Political news

• Pro-Brexit Group Leave.EU’s ‘Disgraceful’ Tweet Linking Labour Anti-Semitism To Muslim Voters Provokes Outrage

  29-03-2018 22:23
  An “offensive” tweet by pro-Brexit organisation Leave.EU has provoked outrage after suggesting anti-Semitism in the Labour Party is a result of “Britain’s exploding Muslim population”.The controversial tweet said: “Is it any wonder that Labour can’t be bothered to deal with the disgusting antisemitism in their party when they are so reliant on the votes of Britain’s exploding Muslim population? It’s a question of maths for these people,
  
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• Engineering giant GKN sold to Melrose for £8bn

  29-03-2018 22:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Shareholders back an £8bn offer after a bitter fight for control of Britain's biggest engineering firm.
  
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• Theresa May: Brexit allows more spending on NHS and schools

  29-03-2018 21:59 via bbc.co.uk
  The PM promises to make Brexit a "success" - but Tony Blair says "it's not too late" to stop it.
  
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• Activists Demand Jeremy Corbyn 'Clean Up' Pro-Labour Facebook Pages Amid Anti-Semitism Row

  29-03-2018 20:52
  Activists have demanded Jeremy Corbyn take action to “clean up” the biggest social media communities associated with the Labour Party as the row over anti-Semitism rumbles on.Members of centrist group Progress say they have found dozens of examples of Jew-hate within the Labour Party Forum Facebook page - one of the biggest unofficial social network groups connected to the movement - as well as calls for “moderate” MPs to be deselected.Corbyn has pledged to stamp out prob
  
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• Nine senior Tories want amendments to EU withdrawal bill

  29-03-2018 20:51
  Chris Patten and Douglas Hogg back substantial changes, including a parliamentary vote on staying in the customs unionNine senior Conservatives, including two former Cabinet ministers, have put their name to cross-party amendments to the European Union withdrawal bill.The Conservative peers, including Chris Patten, the former party chairman, and Douglas Hogg, the former agriculture minister, are supporting a series of substantial changes to the government’s flagship bill to leave the EU. C
  
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• MPs condemn Leave.EU tweet on Labour antisemitism

  29-03-2018 20:09
  Tweet claims Labour ‘can’t be bothered’ to deal with antisemitism because party is ‘so reliant’ on Muslim votesMPs have issued a formal protest over an Islamophobic tweet by the Leave.EU campaign that implied Labour could not be bothered to deal with antisemitism because there were more votes in supporting Muslims. Is it any wonder that Labour can't be bothered to deal with the disgusting antisemitism in their party when they are so reliant on the votes of Britain's
  
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• Theresa May refuses to back Boris Johnson's 'Brexit dividend' claim

  29-03-2018 19:48
  Prime minister, touring UK, says ‘vast amounts of money’ will not go to Brussels so there will be more cash for NHSTheresa May has refused to back Boris Johnson’s claim that there would be a “Brexit dividend” for the UK, as she toured the country to mark one year until Britain leaves the European Union.The prime minister said the UK would no longer be sending “vast amounts of money” to Brussels so there would inevitably be more cash available for spendin
  
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• Brexit Briefing: Theresa May Is Still Not Convinced

  29-03-2018 19:34
  Happy year-to-until-we-leave-the-EU-but-nothing-will-change-because-of-the-transition-agreement day!You can sign up for this briefing by clicking here, and you’ll receive it straight to your inbox every Thursday afternoon.If you like what you read, make sure you subscribe to our Commons People podcast here for even more analysis about what goes on in Westminster. 1) Theresa May Is Doing So Well She Should Probably Call An ElectionTheresa May is heading off on her walkin
  
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• Spy Poisoning: Russia Retaliates By Expelling Western Diplomats And Closing US Consulate

  29-03-2018 19:27
  Russia has said it will expel the same number of diplomats from the US and other nations that expelled Russian diplomats and will close the US consulate in St Petersburg.Following the poisoning of the Skripals, Western countries announced more than 100 agents were being sent home from around 20 countries in what Theresa May called the “largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history”.Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday: “The measures would b
  
