Political news

• Tory men who voted leave more likely to be racially prejudiced

  29-09-2017 23:41
  Survey says 26% of Britons are at least ‘a little’ prejudiced – but age, class, education and income give no clues to attitudeBritons who are men, voted leave in the EU referendum and support the Conservative party are more likely to describe themselves as “racially prejudiced” than others, according to new research.The study – Racial prejudice in Britain today (pdf), released by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) – also found there had bee
  
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• Electoral Commission urged to reconsider view on Vote Leave spending

  29-09-2017 23:00
  Watchdog faces possible judicial review over decision to close investigation into £625,000 for digital marketing firmThe Electoral Commission is to be challenged in court to reopen its investigation into £625,000 of spending that eventually reached a digital marketing company during the EU referendum last year.
  The Good Law Project, which is headed by Jo Maugham QC, has written to the commission demanding that it reconsider its inquiry into how the funds reached AggregateIQ, a Canadi
  
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• Ben Jennings on Theresa May and the Conservative conference – cartoon

  29-09-2017 21:00
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• The Guardian view on universal credit: brake, don’t accelerate | Editorial

  29-09-2017 20:43
  The government plans to speed up the rollout of its welfare reform. But what matters is the delay in paying people who desperately need itUniversal Credit, once trailed as the Conservatives’ flagship benefit reform, has staggered from crisis to crisis since its inception seven years ago. On Thursday a letter from a dozen Tory backbenchers to the work and pensions secretary, David Gauke, calling for a pause was leaked to the Daily Telegraph. Later, the former government adviser Dame Louise
  
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• The Guardian view on food standards: the cost of competition | Editorial

  29-09-2017 20:43
  Look away now: an investigation into one food processor might put you off your next chicken mealFor almost every meat eater, chicken is the great standby. Every day, more than 2 million birds are consumed: spiced up as drumsticks or curry-sauced thighs or succulently ham-wrapped breasts. But there is perhaps no other area of food production where what we eat has become so distant from what happens to it on the way to the plate. It is not a process for the faint-hearted: and as an investigation b
  
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• Greg Clark tells Ofgem to rein in power companies

  29-09-2017 20:30
  Business secretary admits Tories have failed to make case for market economy
  
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• Teacher shortages may lead to pay rise above 1% cap, Truss hints

  29-09-2017 20:19
  Chief secretary to the Treasury indicates cap on wage rises might be lifted for parts of public sector facing skills shortages
  Teachers in England and Wales – along with other frontline public servants – may receive a more sizeable pay rise next year, after the government indicated it would lift the tough 1% cap on wage increases it had previously applied.A letter from Liz Truss, the chief secretary to the Treasury, to the board responsible for recommending teachers’ pay awards
  
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• UK housebuilders hope for more Help-to-Buy cash

  29-09-2017 20:09
  Industry eyes Tory conference for boost to flagship home scheme
  
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• Big bill for Big Ben: cost of renovating Elizabeth Tower rises to £61m

  29-09-2017 19:40
  MPs chime in with disapproval of doubled cost as project revealed to be more complex than originally thoughtThe cost of renovating the tower that houses Big Ben has more than doubled in 16 months, provoking an angry response from MPs.In a statement released late on Friday, the parliamentary authorities said the estimate for the work on the Elizabeth Tower had risen from an estimated £29m in the spring of 2016, to £61m. The additional cost emerged after the project was found to be mor
  
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• Henry Bolton becomes Ukip leader with Nigel Farage’s backing

  29-09-2017 19:36
  Avoids ‘quick death’ of party by defeating rivals focused on attacking Islam
  
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• Juncker says miracles are needed for progress on Brexit talks

  29-09-2017 19:19
  European commission president strikes pessimistic tone on movement to phase two of talks as EU leaders meet in TallinnJean-Claude Juncker has in effect ruled out a widening of the Brexit negotiations next month to take in a future trading relationship between Britain and the bloc, despite an acknowledgement by senior EU officials that Theresa May’s speech in Florence last week was “full of concessions”.“At the end of October, we will not have sufficient progress,” t
  
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• Wingnut leaders, cut-price logo. The new Ukip looks just like Oldkip | Marina Hyde

  29-09-2017 19:18
  With a lapsed Lib Dem at the helm and a new emblem pinched from the Premier League, boldly the party limps into the futureHugely exciting to see Ukip has unveiled its new logo at its party conference in Torquay – it has great brand recognition. Admittedly, the brand in question is the Premier League. Whether the latter will feel moved to launch a trademark action for the near-reproduction of its image is unclear. For now, we must ask: what sort of party of the people can’t even recog
  
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• Big Ben tower repair costs double to £61m

  29-09-2017 19:07 via bbc.co.uk
  The project is more complex than originally thought, Parliamentary authorities say.
  
