Political news

• Theresa May to step up calls for Brexit transition talks next week

  13-10-2017 21:26
  UK PM to warn EU leaders that intransigence will play in to hands of Tory hardliners
  
  Read more

• Hammond apologises after branding the EU the enemy

  13-10-2017 21:14
  UK chancellor’s comments risk sparking anger in Downing Street as well as Brussels
  
  Read more

• Transport and energy plans at risk if Europe finance ends

  13-10-2017 20:54
  Britain may find it harder to finance projects if it loses access to EIB
  
  Read more

• Attacks on Hammond are to Britain’s detriment

  13-10-2017 19:33
  It is important the prime minister stands up for her chancellor
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Philip Hammond 'Regrets' Calling The EU The 'Enemies' In The Brexit Negotiations

  13-10-2017 19:26
  
  Philip Hammond has said he “regrets” calling the European Union “the enemy” in the Brexit negotiations. 
  The chancellor faced criticism on Friday after he was asked about accusations from within the Tory party that he is taking too soft an approach to Brexit.
  The Tory minister said it was time for the Conservatives to cease their in-fighting over the Brexit talks and said the “opponents” were on the “other side of the table”.“I understan
  
  Read more

• Donald Trump Will Not Certify Iran Nuclear Deal Citing 'Dangerous Aggression'

  13-10-2017 19:24
  
  The British, French and German governments have urged Donald Trump to “consider the implications” to international security after he announced that he will not certify the Iran nuclear agreement.
  The major reversal of US policy saw Trump call Iran a “fanatical regime” as he detailed a more confrontational approach to the Middle Eastern country  over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its support for extremist groups.
  Following Trump’s announcement T
  
  Read more

• BBC's Emma Barnett Calls Children's Minister Robert Goodwill 'Woefully Ignorant' In Exchange Over Social Worker Numbers

  13-10-2017 19:11
  
  The Children’s Minister has been called “woefully ignorant” by BBC presenter Emma Barnett, after he admitted he did not know how many social worker vacancies there were.
  During the 5Live interview on Friday, Robert Goodwill did not give a straight answer when Barnett asked what percentage of social worker posts for children were vacant across the country.
  Goodwill first said it was difficult to know because some councils report vacancies but employ agency staff to fill them, be
  
  Read more

• Sir Teddy Taylor: Funeral held of Conservative MP

  13-10-2017 19:05 via bbc.co.uk
  Conservative MP Sir Teddy Taylor died aged 80 last month.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Donald Trump Praises Hate Group That Thinks Gays Are 'Vile' And Islam Is 'Evil'

  13-10-2017 18:37
  
  Donald Trump has become the first sitting US President to address the Values Voter Summit, an event hosted by an anti-LGBT, anti-Islam organisation that has been branded a “hate group”.
  The event is held each year by the Family Research Council (FRC), an evangelical Christian group whose website states:Family Research Council believes that homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large, and can never be affirmed. It is by definition unnatural, a
  
  Read more

• Philip Hammond says his remarks were a poor choice of words

  13-10-2017 18:20 via bbc.co.uk
  The chancellor later tweeted that his comments were a "poor choice of words".
  
  Read more

• Boris Johnson to visit Moscow as part of 'robust' dialogue'

  13-10-2017 18:17 via bbc.co.uk
  The foreign secretary says dialogue with the Kremlin is important despite their "deep differences".
  
  Read more

• Labour Aims To End Tory Privatisation Of Prison Maintenance After Damning Report Exposes Squalid Cells

  13-10-2017 18:13
  
  Cockroaches, filthy toilets, litter-strewn cells and electric wires hanging above shower cubicles - prisoners are living in “utterly appalling” squalor in UK jails. 
  That is the conclusion of a damning report from Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons, as he warned the violence plaguing UK jails will not end while inmates are held in such poor conditions.
  Images from Clarke’s damning report, released his week, show exposed broken windows, poor ventilation, graffiti, dam
  
  Read more

• Sir David Amess Apologises For Press Release That Called Harvey Weinstein Allegations 'Dubious'

  13-10-2017 17:41
  
  A senior Tory MP has been forced to apologise after his office issued a statement suggesting the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment and assault allegations were “dubious”.
  Southend West MP Sir David Amess issued a clarification, saying the comments were in a press release from his office “which I had not seen or authorised.”
  The press release, quoted in Sir David Amess’ name by local paper The Southend Echo, said: “The recent revelations that countless st
  
  Read more

• Philip Hammond hits back at Brexit critics with optimistic tone

  13-10-2017 17:33
  UK chancellor says economy will ‘power forward’ once uncertainty has lifted
  
  Read more

• Fashion-loving PM receives clothes, shoes and jewellery

  13-10-2017 17:22 via bbc.co.uk
  Theresa May received gifts from Stella McCartney and Charlotte Olympia, transparency data reveals.
  
