

  22-08-2017 13:00
  
  A senior MP has hit out the failure to pursue Sir Philip Green over the collapse of high street chain BHS, after the Pensions Regulator announced it would prosecute the man he sold it to.
  Dominic Chappell will be prosecuted for failing to provide information and documents it requested during its investigation into the sale of the collapsed retailer.
  Chappell bought BHS from Green in 2015 for £1 and it collapsed in April 2016.The regulator has previously said Green’s “main purpo
  
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• Millions of votes were wasted at the election - it's time for change

  22-08-2017 12:05
  
  New report shows that 68% of votes had no impact on the result
  
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• Wings Over Scotland blogger arrested over alleged harassment

  22-08-2017 11:46 via bbc.co.uk
  A woman accuses the man behind the Wings Over Scotland website of online harassment.
  
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• UK infrastructure: Falling short

  22-08-2017 07:33
  FT series examining why the quality of the UK’s infrastructure lags behind several G7 peers
  
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• Brokenshire to discuss Brexit and Stormont with Irish minister

  22-08-2017 07:27 via bbc.co.uk
  NI secretary to visit Dublin with Brexit and the restoration of Stormont executive being discussed.
  
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• Lib Dems under Vince Cable still want to legalise cannabis

  22-08-2017 06:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Vince Cable says the Liberal Democrats will keep pushing for the legalisation of cannabis.
  
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• George Osborne urges 'HS3' rail for northern England

  22-08-2017 05:35 via bbc.co.uk
  Ex-Chancellor George Osborne leads the campaign for high-speed rail lines to link Liverpool and Hull.
  
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• Tories urged to abandon effort to scrap Human Rights Act

  22-08-2017 05:03
  Defence of rights is core liberal value and crucial for young voters, says think-tank
  
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• UK eyes rethink after high cost of nuclear plant

  22-08-2017 05:02
  Ministers stung by criticism of deal to provide new energy infrastructure at Hinkley
  
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• Donald Trump's Address To The Nation Leaves Everyone Scratching Their Heads

  22-08-2017 04:40
  
  President Trump used his first official Address to the Nation on Monday night to announce his administration’s grand strategy for the ongoing war in Afghanistan.
  But aside from saying it will continue and the US will win “in the end”, the speech was severely lacking in specifics.The essence of Trump's speech: an expansion of open-ended conflict in Afghanistan with no clear, measurable timeline or goal.— Beau Willimon (@BeauWillimon) August 22, 2017
  Speaking from Fort Myer
  
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• Brexit: UK seeks 'close co-operation' on legal disputes deal

  22-08-2017 01:32 via bbc.co.uk
  Ministers want divorces and cross-border consumer claims resolved "in a clear and sensible way".
  
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• Twitter Under Fresh Attack Over Failure To Tackle Misogynist, Racist Abuse

  22-08-2017 01:01
  
  Twitter is “failing” women and minority ethnic communities by not doing enough to tackle misogynist and racist abuse online, a leading internet safety campaign has declared.
  The US social media giant was urged to act after the cross-party ‘Reclaim the Internet’ campaign and women’s rights group the Fawcett Society warned that it was doing “too little, too slowly” to combat threats.
  The campaign, founded by Labour’s Yvette Cooper, reported a snapsh
  
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