Political news

• Radio 4 Presenter Sarah Montague 'Incandescent With Rage' Over BBC Pay Gap

  08-04-2018 22:30
  The BBC Radio 4 presenter Sarah Montague has said she was “incandescent with rage” and “felt a sap” when she learned she was paid far less than her Today programme co-stars.Montague, who was a key member of the team for 17 years, said she was paid £133,000 and that it “was a very good wage for a job that I loved”.The BBC revealed in July last year that the Today programme host John Humphrys was earning £600,000 to £649,000.Nick Robinson is on
  
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• Ukip investigates Peterborough candidate's Twitter history

  08-04-2018 21:31
  Tweets reportedly posted by Massimo Pinto, which date back to 2012 and 2013, are sexually explicit and misogynisticUkip is investigating misogynistic and sexually explicit tweets reportedly posted by one of its candidates in next month’s elections for Peterborough city council. The tweets were in the timeline of Massimo Pinto, candidate for the Paston ward and a leading pro-Brexit campaigner in the area.
  The tweets, which date back to 2012 and 2013, are highly sexually explicit as well as
  
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• 'Youthful Exuberance': Tories Defend MP Kemi Badenoch For 'Hacking' Harriet Harman’s Website Aged 28

  08-04-2018 21:00
  The Conservative Party has defended one of its MPs for “hacking” Labour MP Harriet Harman’s website when she was 28 years old as “youthful exuberance”.Rising Tory star Kemi Badenoch, 38, admitted she had tried to alter the content to make it more favourable to her party when asked what was the “naughtiest” thing she had ever done.The party insisted guessing a password did not constitute “real hacking”, despite hacking into websites being a cr
  
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• Tory Party Defends MP Kemi Badenoch For 'Hacking' Labour Website When She Was 28 As 'Youthful Exuberance'

  08-04-2018 21:00
  The Conservative Party has defended one of its MPs for “hacking” into the website of a Labour opponent when she was 28 years old as “youthful exuberance”.Rising Tory star Kemi Badenoch, 38, admitted she had tried to alter the content to make it more favourable to her party when asked what was the “naughtiest” thing she had ever done.The party insisted guessing a password did not constitute “real hacking”, despite hacking into websites being a crimi
  
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• Tories Defend MP Kemi Badenoch For 'Hacking' Harriet Harman’s Website When 28 As 'Youthful Exuberance'

  08-04-2018 21:00
  The Conservative Party has defended one of its MPs for “hacking” Labour MP Harriet Harman’s website when she was 28 years old as “youthful exuberance”.Rising Tory star Kemi Badenoch, 38, admitted she had tried to alter the content to make it more favourable to her party when asked what was the “naughtiest” thing she had ever done.The party insisted guessing a password did not constitute “real hacking”, despite hacking into websites being a cr
  
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• Two Men Dead After Suspected Carbon Monoxide Poisoning In Edgware, North London

  08-04-2018 20:23
  Two men have died after a possible carbon monoxide leak.The pair, thought to be aged 38 and 42, were found at an address in Edgware, north London, on Sunday afternoon.Five other people were taken to hospital as a precaution.Scotland Yard said the deaths are being treated as “unexplained” but police believe there was a possible carbon monoxide leak at the property on Bacon Lane.Officers were called at around 1.30pm to reports of two unresponsive males, finding both men dead when they
  
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• May makes Scandinavia trip amid row with Russia over Salisbury attack

  08-04-2018 20:13
  PM to hold talks with Danish and Swedish counterparts, with the ongoing threat posed by Russia top of the agendaTheresa May will hold talks with her Danish and Swedish counterparts on Monday regarding the ongoing threat Russia poses to international security in the wake of the Salisbury nerve agent attack.The prime minister will make a one-day visit to the Scandinavian countries, which are among the 28 nations that have expelled Russian diplomats with intelligence agency backgrounds in response
  
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• London Crime Wave: Second Suspect Sought Over Stabbing Of 18-Year-Old Israel Ogunsola In Hackney

  08-04-2018 20:09
  Detectives investigating the murder of a teenager who was stabbed to death in east London are hunting a second suspect over the attack.A 17-year-old boy appeared in court charged with the murder of Israel Ogunsola, 18, and possession of an offensive weapon on Saturday.But police are appealing for witnesses to trace a second suspect they believe was involved in the alleged attack.The victim was found fatally wounded in Link Street, Hackney, by officers on patrol at around 8pm on Wednesday and was
  
