Political news

• Government Amends Commons Bill To Set Brexit Date In Stone

  09-11-2017 23:37
  The EU Withdrawal Bill will be amended to make sure the official date of Brexit is set in stone, the government has announced.An ‘exit day’- March 29, 2019 - is to be inserted into the legislation after concerns were raised by both Brexiteers and Remain supporters that the UK’s departure departure date was not enshrined in law.The government said it had “listened carefully” to debate and decided to table the amendment to “remove all doubt” and ensure the
  
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• Brexit Is Legally Reversible, Says Key Architect Of Article 50 Legislation

  09-11-2017 23:29
  Brexit is legally reversible as Brits still have the right to change their minds, one of the key architects of Article 50 will say.Lord John Kerr, the former chief British diplomat, is set to claim Theresa May’s Article 50 letter can be unilaterally withdrawn at any time and therefore “the die is not cast irretrievably”. Speaking at an event organised by the pro-single market campaign Open Britain in London on Friday, the former UK ambassador will say: “We are not re
  
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• Carmakers fear Brexit customs checks will cost ‘tens of millions’

  09-11-2017 22:47
  Honda and Ford among groups to warn of damaging impact on UK manufacturing
  
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• Keep Northern Ireland in customs union, says EU

  09-11-2017 22:22
  ‘All-island’ approach directly contradicts UK position and will infuriate DUP
  
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• Hard border would be setback for Northern Ireland peace, say locals

  09-11-2017 22:21
  Research finds anxiety on both sides of the frontier about region’s fate after Brexit
  
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• Britain's Public Services Are Living Their Best Life On 280-Character Twitter

  09-11-2017 22:11
  Twitter’s decision to end its iconic 140-character limit for pretty much everyone went down like a bucket of cold sick. J.K. Rowling perhaps put it more elegantly than that.Twitter’s destroyed its USP. The whole point, for me, was how inventive people could be within that concise framework. #Twitter280characters— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 8, 2017That said, some have nailed it. None more so than actor Isiah Whitlock (aka The Wire’s corrupt Senator Clay Davis), wh
  
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• We Should Be Revelling In The Talent Of The Stranger Things Cast, Not Sexualising Them

  09-11-2017 22:10
  There is no escaping Stranger Things right now. It currently has a demogorgon-sized control over our tube stations, our daily conversations and, most of all, our social media feeds since its release onto Netflix. And rightly so.It’s difficult to find anything not to love. A killer 80s soundtrack, hilarious and astute young actors, a Hollywood sweetheart with a badass streak (we’re looking at you, Winona) and a terrifying demonic threat from geek-inspired parallel universe, the Upside
  
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• John Bercow Says It Was 'Predictable' That Westminster Sexual Harassment Scandal Would Lead To Deaths

  09-11-2017 22:06
  John Bercow has said it was “predictable” that the sexual harassment scandal that has rocked British politics would lead to deaths, as he called for greater protection for the accused.The Commons Speaker said MPs accused of wrongdoing should be treated in the same “way we behave in relation to terrorists” as “we believe in a fair trial”.Bercow was speaking to students at Queen Mary University’s Mile End Institute in east London on Thursday evening.Former
  
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• New diesel cars to face higher taxes in clean air push

  09-11-2017 22:00
  Budget move will accelerate efforts to shift drivers from polluting vehicles
  
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• Diesel cars to face higher taxes in clean air push

  09-11-2017 22:00
  Budget move will accelerate efforts to shift drivers from polluting vehicles
  
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• Nicola Jennings on Donald Trump, Twitter and China – cartoon

  09-11-2017 21:50
  Continue reading...
  
