Political news

• Double Council Taxes On Wealthy Homes, Shadow Minister Chris Williamson Urges Labour Town Halls

  09-01-2018 23:33
  Doubling council taxes on better-off homes would help Labour town halls “seize the initiative” and halt Tory cuts, a key ally of Jeremy Corbyn has declared.Shadow minister Chris Williamson said that his radical plan to hike the tax on wealthier properties, while freezing it for less expensive homes, was one answer to “relentless” austerity suffered by local councils.In an interview with HuffPost UK, Williamson said that his ‘Differential Progressive Council Tax&rsqu
  
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• PM likely to survive final Commons Brexit vote, says John Curtice

  09-01-2018 23:30 via theguardian.com
  Elections expert predicts deal will be agreed with EU and approved in Commons, with Theresa May remaining in postTheresa May will probably survive the final Commons vote on Brexit because the Conservatives’ instincts for survival will override any divisions over the eventual deal, the elections expert John Curtice has said.He said there was no evidence yet that enough leave voters now believed the UK would be better off remaining in the EU to force the prime minister into reversing Brexit.
  
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• Kay Burley's Clash With NUS President Over Toby Young Ends With Serious Shade Thrown

  09-01-2018 23:06
  The President of the National Union of Students and Kay Burley of Sky News have clashed over Toby Young quitting the new universities regulator, with the interview ending acrimoniously as the new watchdog was labelled “not fit for purpose”.Shakira Martin appeared on the broadcaster after the journalist-turned-free schools advocate apologised for sexist and other offensive tweets and writings that had caused outrage as he stepped down from the Office for Students (OfS) board
  
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• Steve Bannon Quits Breitbart News After Criticism Of Donald Trump

  09-01-2018 22:51
  Former White House strategist Steve Bannon has stepped down from Breitbart News Network after a public break with US president Donald Trump.“Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions, and what he has helped us to accomplish,” Breitbart Chief Executive Larry Solov said in a statement on the website of the website’s executive chairman.Breitbart published a statement quoting Bannon as saying: “I’m proud of what the
  
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• 5 Explosive Claims Made In Newly-Released Trump Dossier Testimony From Glenn Simpson

  09-01-2018 22:36
  Newly-released testimony from the founder of the firm behind the infamous ‘WaterSportsGate’ dossier on Donald Trump has claimed someone has died as a result of its publication.Speaking to the US Judiciary Committee last week, Fusion GPS founder, Glenn Simpson, also alleged the FBI had a source within the President’s election campaign team, the Trump Organisation makes dubious claims to reduce its tax bills and Trump himself continued to associate with a businessman after h
  
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• Brussels warns UK companies of shutout in event of no-deal Brexit

  09-01-2018 22:30 via ft.com
  Drugmakers and airlines among sectors told to expect no automatic access to single market
  
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• Brussels warns UK companies of shut-out in event of no-deal Brexit

  09-01-2018 22:30 via ft.com
  Drugmakers and airlines among those told to expect no automatic access to single market
  
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• Steve Bell on Theresa May's cabinet reshuffle – cartoon

  09-01-2018 22:16 via theguardian.com
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• Michael Gove takes on the 'throwaway culture' of plastic bottle waste

  09-01-2018 22:09 via theguardian.com
  Environment secretary moved to tackle problem of plastic waste after watching David Attenborough’s Blue PlanetMichael Gove has criticised a “throwaway culture” in which people are happy to use plastic bottles once and promised that the government would this week commit to firm action to counteract plastics waste.
  The environment secretary told cabinet colleagues that he was determined to reduce demand for single-use bottles when the government unveiled its 25-year plan this wee
  
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• Theresa May turns to 2015 intake to refresh front bench

  09-01-2018 22:00 via ft.com
  One from among rising stars in junior ranks predicted to succeed her as pime minister
  
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• Theresa May turns to 2015 intake for front bench revival

  09-01-2018 22:00 via ft.com
  Middle-aged white male ministers make way for members of well regarded group
  
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• Delay to Brexit bill amendments confirmed

  09-01-2018 21:32 via bbc.co.uk
  Promised changes by the UK government that would reflect concerns over the bill's impact on devolution will take longer than expected.
  
