Political news

• Lord Storey, 68, is Lib Dem young people's spokesman

  12-10-2017 22:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Lord Storey is among appointments in Lib Dem frontbench shake-up.
  
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• Deadlock over UK's Brexit bill, says EU's Michel Barnier

  12-10-2017 22:04 via bbc.co.uk
  The EU negotiator calls the lack of agreement "disturbing" but says "decisive progress" is possible.
  
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• Ministers haggle over 2,000 new staff as Brexit tests civil service

  12-10-2017 22:01
  Whitehall departments vie for extra personnel to cope with burden of leaving the EU
  
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• Hammond under pressure as Lawson calls for chancellor to be sacked

  12-10-2017 21:31
  Eurosceptic conservatives unleash fury over Brexit contingency planning
  
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• Britain ‘losing ground’ in global research race, study finds

  12-10-2017 20:17
  Government suppressed report showing UK risked place as ‘world-leading research nation’
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Accuses Michael Fallon Of 'Smear' Over Drone Killing Of So-Called 'White Widow'

  12-10-2017 20:15
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has said the Conservative Party is trying to smear him over the IS drone strike that reportedly killed Sally-Anne Jones after the Labour leader said the British IS recruiter should have faced trial.
  Corbyn had said on Thursday that the woman dubbed the White Widow “ought to be put on trial” as she had “committed crimes” after it was reported she was killed in June, close to the border between Syria and Iraq, by a US Air Force strike.
  The comments p
  
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• David Davis Issues Barbed Response To Keir Starmer's Brexit Bill Letter

  12-10-2017 19:46
  
  Brexit Secretary David Davis has issued a spiky letter to his Labour counterpart Keir Starmer, asking him to “spell out exactly how much” he would offer for the EU divorce bill. 
  As talks between UK and EU negotiators faltered today, Starmer wrote to say he was “deeply concerned” about a lack of progress on the financial settlement, six months on from the triggering of Article 50. 
  Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said negotiations had reached a
  
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• Brexit Briefing: Gone To Deadlock

  12-10-2017 19:30
  
  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) So Much For Theresa May’s Brexit Breakthrough It was the worst kept secret in Brussels, but Michel Barnier has officially confirmed what we’ve known for months: there has not been “
  
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• The pernicious effect on politics of the WhatsApp mentality 

  12-10-2017 19:11
  The prominence of the messaging service encourages disloyalty 
  
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• Donald Trump's Clean Power Plan And Obamacare Moves Explained For Brits

  12-10-2017 19:02
  
  This week is set to be busier than usual in the White House as the Trump administration gets set to plough ahead with attempts to change two major pieces of US policy - Obamacare and the Clean Power Plan.
  Before we get into the nitty-gritty of what this means and why it’s happening, it’s worth pointing out what both of these laws have in common - this man:
  It’s no secret that President Trump has made something of a mission of hacking away at Barack Obama’s legacy, al
  
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• Tory MP Maria Miller Reveals She Experienced Sexual Harassment On 'Numerous Occasions'

  12-10-2017 18:43
  
  .@MariaMillerUK says sexual harassment in schools is not "child's play” and urges headteachers to take a “very hard look” #ThatsHarassment pic.twitter.com/wbrXjkqjkE— 5News (@5_News) October 12, 2017
  A former minister has revealed she has experienced sexual harassment on “numerous occasions”. 
  Maria Miller, chair of the Commons’ Equalities Committee, said the incidents were “too numerous to give an example” as she claimed the behaviour w
  
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• UK unveils plan for temporary cap on energy bills

  12-10-2017 18:41
  Ministers propose the biggest state intervention in the market since privatisation
  
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• Clean growth plan aims for step change in home energy efficiency

  12-10-2017 18:37
  Ministers unveil new strategy to decarbonise economy and tackle climate change
  
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• Cabinet Office Minister Damian Green Appeared To Get Two Asian MPs Confused In The Commons