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• Henry Bolton elected UKIP leader

  29-09-2017 18:45 via bbc.co.uk
  Ex-army officer says Brexit is party's core task as he becomes fourth leader in just over a year.
  
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• Analysis: Ukip's Unknown Soldier Needs To Bring Army Discipline To The Dysfunctional Party

  29-09-2017 18:34
  
  As the Ukip leadership results were announced, hacks in the gallery looking over the hall in Torquay became increasingly worried.
  Chairman Paul Oakden read out the results in reverse order, and the familiar names fell early.
  Deputy leader Peter Whittle: fifth place.
  The ‘gay donkey tried to rape my horse’ candidate: fourth.
  The London Assembly member who had the backing of Arron Banks: third.
  The far right, Islam-bashing Anne Marie Waters: second.
  Everyone looked at each other. Who
  
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• Tories risk permanent loss of youth vote, says Willetts

  29-09-2017 18:30
  Ex-cabinet minister issues warning before conference as data shows lifestyles of those aged 25-34 falling behind older voters
  The Conservative party risks permanently losing the support of younger voters unless Theresa May urgently tackles the challenges faced by the squeezed generation, the former Tory cabinet minister David Willetts has said. Related: Baby boomers are enjoying a second bite of the economic cherry | Larry ElliottContinue reading...
  
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• The moment the new UKIP leader Henry Bolton is announced

  29-09-2017 18:25 via bbc.co.uk
  Henry Bolton is the party's fourth leader in just over a year.
  
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• UK regulator weighs temporary licences for overseas groups after Brexit

  29-09-2017 18:03
  FCA looks at options to enable companies to operate in London after UK quits EU
  
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• Referendums are a blunt tool but people have a right to decide

  29-09-2017 17:42
  Most Catalans favour a legal vote on independence. Madrid should have facilitated one
  
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• Former soldier Henry Bolton elected as new leader of Ukip

  29-09-2017 17:24
  Party narrowly avoids shift towards far right in seven-way race, with result announced on first day of party conference • Who is Henry Bolton? Ex-soldier seen as competent technocratUkip has narrowly avoided a shift towards the far right after its members elected the relatively unknown former soldier Henry Bolton as its new leader, just beating a populist anti-Islam candidate.In a result announced at the party’s annual conference in Torquay on Friday, Bolton, whose main political expe
  
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• Why are there so few BAME leaders in Britain? – podcast

  29-09-2017 17:15
  The Colour of Power project has shown that just 3% of Britain’s most powerful people are non-white. What can be done to change this?Subscribe and review: iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast & Stitcher and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. To find out more visit The Colour of PowerThis week, the Guardian and Operation Black Vote revealed that just over 3% of the British elite were non-white. How does this affect minority communities? What does it mean for the aspir
  
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• Ban wood-burning stoves? Not in my back flue! | Deborah Orr

  29-09-2017 17:07
  Sadiq Khan says he wants to address London’s polluted air. Has he not considered the effect on our hygge?First they came for the free plastic carrier bags. We applauded. Then they came for the cheap taxi rides back to the ’burbs. We yelled, “Bravo!” Now they have come for the wood-burning stoves. At last, the metropolitan elite is moved to say: “No. Enough. Not in my back flue.” Related: Air pollution: Sadiq Khan calls for ban on wood-burning stovesContinue re
  
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• Henry Bolton: former soldier has reputation as competent technocrat

  29-09-2017 16:54
  Ukip will hope Bolton, largely unknown when the leadership election was called, will stabilise partyA largely unknown figure even within Ukip when the leadership election was called – Henry Bolton’s only prior role had been to stand as Kent’s police and crime commissioner – he has slowly built up a reputation as a competent technocrat who might help stabilise the party.A former soldier and then police officer, Bolton later worked for the Organisation for Security and Co-o
  
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• Henry Bolton Wins Ukip Leadership Contest As He Defeats Anti-Islam Anne Marie Waters

  29-09-2017 16:51
  
  Unknown former police officer Henry Bolton is Ukip’s new leader, beating anti-Islam activists Anne Marie Waters into second place.
  The former soldier is Ukip’s third elected leader in the space of 12 months, and secured victory with 3,874 votes - 29.9% of all cast.
  Bolton’s victory will help steer off a split in the party which would have been caused by Waters’ victory.
  The controversial activist, who has described Islam as “evil” and called for an end to
  
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• Was Corbyn a hit at the Labour conference? Ask the merchandise sellers

  29-09-2017 16:00
  You had to be quick to buy a T-shirt or a mug featuring the Labour leader in BrightonMondayThe organisers were often at pains to suggest that the Labour party conference wasn’t all about Jeremy Corbyn, but sometimes it did rather look that way. In the main exhibition hall, there were two stands devoted solely to selling JC merchandise. On the second to last day, a colleague went along to buy a £20 JC T-shirt for his son only to be told that the only ones left were in size XS. He was
  