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• Carwyn Jones may face investigation in wake of Carl Sargeant death

  09-11-2017 21:37
  Welsh first minister defends actions over assembly member who apparently took own life amid harassment allegationsThe first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, may face an independent investigation over how he handled allegations of harassment made against the sacked minister Carl Sargeant, who was found dead this week.There have been calls for Jones to resign over the issue but during an emotional press conference in Cardiff on Thursday he did not apologise and defended his actions, claiming every
  
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• Gordon Brown predicts Brexit 'crisis point'

  09-11-2017 20:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Gordon Brown tells BBC News the British public might be persuaded to stay in the EU next summer.
  
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• MP Charlie Elphicke 'does not know what he is accused of'

  09-11-2017 20:49 via bbc.co.uk
  Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke was suspended by the Tories over "serious allegations".
  
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• No alternative but to sack Carl Sargeant says Carwyn Jones

  09-11-2017 20:28 via bbc.co.uk
  Wales' first minister defends the handling of allegations against Carl Sargeant who died this week.
  
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• Unpaid Work: A Foot On The Career Ladder Or Exploitation?

  09-11-2017 20:25
  Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash
  Did you know that there are currently an estimated 10 - 15,000 unpaid internships and that in many industries they have become the first step for many after graduation? A new survey by Social Mobility Commission found that three quarters of those asked backed a change to the law to stop this exploitation.Just one of the problems with these unpaid internships: you can't get a job because you haven't got experience, you can't get experience because you are unab
  
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• The Guardian view on pesticides: give bees a chance | Editorial

  09-11-2017 20:25
  It may be hard to tie the neonicotinoid group of chemicals directly to the global bee decline but they do cause widespread harm. A ban is the right callMichael Gove, the leading Brexiter who’s now in charge of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is a natural iconoclast, sometimes a valuable characteristic in government. His education revolution left a damaging legacy of unaccountability and underfunding. But in his year as justice secretary, he won fans across the priso
  
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• Maybot reaches political nadir, and then keeps falling | John Crace

  09-11-2017 20:21
  It was all getting too much for Theresa. Her cabinet was splintering around her ears and she was running out of replacementsThe Pot Plants were up nice and early, which was more than could be said for the prime minister. Theresa May was having a lie-in following the worst day of her time in office. A worst day that had followed the previous worst day the day before. That had followed the worst day the day before that. There was a pattern emerging.“Tell her she’s got to get up,”
  
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• So many unanswered questions from the Priti Patel saga | Letters

  09-11-2017 20:18
  Michael Meadowcroft wonders if Priti Patel has been the fall guy for secret diplomacy, Nicholas Hall says the Patel debacle is a further insult to all Palestinians and Martin Lamb questions Patel’s choice of the word ‘fulsome’ in her apology. Plus letters from Angela Croft, KC Gordon, Anna Ford, Willy Montgomery Stack and Philip HeseltonThere are huge inconsistencies in the Priti Patel and Israel affair (PM’s turmoil grows as Patel quits over Israeli meetings, 9 November)
  
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• Welsh first minister defends his conduct after tragedy

  09-11-2017 20:14
  Carwyn Jones says he behaved properly in sacking of colleague later found dead
  
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• Tracking Down The Couple Who Killed And Dismembered Teenager Becky Watts

  09-11-2017 20:00
  When 16-year-old Becky Watts went missing two years ago, police had little idea the teenager’s tragic fate would spark the largest police investigation ever launched in Bristol.Initially it was thought she had run away, but as time progressed and there was no activity registered on her phone, senior investigating officer DCI Richard Ocone began to rightly suspect “something bad” had happened.Nine months later Mr Justice Dingemans wept as he handed a life sentence to Becky&rsquo
  
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• Priti Patel accused of overshadowing Middle East minister's mission

  09-11-2017 19:55
  Alistair Burt failed to be granted access to the most senior Israeli politicians because of unofficial trip by former international development secretaryMiddle East minister Alistair Burt struggled to gain access to the most senior Israeli politicians on a visit to the country in August because Priti Patel had got there first with the freelance trip that led to her downfall, it has been claimed.Because Patel, a cabinet minister at the time, had made the unofficial prior appointments, it made Bur
  