  12-10-2017 18:27
  
  Cabinet Office minister Damian Green has been criticised after appearing to get two Asian MPs confused in the House of Commons - while talking about the government’s newly-published race disparity audit.
  Labour’s Faisal Rashid said he was “very disappointed” when the de facto deputy prime minister apparently mistook him for colleague Afzal Khan.
  Rashid asked Green about the small number of ethnic minority workers being recruited through the civil service fast stream
  
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• Number of people starting apprenticeships in UK plunges

  12-10-2017 18:06
  Business says figures show new apprenticeship levy system is not working
  
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• Liam Fox is Board of Trade's only official member

  12-10-2017 17:45 via bbc.co.uk
  The international trade secretary is "not sitting on a room on his own", officials insist.
  
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• Boris Johnson: Time to put 'tiger in tank' on Brexit talks

  12-10-2017 17:38 via bbc.co.uk
  The foreign secretary says the UK is looking for "some urgency" from the EU in Brexit negotiations.
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: UK jihadist Sally-Anne Jones should have faced trial

  12-10-2017 17:34 via bbc.co.uk
  The Labour leader is asked whether he would have ordered a drone strike on British jihadist Sally-Anne Jones.
  
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• Robin Newton: Police to investigate Assembly speaker

  12-10-2017 17:26 via bbc.co.uk
  Robin Newton rejects claims he misled the Northern Ireland Assembly about his role with Charter NI.
  
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• Electoral Commission faces legal action over Vote Leave ruling

  12-10-2017 17:06 via bbc.co.uk
  Electoral Commission faces possible legal action over dropping a probe into Brexit campaign spending.
  
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• 5 Times Donald Trump Showed Mind-Boggling Ignorance During His Sean Hannity Interview

  12-10-2017 16:56
  
  As fresh reports surfaced of a whole new level of disfunction within the Donald Trump White House, the President was rolled out in front the cameras for what amounted to an ego-stroking ‘interview’ with Sean Hannity of Fox News.According to an incredible report in Vanity Fair on Wednesday, the President “hates everyone in the White House” and his aides fear he is “unravelling”.
  But in an hour-long one-on-one, held at a military ai
  
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• Philip Hammond Should Be Sacked, Says Former Tory Chancellor Nigel Lawson

  12-10-2017 16:15
  
  "Probably a reshuffle" Lord Lawson on the chancellor's future"I fear he is unhelpful... what he is doing is very close to sabotage" pic.twitter.com/4kGzBpBsow— Daily&SundayPolitics (@daily_politics) October 12, 2017
  Theresa May should sack Philip Hammond for sabotaging the Brexit negotiations, former Tory chancellor Nigel Lawson has said.
  Speaking to the BBC’s Daily Politics programme on Thursday, Lord Lawson accused the current chancellor of failing to prepare for a no deal Bre
  
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• UKIP leader Henry Bolton on party politics and manifesto

  12-10-2017 16:14 via bbc.co.uk
  Henry Bolton says UKIP party now has around 27,000 members, which he admit is "low".
  
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• 'Fabricated' Hammond-PM disagreeing claims

  12-10-2017 16:12 via bbc.co.uk
  Anna Soubry defends Philip Hammond from the "nonsense, squabbling and name-calling” from a few dozen Tory MPs.
  
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• Brexit: Nigel Lawson calls for Philip Hammond sacking

  12-10-2017 16:11 via bbc.co.uk
  A former Conservative chancellor says the current postholder should be removed from the job
  
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• Serwotka on universal credit and closing job centres

  12-10-2017 16:08 via bbc.co.uk
  PCS union boss says the government 'obsessed' that everybody can access welfare services online
  
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• Brexit: How can UK trade with EU without a trade deal?

  12-10-2017 16:07 via bbc.co.uk
  Will UK Brexit policy be a recipe for triumph, disaster, or something in-between?
  
