Political news

• Clive Lewis returns to frontbench in Labour reshuffle

  12-01-2018 23:12 via theguardian.com
  Jeremy Corbyn makes 13 new appointments to junior ranks, including bringing back Norwich South MP in shadow Treasury roleJeremy Corbyn has brought Clive Lewis back on to Labour’s front bench and promoted campaigning new MP Laura Pidcock as he announced 13 new appointments to the junior ranks.
  Lewis, the Norwich South MP who resigned over Labour’s Brexit stance and was recently cleared of a claim of sexual harassment, will be a junior shadow Treasury minister. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Women aren't confident abuse in Westminster has been stopped

  12-01-2018 22:58 via theguardian.com
  Three women who have made allegations against politicians tell the Guardian political parties have ignored the issue for decadesWomen at the heart of the Westminster sexual harassment scandal have told the Guardian they have no confidence that “endemic” abuse of power has been stopped.
  Writer Kate Maltby, who accused Conservative MP Damian Green of sexual harassment, Labour party activist Ava Etemadzadeh, who accused Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins, and former special adviser to Nick Clegg
  
  Read more

• Jeremy Corbyn Promotes Clive Lewis In Frontbench Reshuffle

  12-01-2018 21:22
  The Labour Party has chosen late Friday evening to announce news of a shadow cabinet reshuffle which includes a promotion for Clive Lewis, recently cleared of a claim of sexual assault.The Norwich South MP resigned over the party’s Brexit stance in February of last year but is to be made a shadow Treasury minister.Lewis came under investigation by the Labour Party in November after an official complaint accused him of groping a woman at the party’s annual conference last month.T
  
  Read more

• Banks urge UK government to step in to save Carillion

  12-01-2018 21:02 via ft.com
  Lenders dismiss rescue plan and seek guarantees as large contractor teeters
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Boris Johnson attacks Labour in row over Donald Trump's cancelled visit

  12-01-2018 19:54 via theguardian.com
  No 10 backs foreign secretary in saying Labour leader and London mayor are putting US-UK relations at risk after embassy trip called off
  Downing Street has accused Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan of jeopardising relations with America for telling Donald Trump he is not welcome in Britain, after the US president called off a planned visit to London in the face of likely mass protests.
  In a move that reinforces Theresa May’s determination to remain publicly close to Trump, despite accusations o
  
  Read more

• Theological guidance for Farron on gay sex | Letters

  12-01-2018 19:23 via theguardian.com
  Fr Alec Mitchell says the former Lib Dem leader needs better spiritual direction, while the former bishop of Oxford Richard Harries explains how Farron could have avoided all the fussTim Farron needs better theological education and spiritual direction (Farron: I misled voters on gay sex, 11 January). He says that “if you’re a Christian you’ve got a very clear idea of what you think a sin is”, but I’m not so sure he’s so clear himself. Theologically, sin
  
  Read more

• Goodbye Berliner, auf wiedersehen Berlin, so long Labour? | Letters

  12-01-2018 19:22 via theguardian.com
  Just as the Guardian is changing format, so can the EU, but Labour must also change its approach to Brexit, says Nick Mayer, while Mike Harding explains why he has torn up his Labour membership cardMartin Kettle’s Brexit advice to Jeremy Corbyn (On Europe, Labour was right to be cautious. No longer, 12 January) bears striking and therefore credible resemblance to Tony Blair’s recent intervention (Tony Blair: timid Labour risks becoming handmaiden of Brexit, 3 January). For those who
  
  Read more

• Labour Delays Decision On Fate Of Suspended MP Kelvin Hopkins

  12-01-2018 18:55
  Labour has delayed making a final decision on the fate of suspended MP Kelvin Hopkins, who is accused of sexual harassment.The 76-year-old leftwinger faces two claims of inappropriate conduct towards a 27-year-old activist and fellow MP Kerry McCarthy.A party spokesperson confirmed on Friday that the matter would be referred to Labour’s National Constitutional Committee, which will decide whether Hopkins will be excluded permanently, but did not give any indication of timescales.“Aft
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• John Feeley, US Ambassador To Panama, Quits Because He Can No Longer Serve Under President Trump

  12-01-2018 18:33
  US Ambassador to Panama John Feeley, a career diplomat and former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, has resigned, telling the State Department he no longer feels able to serve President Donald Trump.“As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the President and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies. My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honor bound to resign. That time
  
  Read more

• The BBC Is Supposed To Educate People - It Should Start With Teaching John Humphrys About Equality