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• Theresa May reshuffle brings in 'fresh talent' to replace older white men

  09-01-2018 21:25 via theguardian.com
  Big increase in number of female and ethnic minority ministers, but, among PM’s top team, men are paid 11% more Theresa May has insisted that her government looks “more like the country it serves” after axing a string of white men in their 50s and 60s while promoting a number of younger, female and ethnic minority MPs.The prime minister used the second day of her new year reshuffle to refresh the lower ministerial ranks after a difficult cabinet-level shake-up in which some min
  
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• All shops set to charge for plastic bags

  09-01-2018 21:15 via ft.com
  England to follow Wales and Scotland in extending 5p scheme under new plan
  
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• Scots blast Westminster for missing Brexit bill deadline

  09-01-2018 21:07 via theguardian.com
  Scottish secretary David Mundell accused of ‘selling out Scotland’ after plans to amend controversial clause 11 were droppedScottish National party and Conservative politicians have lambasted the UK government for dropping plans to protect Scotland’s position in the Brexit bill at the last moment. Ministers were due to publish amendments to a highly contentious clause in the EU withdrawal bill in the Commons on Wednesday that centralised more than 100 European powers in Whiteha
  
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• Top UK counter terror cop Mark Rowley to retire

  09-01-2018 20:57 via ft.com
  National lead for counter-terrorism policing in charge of anti-terror effort since 2014
  
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• Theresa May appoints new junior ministers in cabinet reshuffle

  09-01-2018 20:36 via ft.com
  Oliver Dowden and Rishi Sunak are among the younger MPs joining government
  
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• The Guardian view on Karen Bradley’s task in Northern Ireland: three months to stop the drift | Editorial

  09-01-2018 20:31 via theguardian.com
  Theresa May’s focus on Brexit has been bad for Northern Ireland. It is time to get the peace process working once moreA year ago, the late Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin stood down as Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister in a dispute about the role of the DUP first minister, Arlene Foster, in a failed renewable energy scheme. In doing so he brought to an end Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government after a decade of working. One year on, the power-sharing institut
  
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• The Guardian view on the future of fracking: keep it in the ground | Editorial

  09-01-2018 20:30 via theguardian.com
  The rewards are uncertain and time limited. Massive investment in a short-lived fuel may not make business senseJust a few short years ago, fracking – the underground extraction of gas from rock – was to revolutionise Britain’s energy production as it has transformed it in the US. Under David Cameron and George Osborne, it was to produce the fuel that would build a bridge from the high-carbon past to the no-carbon future. Just 18 months after the two leading politicians of thei
  
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• The Guardian view on the reshuffle: a pointless luxury | Editorial

  09-01-2018 20:29 via theguardian.com
  Ministerial churn wastefully destroys experience and continuitySome prime ministers believe it is healthy to rotate and retire their colleagues at frequent intervals. It reminds them who’s boss and keeps Whitehall officials sharp. Margaret Thatcher was in that category. Others, like David Cameron – hemmed in by his coalition partners – presided over a ministerially stable five years. Theresa May has taken so-called ministerial churn to a new level. She reinvented – perhap
  
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• Theresa May’s reshuffle finessed by wild cards and jokers | Letters

  09-01-2018 20:26 via theguardian.com
  Justine Greening | Jeremy Hunt | Rory Stewart | Conservative membership | Party vice-chairmen | Full houseThree cheers for Justine Greening (May reshuffle in disarray as Greening quits, 9 January). This northern, comprehensive-school-educated woman clearly understands that May’s grammar school policy ought to be called, what it would be for the majority, her secondary-modern school policy. Her replacement? A grammar school boy from Cheshire who studied PPE at Oxford. Just what we need.
  Mar
  
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• Jeremy Hunt Told Theresa May 'A Captain Does Not Abandon His Ship'

  09-01-2018 20:10
  Jeremy Hunt persuaded Theresa May to let him stay as Health Secretary after declaring that “a captain does not abandon his ship”, HuffPost UK has been told.In an impassioned, personal plea to the Prime Minister during a lengthy meeting to discuss her reshuffle, Hunt cited the public service ethos of his late father, a distinguished Navy admiral.He declared it would be “dishonourable” to leave his post at a time when NHS staff were facing such a difficult time coping with
  
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• Cuddly, friendly Boris is back with his bad gags and instant soundbites | John Crace

