Political news

• Rex Tillerson Throws Boris Johnson Diplomatic Lifeline After Days Of Continuous Bashing

  14-09-2017 23:32
  
  The US Secretary of State has presented a united front with Boris Johnson over the ongoing Brexit negotiations just days after the Foreign Secretary was branded “a joke” by just about everybody.
  Rex Tillerson said the United States will be a “steadfast ally” to the United Kingdom as it faces the “unique challenges” of leaving the EU.
  He is currently in London for talks with Johnson and Theresa May, covering a wide range of issues including Hurricane Irma, the
  
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• Jacob Rees-Mogg view on food banks is unchristian, say charities

  14-09-2017 20:58
  Tory MP’s comment that rise in food banks shows uplifting picture of compassion ‘shows he’s out of touch’
  Charities have reacted angrily after the Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said the rapid increase in food banks showed a “rather uplifting” picture of a compassionate country.There are at least 2,000 food banks in the UK giving out emergency food parcels to people in hardship, according to a survey published in May. In 2010, just a handful existed. Continue
  
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• 'They say what they like with impunity': MPs tell of election abuse

  14-09-2017 20:53
  Some politicians speak out for first time with stories of rape threats, racial abuse and targeting of childrenA teacher told the classmates of a Conservative MP’s son they should not to talk to him because his father was a Tory, the politician has said in a debate where MPs from all parties spoke of the abuse they received during the general election.
  Bob Stewart, the MP for Beckenham in Kent and a former United Nations commander, said all his children had been targeted by schoolmates beca
  
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• John Bercow: Cut the size of the House of Lords

  14-09-2017 20:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Commons Speaker John Bercow says the number of peers sitting in the Lords is "patently absurd".
  
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• Tory MP Bob Stewart Claims Teacher Told Pupils Not To Speak To His Son Because His Dad Is A Conservative

  14-09-2017 19:45
  
  A Conservative MP has spoken of how his teenage son’s teacher told his classmates not to talk to him because his dad is a Tory.
  Bob Stewart, who was an Army Colonel before entering politics, was speaking during a debate on abuse faced by MPs when he made the astonishing claim. 
  The MP for Beckenham in south London told the House of Commons that it was not just politicians who were victims of abuse, but their families as well.
  He said: “All my four children have been hassled
  
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• Boris Johnson trying to overcome red tape stopping aid to UK territories hit by Irma - politics live

  14-09-2017 19:32
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenJacob Rees-Mogg’s LBC phone-in - SummaryBercow says it will be ‘very worrying’ if Tories ignore Commons voteLunchtime summaryJohnson/Tillerson press conference - Summary 5.59pm BSTHere are the main points from the Johnson/Tillerson press conference.Anybody who has seen the effects of the hurricane, it’s absolutely catastrophic - I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s destruction which you
  
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• Paisley '£100k holidays' investigated by MPs' watchdog

  14-09-2017 19:07 via bbc.co.uk
  Ian Paisley reported himself to the MPs' watchdog after a newspaper report he said was "devoid of fact".
  
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• Children in England to sit tests on times tables as SATs are scrapped

  14-09-2017 19:00 via ft.com
  Education secretary Justine Greening says changes will ‘free up teachers’
  
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• 'Historic' schools funding change confirmed

  14-09-2017 18:35 via bbc.co.uk
  Government confirms minimum per pupil funding levels but Labour says it's a real terms cut, due to inflation.
  
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• Ringo Starr Revealed As 'Brexit Beatle' Prompts #BrexitBeatlesSongs Pile-On

  14-09-2017 18:33
  
  People on Twitter have been mocking Brexit with a little help from their friends, the Beatles.
  It all started when Brexit Central editor Jonathan Isaby made a social call-out to his followers to give the band’s songs a political twist after Ringo Starr said that Britain should “get on with” Brexit.In the light of Ringo Starr's intervention last night, is it time for #BrexitBeatlesSongs? Can I start the bidding with Hey Juncker?— Jonathan Isaby (@isaby) September 14, 2017
  
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• Arab Ambassadors Event Cancelled After Saudi Arabia And Sudan 'Barred From Labour Conference'

  14-09-2017 18:14
  
  Arab ambassadors have cancelled their reception at Labour party conference  after Saudi and Sudanese representatives were seemingly barred from attending.
  The London office of the League of Arab States wrote to all MPs and peers on Thursday to tell them the event - due to be hosted by the Council of Arab Ambassadors at the conference in Brighton next week - was no longer happening.
  In the letter, the organisation said it had taken the decision to cancel its reception and buffet dinner, whi
  
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• Grenfell Tower fire: Inquiry 'can and will provide answers'

  14-09-2017 17:59 via bbc.co.uk
  Survivors say they still feel they are not being listened to, as the inquiry opens.
  
