Political news

• Renters Surge Among Under 45s Could Throw Tories Out Of Office, New Analysis Shows

  05-04-2018 23:32
  A growing army of renters could throw the Tories out of power at the next election, a new analysis of the housing market has revealed.The warning from housing charity Shelter comes as government figures show the number of people in the private rented sector are on course to almost match those with a mortgage by the 2022 General Election.And with the renting boom fuelled by a surge in the 35-44-year-old demographic – a group more likely to vote in elections than their younger counterparts &
  
  Read more

• Eric Bristow, Five-Time World Darts Champion, Dies Aged 60

  05-04-2018 23:08
  Five-time world champion Eric Bristow has died aged 60 after suffering a heart attack, the Professional Darts Corporation has announced.Bristow, known as the “Crafty Cockney”, was the biggest name in darts throughout the 1980s – the beginning of the sport’s television boom.He was a founder member of the PDC in 1993 and mentored the sport’s next dominant player Phil Taylor. Bristow received an MBE in 1989.A PDC statement read: “The Professional Darts Corporatio
  
  Read more

• Spy Poisoning: Russia Tells UK 'You’ll Be Sorry' During Extraordinary Attack At The UN

  05-04-2018 22:56
  Russia has accused the UK of coming up with a “fake story” and warned “you’ll be sorry” over the poisoning of a double agent in Salisbury during an astonishing attack at the United Nations Security Council.Speaking at a meeting in the New York called by Moscow, Russian UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya accused Britain of “playing with fire” as he attempted to exploit tensions in the UK over the nerve agent attack.His bizarre statement also referenced the ITV
  
  Read more

• Greens: People sick of 'cosy councils'

  05-04-2018 21:13 via bbc.co.uk
  Green Party launches local election campaign saying there is no seat they cannot win.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Union leaders told to put ‘own houses in order’ on gender pay

  05-04-2018 21:09 via ft.com
  Median gap as wide as 42% compared to national average of 9.8%
  
  Read more

• Sugar Tax: George Osborne says it should include milk drinks

  05-04-2018 21:01 via bbc.co.uk
  George Osborne says if he was still Chancellor he would have expanded the sugar tax.
  
  Read more

• Gender pay survey proves uncomfortable experience

  05-04-2018 20:45 via ft.com
  Now employers face task of how to respond to discrepancies between men and women
  
  Read more

• Mile End Stabbing: Two Teenagers Rushed To Hospital Following Knife Attack

  05-04-2018 20:39
  A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two teenagers were stabbed in east London on Thursday evening, Scotland Yard said. The pair, who are both aged 15, were rushed to hospital following the incident on Grove Road in Mile End. Their condition is unknown, officers added. A third youth was also taken to hospital for treatment of “minor injuries”.  Three youths taken to hospital following stabbing in Grove Road, E3. One is being treated for m
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Mile End Stabbing: Two Teenagers In Serious Condition Following Knife Attack

  05-04-2018 20:39
  A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two teenagers were stabbed in east London on Thursday evening, Scotland Yard said. The pair, who are both aged 15, were rushed to hospital following the incident on Grove Road in Mile End. The boys remain in a serious condition in hospital following the stabbing.Another youth, 16, who was treated for minor injuries, has been arrested for conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm, Tower Hamlets police said.Three youths taken
  
  Read more

• London Crime Wave: Four Teenagers Stabbed Following Series Of Attacks On Single Night

  05-04-2018 20:39
  London has been rocked by another night of violent crime after four teenagers were stabbed in three separate incidents across the capital.With the number of murder inquiries rising above 50 in the capital so far this year, both London Mayor Sadiq Kahn and the Conservative government were under pressure to get control of the streets.In the first attack on Thursday night, a man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two teenagers were stabbed in east London.The pair, who are both
  
  Read more

• London Crime Wave: Five Teenagers Stabbed Following Series Of Attacks On Single Night

  05-04-2018 20:39
  London has been rocked by another night of violent crime after five teenagers and a man were stabbed over the course of just 90 minutes.With the number of murder investigations rising above 50 in the capital so far this year, both the London Mayor, Sadiq Kahn, and the Conservative government, are under pressure to gain control of the streets.In the first attack, around 6pm, two teenagers were stabbed on Grove Road, in Mile End, east London. The pair, both 15, today remain in a serious
  