  09-01-2018 20:06 via theguardian.com
  Having secured his job by promising to kick up rough if he were moved, the foreign secretary starts new year in relaxed moodAs the Four Pot Plants continued to wait anxiously by the phone to see if they were going to be offered a ministerial job in the reshuffle, Boris Johnson got ready for his first departmental questions of the new year. Having already established the previous day that whoever else may be in charge of the government it isn’t the prime minister, the foreign secretary was
  
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• New culture secretary presses BBC to close gender pay gap

  09-01-2018 20:02 via ft.com
  Matthew Hancock urges broadcaster to become ‘a beacon for British values of fairness’
  
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• Data protection bill amended to protect security researchers

  09-01-2018 19:45 via theguardian.com
  Exemption added after researchers said efforts to demonstrate inadequate anonymisation could fall foul of lawThe government is to amend the data protection bill to protect security researchers who work to uncover abuses of personal data, quelling fears that the bill could accidentally criminalise legitimate research.The move follows a Guardian report on the concerns, and has been welcomed by one of the researchers who raised the alarm. “I am very happy with the amendments,” said Luka
  
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• Theresa May can rally her troops, but the Tory party is dying on its feet | John Harris

  09-01-2018 19:36 via theguardian.com
  The botched reshuffle is a short term fix for the Conservatives, who haven’t even begun to address the structural problems they faceIn all the noise surrounding this week’s reshuffle, one sound in particular has been unmistakable: that of rising Tory angst about the party’s future. It might be strange to witness such self-doubt at the moment Britain’s departure from the EU looks set to realise so many Conservative dreams. But Brexit is perhaps one of those classic pyrrhic
  
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• Scottish MP Does Trainspotting-Style 'Choose Brexit' Rap In Parliament

  09-01-2018 19:16
  SNP MP Hannah Bardell broke into a Trainspotting-style rap in the House of Commons.The Livingston MP, the SNP’s trade spokesman, was listing reasons why her party opposed the Government’s Trade Bill when she announced she’d written a lyric called ‘B.R.E.X.I.T’ and that it ”sums up the current situation”.It touched on everything from “trade relations going down the swanny” to the controversial Vote Leave battle bus, and even mimicked Ewan McGr
  
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• Concerns over Catholic church's 2014 donation to Damian Hinds

  09-01-2018 19:13 via theguardian.com
  Campaigners say funding of intern raises questions about conflict of interest now MP has become education secretaryThe new education secretary accepted more than £5,000 from the Catholic church in 2014 to pay for a parliamentary intern.Damian Hinds, who was appointed on Monday to succeed Justine Greening, listed the donation in the register of members’ interests as “an educational allowance of £5,116.25 and accommodation provided for an intern in my parliamentary office f
  
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• NTAs 2018 Predictions: Who Should And Who *Will* Win At The National Television Awards

  09-01-2018 19:12
  With awards season now in full swing following last weekend’s Golden Globes, the bosses of the National Television Awards have unveiled this year’s shortlist of nominees.And with 2017 being a particularly strong one for British TV, competition is set to be tough at the event, which is being held on Wednesday 24 January.Ahead of the event, we’ve been through the nominations with a fine tooth comb to decide who is most deserving in each of the 14 categories, as well as predicting
  
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• Brexit department announces concessions over EU withdrawal bill ahead of key debates next week - Politics live

  09-01-2018 18:58 via theguardian.com
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May continuing the government reshuffleAfternoon summary 5.53pm GMTRelated: Theresa May's junior ministerial reshuffle: who's in and who's out The PM with her newest appointments to the Government Whips' Office in Number 10 this afternoon #Reshuffle pic.twitter.com/vgu9ioueu3During the bill’s passage through the House of Commons, the government has worked with and listened to MPs who have made cons
  
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• Cabinet Reshuffle Sees Increase In Privately-Educated Ministers

  09-01-2018 18:54
  Theresa May’s new Cabinet has five times more privately-educated people than in the general population, analysis has revealed.Of the 23 ministers who make up the Government’s top team, 34% attended fee-paying schools - up from 30% in May’s first Cabinet in July 2016, social mobility charity The Sutton Trust has discovered.According to the Independent Schools Council, just 6.5% of pupils in the UK are educated privately.As well as an over-representation of private school al
  
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• Democracy review may put Keith Vaz's position on Labour NEC at risk

  09-01-2018 18:49 via theguardian.com
  Under-fire MP has been longstanding ethnic minority representative on party’s national executive committeeA review of Labour’s democracy ordered by Jeremy Corbyn is expected to endorse equality monitoring of party members and allow all non-white members to vote for their representative on Labour’s ruling body. The recommendations may threaten Keith Vaz’s position as the party’s longstanding ethnic minority representative on the national executive committee. Continue
  
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• Theresa May hails 'fresh talent' after reshuffle

  09-01-2018 18:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Jo Johnson and Caroline Dinenage get new jobs as Theresa May completes her new ministerial team.
  