  Read more

• Philip Hammond says criticism over Brexit comments 'absurd'

  13-10-2017 16:49 via bbc.co.uk
  The chancellor describes as "bizarre" and "absurd" accusations that he is talking down the economy.
  
  Read more

• Arron Banks Chastised By Jess Phillips And Stella Creasy For 'Mansplaining' Sexual Harassment Etiquette

  13-10-2017 16:29
  
  Former Ukip donor Arron Banks has come under fire from Labour MPs Jess Phillips and Stella Creasy after he attempted to ‘mansplain’ sexual harassment to a female journalist. 
  Banks, who ploughed more than a million pounds into the party before being suspended in March, caused a Twitter storm when he accused journalist Jane Merrick of “a lack of character” over the way she dealt with harassment from a politician. 
  The 51-year-old co-founder of the 
  
  Read more

• Universal credit: Plaid Cymru offers to pay for claimants' calls

  13-10-2017 16:20 via bbc.co.uk
  The party says asking people to pay up to 55p a minute on universal credit helpline is "despicable".
  
  Read more

• Model Munroe Bergdorf on racism in the UK

  13-10-2017 15:53 via bbc.co.uk
  Britain is a "deeply racist society" says a model in the week when the government publishes its racism audit.
  
  Read more

• Bercow: Three week conference break is a 'palaver'

  13-10-2017 15:50 via bbc.co.uk
  Political party conferences should be held over the course of a weekend, the Commons speaker says.
  
  Read more

• Co-operative celebrates 100 years as political party

  13-10-2017 15:46 via bbc.co.uk
  The Co-operative name is probably better known for retail, but the political party turns 100 years old on Tuesday.
  
  Read more

• Supergirl Madeleina Kay told to leave Brussels press conference

  13-10-2017 15:41 via bbc.co.uk
  A British blogger was told to leave an EU press conference, despite having press accreditation.
  
  Read more

• Big data can deliver Britain from inherited racial injustice

  13-10-2017 15:12
  The government audit shows racism can be endemic even in the absence of racists
  
  Read more

• Heading into troubled waters

  13-10-2017 14:56
  The key issue is whether the UK will agree to pay more money to the EU
  
  Read more

• Labour flags up Brexit poll suggesting public regrets decision

  13-10-2017 14:40
  YouGov survey finds 42% of respondents think it is right to leave the EU and 47% think it is wrongLabour MPs, including a member of Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench team, have seized on a poll suggesting the public now regrets the referendum decision to leave the EU.A YouGov survey found that only 42% of respondents think it is right to leave the EU, compared with 47% who think it is wrong. This is the biggest gap in favour of remaining in the EU since the referendum in June.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• 'Thanks For The War...Now Pay Up' Jean-Claude Juncker Tells The UK

  13-10-2017 14:03
  
   
  ‘Thanks for the war, now you have to pay’ is the message to the UK from the EU Commission President.
  Speaking a day after the Brexit talks were described as “deadlocked” by the EU’s chief negotiator, Jean-Claude Juncker accused the UK being unwilling to compromise over the divorce bill.
  Juncker insisted the British “have to pay” if they want talks to begin on a future trade deal between the UK and the EU.
  In a debate at a university in his na
  
  Read more

• Week in Review: The hunt for Brexit traitors continues

  13-10-2017 14:00
  
  Accusations of treason and betrayal have started up once again
  
  Read more

• Bereaved parents to get legal right to two weeks' paid leave

  13-10-2017 13:53 via bbc.co.uk
  The entitlement to time off work after the loss of a child is expected to come into force in 2020.
  
