Political news

• BBC Cuts Short Question Time After Audience Member Is Taken Ill

  23-11-2017 23:56
  The BBC was forced to cut short this week’s episode of Question Time after an audience member was taken ill.The broadcaster reported that it had to suspend recording from Colchester town hall, Essex, while a woman was given first aid after she appeared to collapse in the front row.Host David Dimbleby said the woman “could not be safely moved” and halted the show after 40 minutes.Simon Crow, 52, who was in the second row, told HuffPost UK: “It was a great debate with
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn Supporters At West Bromwich Rally Aren't Concerned At Polls Showing Theresa May Gaining Support

  23-11-2017 23:52
  Labour may not be performing quite as well in the polls as its supporters expected but its voters on the ground certainly don’t seem that bothered.A poll earlier this month showed public support for Theresa May had grown despite a disastrous party conference speech, two Cabinet resignations and Brexit talks stalling. The YouGov poll for The Times found 34% of voters want May to stay as Prime Minister, up one point from a month ago. Backing for Jeremy Corbyn as PM, meanwhile, fell two point
  
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• BBC Question Time Cut Short After Woman Collapses

  23-11-2017 23:47
  The BBC was forced to cut short this week’s episode of Question Time after an audience member was taken ill.The broadcaster reported that it had to suspend recording from Colchester town hall, Essex, while a woman was given first aid after she appeared to collapse in the front row.Host David Dimbleby said the woman “could not be safely moved” and halted the show after 40 minutes.As @BBCNews report, we have a shorter edition of Question Time for you tonight.10:45pm, BBC One
  
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• Dublin faces political crisis over Varadkar deputy and police scandal

  23-11-2017 23:46
  Fears grow of early Irish election in middle of Brexit talks
  
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• Lord Kilclooney withdraws ‘Indian’ Leo Varadkar tweet

  23-11-2017 23:23 via bbc.co.uk
  Former senior Ulster Unionist Lord Kilclooney withdraws tweet describing Leo Varadkar as “the Indian”.
  
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• EU rules British cities cannot be capitals of culture

  23-11-2017 22:09
  Decision dashes hopes of cities such as Dundee and Leeds, which were preparing bids costing hundreds of thousands of poundsThe EU will not allow a British city to become European capital of culture in 2023 after Brexit, dashing the hopes of Dundee, Leeds and others that were preparing bids costing hundreds of thousands of pounds.The European commission said it would not be possible because only countries that were in the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA) or in the process of becoming members
  
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• Hammond: Let's prove forecasts wrong

  23-11-2017 22:07 via bbc.co.uk
  The chancellor defends his record as a long squeeze on people's living standards is predicted.
  
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• Town halls attack Hammond’s plans to boost housebuilding

  23-11-2017 21:42
  Councils urge large-scale public programme and seek ban onborrowing caps
  
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• Vince Cable: chancellor ‘irresponsible’ for selling off RBS

  23-11-2017 21:34
  Lib Dem leader says Philip Hammond should wait for share price to recover before offloading government stake in bankVince Cable has accused the chancellor of being “irresponsible” over his decision to sell off two-thirds of its remaining stake in bailed-out lender RBS at a significant loss.The budget red book assumes that £3bn a year will be raised over the next five years from the sale of RBS shares, helping to offset the extension in the Help to Buy scheme announced at Septem
  
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• Varadkar faces crisis over role of deputy PM in police scandal

  23-11-2017 21:21
  Fears grow of early Irish election in middle of Brexit talks
  
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• Clarke hints at deal between Murdoch and Cameron

  23-11-2017 21:19
  Former justice secretary says Sun switched sides abruptly ahead of 2010 election
  
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• Five Things It's Okay To Admit You Liked About The Budget

  23-11-2017 21:16
  Balanced or boring, fit for the future or fit for nothing.We’ve heard a lot of arguments over whether Philip Hammond’s budget was a good or bad one.On the whole, the chancellor managed to escape from his Commons address relatively unscathed, but big questions were asked about slow growth, revised-down wages and whether scrapping stamp duty was really a great idea.But there were a few things most people can get behind, and we’ve picked out the best points below:Plastic TaxTraile
  