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• Is Your Sleep Tracker Ruining Your Sleep? What To Do About 'Orthosomnia'

  29-03-2018 18:50
  They are intended to make you sleep better. But sleep tracking apps could in fact be disrupting your shut-eye, according to new research which notes the rise of “orthosomnia”– disrupted sleep resulting from the quest for perfect rest. A growing number of people are monitoring and obsessing over their sleep tracker data which, in turn, is keeping them wide-eyed and stressed throughout the night, researchers explained in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 
  
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• Ministers U-turn on housing benefit axe for 18-21-year-olds

  29-03-2018 18:46 via bbc.co.uk
  A 2014 decision to restrict housing benefit for most people aged 18-21 is being reversed.
  
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• The disputes dispute

  29-03-2018 18:32 via bbc.co.uk
  The BBC's Iain Watson on the resignation of the Labour Party's disputes panel chief and who might replace her.
  
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• The sky won't fall in after Brexit? Maybe not for you, Theresa

  29-03-2018 18:26
  The PM is on a tour of the UK to mark a year till Brexit – pity the people who drew the short strawThere are few things more guaranteed to induce a sense of national panic than the prime minister announcing she is doing a whistle-stop tour of the country to reassure everyone that leaving the EU wasn’t going to be quite as bad as they feared. To mark the year to go till Brexit day, Theresa May started out by spending a few minutes at a textile factory in Ayr. Shortly after she left, m
  
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• World Cup 2018 Will Be In Russia - Unless These Lawyers Can Convince Fifa To Move It

  29-03-2018 18:14
  Sashy Nathan, a lawyer who is crowdfunding an attempt to stop Russia holding the World Cup, was spurred into action by recent events.“The Salisbury attack and the Russian elections happened... no one else seemed to be joining the dots together,” he told HuffPost.With weeks to go until the tournament, he and his group wants to use a litany of bad behaviour by Russia - the Salisbury poisoning, Vladimir Putin’s fixed re-election, its occupation of the Crimea, its “gay propag
  
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• Labour probes member's 'anti-Semitic tweets'

  29-03-2018 17:56 via bbc.co.uk
  The Labour Party received a number of complaints about tweets posted by a former branch secretary.
  
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• More Than A Third Of Young People Have Friends Who Use Xanax

  29-03-2018 17:36
  Parents are being urged to have open and frank discussions with their children about tranquillisers, after a study suggested thousands of teens may be taking Xanax.In a survey of 85,000 people aged 13 to 24 by Vice magazine, 35% said their friends used Xanax, a brand name of a class of drugs called benzodiazepinetype, and only 6% had not heard of the drug, which is not available on the NHS but is prescribed in the US to treat anxiety.Addaction has advised parents not to presume Xa
  
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• Don't Presume Xanax Use Won't Affect Your Children, Charity Advises Parents

  29-03-2018 17:36
  Parents are being urged to have open and frank discussions with their children about tranquillisers, after a study suggested thousands of teens may be taking Xanax.In a survey of 85,000 people aged 13 to 24 by Vice magazine, 35% said their friends used Xanax, a brand name of a class of drugs called benzodiazepinetype, and only 6% had not heard of the drug, which is not available on the NHS but is prescribed in the US to treat anxiety.Addaction has advised parents not to presume Xa
  
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• Five Politics Stories You Might Have Missed As MPs Break For Easter

  29-03-2018 17:14
  It’s that time of year again, when everyone stocks up on chocolate and Theresa May goes on a walking holiday.  (Gulp).Parliament begins its 17-day Easter recess on Thursday, giving government ministers the chance to rush out all the statements and announcements they’d rather not see leading the news agenda. We’ve pulled together a few from this week, to make sure everyone is up-to-date ahead of their four-day weekend:1. Housing benefit U-turnDWP secretary Esther
  
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• EU Parents Urged To Take Steps To Protect Their Child's Right To Stay In The UK After Brexit