  Read more

• Theresa May Has 'Full Confidence' In Philip Hammond, As Ex-Chancellor George Osborne Hints At Cabinet Talks To Oust PM

  13-10-2017 12:42
  
  Theresa May has “full confidence” in Philip Hammond, a Downing Street spokesperson said on Friday.
  The statement comes following reports relations between the PM and Chancellor are at “breaking point” and amid hints by Hammond’s predecessor, George Osborne, that there are ongoing talks among cabinet members over ousting the precariously positioned May.The prime minister slapped down Hammond earlier this week by promising to spend cash now in preparation for a Brexi
  
  Read more

• Donald Trump's 'Spiteful Act Of Sabotage' Will Strip Health Care For The Poor And Sick, Study Warns

  13-10-2017 12:37
  
  Donald Trump has been accused of a “spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage” by cutting off subsidies to health insurance companies for low-income patients.The Democrats ObamaCare is imploding. Massive subsidy payments to their pet insurance companies has stopped. Dems should call me to fix!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2017
  The move -  one of two made yesterday in an effort to fatally undermine Obamacare - has sparked threats of legal action and c
  
  Read more

• MPs put pressure on FCA over leaked RBS report

  13-10-2017 11:45 via bbc.co.uk
  The Treasury Committee says it may use "formal powers" to demand publication of a report into RBS bank.
  
  Read more

• UK mobile coverage 'deplorable', says Lord Adonis

  13-10-2017 11:32 via bbc.co.uk
  The national infrastructure commission head also warns the UK faces gridlock on roads, railways and in the skies.
  
  Read more

• Why we took cannabis in front of parliament

  13-10-2017 11:20
  
  A group of around 30 patients gathered outside parliament and broke the law
  
  Read more

• Government Reveals Reason EU Nationals Were Wrongly Sent Deportation Threat Letters

  13-10-2017 11:01
  
  Government ministers have revealed the reason scores of EU nationals were wrongly sent letters threatening them with deportation.
  The Home Office apologised after an “administrative error” led to more than 100 people being told they had a month to leave the country or face being booted out - amid uncertainty over their status in the UK post-Brexit.
  The gaff came to light after a Finnish academic who has lived in the UK with her British husband for most of the last ten years pos
  
  Read more

• The Waugh Zone Friday October 13, 2017

  13-10-2017 10:31
  
  1. ALL OVER BY CHRISTMAS?
  The impasse between the UK and the EU over Brexit was confirmed yesterday as Michael Barnier warned of the “disturbing” “deadlock” in the talks. David Davis pleaded with the EU to allow Barnier more freedom to discuss future trade relations as well as the ‘divorce’ bill.
  British sources say that while the EU is unlikely to budge in time for this month’s EU summit, they’re “optimistic” that things wil
  
  Read more

• Theresa May forced to delay flagship EU withdrawal bill

  13-10-2017 10:27
  Timetable slips in face of a planned rebellion by pro-European Tory MPs
  
  Read more

• Theresa Villiers On BBC Question Time Prompts Brexit Zinger From David Dimbleby

  13-10-2017 10:23
  
  Theresa Villiers was on the receiving end of a David Dimbleby comeback on Question Time after she launched into a passionate defence of Brexit.
  The former Tory Northern Ireland Secretary was speaking in Belfast (which voted Remain), and from the off encountered an incredulous reaction from the audience.
  She said: “I believe Brexit is going to open up real opportunities for the United Kingdom as a whole including Northern Ireland.”Theresa Villiers says that Brexit will
  
  Read more

• Outrage over Chris Rock's BBC interview shows poverty of cultural criticism

  13-10-2017 10:21
  
  Criticism of Chris Rock's use of the N-word was all too predictable
  
  Read more

• Panic, fear, confusion: Inside the hospitals piloting migrant ID checks

  13-10-2017 09:11
  
  Doctors and patients speak out on the brutal new changes being imposed on the NHS
  
  Read more

• Brexit bill should 'respect devolution', say AMs

  13-10-2017 08:51 via bbc.co.uk
  An assembly committee chairman warns UK ministers would gain powers on matters "devolved for 20 years".
  
  Read more

• BCC: 'Robust' manufacturing fails to boost UK growth

  13-10-2017 08:16 via bbc.co.uk
  The British Chambers of Commerce says while manufacturing is robust, there are concerns over services.
  
  Read more

• Brexit: EU 'to prepare' for future trade talks with UK

  13-10-2017 05:38 via bbc.co.uk
  A draft paper seen by the BBC suggests the EU is getting ready for the second phase of negotiations.
  
  Read more

• Curbs on UK housing benefit making system ‘irrelevant’, IFS warns

  13-10-2017 01:04
  People on low incomes struggling to afford adequate housing due to cap on benefit rise
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!