  Read more

• Warning to companies that missed gender pay deadline

  05-04-2018 20:12 via ft.com
  Tough sanctions threatened for 1,500 corporate data defaulters
  
  Read more

• Labour MP Chris Williamson Tells RT Tories Using Salisbury Poisoning As 'Smokescreen'

  05-04-2018 20:00
  Labour MP Chris Williamson has claimed Tory ministers are using the Salisbury nerve agent attack “as a smokescreen” to mask their domestic problems. In an interview with the Kremlin-funded broadcaster RT, the former frontbencher said Government had used the incident as a “diversion tactic” and “not so much as a smoking gun but as a smoke screen.” Williamson, who was appearing on RT after Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell asked Labour MPs to stop, adde
  
  Read more

• London’s violent crime wave can be beaten back

  05-04-2018 19:52 via ft.com
  New York and Glasgow provide useful lessons for the UK capital
  
  Read more

• Antisemitism on the left and Jeremy Corbyn | Letters

  05-04-2018 18:57
  Israeli ambassador Mark Regev and other readers respond to recent articles on an issue that has dominated recent headlinesOwen Jones’s contribution to the discussion of left antisemitism (Labour’s mission is to transform Britain. It can’t let bigotry get in the way, 4 April) tackles several important issues, yet overlooks the elephant in the room: the obsessive and irrational hatred of the Jewish state.When pro-Palestinian social media pages are awash with anti-Jewish vitr
  
  Read more

• London Marathon Runners Face Travel Disruption As DLR Strike Announced For Race Weekend

  05-04-2018 18:53
  Thousands of runners and spectators heading for the start line of this month’s London Marathon could face serious disruptions due to a strike on the capital’s overground DLR system.The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union confirmed on Thursday that the four-day walkout would go ahead after discussions about outsourcing with KeolisAmey Docklands, which operates the DLR, failed to progress.  Members will stop working between Friday April 20 and Tuesday April 24, with the
  
  Read more

• Let's Be Accepting Of Autism, Not Just Aware Of It

  05-04-2018 18:04
  Last week was National Autism Week. Monday 2nd April was World Autism Day. April is World Autism Month. Every year. This alone pretty much guarantees you are aware of autism to some degree. I’m not sure how you could have missed it, though I understand that following the news at present is more like reading a film script rejected for being too unrealistic; perhaps it has passed you by in the recent maelstrom of unlikely events.But I doubt it. Chances are high that you have heard of autism;
  
  Read more

• What Should You Do If Someone Breaks In To Your House? Here’s What The Police Say

  05-04-2018 18:00
  This week a pensioner was arrested on suspicion of murder after a man died during an attempted burglary of the 78-year-old’s home. Police confirmed that an intruder, aged 37, had died following an altercation with the homeowner, named as Richard Osborn-Brooks. The incident has raised questions about what people should do when they discover burglars in their home – and what rights they have when confronting them. The pensioners neighbours have been quick to come to his defence, a
  
  Read more

• Hospital Appointments Are Painful Enough – Why Make The Journey Painful Too?

  05-04-2018 17:55
  If you think about it, four hours really is a big chunk of your day.You can fit so much into four hours. You could fly to Greece or watch Rocky I and II, as well as the opening credits of Rocky III (if you were so inclined). You could even run a marathon or put up some particularly complicated flat pack furniture. Okay, so those last two might take some of us longer than four hours, but the fact remains, four hours is not an insignificant amount of time.That’s why I find it hard to fathom
  
  Read more

• 'McMafia gangs' behind London crime wave - David Lammy

  05-04-2018 17:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour MP David Lammy says political leaders and police have "lost control" of violent drug gangs.
  