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• ‘Never ever visit Peterborough’, tweeted city’s Ukip candidate

  08-04-2018 20:05 via ft.com
  Vetting process failed to flag Pinto’s sexist messages posted six years ago
  
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• ‘Never ever visit Peterborough,’ tweeted city Ukip candidate

  08-04-2018 20:05 via ft.com
  Vetting process also failed to flag Pinto’s sexist messages posted six years ago
  
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• Context always matters when reporting on antisemitism | Paul Chadwick

  08-04-2018 20:00
  In reporting on hate speech, it might be necessary to reproduce what has caused offence, but only after careful consideration
  • Paul Chadwick is the Guardian’s readers’ editor The starting point for any investigation of antisemitism should not be: “Why does this obviously irrational belief appeal to other people?” but “Why does antisemitism appeal to me?”George Orwell posed the question in his essay, Antisemitism in Britain, published by the Contemporary
  
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• Ben Jennings on police cuts and violent crime – cartoon

  08-04-2018 19:35
  Continue reading...
  
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• Crowd descends on Labour HQ to protest over antisemitism

  08-04-2018 19:30
  Shouts of ‘shame’ ring out at rally in Westminster at mention of party leader, Jeremy CorbynHundreds of protesters have gathered outside Labour’s headquarters in London to campaign against antisemitism in the party. A crowd waving union flags and placards converged on the party HQ in Westminster on Sunday for a demonstration organised by the Campaign Against AntiSemitism.Messages on placards read “zero tolerance for antisemitism”, “Labour hold Corbyn to accoun
  
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• How To Ensure We Can Embrace Disruptive Technology And Still Live Well

  08-04-2018 18:57
  Mix tapes were once a forte of mine. Reminder: tape cassettes played music, twin cassette players could record different songs onto tapes, and this primitive technology mixed with a lot of love, created a mix tape. I’d give these to friends as presents, sending them on an emotional musical journey, adding my own little humorous, heartfelt message between songs. My mix tapes took hours to perfect, and the result sounded good.Today, I was irritated when the Spotify playlist on my phone stopp
  
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• Man 'Wrestles' Ram In Derbyshire That Is Inflicting 'Reign Of Terror' On Villagers

  08-04-2018 18:40
  A ram is apparently causing such mayhem in rural Derbyshire that a villager wrestled the animal for 10 minutes after being charged by the sheep.Reporting first by the Derby Telegraph and subsequently confirmed by the BBC suggests the animal being kept in a field in Kirk Ireton has injured several people and even caused broken bones.There are claims one man had to have a metal plate fitted in his hand.Details were revealed at a parish council meeting last week, with the local newspaper describing
  
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• Labour fury and derision at prospect of new centrist party

  08-04-2018 18:40 via ft.com
  Speculation grows again about emergence of anti-Brexit group
  
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• Is Humour Really The Last Stand For British Academia?

  08-04-2018 18:33
  The recent UCU strike over pension rights has brought to public attention the long simmering problem of the commercialisation of higher education. A lot has been written about how students are now seen as consumers, universities fretting about the bottom line and academics being hounded by managers in pursuit of Key Performance Indicators. What is less written about is how lonely academic life has become.Teaching in modern ‘commercialised’ higher education risks that academics lose t
  
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• Reforms announced to crack down on ‘rogue’ estate agents

  08-04-2018 17:37 via ft.com
  Sajid Javid, housing secretary, reveals reforms including greater transparency
  
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• Angela Rayner 'frustrated' over Labour anti-Semitism action

  08-04-2018 17:36 via bbc.co.uk
  The shadow education secretary says the 2016 Chakrabarti report findings must be implemented faster.
  
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• Russian spy: Politicians in 'idiot' row over poisoning

  08-04-2018 17:13 via bbc.co.uk
  A bitter row breaks out between Labour and the Tories over the response to the Salisbury attack.
  