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• Carl Sargeant’s death was a tragedy. But women must keep speaking out | Deborah Orr

  09-11-2017 19:43
  The Welsh politician took his life after sexual misconduct allegations. It doesn’t follow that the current toxic atmosphere is the fault of victimsThey really started something, the women who made those first allegations against Harvey Weinstein. It remains to be seen quite how big the thing they started will become. But in Britain, wherever matters are headed, a pause for thought has been created and in the most terrible of ways. On Tuesday, Welsh Labour’s Carl Sargeant killed himse
  
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• Brexit Briefing: Devolution Is Constant

  09-11-2017 19:22
  Ahead of the Brexit talks firing up again this week, David Davis paid a visit to some of his European counterparts.The Brexit Secretary was keen to talk up the UK’s contribution to European security, and in Italy paid a visit to Operation Sophia HQ – the EU’s joint operation to clamp down on people smuggling in the Mediterranean.During a trip to Poland, Davis visited the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Warsaw and also met with British troops stationed there.The intention seemed
  
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• Priti Patel's departure clocks up £8,000 bill for taxpayers

  09-11-2017 19:03
  The former international development secretary spent thousands of pounds on air tickets during her abortive round trip to Nairobi Priti Patel’s sacking could yet prove politically expensive for Theresa May. But it is already clear that in monetary terms alone it will go down as one of the most costly cabinet departures ever – at just short of £8,000, in the Guardian’s carefully constructed estimate.The abortive round trip to Nairobi would have cost the taxpayer thousands
  
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• Theresa May ready to increase £20bn Brexit divorce offer

  09-11-2017 18:48
  Eurosceptics accept more money may be neededto break talks deadlock
  
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• Tackling Gender Inequality Must Be A Priority For New International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt

  09-11-2017 18:44
  ActionAid is pleased that a champion of women's rights will be our new Secretary of State for International Development. Penny Mordaunt has been an advocate for the important role of women in peace-keeping, and for the importance of tackling sexual violence in conflict.From ActionAid's experience on the ground, we know that the denial of the rights of women and girls is one of the principal underlying causes of injustice and poverty worldwide. Every day, countless women and girls experience viol
  
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• Carl Sargeant Death: Carwyn Jones Says He Had 'No Alternative' Over Handling Of Allegations

  09-11-2017 18:41
  Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones has said he had “no alternative” over his handling of claims against former Communities Secretary Carl Sargeant.Sargeant had been removed as a Welsh Government minister and suspended from the Labour Party by Jones because he was facing allegations of “unwanted attention, inappropriate touching or groping”.The Alyn and Deeside AM is understood to have taken his own life four days after the claims emerged.In the aftermath of criticism over
  
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• What Is It About Princesses?

  09-11-2017 18:26
  Princesses are an interesting subject. I have come to realise that there are apparently two distinct camps in real life and not just in fairytales: the adoring subjects and the hostile opponents. In the first camp are the parents and their little girls who relish the stories, the images, the songs, the dresses - indeed any kind of product stamped with a princess - and are attracted to them like magpies to jewels. They are loyal adherents to princesses, and certainly see nothing harmful in them.
  
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• Happy IVF-ing Birthday

  09-11-2017 18:24
  On November 10th 1977, Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards performed a procedure which was to result in the world's first IVF baby. Almost nine months later, Louise Brown was born and since then more than five million babies have entered this world after being conceived with the help of medical intervention.Happy 40th birthday In Vitro Fertilisation.I was first introduced to the concept of IVF twenty years later in 1997. I was a teenager, doing A Levels, and I remember it well as a debate in my r
  
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• Penny Mordaunt appointed as international development secretary – as it happened

  09-11-2017 18:22
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happened, including Theresa May appointing Mordaunt to replace Priti Patel 5.22pm GMTThanks for following the blog today and for all your comments. Here is a round-up of the day’s main developments: 5.21pm GMTThis is the full statement by the Welsh first minister, Carwyn Jones:This is an awful situation for everyone. I want to talk about Carl and his family today. We’re all very shocked by what happened this week. The
  