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• Universal credit rollout should be paused, say Tory MPs

  29-09-2017 15:50
  Former government adviser and 12 MPs raise concerns over impact on people already receiving universal credit in trial areasA former government official and a dozen Tory MPs have added their voices to mounting calls on the government to slow down the implementation of universal credit – its controversial overhaul of the benefits system. Dame Louise Casey, who conducted a year-long study for ministers into community cohesion, likened pressing ahead with the system to “jumping over a cl
  
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• Ukip causes Premier League clash with choice of new logo

  29-09-2017 15:36
  Party ditches yellow and purple pound design for a lion’s head that resembles emblem of English football’s top leagueUkip’s attempt to rebrand itself for the post-Brexit era experienced an early hiccup on Friday after a new party logo bearing a lion’s head prompted reports the Premier League was investigating whether it was too similar to its emblem.
  The logo replaces the longstanding yellow and purple pound symbol, and was chosen by party members at Ukip’s annual c
  
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• Saira Khan looks on the political centre ground

  29-09-2017 15:36 via bbc.co.uk
  Saira Khan takes to the skies to look at political records on helping those who help themselves.
  
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• Labour and Conservative party merchandise for sale

  29-09-2017 15:35 via bbc.co.uk
  Corbyn fans have bought record amounts of scarves, mugs, t-shirts, and shaving foam.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn rides high, but Labour camaraderie is not enough

  29-09-2017 15:14
  The opposition leader’s new consensus faces its toughest test over Brexit
  
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• Insurers’ risky Brexit bet

  29-09-2017 15:02
  Some companies are gambling on winning a better deal when it comes to cross-border contracts
  
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• Theresa May urged to halt Universal Credit rollout

  29-09-2017 14:54 via bbc.co.uk
  PM warned of "dire" consequences for families if the rollout of new benefit is not paused.
  
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• UKIP 'not worried' on Premier League logo

  29-09-2017 14:22 via bbc.co.uk
  UKIP's chairman says he is “not worried” about any legal action as the party "did our due diligence".
  
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• Ukip's New Lion Logo Mocked On Social Media For 'Copying Premier League'

  29-09-2017 14:13
  
  Ukip’s chairman has said he is not worried about the possibility of Premier League taking legal action after party members voted on a new logo displaying a large purple lion.
  Paul Oakden told the BBC’s Daily and Sunday Politics that he “doesn’t mind Ukip being associated with the Premier League” and that the party “did our due diligence” when coming up with the new potential designs for the party.Oakden: "I'm not worried, I don't mind UKIP being associat
  
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• Universal Credit Harming Working Poor And Should Be Paused, Says Dame Louise Casey

  29-09-2017 14:07
  
  Universal Credit, the government’s overhaul of the benefits system, will make life harder for the working poor at a time the country is “fraying at the edges”, a former senior government official has warned.
  Dame Louise Casey, who conducted a review into community cohesion and extremism, said the rollout of the system should be “paused”.
  Her intervention comes after a dozen Tory MPs signed a letter to work and pensions secretary David Gauke also calling for th
  
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• Gambling addiction is Labour’s mess – Tom Watson is right to try to fix it | Jim Orford

  29-09-2017 14:03
  New Labour’s deregulation of gambling in 2005 has damaged the health of the nation. The deputy leader’s plan for a levy is a good startWhile we wait to hear the government’s conclusions following its consultation on the controversial fixed-odds betting machines and on gambling advertising, the Labour party deputy leader Tom Watson has made the clearest statement I have yet heard from a leading British politician about the need for action on our large and neglected gambling prob
  
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• Week in Review: May is Corbyn's most important recruiting sergeant

  29-09-2017 13:46
  
  Corbyn has much to be grateful to Theresa May for
  
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• Universal credit is a mean, flawed scheme. Its rollout must be blocked | Neil Coyle

  29-09-2017 13:33
  In my Southwark constituency, the Tories’ benefits system has already forced many into debt, food poverty and eviction. Others should be saved from it“I’m going to have to quit work,” is what one single mum told me in my weekly advice surgery. She was a DWP “poster woman” for its apprenticeship programme – earning while training part-time to fit it around the care needs of her children. She was OK until universal credit was extended locally to cover some
  
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• Scores of Tory MPs join energy cap call

  29-09-2017 12:50 via bbc.co.uk
  A cross-party letter urges PM to "do more" to protect millions of households from energy price rises.
  
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• Brexit: Miracle needed to advance talks, says Juncker

  29-09-2017 12:35 via bbc.co.uk
  The EU will not agree to open UK trade talks next month unless "miracles happen", top official says.
  