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• Esther McVey Must Win Disabled People’s Trust And Act Urgently To Tackle Injustice

  09-01-2018 18:26
  Just six weeks ago, the Department for Work and Pensions launched a new plan to tackle disability unemployment in Britain.It was billed as a milestone moment for the Government in its bid to deliver on the Conservative manifesto commitment to tackle the “burning injustice of disability discrimination” and support one million more disabled people into work by 2027.Now, less than a fortnight into the New Year, the two chief architects of the flagship plans - Penny Mordaunt and David Ga
  
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• My cancer operation was cancelled and I can’t sleep at night. Jeremy Hunt, how can you? | Carly O’Neill

  09-01-2018 18:20 via theguardian.com
  You fought to keep your job as health secretary in the recent reshuffle. When will you fight to give the NHS the funding it so desperately needs?Dear Jeremy Hunt,I didn’t sleep well last night. I was nervous, anxious about what was going to happen the next day. I’m not great with needles, never mind scalpels. But I also knew that I was in the hands of professionals, who would do absolutely everything they could to make me better. Continue reading...
  
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• Jeremy Hunt’s beefed up social care role met with scepticism

  09-01-2018 18:16 via ft.com
  Funding to remain under the control of the local government department rather than health
  
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• Mixed Race And 'Other': A Crisis Of Colour

  09-01-2018 18:01
  It’s a funny thing being brown. It’s a word that isn’t completely accepted as a descriptor of an individual’s colour. If I shouted “I’M A STRONG, BROWN, INDEPENDENT WOMAN!”; it certainly doesn’t feel convincing. Saying ‘I’m brown’ in the past has often received some laughs. Even I find it a bit comical, because I’m also not ready to take ‘brown’ as seriously as I would white or black, or give it the nar
  
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• I Almost Lost My Arm Because Of Antibiotic Resistance

  09-01-2018 17:59
  Some people might not think that antibiotic resistance is something to worry about, or perhaps that it won’t be a problem for them or their loved ones. But what people tend to forget is that taking antibiotics when they do not need them – for minor illnesses, such as an ear infection or a sore throat, which can get better on their own - can put their health at risk of a more severe or longer infection in the future. It is estimated that there are 5,000 deaths a year in England becaus
  
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• Hospitality Workers Are Abused Every Day: So Why Aren't We Unionised?

  09-01-2018 17:58
  Over the last two weeks, I have been shouted at, sworn at, insulted, and proffered very personal, often prejudice based, abuse. I have been threatened with assault, physical abuse, and serious bodily harm, to the point where I have genuinely feared for my safety.And the reason?Because I had the cheek to work behind a bar over the Christmas period.I have worked for a fairly high brow and respectable small chain of pubs since September and but not until Christmas did I find myself so frequently ac
  
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• Are British Music Festivals Still The Preserve Of White Men?

  09-01-2018 17:58
  Since beginning their hiatus, the members of boyband turned manband, One Direction, have all begun their respective solo endeavours. All the effort that has gone into to making Harry Styles a megastar hasn’t been completely wasted with his self-titled debut album hitting number one on both sides of the Atlantic. Niall Horan’s career started surprisingly successfully by following the well-trodden path of folk influenced pop. Liam Payne has had a child with former Nation’s Sweeth
  
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• 10 Reasons Why Esther McVey's New Job Has UK's Most Vulnerable 'Very Afraid'

  09-01-2018 17:56
  Esther MvVey’s appointment as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has been met with anger by people who remember the cuts and comments she made when she last worked for the department.As one person put it, McVey is “back to finish her job of killing the sick and disabled”, while another labelled her “McVile”.Esther McVey back to finish her job of killing the sick and disabled. #DWP murderess..... pic.twitter.com/u1TwIEnfEW
  As someone with multiple chronic and d
  
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• Why 2018 Can Be The Year Of Women