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• Brexit talks: bad-tempered breakdown in sight as deadline looms | Dan Roberts

  12-10-2017 15:31
  Just as the chancellor predicted on Wednesday, all sides now warning of need to imagine the worst as fifth round endsIt may have felt like Groundhog Day, but the fifth round of the increasingly tetchy Brexit talks on Thursday provided a glimpse into the future, and it wasn’t pretty.The pound dropped abruptly when Michel Barnier announced that all they had achieved was a “very disturbing state of deadlock” over money. With it should go the hopes of millions of citizens stranded
  
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• Clean Growth Plan could see stamp duty incentive for homeowners

  12-10-2017 15:30 via bbc.co.uk
  The changes are part of the Clean Growth Plan to reduce the UK's greenhouse emissions.
  
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• Why a ‘no deal’ Brexit will prove futile for UK customs

  12-10-2017 14:18
  Spending billions would be pointless unless the same systems were in place elsewhere
  
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• Preparing UK borders for a ‘no deal’ Brexit is futile

  12-10-2017 14:18
  Spending billions would be pointless unless the same systems were in place elsewhere
  
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• Speaker calls for rethink on private members' bills

  12-10-2017 14:15 via bbc.co.uk
  John Bercow says the talking-out of bills does not help Parliament's reputation.
  
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• Energy price cap plans revealed

  12-10-2017 13:48 via bbc.co.uk
  Draft legislation designed to bring down the cost of energy bills is outlined.
  
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• Brexit Talks 'Deadlocked' Over Financial Settlement, Warns Chief EU Negotiator

  12-10-2017 12:57
  
  Brexit talks between the United Kingdom and European Union are in “deadlock” over how much money Britain will pay as it exits the bloc.
  Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, told a press conference in Brussels on Thursday the impasse was “disturbing”.
  Following the fifth round of talks, he said Brussels was not yet prepared to move onto the second stage of the talks which would deal with the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU.
  Barnier s
  
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• Labour MPs Shout 'Disgrace' As Justine Greening Says Schools And Parents Should Tackle Period Poverty

  12-10-2017 12:12
  
  Labour MPs branded education secretary Justine Greening “a disgrace” for telling the Commons schools and parents should take responsibility for tackling period poverty.
  The education secretary was responding to a question from Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff, who said schoolgirls in her constituency were being forced to used tissues and socks stuffed into their knickers instead of towels or tampons.
  Labour has pledged to end period poverty if it gets into government by providing free sani
  
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• John Bercow Says MPs Have 'Right' To Try And Block Brexit

  12-10-2017 12:03
  
  John Bercow has said MPs have the “right” to try and block Brexit when the exit deal faces a vote in the Commons.
  The Speaker said on Wednesday evening it was not a “constitutional fact” that MPs had to agree to Brexit just because the ‘Leave’ campaign won the referendum.
  “My sense is there will be a lot of people in parliament who will want to be able to vote on the deal,” he said during a Q&A session in the Houses of Parliament.
  “There
  
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• Quentin Letts Takes Aim At 'La-Di-Da' Elitists In New Book... But Mysteriously Leaves Out Boss Paul Dacre

  12-10-2017 11:47
  
  Daily Mail sketch writer Quentin Letts has found himself the subject of ridicule after penning a book attacking Britain’s elite, after mysteriously failing to include his boss, newspaper editor Paul Dacre. 
  The journalist and author recently published a book titled ‘Patronising Bastards: How The Elites Betrayed Britain’ - a “sustained vituperative honk of horror against our new establishment”. 
  In a high-spirited interview on the Radio 4 Today programme t
  
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• Stamp Duty Could Be Cut On Energy-Efficient Homes, Climate Change Minister Suggests

  12-10-2017 11:43
  
  Stamp duty could be slashed on sales of energy-efficient homes in a bid to persuade more people to go green, the Government’s climate change minister has revealed.
  Claire Perry said that cutting stamp duty, which would save buyers thousands of pounds, was one option being looked at as part of the drive to help the UK reduce carbon emissions.
  Perry spoke as the long-awaited ‘Clean Growth Strategy’ was published on Thursday, with a pledge to set Britain “on a path to a low
  