  Read more

• Building On The Green Belt Is Not A Solution To The Housing Crisis

  05-04-2018 17:31
  The Green Belt is the ‘countryside next door’ for 30 million people – more than half of England’s population. It’s where those of us stuck in cities go to get away from the stresses and strains of urban life. Its fresh air and open spaces make it fundamental to our physical health and mental wellbeing.Green Belt policy aims to prevent the urban sprawl which is reducing quality of life in so many cities across the world. This unsustainable form of development swallow
  
  Read more

• I am not part of Labour’s antisemitism problem | Letter from Marc Wadsworth

  05-04-2018 17:25
  Marc Wadsworth responds to an article’s reference to the incident that led to his suspension from the party, which he is will be vigorously contesting at a hearing this monthYour article (Why Labour continues to struggle with antisemitism, 26 March) gave the entirely wrong impression that I was part of the Labour party’s antisemitism problem.It said: “In her report, [Shami] Chakrabarti concluded that Labour ‘is not overrun by antisemitism, Islamophobia or other forms of r
  
  Read more

• Russia will not accept findings of OPCW inquiry into Salisbury, ambassador signals - Politics live

  05-04-2018 17:21
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenRussian ambassador’s press conference - Summary 4.21pm BST The Green party has launched its local election campaign with a pledge that the party’s councillors will act as “insurgents” to shake up complacent local authorities with traditionally overwhelming Labour or Conservative majorities.Speaking at a launch event in South London the Green co-leader, Jonathan Bartley, said even a handful of Green r
  
  Read more

• 'Saturday Night Takeaway' Bosses Reveal Series Finale Line-Up

  05-04-2018 17:14
  ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ bosses have confirmed the line-up for this weekend’s grand finale. Declan Donnelly will be joined by a host of guests as he presents the final episode without co-presenter Ant McPartlin, live from Universal’s Orlando Resort. Hollywood star Denise Richards will serve as the Star Guest Announcer, Craig David will be the night’s resident DJ while Jason Derulo will star in The End Of The Show Show.There’s also a treat in st
  
  Read more

• Spotify Or Simon Cowell: Who Killed Rock N' Roll?

  05-04-2018 17:08
  Spotify’s executives must be toasting the success of their initial public offering on the stock market - the biggest technology floatation in years. Physical music sales first began to seriously dwindle at the beginning of the 21st century thanks to illegal downloads and “millennials” (what a loathsome term), as a result, were educated to view music as something inherently available free of charge, for which payment should be optional. Spotify is credited with reinvigorating th
  
  Read more

• London Mayor Sadiq Khan Vows Police Crackdown As Spate Of Violent Deaths Shocks Capital

  05-04-2018 17:08
  Four people either stabbed or shot to death in London this weekSadiq Khan orders more police patrols and extra stop and search powersTottenham MP reveals he’s had no contact with the PM or Home SecretaryWalthamstow MP warns killings with continue without community supportMPs have reacted with fury and London Mayor Sadiq Khan with “heartbreak and anger” amid growing pressure on authorities to tackle a spate of violence in the capital that has seen four people killed on the stree
  
  Read more

• Plastic Bag Litter In Seas Around UK Has Dropped Since 5p Charge

  05-04-2018 16:36
  The number of plastic bags found in seas around the UK has dramatically fallen, suggesting 5p plastic plastic bag charges - and our reignited love of tote bags - are having a positive impact on the environment. Research from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) analysed the litter collected by nets which were dragged along the seabed scooping up anything buried to a depth of 15cm. The scientists analysed data form the past 25 years, but reported a 30% d
  
  Read more

• Seven Bizarre Twists In The Skripal Poisoning Case – From Just The Last Few Hours

  05-04-2018 16:25
  In the weeks since the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, we’ve seen many a plot twist, accusation and counter-accusation – but Thursday was exceptional.A suspicious phone call, an unexpected statement from one the victims and a unnecessarily entertaining press conference all emerged within a few hours of each other, culminating in the Russian ambassador to the UK lamenting that “many Russian citizens who die here in very strange circumstances&rdqu
  
  Read more

• UK data protection chief welcomes Facebook privacy changes

  05-04-2018 16:20
  Elizabeth Denham welcomes changes but says it is too early to say whether they are sufficient under the law The information commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, has welcomed changes made by Facebook in an attempt to boost user privacy, but warned that it was too early to say whether they were sufficient under the law.Denham spoke following admissions from Facebook that more than 1 million British users may have had their data improperly shared with election consultancy Cambridge Analytica – and
  
  Read more

• Labour member 'sorry' over Holocaust Facebook post

  05-04-2018 16:07 via bbc.co.uk
  Alan Bull said sharing the post claiming the Holocaust was a hoax had been a "bad mistake".
  