  29-03-2018 16:47
  The children of EU citizens living in the UK may be at risk of “falling through the cracks” and having their rights of future residency questioned after Brexit, researchers have warned.Parents should ensure they have documentation to prove how long they have lived and worked in the UK, advises Charlotte Buckley, senior immigration supervisor at youth justice law specialists, Just For Kids Law. “My advice to all our clients is to apply for residence cards as soon
  
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• School Term-Time Holiday Rules Are Stifling Children’s Creativity

  29-03-2018 16:20
  23 years ago I stood on a stage in the middle of the busy Italian town square of Arco, on the shore of Lake Garda. It was one of those humid, holiday evenings. I stood up, with the school band behind me and played the solo line to Duke Ellington’s ‘Take the ‘A’ Train’ on my trumpet. It was one of the best moments of my childhood. Many of the band members are still friends today and we speak fondly of the fantastic opportunities for music we had at our school as well
  
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• Richard Blackwood Admits He Was ‘Hurt’ After His ‘EastEnders’ Character Vincent Hubbard Was Axed

  29-03-2018 16:18
  Richard Blackwood has admitted he was “hurt” to be written out of ‘EastEnders’.The actor, who has played Vincent Hubbard for three years in the BBC soap, had previously credited the role with changing his life after he considered suicide prior to landing the part.But the 45-year-old insisted there was “no bad vibe” between him and soap bosses, after it was announced he would be leaving Albert Square earlier this month.In an interview with So Solid Crew’s
  
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• Woman Hit By Falling Bricks In East London Dies

  29-03-2018 16:11
  A 29-year-old woman who was injured after being hit by bricks which fell from a building site in east London on Tuesday has died. Scotland Yard said: “The woman died in hospital at 10:40hrs on Thursday, 29 March. Her next of kin have been informed.“Formal identification awaits. A post-mortem examination will take place in due course.” The woman has been named in the press as Kayla Boor, a mother-of-two, who turned 29 while she was in hospital. She had reportedly just
  
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• Yulia Skripal 'Improving Rapidly' After Salisbury Poisoning, Hospital Says

  29-03-2018 16:10
  Yulia Skripal is “improving rapidly and is no longer in a critical condition” after she was poisoned with a nerve agent, the hospital has said.Her father Sergei remains in a critical but stable condition, Salisbury NHS Trust said.Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director for Salisbury District Hospital, said: “I’m pleased to be able to report an improvement in the condition of Yulia Skripal.“She has responded well to treatment but continues to receive expert clinical
  
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• Worboys case: Nick Hardwick says 'government at fault too'

  29-03-2018 16:02 via bbc.co.uk
  The ex-Parole Board boss says the Ministry of Justice made errors in the decision to free the rapist.
  
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• Christopher Wylie: It's Possible Facebook App Could Be Listening To You

  29-03-2018 16:00
  Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie has suggested in a commons committee interview that it could be possible the Facebook app is recording background noise for advertising.When asked by committee chairman Damian Collins about what his thoughts were on the speculation that Facebook was doing this Wylie said that while it was “probably a question for Facebook.” companies, not just Facebook, could potentially record background audio to identify the kind of environme
  
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• Theresa May Refuses To Say Whether She Now Supports Brexit Or Not

  29-03-2018 15:57
  Theresa May has again refused to say whether she had changed her mind and now believed Brexit to be the right decision for the country.The prime minister campaigned for ‘Remain’ during the 2016 referendum.She said on Thursday there was a “bright future” for the UK after Brexit.But asked by the BBC if that meant she believed the referendum outcome had been the right one, she dodged the question.“I campaigned for Remain, but I, as I said at the time, it was a very bal
  
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• Theresa May takes tour of UK one year from Brexit

  29-03-2018 15:53 via ft.com
  Britain's prime minister visiting England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
  
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• 'I'm 18 - will I ever get to vote on Brexit?'

  29-03-2018 15:49 via bbc.co.uk
  The BBC's Brexitcast podcast went live - with questions fired at Laura, Katya and the gang.
  