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• Brexit Uncertainty Prompts British Exporters Association To Express Doubts

  12-10-2017 11:34
  
  The co-chair of the British Exporters Association has said the “uncertainty” over Brexit is “not a desire of business” and that preparations must be made for a no-deal scenario.
  Speaking on Radio 4′s Today programme, Marcus Dolman said failure to negotiate a trade agreement with the EU would be “worst-case [scenario] all round”.
  Since the triggering of Article 50 in March, exporters have benefitted from the drop in the value of the pound which has m
  
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• Labour MP Laura Pidcock talks to Owen Jones: 'The DWP has caused fear and terror' - video

  12-10-2017 11:30
  Laura Pidcock tells Owen Jones the Department for Work and Pensions is 'a national disgrace', saying it has created a sense of fear and terror by treating those in need as criminals. The MP for North West Durham says she regularly sees people in her surgery who are suicidal
  An extended version of this video is available on Owen Jones's YouTube channelIn the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the cr
  
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• Jeremy Hunt Will Not Apologise For Misleading Parliament Over Mental Health

  12-10-2017 11:27
  
  Jeremy Hunt will not apologise for misleading MPs over the number of mental health workers in the NHS. 
  The health secretary came under fire for claiming in the Commons that there were 30,000 more people working in mental health today than when Labour left office.
  But when questioned by Channel 4′s FactCheck, the Department of Health admitted the figure included all professionally qualified clinical NHS staff in England, not just mental health workers. 
  The real increase is just
  
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• I'm a working class woman. The British Dream is unachievable for me

  12-10-2017 11:14
  
  Tory Britain is a nightmare not a dream
  
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• Going underground

  12-10-2017 10:48 via bbc.co.uk
  It's been a year since a committee recommended vacating the Palace of Westminster for a complete refurbishment.
  
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• Clinton and May: Two sides of the same story

  12-10-2017 10:25
  
  The treatment of May and Clinton reveals a fundamental truth about how women are treated in politics
  
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• The Waugh Zone Thursday October 12, 2017

  12-10-2017 10:13
  
  1. THE BITTEREST PHIL
  David Davis and Michel Barnier resume hostilities/pleasantries in Brussels today at 11am, when they are due to hold their latest joint press conference on progress on Brexit talks.  With an increasing focus back in Britain on preparations for a ‘no deal’ outcome, we may find out if that tactic has worked or backfired.
  What was really extraordinary yesterday was the way Theresa May appeared to publicly smack down her Chancellor over his reluctance to spend
  
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• Jeremy Hunt to pledge £20,000 'golden hello' for rural GPs

  12-10-2017 09:18 via bbc.co.uk
  The health secretary is to announce new steps to attract more doctors to the countryside and coast.
  
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• UK’s promised energy price cap will expire in 2020

  12-10-2017 09:16
  Legislation to tackle ‘rip-off’ bills faces delay while power companies are consulted
  
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• No energy bill price cap this winter, Ofgem says

  12-10-2017 08:55 via bbc.co.uk
  A further one million customers will benefit from a limit on bills, but a wider cap will be delayed.
  
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• Philip Hammond Planning A 'Safety-First' Budget With No Giveaways

  12-10-2017 08:01
  
  Philip Hammond is planning to deliver a “safety-first” budget with no giveaways for younger voters, HuffPost UK has learned.
  The Chancellor is set to ignore calls from colleagues who want to see the public spending taps turned on in his November statement.
  Last month, the Chancellor urged his colleagues to send him ideas on how to attract the millions of under 47s who shunned the Tories in the General Election.
  Messages on housing and education costs seemed to be getting through to
  
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• Environmental charities 'bewildered' by cutbacks in Wales

  12-10-2017 07:22 via bbc.co.uk
  Wildlife and countryside groups criticise a cutback in Welsh Government funding for the environment.
  
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