  09-01-2018 17:49
  This year marks 100 years since women were first given the vote. Even then it was only partially - they had to be over 30 and meet certain property qualifications. That partiality continues today. Women still only make up one-third of MPs and there are more men named John leading FTSE 100 boards than women. Women, in particular black and disabled women, are more likely to harmed by the impacts of austerity than any other demographics group.But I have several reasons for being optimistic that 201
  
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• David Beckham Launches New Men's Grooming Line 'House 99': Here's The Significance Of Those Numbers

  09-01-2018 17:48
  David Beckham is launching a men’s grooming brand called House 99.Created in partnership with L’Oréal Luxe, the brand has taken two years of planning to come together.Hitting the shelves in Harvey Nichols on 1 February and soon to be available in 19 countries, the new collection will focus on simple staple products.In light of all the controversy around diversity (or lack thereof) in the world of advertising for fashion and beauty products, it’s refreshing to s
  
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• The Toby Young Saga

  09-01-2018 17:44
  Quick reminder: what did he do?A loaded question. On the one hand, Mr. Young has had a varied career. He started as a co-founder of a magazine, then worked for Vanity Fair and wrote a book. In 2011, he established the West London Free School (WLFS) and set up multiple state schools. It was largely on this basis that Mr. Young was appointed to the Office for Students (OfS).On the other hand (and in his own words) as a “journalistic provocateur” he has said things that were “eith
  
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• Will Wolff's Book Change Anyone's Mind?

  09-01-2018 17:38
  On the train home from university before Christmas, I was perturbed to find a mention of Donald Trump in one of my favourite books on writing. I had brought William Zinsser’s On Writing Well home with me; I had found Zinsser’s text by chance in the campus library years before and had made notes, but after a recent spell of bleak, uninspired authorship on my part, it was time to reread his excellent guidance.The book mentions a number of American literary icons, many of whom were famo
  
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• It Took Surviving For Eight Days In Freezing Temperatures And Losing My Feet To Overcome My Meth Addiction

  09-01-2018 17:35
  I ran blindly, stumbling and falling, pushing my way through chest-high snow. My heart pounded against my ribs and I pulled each breath from the thin freezing air as if it were my last. I could hear the creatures behind me, moving in closer, fanning out to attack from all sides, a pack on the hunt for human prey.I stumbled, plunging face first into a deep drift. I struggled to get up, moving a few feet before I got bogged down again and had to start pushing myself through the snow one laborious
  
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• Day Three In The Big Brother House And Feminists Are In Short Supply

  09-01-2018 17:31
  It was never going to be the most comfortable match. A reality TV show where an all-seeing patriarch watches women showering decides to give feminism a go. And predictably, it has failed on almost every level.I’m referring, of course, to this year’s Celebrity Big Brother, which in a bizarre publicity stunt, opted to mark the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage by having an all-female line up... for a few days before the men moved in. There’s so much that’s so wron
  
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• Why Travelling Didn’t Work Out For Me

  09-01-2018 17:29
  Like many other existentially anguished twenty-somethings, I had a burning desire to quit my job and travel. The nine to five existence apparently wasn’t cutting it anymore, and I pictured myself - or at least my fantasied alter ego - living a more adventurous life in an exotic location, far away from home. Unspoiled paradises and promises of a permanent sun tan were etched in my mind.For six years after graduating university with a liberal arts degree – and picking up a ‘desmo
  
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• World Book Day 2018: The Novels You Will Be Able To Get For £1 This Year

  09-01-2018 17:28
  Inspiring kids to read isn’t always easy, but one way to generate enthusiasm is to help them pick books that spark their interest.It’s not always feasible to buy a new book every time you want them to read, but visiting libraries and taking advantage of this year’s World Book Day £1 tokens can help keep your kids engaged with something new to sink their teeth into.Each year, World Book Day UK choose a number of titles that can be purchased in participating bookshops for j
  
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• The Cabinet Reshuffle Kerfuffle

  09-01-2018 17:28
  With a new year comes a new cabinet… or so we thought. With Theresa May promising a cabinet that will be ‘Building a Britain fit for the future’, expectations were high. Would we get a diverse cabinet representative of society as it is today? Would we see the back of the worst Health Secretary in history? Would there be any shock promotions? Well, the truth is… no.The first major news of the day came from the Northern Ireland office, as Secretary James Brokenshire annou
  
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