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• Cambridge Analytica files spell out election tactics

  29-03-2018 15:47 via bbc.co.uk
  Newly released files detail election-swinging efforts by the consultancy and other linked firms.
  
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• Boy, 3, Killed By Sainsbury’s Lorry As He Crossed The Road With His Family

  29-03-2018 15:05
  A three-year-old boy has been killed after being hit by a Sainsbury’s lorry as he crossed the road with his family.He suffered serious injuries and was taken to Dorset County Hospital following the collision on Thursday morning in North Street, Wareham.The boy was pronounced dead a short time afterwards and police are appealing for witnesses to the accident, which occurred at a pedestrian crossing.A 43-year-old man from Basingstoke has been arrested on suspicion of driving offences and is
  
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• ‘British cars for British drivers’ slogan might look good on a bus

  29-03-2018 14:46 via ft.com
  Carmakers favour big, regional plants so they can spread the costs of setting up
  
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• Brexit: What happens to Gibraltar after UK leaves EU

  29-03-2018 14:39 via bbc.co.uk
  Brexit could have big implications for Gibraltar, which gave the highest vote to remain in the EU referendum
  
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• Continuity Of Care For Women Having Babies Is A No-brainer: Why Have We Waited So Long?

  29-03-2018 14:35
  Twenty five years ago a groundbreaking publication ‘Changing Childbirth’, written on behalf of the Department of Health, clearly laid out for the first time what women wanted and needed when having babies. This was for their own safety and wellbeing and the safety and wellbeing of their children. It boiled down to choice, continuity and control and NCT began campaigning for these changes.The Royal College of Midwives marked the 20th anniversary of the publication in 2013 with a repor
  
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• This Is The Right Way To Eat A Cadbury’s Creme Egg, According To The People Who Make Them

  29-03-2018 14:34
  “Who are these people out there eating them whole? You’re asking for death by Creme Egg.” Shaheed Khattak, a systems maintenance engineer on Cadbury’s  production line maintains there is only one official way to eat the Easter chocolate confectionery: “You have to bite the top, eat out the centre and then eat the shell on its own. Obviously.”And Khattak would know. The 22-year-old, who lives in the Saltley suburb of Birmingham, has been helping
  
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• Halfway to Brexit

  29-03-2018 14:12 via ft.com
  One year behind us, one year to go
  
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• Brexit countdown: UK has far to go

  29-03-2018 14:11 via ft.com
  Martin Sandbu watches recent speeches by Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Davis
  
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• Autism Understood: Our Listening And Our Language Is What Counts Now

  29-03-2018 14:10
  NOTE: With World Autism Awareness Day 2018 coming up shortly, I want to make sure that the maximum platform is given to those actually in the autistic community. I’ll keep this post short and do my best to signpost to further information with an authentic autistic voice behind it. I have a younger brother who is autistic but never really engaged with autism much until after I was 18. Before then, I still remember grappling with countless awkward moments overhearing descriptions of autism t
  
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• UK bar association urges strikes over legal aid

  29-03-2018 14:01 via ft.com
  Barristers protest against ‘near collapse’ of criminal justice system
  
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• Bar association urges strikes over legal aid

  29-03-2018 14:01 via ft.com
  Barristers protest against ‘near collapse’ of criminal justice system
  
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• NHS Worker On How Random Act Of Kindness In Pret 'Made Her Day'

  29-03-2018 13:58
  A NHS worker from Exeter, Devon, has told of how a little bit of kindness can go a long way. Leanne Ashmead, NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme Trainee at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, was queuing at Pret on the morning of 27 March when a stranger in front spotted her NHS badge and paid for her breakfast so she could catch her bus, which was due to leave for the hospital.“I was very surprised,” Ashmead told HuffPost UK. “At first I declined her offer, not feeling w
  
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• Theresa May: Brexit will give UK new opportunities

  29-03-2018 13:52 via bbc.co.uk
  Theresa May tells the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg Brexit will change the UK, but will provide the chance to spend money on priorities like the NHS and schools.
  