  12-01-2018 18:15
  The leaked recording of John Humphrys talking to Jon Sopel tells you everything you need to know about how an organisation’s response to discrimination and inequality affects culture and behaviour. He is reported to have said, among other things, “Oh dear God. She’s actually suggested that you should lose money – you know that don’t you? You’ve read the thing properly have you?”When Carrie Gracie brought her claim for equal pay, the BBC could have accept
  
  Read more

• Labour challenges Theresa May to shrink UK’s House of Lords

  12-01-2018 18:14 via ft.com
  Government urged to accept ‘two out, one in’ policy and 15-year terms for new peers
  
  Read more

• Donald Trump’s First Medical Could Raise Some 'Big Red Flags'

  12-01-2018 18:05
  Donald Trump has his first medical exam as US president on Friday after a week in which his mental fitness for the job has come under intense scrutiny.Results of past presidential physicals have included basic data like weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as examinations of the President’s vitamin levels and a screening for age-related diseases. However, Trump’s examination will not include a psychiatric exam, a White House spokesman said this week. 
  
  Read more

• Avocado Stone Flour - The Trend Continues

  12-01-2018 17:52
  Avocado. It’s a food, it’s a fad, it’s the reason millennials can’t afford houses. We eat it whole, we can eat it on pizza, and apparently now we’ll be eating the stones. When baked and crushed it’s claimed they make a “healthy flour”, one that can be used in smoothies or brownies (though not as Instagrammable as smashed avocado on toast).I can’t imagine many people will be up for crushing their own avocado pits – I struggle just gettin
  
  Read more

• Take A 360-Degree Tour Of The Milky Way With NASA’s Incredible New Video

  12-01-2018 17:45
  Looking up at the Milky Way, it’s hard to imagine what it would be like to be up close and personal with the centre of our home galaxy - a site located a huge 26,000 light years away.Not least because the supermassive black hole at the epicentre, known as Sgr A*, would make it pretty hard for humans to travel anywhere close without being spaghettied into oblivion.Now NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts has provided scientists with enough data that they c
  
  Read more

• How To Colour Block In 2018 To Brighten Up Your Day

  12-01-2018 17:44
  You may see people you admire looking fashionable in all black, and when they are asked why they prefer the monotone look, they answer in a few words: “Black goes with everything”.Well, 2018 is here to change everyone’s perspective on that bright colours were all over the spring/summer 18 runways. What’s more, colour blocking is the epitome of timeless because, well, colour goes with everything.We have put together a mini guide on how to colour block successfully and stil
  
  Read more

• US Embassy In London Owes Almost £12 Million In Unpaid Congestion Charges

  12-01-2018 17:37
  The US Embassy in London - which Donald Trump claimed was the reason he cancelled his upcoming trip to the UK - owes almost £12 million in unpaid congestion charges, figures reveal.Between 2003 and December 31, 2017, American diplomats clocked up £11,925,560 in fines, according to Transport for London (TfL) data - the highest figure for any country with an embassy in the capital.The US argues the congestion charge is a tax and that diplomats are therefore exempt from paying.&ldq
  
  Read more

• Unrequited Love: Fashioning While Black

  12-01-2018 17:30
  Today, I learned that the first Black supermodel to grace the cover of Vogue was not in fact Beverly Johnson, but Donyale Luna, who appeared on the British version of the magazine nearly ten years’ prior. Tragically, this profoundly stunning woman’s career was cut short, not unlike other well known models of the time such as Gia Carangi (the latter of whom had a movie devoted to her story starring Angelina Jolie), by the ravages of drug addiction. There are two issues that struck me
  
  Read more

• Britain First Supporter Marek Zakrocki Jailed For Driving At Curry House

  12-01-2018 17:30
  A Britain First supporter has been jailed for 33 weeks at the Old Bailey after he drove at a curry house owner in Harrow, north London, on the anniversary of the Brexit vote.Window fitter, Marek Zakrocki, 48, was originally charged with attempted murder but pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and assaulting his wife.He was arrested last year after a drunken rampage in which he drove at Kamal Ahmed, owner of Spicy Night, trying to pin him against the building.He drank two bottles of wine before t
  
  Read more

• The NHS Is In Crisis And It's A Matter Of Life And Death

  12-01-2018 17:24
  Already this winter, 75,000 people patients have been stuck in the back of ambulances, waiting to be seen in Accident and Emergency Departments. During Christmas week, one in six ambulance patients waited 30 minutes or more before being admitted to hospital. County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust had to turn away patients on four separate occasions during that week.Hospitals across the UK are on ‘black alert’ (operational pressures escalation level 4 – meaning a state in which
  