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• Sunday Shows Round-Up: Knife Crime, Anti-Semitism And Brexit

  08-04-2018 16:56
  The Easter break is coming to a close and that can only mean one thing - the return of Sunday politics shows. The spike in knife crime, marking 20 years on from the Good Friday Agreement and whether or not a new centrist movement is set to sweep British politics were all making the news. So, without further ado, here is your round-up. The Andrew Marr Show First up was Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner, who wasted no time in launching an attack on the Government, blamin
  
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• Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower: UK Lacks 'Democratic Mandate' For Brexit

  08-04-2018 15:21
  Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Chris Wylie has said the UK lacks a “democratic mandate” for leaving Europe in the wake of revelations about the Brexit campaign’s alleged links to data harvesting. Wylie, who is himself a Brexit voter, told the BBC Andrew Marr Show the questions raised by several allegations mean the Government must seek a fresh mandate for leaving the bloc. It came after Facebook suspended the Canadian data firm AggregateIQ with which the official V
  
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• Sturgeon to visit China in bid to strengthen economic ties

  08-04-2018 15:13 via ft.com
  Official trip comes after data show chronically low growth for Scotland
  
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• 'A daft waste of time': Labour pours scorn on new centrist party

  08-04-2018 15:02
  John McDonnell and other senior figures dismiss plans for movement said to have secured £50mSenior figures in the Labour party including John McDonnell have poured scorn on plans for a new centrist political party that is said to have secured £50m from financial backers, including the multimillionaire founder of LoveFilm.The movement, spearheaded by the former Labour donor Simon Franks and revealed by the Observer, has been secretly under development for more than a year and involves
  
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• Tony Blair believes NI deal 'still possible' but warns over Brexit

  08-04-2018 14:49 via bbc.co.uk
  Tony Blair discusses NI's political future on the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
  
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• Amber Rudd says police cuts not to blame for violent crime rise

  08-04-2018 14:14
  Labour MP Angela Rayner labels home secretary’s position ‘very naive’ after police loses 21,000 officers in seven yearsAmber Rudd dismissed claims on Sunday that police cuts were to blame for the rise in violent crime as she prepared to publish a new strategy to tackle the problem.The home secretary insisted that police forces across the country had the resources and the manpower to tackle the increasing violence on Britain’s streets. Continue reading...
  
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• Daily Mail's Quentin Letts Slammed Over 'Racist Attitude' In Theatre Review

  08-04-2018 14:06
  The Daily Mail’s Quentin Letts has been accused of displaying a “blatantly racist attitude” by the Royal Shakespeare Company after the columnist suggested one of its actors was given a role because he is black.Letts used a review of the RSC’s production of Mary Pix’s ‘The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich’ to question the casting of thespian Leo Wringer as the older Clerimont in the play.“Was Mr Wringer cast because he is black?” Letts wrote in h
  
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• John Worboys: Justice Secretary David Gauke Admits Mistakes Over Parole Board Row

  08-04-2018 13:38
  Under-fire Justice Secretary David Gauke has admitted he made mistakes in the row over black cab rapist John Worboys’ potential release. In an interview with the Sun On Sunday, Gauke said he takes responsibility for the Government’s decision not to oppose the Parole Board’s controversial ruling - later overturned in a High Court challenge by two victims - to release the sex offender. Gauke said: “Clearly, things didn’t go as they should have gone.“Lo
  
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• Ministers Denying Austerity Behind Rise In Violent Crime Branded 'Naive'

  08-04-2018 12:59
  "There is a real problem here" @sajidjavid on increase of violence in BritainHe tells #marr that the Home Secretary tomorrow will announce a strategy that will focus on root causes and early intervention"There is also a role to play for law enforcement" he tells the programme pic.twitter.com/TvZuALyUK5— The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) April 8, 2018Home Secretary Amber Rudd was called “naive” for denying cuts to police have been driving the spike in violent crime on Britain&rsq
  
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• Chris Wylie: 'I want a democratic mandate for Brexit'

  08-04-2018 12:05 via bbc.co.uk
  Chris Wylie calls for "absolute clarity" that the Brexit vote was made "fairly" and in compliance with the law.
  
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• 'You Don’t Get The Time With Women': Two Midwives A Generation Apart Talk Busy Wards, Complex Births And Changing Sexual Politics

  08-04-2018 12:04
  Panos Vakirtzis is a man who clearly loves his job. “I’m the one who welcomes new life into the world, and that’s really special,” says the 27-year-old midwife, who came to Walsall Manor Hospital in the west Midlands from his native Greece just over two years ago. Yet until surprisingly recently, it’s a job he would not legally have been allowed to do. It was only in 1982 that the Royal College of Midwives dropped its opposition to men entering what had historically
  
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• Kinship carers 'left poor and homeless by welfare changes'

  08-04-2018 11:56
  People who give up work to raise child relatives report benefit caps, evictions and sanctionsFamily carers who agree to give up work to become full-time “parents” to the children of relatives, in order to prevent them being taken into care, are being left penniless and homeless by welfare changes, campaigners say.Kinship carers, hailed by ministers as “unsung heroes”, are typically grandparents, aunts or older siblings who step in voluntarily to bring up child relatives a
  