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• Brexit Briefing: If Dan Brown Did Brexit...

  14-09-2017 17:53
  
  You can sign up for this briefing by clicking here, and you’ll receive it straight to your inbox every Thursday afternoon.
  If you like what you read, make sure you subscribe to our Commons People podcast here for even more analysis about what goes on in Westminster. 1) Once Again, Labour’s Brexit Divisions Were More Obvious Than The Tories’For all the pre-match hype, the real story about the EU Withdrawal Bill vote on Monday evening wasn’t Tory rebels,
  
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• Andrea Leadsom shrugs off a 'jaw-dropping' week for the government

  14-09-2017 17:12
  Is the government taking parliament seriously enough? Too seriously, the leader of the house seems to thinkWhen even the crusty Little Englander Peter Bone suggests that the government ought to be taking parliament a little more seriously, you might have thought ministers would care to pay some attention. But Andrea Leadsom, the barely competent leader of the house, was having nothing of it. As far as she was concerned the government was already taking parliament much too seriously as it was.Bus
  
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• Housing budget needs review, says trade body

  14-09-2017 16:54 via bbc.co.uk
  The number of homes built for social renters has fallen from 36,000 to just over 1,000 in six years.
  
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• Sadiq Khan Wants Broadcasters To Provide Pollution Forecasts To Help Tackle Toxic Air

  14-09-2017 16:52
  
  Television and radio broadcasters should provide pollution as well as weather forecasts to help tackle toxic air, according to the Mayor of London.
  Sadiq Khan, who has made bringing down pollution in the capital one of his key priorities, has written to the BBC, ITV and LBC radio, calling on them to include air quality in daily news bulletins and weather reports.
  About 9,000 Londoners and 40,000 people across the UK die earlier than they should because of harmful particles and gas in the air th
  
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• Pound jumps as Bank of England hints at rate rise

  14-09-2017 16:44 via bbc.co.uk
  Sterling surges as the Bank of England hints at rate rise in "the coming months".
  
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• Hannibal Osborne offers Tories a new psycho drama

  14-09-2017 16:03 via ft.com
  Theresa May, Liam Fox and the silence of the Jams
  
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• Murdoch bid for Sky faces plurality and standards probe

  14-09-2017 16:02 via bbc.co.uk
  21st Century Fox-Sky deal will be examined over media plurality and broadcast standards.
  
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• Sir James Dyson expects no Brexit deal

  14-09-2017 15:29 via bbc.co.uk
  The Leave campaigner says that Brexit uncertainty is an opportunity for UK firms.
  
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• Brexit and more

  14-09-2017 15:21 via bbc.co.uk
  A guide to the Lib Dems and what the party needs to do at its 2017 party conference in Bournemouth.
  
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• MPs accuse G4S of ‘system failure’ at detention centre

  14-09-2017 15:13 via ft.com
  Group chief ‘ashamed’ when he saw undercover footage of staff abusing detainees
  
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• Social cleansing: Hundreds of families moved out of London boroughs immediately after Grenfell

  14-09-2017 15:08
  
  In a four week period hundreds of households were moved out of London boroughs
  
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• What must Theresa May say in Florence?

  14-09-2017 14:58 via ft.com
  PM’s speech will be opportunity to put EU talks, and her premiership, back on track
  
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• Jacob Rees-Mogg: Food banks 'rather uplifting'

  14-09-2017 14:52 via bbc.co.uk
  The MP says that the charity involved in food banks "shows what a compassionate country we are".
  
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• Grenfell inquiry into UK high-rise fire opens to criticism of remit

  14-09-2017 14:50 via ft.com
  Interim report into fatal west London tower block blaze expected by Easter
  
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• Jacob Rees-Mogg Says Rise In Foodbank Usage Is 'Rather Uplifting'

  14-09-2017 14:10
  
  Jacob Rees-Mogg has come under fire for describing the the growing use of foodbanks in the UK as “rather uplifting”.
  Speaking on LBC, the backbench MP, who recently hit the headlines over rumours he could be considering a Tory leadership bid, said: “I don’t think the state can do everything.
  “It tries to provide a base of welfare that should allow people to make ends meet during the course of the week, but on some occasions that will not work.
  “And to hav
  
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• Will Grenfell really change attitudes towards social housing? The signs are not good

  14-09-2017 13:40
  
  Social housing tenants are still being turfed out of London boroughs, so what will really change?
  