  Read more

• Another Stabbing In Walthamstow As Spate Of Violence Stuns London

  05-04-2018 16:00
  A man has been stabbed in Walthamstow, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed.This follows seven violent deaths in London since Friday, amid a wave of attacks that included a fatal shooting on Monday in the same borough.The man in his 20s was injured on Billet Road at around 12.50pm on Thursday. He has been taken to hospital, a police spokesman said. It comes after a 16-year-old boy, named as Amaan Shakoor, was found on Monday with bullet wounds in Walthamstow and died o
  
  Read more

• Anaïs Gallagher Models Vegan Leather Shorts As Part Of Nasty Gal's Festival Collection

  05-04-2018 15:49
  Anaïs Gallagher has modelled vegan shorts as part of the new campaign for Nasty Gal’s spring/summer 2018 festival collection, which, of course, features copious glitter, embroidery and fringing.The fashion brand stated the daughter of Oasis star Noel Gallagher and Meg Matthews was picked for the campaign due to her “eclectic personal style” but her status as a vegetarian also makes her well suited to model the vegan leather in the collection, which feat
  
  Read more

• Jeremy Corbyn and a true socialist, anti-slavery passover story

  05-04-2018 15:37 via ft.com
  Pharaoh, a life-long opponent of forced labour, is smeared by Moses
  
  Read more

• The Tories are in denial about violent crime. They need to study what works

  05-04-2018 15:28
  Police cuts and stop and search haven’t stopped the rise in knife attacks. May’s government needs to radically change tackOvernight, two people were murdered in my part of London, bringing the number of killings in the capital to more than 50 since the year began. In all the talk about statistics and policy, it is important to remember the victims, whose lives have brutally ended, and the loved ones they leave behind. Their lives will never be the same again. Related: Ministers faili
  
  Read more

• Viewsnight: ‘British EU ignorance is harming UK interests’

  05-04-2018 15:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska argues that Britain could lose out in Brexit talks because it doesn't understand EU institutions like the European Parliament.
  
  Read more

• Russian ambassador uses press conference to demand 'transparency' over Salisbury investigation - Politics live

  05-04-2018 14:57
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen 1.57pm BST Yakovenko says Yulia Skripal could probably answer some of the 40-odd questions that Russia has submitted to the Foreign Office.He says he is going to meet Viktoria Skripa (Yulia’s cousin) when she comes to London. 1.54pm BST Q: You have stopped producing novichok ...We never had it, Yakovenko says. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• I’ve negotiated with the EU – and I know we can still stop Brexit | Steve Bullock

  05-04-2018 14:49
  The final stages of the EU withdrawal bill are when events happen so rapidly realities can change in an instantShould remainers now “get behind” Brexit and turn their energies to shaping a close UK-EU relationship or to rejoining the EU post-Brexit? That is what some anti-Brexit campaigners (paywall) and respected Brexit commentators have started to accept. The essence of their point is that all the legal routes to stopping Brexit are now politically too unlikely and that, since the
  
  Read more

• What has a year of disability cuts done, beyond knowingly starving the sick? | Frances Ryan

  05-04-2018 14:48
  The policy hasn’t boosted disability employment as was promised. Instead, for people like Michael, it has only caused miseryAs anniversaries go, Michael’s is not one to celebrate. This month marks one year since the government brought in one of its most controversial “welfare” policies: cutting the benefit for people too ill to work – Employment and Support Allowance – by £30 a week. Like hundreds of thousands of other disabled and chronically ill people
  
  Read more

• Mark Zuckerberg Promised Privacy Reform. But Here's What Facebook Has Actually Delivered

  05-04-2018 14:19
  When Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a long statement on the social network explaining what went wrong – and promised he would take steps to help protect user data.The scandal saw up to 87 million people’s data being inappropriately used by the firm Cambridge Analytica. The company gained access to this data through a Facebook quiz which, back in 2013, was allowed to collect data on not just the people taking par
  
  Read more

• Why Is The Government Blaming Others For Recent, Shocking Knife And Gun Deaths?