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• Why the UK trade deficit with the EU is woeful and widening | Larry Elliott

  08-04-2018 11:22
  The single market benefits manufacturers far more than providers of services. Guess which Britain excels inAt the time it was big, big news. Three days before the general election, official figures showed that Britain’s trade had taken a marked turn for the worse. Government claims that the economy was healthy took a knock.That was June 1970, a time when the size of Britain’s trade gap was front page stuff. Headlines screamed about the UK being back in the red. The TV news bulletins
  
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• New Centrist Movement Dubbed 'Establishment Reboot' By Labour

  08-04-2018 10:40
  Labour has called plans for a new centrist political party “a daft waste of time” and a project “of the rich, by the rich”. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was among many to pour scorn on reported plans for a new political party said to have been under secret development for more than a year.With access of up to £50 million in funding, the movement comprises a network of entrepreneurs, philanthropists and donors keen to “break the Westminster mould&rdquo
  
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• Peter Kay Makes First Public Appearance Since Cancelling All Work Commitments Last Year

  08-04-2018 10:36
  Peter Kay delighted fans by making a surprise appearance at a ‘Car Share’ screening in Blackpool on Saturday (7 April) night. The comedian cancelled all future work commitments in December 2017, and the brief appearance at Blackpool’s Opera House marked the first time he has been seen in public since the announcement. The screening was the final one of three and fans in attendance saw the hotly-anticipated ‘Car Share’ finale, along with another fully-improvised epis
  
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• New centrist party gets £50m backing to ‘break mould’ of UK politics

  08-04-2018 10:24
  Plans secretly made for a new political party drawing from left and rightA new political party with access to up to £50m in funding has been secretly under development for more than a year by a network of entrepreneurs, philanthropists and donors keen to “break the Westminster mould”, the Observer can reveal.The movement, spearheaded by a former Labour benefactor, is understood to have been drawn up by a group frustrated by the tribal nature of politics, the polarisation caused
  
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• Syria Chemical Weapons Attack: US Denies Being Behind Missile Strike After Trump Warned Of 'Big Price'

  08-04-2018 10:14
  US officials have denied the country was behind a reported early morning missile strike in Syria on Monday, just hours after President Donald Trump warned of a “big price to pay” over an alleged chemical attack on civilians.Fourteen people, including Iranians, were killed in a missile attack early in the morning on an air base in central Syria, a war-monitoring group said.Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said most of the 14 killed wer
  
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• Syria Chemical Weapons Attack: Trump Warns Of 'Big Price To Pay' As UK Calls For International Response

  08-04-2018 10:14
  The UK and France have called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations security council in reaction to reports of a poison gas attack in Syria which has killed at least 40 people.Signalling another round of US military action against the Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s regime could be imminent, Donald Trump warned there will be a “big price to pay” as the world was shocked by harrowing pictures showing medics desperately battling to keep gassed children alive.The US Presid
  
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• Donald Trump Warns Of 'Big Price To Pay' After Reported Syria Chemical Attack

  08-04-2018 10:14
  Donald Trump has accused Russia and Iran of being responsible for an alleged chemical attack in Syria.The US President also added his voice to calls for the Syrian government to open up an affected area in rebel-held Douma to allow medical help and independent verification.Trump’s intervention came after a Syrian rebel group accused the country’s government forces of launching a deadly chemical attack affecting civilians on Saturday.One medical relief organisation estimated at least
  
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• Boris Johnson Warns Russia Over Reported Syria Chemical Attack As Trump Says There's 'Big Price To Pay'

  08-04-2018 10:14
  Boris Johnson has warned Russia not to “obstruct” investigations into reports of a poison gas attack in Syria which is thought to have claimed at least 40 lives as the UK’s Foreign Secretary urged the international community to respond.His comments come after Donald Trump accused Russia and Iran of being responsible for the alleged chemical attack, and warned there would be a “big price to pay” following the latest incident.Meanwhile, the UK, France,
  
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• ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’: Stephen Mulhern’s In For A Penny Segment To Become Spin-Off Show

  08-04-2018 10:11
  This weekend’s ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ finale included an important announcement, as it was revealed that Stephen Mulhern’s ‘In For A Penny’ segment will become a spin-off show. In For A Penny sees Stephen giving members of the public a chance to win £1000, by staking just 1p. They then have to answer some wonderfully silly questions before taking home the prize.During Saturday’s (7 April) episode, Stephen took his antics to Florida - where the f
  