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• Iran media raises campaign against Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

  23-11-2017 21:15
  Hardline agency video challenges family‘s claims wife and mother was on holiday
  
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• Listen: UK outlook worsens

  23-11-2017 21:00
  Chris Giles explains why UK economic forecasts have been downgraded
  
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• Hammond’s giveaways mean balancing the books is ‘remote’

  23-11-2017 20:43
  IFS warns on pressure to raise spending before the next election
  
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• The Anti-Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Proved Angels Come In All Shapes And Sizes

  23-11-2017 19:41
  The Victoria’s Secret Show has come under fire for only featuring slim able-bodied models.To prove that all bodies - whatever their size, shape or ability - are catwalk worthy, and to show the world-famous lingerie brand that they’re seriously missing a trick, two sisters created their very own Anti-Victoria’ Secret Fashion Show.Alyse and Alexis Scaffidi were tired of seeing a narrow definition of beauty reflected on the catwalk.“Every year you watch the Victoria Secret F
  
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• 5 Times Donald Trump's Thanksgiving Speech To The US Coast Guard Made Zero Sense

  23-11-2017 19:39
  Listening to Donald Trump speak can be a challenging experience - made-up and garbled words, veering from one topic to another and, not to mention, bits that just aren’t true.But it’s only when you see the President’s speeches written down that you can appreciate them in all their glory.On Thursday Trump took time out from yet another trip to Mar-a-Lago and addressed a Coast Guard station in nearby Riviera Beach.Here are some of the... finer moments.Trump also gave a bullish Th
  
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• Minister Backtracks After Suggesting Labour MP Ivan Lewis Was Suspended For Being 'Jewish Blairite'

  23-11-2017 19:34
  Government minister Greg Hands was forced to backtrack after he claimed Labour MP Ivan Lewis had been suspended from the party because he was a ‘Jewish Blairite’.In a tweet he quickly deleted, Hands suggested the party had taken tougher action against Lewis, who is accused of sexual harassment, than Kensington MP Emma Dent Coad for offensive comments she made online.“Tough action from Labour leadership against Jewish Blairite Ivan Lewis - but just ‘a chat’ for hate-
  
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• Handy Christmas Tube Map Reveals The Most Festive Attractions And Pop-Ups In London

  23-11-2017 19:29
  A Christmas map of London exists to help you fill your diary with festive events between now and January.The map shows where various Christmas attractions are along the tube lines - from shopping at Hamleys to watching the The Nutcracker to browsing the capital’s many Christmas markets.A handy key at the bottom reveals the nearest stations to each attraction, as well as how long it takes to walk from the station to the event.Basically it’s every tourist’s dream.The map was crea
  
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• 3 Bits Of Bad News Buried By The Budget

  23-11-2017 19:25
  Everyone’s been busy picking over the detail of Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Budget this week.But the news never stops, and a few big stories have been unfolding that are not connected to Phil’s spreadsheets.Here are three.1, A near-40% rise in ‘excess deaths’ among the elderly last winterNew figures have shown a staggering 39.5% increase in excess winter deaths compared with last year.Respiratory diseases, including flu, claimed thousands of lives of elderly pe
  
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• Yorkshire grumbles at missing out on Budget cash

  23-11-2017 18:51
  Hammond directs funding to areas with devolution deals in place
  
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• Brexit Briefing: Schadenfreude Edition

  23-11-2017 18:33
  He’s the poster boy for Brexiteer anger, but Philip Hammond’s Budget prompted anti-EU MPs to raise a glass to him on Wednesday night – and it only cost him £3billion.The Chancellor, who had previously balked at the suggestion of spending money preparing for a Hard Brexit, announced the windfall just weeks before the crunch summit in Brussels which will decide if trade talks can begin.One Brexit-backing Tory was jubilant with the £3billion war-chest, telling me: &ldq
  
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• Carwyn Jones triggers probe into government bullying claims

  23-11-2017 18:28 via bbc.co.uk
  The first minister refers himself to an independent inquiry into whether he misled the assembly.
  