  Read more

• Save Us From Journalist Politicians

  12-01-2018 17:22
  I strongly suspect that the world would be a much better place if we journalists were never allowed to go into politics. (Although I suppose that, if pressed, I might make an exception for Winston Churchill.)We suffer from an alarming tendency to believe in simple answers. We prize making an impact over getting things right, and an off-the-cuff opinion over a considered judgement.As the American journalist Andrew Ferguson put it many years ago: ‘Journalism is a character defect... It is a
  
  Read more

• Nigel Farage has MEP salary docked to recoup misspent EU funds

  12-01-2018 17:19 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: former Ukip leader will lose £35,500 in total – the amount he paid assistant who is believed to have not been working on EU mattersNigel Farage is being docked half his monthly MEP salary after a European parliament investigation alleged he had misspent public funds intended for staffing his office.The former Ukip leader, who recently bemoaned being “53, separated and skint”, will lose €40,000 (£35,500) in total, the Guardian has learned, after Europ
  
  Read more

• S Club 7’s Paul Cattermole Is Selling His Brit Award On eBay

  12-01-2018 16:31
  S Club 7 singer Paul Cattermole has hit headlines for a rather unusual reason, by selling his Brit Award on eBay. The band won the Best British Breakthrough prize at the 2000 ceremony, but he has now decided to auction off the prize, claiming he has “bills to pay”.Paul has received over 120 bids since listing the item on 5 January, and as of Friday (12 January) afternoon, bidding stood at £66,000.There’s every chance that could go higher before the auc
  
  Read more

• Peter Stringfellow on Conservatives, Brexit and election

  12-01-2018 16:15 via bbc.co.uk
  Peter Stringfellow calls for a general election, and for politicians to be honest about where they stand over leaving the EU.
  
  Read more

• How One Mum's Tragic Baby Loss Sparked A Global Kindness Movement

  12-01-2018 16:14
  On Christmas Eve in 1994, just a few months after the death of her daughter Cheyenne during childbirth, Dr Joanne Cacciatore had a sudden impulse to buy toys.Through tears, she purchased 14 presents and delivered them spontaneously to a daycare programme for disadvantaged families - a random act of kindness which changed her life.“I went to my car and wept for a long time,” Joanne told HuffPost UK.“It was the first time I felt paradox in my grief: I felt I honoured Ch
  
  Read more

• UKIP leader Henry Bolton on private life coverage

  12-01-2018 16:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Henry Bolton tells the BBC he did not want the publicity his relationship with a model attracted.
  
  Read more

• Calls for Theresa May to reconsider Esther McVey's move to DWP

  12-01-2018 16:07 via theguardian.com
  Work and pensions secretary was director of demolition firm served two notices for health and safety violations, says Labour
  Labour has called on Theresa May to rethink the appointment of Esther McVey as work and pensions secretary because McVey was a director of a demolition company served with health and safety prohibition notices, an area covered by her department.
  Jon Trickett, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, has written to the prime minister saying he had grave concern about McVey&rsquo
  
  Read more

• My BBC Unequal Pay Story

  12-01-2018 16:04
  Many years ago I went to see my male boss to ask for a pay rise. I had discovered that a man doing the same job as me was paid over a third more. I thought I had a good case.This was at the BBC in the 1990s. I was a UK-based correspondent reporting on education for radio. My male counterpart covered the same subject for TV. Our background experience was comparable and arguably radio demanded a more prolific and varied output. Moreover, a recent move to bi-medial coverage meant that we were doing
  
  Read more

• Facebook and Twitter effect on political leaders

  12-01-2018 16:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Social media is reaching those who might not get their news from broadcasters and traditional media.
  
  Read more

• US elects famous candidates, but Britain does not

  12-01-2018 15:57 via bbc.co.uk
  Why do famous names win US elections, but British celebs fail to make it to public office.
  