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• Johnson under fresh pressure over Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe error

  09-11-2017 18:01
  Iranian state TV claims incorrect statement by foreign secretary about British-Iranian woman ‘inadvertent confession’ of spyingBoris Johnson is under fresh pressure over Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after Iranian state television cited his erroneous statement about the jailed British-Iranian woman as “an inadvertent confession” that she was spying in Iran.Iran’s national television service (IRIB), whose programmes of this type are sanctioned by senior officials, remain
  
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• How To Solve A Problem Like Catalonia

  09-11-2017 17:52
  Catalonia's independent republic was short-lived. It was born and then died within three days - but the argument over its sovereign future will endure for much longer.Mariano Rajoy, Spain's conservative Prime Minister may have de jure control of Catalonia for now, but, his power grab is feeble at best - even with Catalonia's leader Carles Puigdemont thoroughly thwarted.Spain isn't exactly the kind of nation that exemplifies a happy marriage of semi-autonomous states, in fact, various secessionis
  
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• Progress On Closing Gender Pay Gap Is Stalling

  09-11-2017 17:50
  Equal Pay Day, on 10 November, marks the date from which women in the UK effectively work for free because of the gender pay gap.It is shameful that almost 50 years after the Equal Pay Act some women are still paid less than their male colleagues doing the same or like-for-like work.Prospect's new video demonstrates that being part of the union is the most effective way to combat pay discrimination, including the recent landmark equal pay deal at the Met Office.But the gender pay gap persists fo
  
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• Theresa May keeps the Brexit balance but stops short of renewal

  09-11-2017 17:38
  Penny Mordaunt’s promotion has been well received in the Tory party, writes Sebastian Payne
  
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• Legal recognition for non-binary people planned in Scotland

  09-11-2017 17:16
  Proposals include simpler and less intrusive self-declaration system for those over 16 who want to change gender People wishing to legally change their gender may be able to do so by signing a statutory declaration from the age of 16 under plans to radically reform gender recognition law in Scotland.The proposals include the option of full legal recognition for non-binary people – those who do not identify as either male or female – which would make Scotland one of a handful of count
  
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• With us or US? Barnier challenges May on the kind of society UK wants

  09-11-2017 17:15
  Michel Barnier says Britain’s answer is important because it will direct discussions on a future relationship with the EUThe EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has challenged Theresa May’s beleaguered government to address the fundamental question of whether Britain wants to deregulate and follow the US social and economic model or stay within the European mainstream.Speaking in Rome, Barnier voiced his concern over recent comments by the US commerce secretary on a v
  
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• Penny Mordaunt replaces Priti Patel in UK cabinet

  09-11-2017 16:37
  Pro-Brexit minister appointed international development secretary
  
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• Penny Mordaunt replaces Priti Patel in May's cabinet

  09-11-2017 16:31
  Pro-Brexit disabilities minister promoted to international development secretary after Patel quit over Israel row
  Penny Mordaunt, the Brexit-backing disabilities minister, has been appointed international development secretary to replace Priti Patel, who resigned from the cabinet on Wednesday night.Mordaunt’s appointment will appease many Eurosceptic MPs who wanted to see the prime minister preserve the balance of leave and remain supporters in the cabinet after the departure of Patel, who
  
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• Who is Penny Mordaunt?

  09-11-2017 16:24 via bbc.co.uk
  A profile of new international development secretary Penny Mordaunt, who replaces Priti Patel.
  