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• EU bans UK cities from being capitals of culture

  23-11-2017 18:26
  Dundee, Nottingham and Milton Keynes were among those blocked for 2023 title
  
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• Brussels bars Britain from capitals of culture contest

  23-11-2017 18:26
  Brexit blamed for decision to exclude UK contenders just before shortlist announcement
  
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• UK law 'to recognise animal feelings'

  23-11-2017 18:14 via bbc.co.uk
  Michael Gove criticises the "misconception" that MPs voted against the idea of animals feeling pain.
  
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• Nigel Farage Is Sad That Brexit Means We Can't Enter EU Capital Of Culture... After Brexit

  23-11-2017 18:08
  The EU Commission has ruled that no UK city is eligible for the European Capital of Culture award in 2023, a “direct consequence” of Brexit.The announcement is a huge blow for five cities - Dundee, Nottingham, Leeds, Milton Keynes and Belfast/Derry - that have already submitted bids involving millions of pounds and significant amounts of time.Gutted to learn @EU_Commission has pulled plug on UK hosting Capital of Culture 2023. Very sad for the 5 bidding cities. I am on the judging pa
  
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• Laughs, Damp Squibs And Reality Bites

  23-11-2017 18:07
  The Chancellor delivered some good jokes on Wednesday but the Budget was full of damp squibs.The main news was the downgrading of forecasts for economic growth to 2022. The next few years will be grim and offer no prospect of improved living standards let alone prosperity for the vast majority of families.And while much of the pre-Budget talk focused on how to improve the lot of younger generations, there was very little on offer that will make a real difference soon for young people.Abolishing
  
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• Black Friday 2017 Opening Times And Deals For Amazon, Game, Currys, PC World, John Lewis And Apple

  23-11-2017 17:51
  Black Friday 2017 is fast approaching. As the early bird catches the worm, we’ve found out when the deal-breaking stores open for business and where the best tech deals are likely to be found.John Lewis will not be extending its store opening hours for Black Friday. Each store will be operating during its standard opening hours, for details of individual store openings click here.Top picksTake to the skies with the DJI Mavic Pro Drone with Fly More Combo Kit + SD card, this nifty machine w
  
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• Best Black Friday Deals From Currys PC World, Argos, Game On PS4, Xbox One, TVs, Washing Machines And More

  23-11-2017 17:50
  Black Friday 2017 is here and once again we find ourselves overwhelmed with the high street’s biggest retailers trying to convince us we need all the new things.Whether it’s a new TV, smart speaker or games console there’s sometimes too much information to take in.To help keep things clear, simple and above all genuinely useful we’ve only focused on the major retailers and we’re only showing products that we think represent a genuine bargain. Too often we’ll s
  
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• The Budget Showed This Government Is Serious About Tackling Homelessness

  23-11-2017 17:44
  “In a civilized society, it is unacceptable that people should be faced with the fear of homelessness.”   These words are said by pretty much every politician when they start talking about homelessness. However, they’re right - it is vitally important to help the most vulnerable in society get their lives back on track. This takes more than words though.Now there is no simple answer to solving homelessness. Building more houses will be an important part of any strategy, an
  
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• Nigel Farage Is Sad That Brexit Means We Erm... Brexit

  23-11-2017 17:41
  The EU Commission has ruled that no UK city is eligible for the European Capital of Culture award in 2023, a “direct consequence” of Brexit.The announcement is a huge blow for five cities - Dundee, Nottingham, Leeds, Milton Keynes and Belfast/Derry - that have already submitted bids involving millions of pounds and significant amounts of time.Gutted to learn @EU_Commission has pulled plug on UK hosting Capital of Culture 2023. Very sad for the 5 bidding cities. I am on the judging pa
  
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• Kezia Dugdale Claims 'I'm A Celebrity' Appearance Will Help Public See Politicians As 'Humans'

  23-11-2017 17:40
  Kezia Dugdale has said her appearance in ‘I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!’ will allow the public to see politicians as “humans”.The former Scottish Labour leader claimed she sees her participation on the ITV reality series as a “force for good in this increasingly difficult and depressing world”.In an open article she wrote before flying to Australia, Kezia, who has taken time out from her role as a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the L
  
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• Budget 2017: Confusion At The Heart Of Uk Government?