  Read more

• Two Women Went To Hilarious Lengths To Stop A Man Interrupting Them At The Gym

  12-01-2018 15:45
  Trying to motivate yourself to go to the gym is difficult, so in an ideal world most people don’t want to spend a minute longer there than is strictly necessary.Just turn up, workout like a boss, and leave, with no unwarranted interruptions or other people slowing you down - especially when they feel entitled to comment on your form, when you’ve made no request for their help.Now two women in America have come up with a foolproof plan to stop it happening when they are trying to
  
  Read more

• Keith Vaz Facing Loss Of Labour NEC Seat As Momentum Urges More Voting Power For Minority Ethnic Members

  12-01-2018 15:29
  Labour MP Keith Vaz is in danger of losing his seat on the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) under new reforms aimed at giving black, Asian and minority ethnic members more voting rights.Grassroots group Momentum has tabled plans to radically update the way the NEC’s BAME representative is chosen, with a one-member, one-vote election replacing the current “tokenistic” system where a small party group decides the post.The Momentum proposal, seen by HuffPost
  
  Read more

• Gaming Disorder Is Here, And It’s A Good Thing - Here’s Why

  12-01-2018 15:29
  Concern about addiction to video games, social media or smartphones seems everywhere at the moment, with a growing noise that goes beyond any moral panic. But in addition to Apple investors and former executives of Google and Facebook, the most intriguing communication on these issues has come from a global health body!In December 2017, almost five years after the US introduced the diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder, the World Health Organisation (WHO) agreed to include the diagnosis of Gamin
  
  Read more

• Gaming Disorder Is Here, And It’s A Good Thing

  12-01-2018 15:29
  Concern about addiction to video games, social media or smartphones seems everywhere at the moment, with a growing noise that goes beyond any moral panic. But in addition to Apple investors and former executives of Google and Facebook, the most intriguing communication on these issues has come from a global health body!In December 2017, almost five years after the US introduced the diagnosis of Internet Gaming Disorder, the World Health Organisation (WHO) agreed to include the diagnosis of Gamin
  
  Read more

• The Kids Are Alright

  12-01-2018 15:16
  As a rather disenfranchised member of the Conservative Party I had hoped for, though not expected, a bold reshuffle. With the divorce bill with the EU largely settled and the debate moving on to the future relationship with Europe, and the type of country the UK wants to be, I had hoped that the new year provided opportunities for significant change. To clear out the old guard and usher in a new generation of Conservatives who would perhaps better articulate their ambitions for the future of Gre
  
  Read more

• A Beginner’s Guide To Macronutrients

  12-01-2018 15:16
  You can hardly talk about calories without talking about macronutrients, they’re so heavily intertwined that to understand one you must understand the other.What Are Macronutrients?Macronutrients, also known as macros, are your three main food groups and the source of the calories you need daily to not only survive but perform any activity you do.The three macronutrients are;There is also a fourth macronutrient but as it includes no nutritional value it’s often not included. This mac
  
  Read more

• Labour's Chris Williamson denies being sacked over council tax call

  12-01-2018 15:14 via bbc.co.uk
  Chris Williamson hits back at claims he was fired by Jeremy Corbyn over a call to increase council tax.
  
  Read more

• Action On Racism Can’t Wait: Five Things Labour Must Do To Tackle Antisemitism in 2018

  12-01-2018 15:14
  Despite signs that tackling Labour antisemitism was at last being addressed in 2017, hopes will remain unfulfilled until significant signs of action are shown by the leadership. Here are five actions that would send a clear message that the recent positive steps are more than just a cynical attempt to win back Jewish voters in London and elsewhere.1.Admit the scale of the problem.The issue of antisemitism in the Labour Party has been dismissed by left wing journalists, union leaders and shadow c
  
  Read more

• A Cabinet Reshuffle Can't Change Careless People: A Window on Dead Modern Britain From The Failed Generation

  12-01-2018 15:12
  Most national websites offer similar advice for bloggers, centred around being specific; keeping the subject narrow. But when everyone does this, we can lose a broader perspective. You could say that’s for books and docs, but come on let’s be realistic – I’m a uni student.So I had this whacky idea that for my first blog of the year, I’ll be defiant. I mean, okay I’ll write specific pieces throughout the year on issues raised here, but for now here’s my w
  
  Read more

• Surveillance - What's In A Name?