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• Election campaign problems for Theresa May and Tories

  14-09-2017 13:38 via bbc.co.uk
  ConservativeHome's Mark Wallace offers his views on what went wrong for Mrs May.
  
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• Steven Mnuchin Requested Tax-Payer Funded Jet For Honeymoon Jaunt Around Europe

  14-09-2017 13:36
  
  Donald Trump’s claim he would “DRAIN THE SWAMP!” when in office has been a bit shaky since day one as he signed numerous ethics waivers for lobbyists and appointed a number of ex-Goldman Sachs employees to prominent posts.
  Now revelations about one of those former-bankers threatens to make one of the promises upon which he was elected look even more dishonest.
  Steven Mnuchin, the US Secretary of the Treasury (the guy in charge of all the money), requested the use of a tax-payer
  
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• Labour Leadership Candidates Could Get On Ballot With NO Support From MPs Under New Proposal

  14-09-2017 13:31
  
  Labour Party leadership candidates could get on the ballot paper without having the backing of a single MP in future.
  There are also plans to make the party’s general secretary an elected position as part of a radical set of proposals to be put forward to party conference next week.
  The controversial leadership suggestion, leaked to HuffPost UK, would see party rules changed to allow hopefuls to make the ticket either by having the support of 15% of MPs and MEPs, affilated trade unions or
  
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• Grenfell Inquiry 'Undermined' If Survivors Appointed As Assessors, Chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick Says

  14-09-2017 11:53
  
  The Grenfell Inquiry will not appoint a survivor of the fire to help find answers, as this would “undermine” its independence, the chair has said.
  Sir Martin Moore-Bick said the inquiry’s assessors would not be people with a direct, personal link to the fire, in his 45-minute opening statement, after severe criticism of him and his team for being remote from survivors and relatives of those who died.
  The inquiry, whose terms of reference has also been controversial, began on Th
  
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• Grenfell Inquiry Chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick Accused Of 'Disrespecting' Survivors By Ignoring Question

  14-09-2017 11:53
  
  The Grenfell inquiry chair has caused anger by walking away from a lawyer representing the survivors after he tried to ask a question on behalf of survivors of the blaze.
  Sir Martin Moore-Bick delivered a 45-minute statement on his controversial inquiry, declined to take questions and left to cries of “rubbish” and “don’t just walk away” after he ignored campaigning lawyer Michael Mansfield, who rose to ask: “May I make a request on behalf of survivors?”
  
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• Ringo Starr says people voted for Brexit so "get on with it"

  14-09-2017 10:47 via bbc.co.uk
  Brexit-backing former Beatle Ringo Starr says the "people voted" and the government "have to get on with it".
  
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• Theresa May to deliver Brexit speech in Florence

  14-09-2017 09:37
  Speech in Italian city will be scrutinised to see if UK stance has softened after tricky start to talks with EU27A speech by Theresa May billed as an important moment in the Brexit negotiation process is to take place in Florence next week, Downing Street has announced.May will speak in the historic Italian city on Friday 22 September “to update on Brexit negotiations so far”, the prime minister’s spokesman said. Continue reading...
  
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• The Waugh Zone Thursday September 14, 2017

  14-09-2017 09:31
  
  1. BLACK OPPS
  Oppositions have two main weapons: words and Parliamentary votes. Yesterday, Theresa May underlined how tenuous her majority really is by making sure that her troops only vote on legislation, not words. With the DUP signalling it would vote with Labour, the PM decided her party would not oppose the Opposition Day motions on either an NHS pay rise or on tuition fees. Crucially, that meant there was no vote recorded other than unanimous approval, and no way to say how indiv
  
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• Steve Bell’s If ... Michael Fallon declares Brexit war on Europe

  14-09-2017 07:10
  Continue reading...
  
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• Three months on, Grenfell tragedy remains an open wound

  14-09-2017 05:00 via ft.com
  Fire turned Tory ladies into ‘revolutionaries’ but some are wary of extremism
  
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• UK data protection rules to exempt journalists and researchers

  14-09-2017 01:01 via ft.com
  New legislation to safeguard information used in the public interest
  
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• Snap general election cost over £140m

  14-09-2017 00:20 via bbc.co.uk
  The government publishes the cost of June's election that left the Tories without a majority.
  
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• Brexit: UK targets 'bespoke' deal with EU to protect City

  14-09-2017 00:13 via bbc.co.uk
  Chancellor Philip Hammond says financial services are the UK's most important export to the EU.
  
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