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• Jean-Claude Juncker Warns 'Miracle' Needed For Brexit Trade Talks To Begin Soon

  29-09-2017 12:32
  
  European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has warned it would take “miracles” for trade talks between the UK and EU to begin before the end of October.
  The EU has insisted that it will not discuss its future relationship with Britain until an agreement is reached on the divorce settlement.
  Brussels wants to strike a deal on the rights of EU citizens living in the UK, how much money the UK will pay as it exits the bloc and how the Northern Ireland border will function.Speakin
  
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• Mark Carney expects interest rate rise in 'relatively near term'

  29-09-2017 12:20 via bbc.co.uk
  Bank of England Governor gives the clearest indication yet that rates could rise as soon as November.
  
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• Brexit Voters More Likely To Say They Are Racist, Research Shows

  29-09-2017 11:55
  
  Brexit voters are more likely to admit to holding racist views than Remain voters, new research shows.
  More than a third - 34 percent - who voted Leave said they were “very” or “a little” racially prejudiced while just 18 percent of Remain voters said the same, according to a report by equality think tank Runnymede Trust and the National Centre for Social Research.
  The centre’s survey has asked the same question annually since 1983, but the number professi
  
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• Uber boss to meet London transport chief to try to regain licence

  29-09-2017 11:35
  Ride-hailing app’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to hold talks with London’s transport commissioner on TuesdayUber’s chief executive will meet London’s transport commissioner next week, as the global ride-hailing app tries to win back its licence to operate in the UK capital. Dara Khosrowshahi, who took over the in the role a month ago, will meet the Transport for London boss, Mike Brown, on Tuesday, 10 days after the regulator said it would not renew Uber’s private-hire li
  
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• Military action over North Korea ‘worst possible option’, says UK diplomat

  29-09-2017 10:27
  Preventive war waged by Donald Trump would be likely to escalate very quickly, says ex-FCO political director Simon GassThe UK diplomat who negotiated the Iran nuclear deal has said a military response to North Korea is “the worst possible option”, and would lead to chilling and unimaginable consequences, including the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.Related: Trump pledges to 'fix the mess' of North Korea's nuclear programContinue reading...
  
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• The Waugh Zone Friday September 29, 2017

  29-09-2017 10:01
  
  1. UNCONDITIONAL SHOVE
  What a difference a few months and a botched election makes. In January, a super-confident Theresa May was warning darkly that Brussels had better give us a good Brexit deal or face the loss of UK cooperation on security and intelligence. Many saw it as an empty threat and today the PM confirms her retreat in a speech to Russia-facing British troops in Estonia, declaring our “unconditional” support for European defence, post-Brexit.
  This morning, May also meet
  
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• MoD defends £370m Foxhound vehicles after breakdown claims

  29-09-2017 09:01
  Ministry of Defence insists vehicles are suitable for conditions in Iraq after sergeant complains of ‘massive’ overheating issueThe Ministry of Defence has said its armoured vehicles are “dealing with the demanding conditions in Iraq” after reports claiming light patrol Foxhounds have broken down in the heat.The vehicles, first deployed in Afghanistan in 2012, were described as providing “unparalleled protection for [their] weight and class”. Continue reading.
  
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• BBC Question Time: Labour's Ian Lavery Says Party Is 'Committed To Will Of The British People' On Brexit

  29-09-2017 09:00
  
  Labour “is committed to the will of the British people” and would not back a second Brexit referendum, its chairman has said in a heated exchange over the party’s stance.
  MP Ian Lavery said the party was “crystal clear” on the issue, to hollow laughter from some in the audience on BBC Question Time.
  The party has faced criticism for an ambigious stance on Brexit. It recently said it wanted a transition deal for Britain in which it remained in the Customs Union and S
  
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• Theresa May under pressure to introduce price cap on energy bills

  29-09-2017 08:53
  Letter to prime minister signed by 192 MPs said move would protect millions of families on standard variable tariffsTheresa May has been urged to revive her election pledge to put a price cap on energy bills by more than 70 Conservative MPs who signed a cross-party letter to the prime minister before the party’s conference this weekend.In the letter to May and the business secretary, Greg Clark, MPs said the move would protect families on standard variable tariffs.Continue reading...
  
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• Britons in EU hail May’s ‘big step forward’ on residency rights

  29-09-2017 08:00
  Campaigners urge EU to reciprocate PM’s offer not to remove right to stay from EU citizens in UK if they leave for two yearsCampaigners for the rights of British nationals in Europe have urged the EU to reciprocate a “significant” offer from the government to allow them continued freedom of movement to retire or live in another country in the bloc after Brexit.
  They made their call after Theresa May appeared to respond to a letter they sent following her Florence speech implori
  
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