  12-01-2018 15:10
  Surveillance, particularly mass surveillance and issues involving privacy and data leaks, are never far from the news. However, disease surveillance and the benefits that result from it rarely generate the same kind of column inches.Disease surveillance involves collecting data on people’s health and, in a crucial addition to the general definition of surveillance (directly translatingto watch over), the use of this information to protect and improve the health of a population. This is don
  
  Read more

• Fast-Track London Will Only Work If We Keep Our Foot On The Accelerator

  12-01-2018 15:07
  On 10 January the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, together with a Who’s Who in council politics, signed the Paris Declaration on Fast-Track Cities aiming to End the AIDS Epidemic.  In an event held at City Hall, the Mayor and representatives from NHS England, Public Health England and London Councils, all pledged support for the initiative.Their ambition is a bold one. Firstly, to cut rates of new HIV infection in the capital and secondly, and in many ways more importantly, to elimi
  
  Read more

• Mrs May Is Trying To Build The Conservative Party Of The Future

  12-01-2018 14:51
  The Prime Minister’s latest reshuffle was less about changing the public face of the Government but more about trying to secure the Conservative Party’s own long term future.The initial ‘mis-steps’ and communications failings on who was taking over as Party Chairman and issues with the Party’s website showed that the Mrs May was right to deal with the workings of the Party itself first. It failings proved the case for change. The way that it campaigns, communicates
  
  Read more

• Make 2018 Your Fittest Year Yet

  12-01-2018 14:37
  QUARTER 1 - LAYING THE FOUNDATIONSIf you took your foot off the gas over the festive period and not made it to the gym as many times as you’d hoped, or maybe you couldn’t resist the seasonal temptations and you’ve now ended up more stuffed than the Christmas turkey, don’t worry. It doesn’t matter too much what you did between December and January... it’s what you do between January and December that really counts!BEFORE YOU STARTAs you set out, remember this i
  
  Read more

• Labour scared Trump into scrapping UK visit, says Johnson

  12-01-2018 14:37 via ft.com
  Foreign secretary undermines president’s pretext of opposing Mayfair embassy sale
  
  Read more

• Nigel Farage misspoke on second referendum, suggests UKIP leader

  12-01-2018 14:36 via bbc.co.uk
  UKIP is against a second EU referendum, says the party's leader Henry Bolton.
  
  Read more

• Tandoori-Spiced Monkfish

  12-01-2018 14:34
  This is my dish of the month (so far). I love monkfish, though the days when it was dirt cheap and known as the poor man’s lobster are long past. Still, it’s worth pushing the boat out for, if you’ll pardon the pun.The coconut dhal is, I think, non-negotiable here. It’s the combination of flavours and textures that makes this so good. I served it all with flatbreads, and a carrot ribbon salad, dressed with black onion seeds and lemon juice.Please don’t be put o
  
  Read more

• Pre-Prepared Vegetables Are Necessary For Those Of Us With Disabilities

  12-01-2018 14:16
  I remember the day clearly, when in my early 30’s, I picked up my veg knife and went to chop up a carrot… and I physically couldn’t. It was as if the carrot was made of concrete, I couldn’t understand it.  Such a simple task yet I could not complete it.  I’d spent the majority of my 20’s in my kitchen with my friends, on my feet for 12 hours or more, music blaring, with a bottle of wine, cooking up a storm for a dinner party for 10 or more guests. U
  
  Read more

• Week in review: A purge of white middle-aged men? If only

  12-01-2018 14:12
  
  This was no purge. Perhaps it would be better if it was.
  
  Read more

• Pre-Prepared Vegetables Are Necessary For Those Of Us With Disabilities - Excess Packaging Is Not

  12-01-2018 14:05
  I remember the day clearly, when in my early 30’s, I picked up my veg knife and went to chop up a carrot… and I physically couldn’t. It was as if the carrot was made of concrete, I couldn’t understand it.  Such a simple task yet I could not complete it.  I’d spent the majority of my 20’s in my kitchen with my friends, on my feet for 12 hours or more, music blaring, with a bottle of wine, cooking up a storm for a dinner party for 10 or more guests. U
  
  Read more

• 'Dancing On Ice': New Commentator Sam Matterface Announced After Matt Chapman's Early Exit

  12-01-2018 13:57
  ‘Dancing On Ice’ bosses have confirmed a replacement for short-lived commentator Matt Chapman.TalkSPORT broadcaster Sam Matterface will take over from Matt, who left the show after just one week, an ITV spokesperson has told HuffPost UK.Sam will provide analysis of the contestants’ performances as the rebooted version of the skating competition continues on Sunday (14 January).ITV racing pundit Matt left his role on ‘DOI’ after receiving a backlash from viewers over
  
  Read more

• I'm a Celebrity: Kezia Dugdale paid £70,000 for appearance

  12-01-2018 13:54 via bbc.co.uk
  The former Scottish Labour leader received the money for her recent appearance on I'm a Celebrity.
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!