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• Trump Tower Fire Leaves One Dead, Several Injured

  08-04-2018 09:52
  A fire at Donald Trump’s New York skyscraper has left one man dead and several firefighters injured.Flames and thick black smoke were seen issuing from windows on the 50th floor of Trump Tower, where the president has a residence, in Manhattan on Saturday evening.Some 200 firefighters and members of the emergency services rushed to the scene on Fifth Avenue while the New York Police Department closed surrounding roads.#FDNY members remain on scene of a 4-alarm fire, 721 5th Ave in Manhatta
  
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• Woman Arrested After Stabbing Outside Busy London Tube Station

  08-04-2018 09:25
  A woman has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was stabbed outside a busy London tube station.The Metropolitan Police said it was called to reports of a stabbing outside Highbury and Islington station in north London at around 10.25pm on Saturday.A force spokesman said: “Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and a male was located suffering stab injuries – he has been taken to an east London hospital for treatment; condition awaits.“A woman &nda
  
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• Declan Donnelly Leads ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ Audience In Round Of Applause For Ant McPartlin

  08-04-2018 09:17
  Declan Donnelly may not have mentioned Ant McPartlin during last night’s (7 April) ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ finale, but when the cameras stopped rolling, he called for the audience to applaud his pal. Dec was fronting the show solo for the second week running, as Ant is receiving rehab treatment after being arrested on suspicion of drink-driving last month.For the grand finale, ITV took ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ and its audience to Florida’s Universal Studios
  
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• 'Marcella': Who Is The Killer? Creator Hans Rosenfeldt Profiles The Suspects

  08-04-2018 08:45
  The second series of ‘Marcella’ is set to reach a gripping conclusion on Monday (9 April) when it’s finally revealed who is behind the 17 child murders. While last week’s episode pointed the finger firmly in the direction of Samantha’s mum Jane, with a disturbing scene where she seemingly poisoned Marcella’s son Edward, fans have been speculating there could be more revelations to come, with many other characters still under suspicion. We k
  
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• What Works For Me: 'Running Gives Me Freedom After Doctors Said I'd Never Walk Again'

  08-04-2018 08:00
  In ‘What Works For Me’ - a new series of articles considering how we can find balance in our lives - we talk to people about their self-care strategies. If you’d like to contribute your story, email us.When Rachel Farrant tightens her trainers and races through her local park, the sense of freedom lifts her. “I really like the nature - the trees, the horses,” she says. “I’m running through the woods and it’s all enclosed, and then suddenl
  
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• How To Create A GIF On Your iPhone/Android Without Using Photoshop

  08-04-2018 08:00
  GIFS have, it’s fair to say, become the foundation of any great modern conversation whether it’s online or on a smartphone.Choose a great GIF and you will be revered and adored for weeks afterwards, choose a bad one and you’ll be met with the brutal reality of two grey ticks.Thankfully picking the right GIF is now relatively easy on both iPhone and Android thanks to GIPHY’s dedicated app and a number of plugins which let you pick GIFS direct from either iMessage or WhatsA
  
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• Errors Plague The Benefits System – But If You're Seriously Ill, It's Even Worse

  08-04-2018 08:00
  One morning in January, Gill Willis checked her bank account. She had expected to see her familiar income and outgoings. Instead, she found a huge chunk of cash had been paid in without any explanation.At first, she was thrilled. “I just thought ‘this cannot be true’.” It was only when Gill read in the news that thousands of people who claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) had been underpaid for years, that she started to make sense of things. That’s bec
  
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• The ‘will of the people’ can change. Ask Clement Attlee

  08-04-2018 07:59
  A lesson for Brexit: the postwar Labour government was elected, re-elected and humiliated in the space of six years. Each time, the people ‘spoke’ On 5 July 1945, the British people “spoke”. Churchill had been a great war leader, but memories of the unemployment and penury of the interwar years were strong. Labour was elected by a resounding majority. On 23 February 1950, the Attlee government went to the country, and, again, the people “spoke”. The government
  
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• I know the real source of our classroom rot

  08-04-2018 07:05
  Education funding will be a big issue at the May local elections. But here, one teacher writing anonymously says the problems in our schools go much deeper than moneySchools have been chronically underfunded under Conservative-led governments, which dole out starvation rations to all public sector institutions. And it’s quite right for the National Education Union, my union, to campaign for higher funding as an election issue. But both Conservative and Labour governments have endlessly med
  
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