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• Eating Out Linked To Potentially Harmful Chemicals Used In Plastic Packaging, Study Finds

  29-03-2018 13:34
  People who eat out at restaurants, particularly fast-food chains, are at higher risk of exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals used in plastic, new research has shown.Study participants who had eaten out the day before had nearly 35% higher levels of phthalates in their bodies than those who at at home.Phthalates, also known as plasticisers, are used to make plastic more flexible and durable and are used in food packaging as well as shampoos and certain soaps. They have been linked to a l
  
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• Government U-Turn Gives Housing Benefit Back To 18-21-Year-Olds

  29-03-2018 13:17
  A government U-turn will see housing benefit restored to 18-21-year-olds.Under plans drawn up by David Cameron and George Osborne jobless under-22s no longer qualified for help with their rental costs.Charities had warned the move put thousands of young people at risk of homelessness. Theresa May decided to push ahead with the policy when she became prime minister.But in a written statement to parliament on Thursday, Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey said the government was scra
  
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• Disaster road: The Brexit Irish border plan and why it won't work

  29-03-2018 13:13
  
  David Davis is going to throw everything at this and he's going to fail anyway.
  
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• 'Roseanne' Revival Debuts To Huge Viewing Figures, Despite Controversy

  29-03-2018 13:09
  The controversial ‘Roseanne’ revival is off to a flying start in the US, pulling in a staggering 18.4 million viewers.More than two decades since the last episode of ‘Roseanne’ aired, the sitcom returned to screens across the pond earlier this week.Viewing figures have now been revealed, with more than 18 million tuning in, a 10% increase on the number of people who tuned in to watch the show’s final episode back in 1997.The reboot proved divisive before it had even
  
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• The Beauty Of Gardening With Toddlers

  29-03-2018 13:06
  I’m struggling to believe that Spring is actually here.  It’s felt like the longest, harshest winter.  We’ve had three rounds of snow, school closures and cancelled trains.  Every virus, cough and pox has swept through the town, taking us down as their victims.  Currently overcoming chicken pox, our children have felt pretty miserable, with the odd moment of cabin-fever-fuelled energy: “I’m doing the itch-dance”, says our three year old whi
  
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• Easter Weather Forecast Features Sunshine, Showers… And Snow

  29-03-2018 13:02
  The weather for the long-awaited Easter getaway is to be a mixed bag of sunshine, showers and snow.Thursday will see a three-way split, with showery rain pushing in from south-west England, rain across the far north east of Scotland falling as snow over the hills, and a large amount of fine weather in between.The rain will spread into Friday, with temperatures in the north between 5C and 7C and the south a little warmer at 8 or 9C. Rain will turn to snow over the same regions of Tayside and Fife
  
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• Dear Facebook, I'm Writing To Say Goodbye

  29-03-2018 13:01
  Dear FacebookI’m writing to say goodbye.It feels kinda weird, I know. We’ve been mates for ten years. I know you’re sad to see me go - you’ve made that abundantly clear - but you know how it is, sometimes friends grow apart.We’ve had some good times, some laughs. We’ve looked at people we used to know and judged their life choices - particularly anyone married or abroad. There was that time my flatmate left you logged-in and we asked people on fetish groups to
  
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• Should the UK ban the sale of fur?

  29-03-2018 12:53 via bbc.co.uk
  MPs will debate the issue on 4 June, after a petition to ban fur sales reached 100,000 signatures.
  
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• ‘Arthritis Isn’t Just For Old People’: Six Under 30s Share The Reality Of Living With The Condition

  29-03-2018 12:53
  Magician Dynamo, 35, has revealed he’s unable to shuffle cards because of arthritis, a condition that causes pain and inflammation in a person’s joints.Arthriti is thought to affect a staggering 10 million people in the UK. The two most common types are osteoarthritis, which affects the smooth cartilage lining of a joint, making movement more difficult; and rheumatoid arthritis, which causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints. With the latter, symptoms usually affec
  
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