  23-11-2017 17:35
  This week, the Chancellor Philip Hammond outlined his budget. At WWF, we don’t just run conservation programmes to protect species and habitats abroad – it’s also crucial that we make sure we’re acting responsibly and showing leadership on climate change here in the UK too.  Leadership is about being the change we want to see in the world; but we also just can’t protect species and habitats in the long run if we don’t tackle climate change. Here’s m
  
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• Budget 2017: austerity continues – Politics Weekly podcast

  23-11-2017 17:27
  Heather Stewart is joined by Larry Elliott, Sonia Sodha and Robert Colvile to discuss the second budget of the year. Plus we hear from Robert Chote – the man responsible for the drastic downward revision to Britain’s economic growth forecasts – and the Resolution Foundation’s Matthew WhittakerIt was billed as a “make or break budget” for the under-fire chancellor, so Philip Hammond put on a brave face and offered up tax cuts to first-time buyers, a bit more mo
  
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• Notice Your Underwear Is Bleached? It Might Be Your Vagina

  23-11-2017 17:26
  Ever noticed when you take your black underwear out of the washing machine, there is a ‘bleach’ stain in the crotch area? Well, you have your vagina to thank.That’s right, women’s bits can reportedly have the same corrosive, colour-changing properties as the chemicals we use to clean our toilets.Not caused by menstruation or lack of cleanliness, this ‘bleached’ area - which often appears orange or bright white in colour - is similar to what happ
  
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• How To Fund Any Public Service

  23-11-2017 17:23
  Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid, recently said the government should take advantage of “record low interest rates” and “borrow” money to invest in infrastructure that leads to more affordable housing being built.In other words...He appears to think the government should borrow money from a private bank and pay them interest on that loan. Just like we would if we took out a mortgage.Maybe he’s saying that because, like many MPs it seems, he doesn’t know how
  
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• Understanding The Far-Right Manson Cult Is More Important Than Ever

  23-11-2017 17:19
  For many readers, the Charles Manson cult and its murders were before their time. They were before my time too, but I researched them as they are relevant to two of my professional interests, forensic psychiatry and anthropology. Given the shifts in the political landscape in recent years, I suggest this far-right cult and their aims should be of interest to everyone today.The ‘flower power’ era of the late 60s can seem far away, and especially the scene in sunny California to which
  
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• Mugabe’s Departure Won’t Derail The Cult Of The Political Strongman

  23-11-2017 17:12
  Though the curtain may have come down on Robert Mugabe’s infamous 30-year reign of tyranny, the global rise of the nationalist “strongman” is unlikely to take a hit.
  The Zimbabwean despot - whose tactics came straight out of the guerrilla-war playbook - is just one in a line of embattled leaders to have recently fallen foul to some form revolution. The ill-famed line-up of Gaddafi of Libya, Mubarak of Egypt and Ben Ali of Tunisia all felt their autocracies swiftly crumble benea
  
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• Remembering My Father, Lord Joffe: A Campaigner For Justice In Life And In Death

  23-11-2017 17:11
  My dad, Joel Joffe, died on 18th June this year. A memorial took place last week at St Martin-in-the-Fields - a moving tribute to his lifelong dedication to campaigning for justice, attended by his peers, colleagues, friends and family.Everyone dies of course and there are many stories to be told, but Joel's experience was distinctive because, as Lord Joffe, he had twice introduced bills to the House of Lords to enable dying people to receive medical assistance to die when they felt that their q
  
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• Britain Must Act To Prevent A Humanitarian Disaster In Yemen

  23-11-2017 17:10
  Saudi Arabia must end the blockade of Yemen before it makes an already brutal humanitarian disaster and military campaign much worse. While Labour unequivocally condemns the missile strike carried out by the Houthi rebels, it is unacceptable that the Saudi-led coalition respond by punishing children and other innocent civilians with the tightening of the blockade. Although the Saudis have recently allowed UN humanitarian aid into the country, commercial is aid is still being blocked which makes
  
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• What Does This Budget Mean For You?