  05-04-2018 14:11
  Recent knife and gun crime deaths in London – and elsewhere in England – have shocked us all. My heart goes out to all those affected. Too many lives are being wasted. Too many families destroyed. Too many communities devastated. It could and should be so different. The facts are clear. Police records show violent crime is rising across the country and has been since 2014. And this isn’t a new trend. It started under the previous Home Secretary, now our Prim
  
  Read more

• Poisoned Yulia Skripal Issues Statement Saying 'My Strength Is Growing Daily'

  05-04-2018 14:01
  Yulia Skripal, the daughter of a former spy poisoned in Britain, has said “my strength is growing daily” and thanked the people of Salisbury who “came to my aid”.In a statement issued through the Met Police, the 33-year-old also asked for her privacy to be respected “during the period of my convalescence”.It made no reference to the condition of her father, Sergei.The statement reads: “I woke up over a week ago now and am glad to say my strength is growi
  
  Read more

• Poisoned Yulia Skripal Is Awake And Talking, Her Cousin Tells Russian Media

  05-04-2018 14:01
  Yulia Skripal, the daughter of a former spy poisoned in Britain with his daughter, has said “everyone is getting better”, her cousin has claimed. Viktoria Skripal said she had spoken by telephone to her cousin Yulia, 33, and a recording of the alleged call has been given to the Rossiya-1 TV channel.Its authenticity has not been verified. A transcript of the alleged call has been published by the BBC. In it, the woman claiming to be Yulia said her father Sergei “is all
  
  Read more

• The case for reimagining the UK’s pension models

  05-04-2018 13:58 via ft.com
  A risk-sharing structure should include employers, current employees and pensioners
  
  Read more

• UK’s 5G auction raises £1.35bn from four bidders

  05-04-2018 13:57 via ft.com
  Proceeds beat expectations but are far cry from £22.5bn 3G windfall in 2000
  
  Read more

• Mobile groups bid £1.35bn as 5G auction beats forecasts

  05-04-2018 13:57 via ft.com
  Proceeds are long way from £22.5bn 3G windfall for Treasury in 2000
  
  Read more

• Yulia Skripal says 'everyone is getting better', Russian TV reports

  05-04-2018 13:47
  Poisoned former spy Sergei Skripal said to be ‘resting, sleeping’, according to his niece A relative of the poisoned former double agent Sergei Skripal has said she has spoken by phone with his daughter, Yulia, who was making her first contact with the outside world since falling into a coma after the 4 March nerve agent attack.“She said everything is fine and she is doing OK,” Viktoria Skripal told the Guardian by telephone from Moscow. “That’s all I’m
  
  Read more

• 'In normal times Boris Johnson would be sacked': your best comments today

  05-04-2018 13:40
  A look at readers’ discussion around our latest reporting on the Sergei Skripal case
  Boris Johnson’s handling of the Salisbury poisoning has provoked some of the most interesting conversation on site today. We’re also looking at reaction to a feature on Martin Luther King’s legacy, and an emotional read about coming to terms with a fatal road accident.
  To join in the conversation you can click on the links in the comments below to expand and add your thoughts. We’ll
  
  Read more

• Couple Spend Spare Time Building Wheelchairs For Disabled Rescue Dogs

  05-04-2018 13:24
  A couple were so saddened by the number of stray disabled dogs they encountered while travelling around Europe, they started a charity to help, building special wheelchairs for pets in need. Alongside their regular jobs, graphic designer Cassie Carney, 40, and her marketing executive husband, Tim, 50, run Broken Biscuits, a charity providing essential equipment - such as the special wheelchairs - for disabled rescue dogs. “These animals are like the biscuits left on the plate - t
  
  Read more

• UK Weather: Blue Skies And Soaring Temperatures Until Friday

  05-04-2018 13:20
  Blue skies will lead to double-digit temperatures across the UK until Friday forecasters have predicted, but don’t ditch your winter coat just yet – they’ve also warned the balmy weather might not last long.The Met Office said Thursday and Friday would be clear and sunny for most parts of the country, with possible highs of 16C in the south-east on Friday. In a jubilant tweet it told Brits to “consider sun cream if you’re heading out today”. The warm
  
  Read more

• Prognosis needed for UK’s pharma future

  05-04-2018 13:05 via ft.com
  Mechanics involved in achieving ‘associate membership’ of ERA remain unclear  
  
  Read more

Follow @political_UKnws on Twitter!