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• How Brexit will unfold – Britain will get a deal, but it’ll come at a price | Charles Grant

  09-11-2017 16:19
  The UK will end up paying €50bn and with a hard Irish border: 10 predictions based on my conversations with people on both sides• Charles Grant is director of the Centre for European Reform thinktankArticle 50 negotiations have stalled over the money Britain is prepared to pay the EU. Neither side expects progress before December, at the earliest. But even if the terms of separation are agreed this year, the negotiation on the future relationship is likely to prove much harder. EU
  
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• First minister knew of Carl Sargeant bullying, Andrews claims

  09-11-2017 16:05 via bbc.co.uk
  The claims come as Labour AMs hear from Carwyn Jones for the first time since Mr Sargeant's death.
  
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• Brexit: Michel Barnier says 'time pressing' as talks resume

  09-11-2017 16:04 via bbc.co.uk
  The EU steps up pressure on Brexit secretary David Davis over divorce issues including how much UK will pay.
  
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• Penny Mordaunt replaces Priti Patel in cabinet reshuffle

  09-11-2017 16:03 via bbc.co.uk
  Penny Mordaunt is promoted to international development secretary by Theresa May.
  
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• Penny Mordaunt: a plain-speaking, risk-taking Brexiter

  09-11-2017 15:52
  Navy reservist is popular with Conservative Eurosceptics and has an enviable public and parliamentary profilePenny Mordaunt, the new secretary of state for international development, had long been tipped for a big job, but many thought her promotion would have come last week.The confident and exuberant former disabilities minister is a Royal Navy reservist – experience that fuelled rumours that she was a strong contender to replace Michael Fallon as defence secretary after his resignation
  
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• Boris Johnson hails Donald Trump as 'great huge global brand'

  09-11-2017 15:42
  UK foreign secretary says US president has ‘penetrated corners of the global consciousness’ more than his predecessorsBoris Johnson has described Donald Trump as “one of the great huge global brands” and said he was penetrating corners of the world’s consciousness that few other presidents have managed to reach.
  The UK foreign secretary’s praise on the US cable show Fox and Friends came as he may find himself hauled in front of a parliamentary committee for fa
  
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• The Power Of Red: Why The Colour Of Remembrance Is The New Black

  09-11-2017 15:40
  "Individuality is Freedom Lived" - Jon Dos PassosRed is the new Black 
  'Cherry Blush' chiffon silk printed scarf, by Basma DesignFrom a style point of view, it's rather fitting that the colour red happens to be have been crowned 'The' colour for AW17, confirming that - "there is a shade of red for every woman" -(Audrey Hepburn) and adding a stylish edge to the abundance of Remembrance poppies this month.There's absolutely nothing wrong with a display of charitable commemoration being 'au co
  
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• Bank 4.0: How Smartphone Security Ushers In A New Age Of Banking

  09-11-2017 15:34
  First it was passwords. Then it was fingerprints. Now it is iris and facial recognition. The latest features on your smartphone are a key part of the evolving banking experience.
  The debut of the original iPhone 10 years ago not only marked the dawn of the smartphone era, but also laid the groundwork for the development of mobile banking. Prior to 2007, customers had to make their way to a branch or an ATM to do their banking. Online banking offered limited on-the-go convenience at a time when W
  
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• Three Benefits Of Mobilising Bikeshare Data And Journey Planners

  09-11-2017 15:31
  It is now ten years since the launch of the world's first large scale bike-sharing scheme, Velib in Paris. Since then, a thousand other schemes have been launched - bikeshare systems are now prevalent across the globe - popping up all the way from Manchester to Melbourne.Geographic growth has been accompanied with innovation - traditional docked schemes have been joined by dockless free floating systems. Born out of universities in China, companies such as oBike, Ofo, and MoBike have revolutioni
  
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• Promoting Diversity In The Modelling Industry

  09-11-2017 15:20
  In 2011 I set up MiLK Management, a full service agency managing women, men, new faces, curve, digital influencers and artists, with a very clear vision in mind; to promote diversity in the industry. With a background in modelling, it became very apparent to me that the industry and the ideals of beauty it promoted, were not inclusive, realistic or representative of women and I wanted to this to change. Six years later and I have started to notice a shift in perceptions on what is deemed beautif
  
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