  23-11-2017 17:07
  The budget has arrived delivering little more than a tinkering round the edges and as per usual next to nothing for women. The issue here is that the budget is shaped around a very narrow notion of the economy, namely the notion that what counts is the GDP, jobs and productivity. This approach overlooks activities that sustain our economic growth, our social reproduction and does not take measure of our NNP, our net National Product – a calculation that might better show the economic wellb
  
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• Here's What 'Spreadsheet Phil' Should Have Done For A Truly Radical Budget

  23-11-2017 17:07
  Many commentators have already concluded that ‘Spreadsheet Phil’ did the best he could with a bad hand in this week’s Budget.It’s true that the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, was able to produce a few headline-grabbing giveaways, especially around housing, an issue which the Prime Minister has pledged to take “personal charge” of solving. Cue an apparent injection of £44bn into housebuilding designed to see 300,000 new homes per year delivered by the middle
  
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• Fighting Hate and Extremism: The Living Quran

  23-11-2017 17:06
  The true test of an intelligent person is a humble awareness of the limits of their knowledge. So said a rather clever man some millenia ago and it remains as true today as it was then. I would add to this though an additional clause: that a truly intelligent person is one who realises that theirs is one among a multiplicity of view and that no interpretation has a monopoly on the truth. Yet if there is one thing that has characterised the public debate around Islam for as long as I can remember
  
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• More Maths for Everyone

  23-11-2017 17:05
  In Wednesday’s budget the government committed to investing more money for maths teaching in schools. Whatever your political belief and aside from the debate about how much investment schools need, we can all get behind the chancellor’s sentiment of “more maths for everyone”.Helping the next generation to master maths concepts, be confident mathematicians and proud problem solvers is our responsibility as educators and parents.This way we can help children to develop the
  
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• Government Brexit Deadline Is Not So Much A Red Herring As A Dead Cat

  23-11-2017 17:04
  I have a prediction about the government amendment to EU Withdrawal Bill, fixing the time the UK leaves the EU as “before, after or at 11pm on 29th March 2019”. It will be withdrawn by government on the evening it is debated, having served its purpose of putting up a massive target for Remain-leaning MPs and newspapers to get hugely upset about, and for Leave-leaning MPs to say “look at that, don’t look at this other stuff”.It’s the biggest dead cat strategy e
  
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• Milo Yiannopoulos, Mein Kampf... Why Is My Old School Obsessed With Fascists?

  23-11-2017 16:54
  The first article I wrote for HuffPost discussed a decision to ban Alt Right figurehead Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking at my school, after advice from the Department of Education’s Counter Extremism Unit. It’s almost a year later, and I’m woken by a series of texts - ‘They’ve done it again!’ And sure enough Simon Langton Boys has gone national over a decision to introduce ‘Unsafe Spaces’ in which sixth form students will examine “the most be
  
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• Bank of England reveals 24% gender pay gap

  23-11-2017 16:46
  Lack of woman in senior roles at UK central bank highlighted by report
  
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• Budget 'Not The End Of Austerity' As Eye-Watering £12bn Of Welfare Cuts On Way

  23-11-2017 15:09
  A staggering £12bn of welfare cuts are still on their way, a respected economic think-tank has said, as it declared Philip Hammond’s Budget was “not the end of austerity”Workers are also facing not one but two “lost decades” of earnings growth as the national debt continues to soar, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) predicted in a bleak assessment of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.Paul Johnson, Director of the IFS, pointed out almost &p
  
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• Public opinion is being reshaped by the cost of Brexit

  23-11-2017 15:07
  Views could shift if EU talks break down or UK is left with a painful deal
  
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