Political news

• Sadiq Khan Says Amber Rudd Must Resign Over Windrush Scandal

  28-04-2018 23:22
  Sadiq Khan has said Amber Rudd must resign, saying it “beggars belief” for her to claim she did not know the Home Office had targets for the number of people to deport amid the Windrush scandal. There was speculation on Friday evening the home secretary could resign after she initially said the Home Office had no such targets, only to say they did but she was not aware of them, only for The Guardian to publish a leaked memo sent to her in 2017 that specifically stated the target
  
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• 'Britain's Got Talent': Father-Son Singing Duo Win Simon Cowell's Golden Buzzer

  28-04-2018 23:03
  ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ viewers saw the second golden buzzer of the series awarded on Saturday (28 April) night, when a father-son duo seriously impressed the panel. Tim Goodacre, 43, and his 12-year-old son Jack were the final act to take to the stage in the auditions episode and explained to the judges that they’d be performing an original track together. “It’s a father and son song,” Tim said of their self-penned tune ‘The Lucky On
  
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• Support grows for cross-party plans to prevent ‘no deal’ Brexit

  28-04-2018 23:02
  Fresh challenge to Theresa May emerges as MPs and peers draw up ‘safety net’ lawsTheresa May is facing another major rebellion over Brexit amid a cross-party move to kill off any attempt to crash out of the EU without a deal.A group of MPs and peers has been carefully crafting new laws that will hand parliament guaranteed powers to soften any deal and send the government back to the negotiating table. Continue reading...
  
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• High court blocks Amber Rudd attempt to deport witness

  28-04-2018 22:05
  Jamaican Andrew Van Horn ‘may well be required to give evidence’ over death at Morton Hall immigration removal centreAmber Rudd has lost a legal battle over her attempts to deport a key witness to a controversial death at a UK immigration centre. Jamaican Andrew Van Horn was due to be expelled from from the country this week, despite the likelihood that he would be summoned to appear at an inquest into the death, and to a separate police investigation.There are three layers of state-
  
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• Sadiq Khan: Our urban millions must wrest control from hostile, inhumane Tories

  28-04-2018 22:00
  As the Conservative scandals and misjudgments stack up, voters at local elections must back Jeremy Corbyn’s vision of a fair societyPeople in cities and towns up and down the country will go to the polls on Thursday to deliver their verdict on a government that seems to neither like us nor understand our values and way of life.Under Theresa May’s leadership, the Conservative party has turned its back on urban and suburban areas by pursuing policies and public spending decisions that
  
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• Labour’s final push to seize territory from Tories in local elections

  28-04-2018 21:34
  In London and other cities, Conservative voters switch allegiances in response to Windrush, Brexit and rising housing costsWith four days to go until polling, Labour volunteers are busily unloading huge boxes of campaign leaflets at their overcrowded election HQ in Battersea, south London. As fast as the latest material arrives in vans from the printers, it disappears out of the door again, as canvassers grab handfuls and fan out across the streets of Wandsworth.This is the most important, close
  
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• Local election battles – where Brexit could hurt the Tories

  28-04-2018 21:30
  The elections on Thursday will be the first real test for the main parties since the general election. What can we expect?These local elections will be the first electoral test for the main parties since last June’s general election. Midterm local elections tend to be painful for governments, with the opposition gaining ground. But although Theresa May and the Tories are divided over Brexit and in turmoil over the Windrush migration crisis, Jeremy Corbyn and Labour have a big challenge if
  
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• Amber Rudd 'made a mistake but didn't mislead'

  28-04-2018 19:42 via bbc.co.uk
  The home secretary is facing calls to resign after she was unaware of migrant removal targets.
  
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• Never have words meant so little for a generation of politicians | Nick Cohen

  28-04-2018 19:15
  For their bombast and evasions, especially on Brexit, today’s leaders have few equalsWe live in a time when words have never meant less and cynicism has never been more widely accepted. Did I say “accepted”? That is too weak. The embrace of dishonesty is so clammy, politicians react with astonishment when naive citizens demonstrate their bad taste by supposing that they are somehow accountable for their actions.In near identical language, Amber Rudd said she was “surprise
  
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• Tesla Driver Banned From Roads For Running Supercar On Autopilot On The M1 While In Passenger Seat

  28-04-2018 19:07
  A driver who moved to the passenger seat after switching on his car’s “autopilot” feature as he travelled on the motorway has been banned from the roads for 18 months.Bhavesh Patel, 39, appeared to have his hands behind his head when he was filmed by a passenger in another car.While driving his white Tesla S 60 along the M1, Patel switched on the supercar’s autopilot function before moving to the passenger seat, leaving the steering wheel and foot controls unmanned, polic
  
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• Tesla Driver Banned For Running Supercar On Autopilot On The M1 While In Passenger Seat

  28-04-2018 19:07
  A driver who moved to the passenger seat after switching on his car’s “autopilot” feature as he travelled on the motorway has been banned from the roads for 18 months.Bhavesh Patel, 39, appeared to have his hands behind his head when he was filmed by a passenger in another car.While driving his white Tesla S 60 along the M1, Patel switched on the supercar’s autopilot function before moving to the passenger seat, leaving the steering wheel and foot controls unmanned, polic
  
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• Britain must leave the customs union — and not look back

  28-04-2018 19:00 via ft.com
  Exiting the EU presents great opportunities so Britain must make a clean break
  
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• Police Officer Sexually Assaulted As She Tried To Arrest Suspect After Attempted Rape

  28-04-2018 16:47
  A police officer was sexually assaulted as she tried to arrest a suspect after an attempted rape, South Yorkshire Police has said.She and a colleague were responding to reports of the attempted rape on Scotland Street, Sheffield at around 3.15am on Friday morning.The suspect, a man, struck both of them with a wooden sign board and sexually assaulted the officer as she tried to arrest him, the force said.Chief Inspector Lydia Lynskey said: “Our officers potentially face danger every time th
  
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• Sainsbury's Asda Merger: Supermarkets In 'Advanced Talks' Over Tie-Up

  28-04-2018 14:54
  Sainsbury’s and Asda are in “advanced discussions” regarding a possible merger to create a group of up to 2,800 stores.The move would, if approved, give the new combined company control of just under 30% of the UK grocery sector and stun rivals including Tesco and Morrisons.It has been reported that the brand names would remain, at least initially.Sainsbury’s confirmed it had held “advanced discussions” with Walmart, Asda’s American owner, about combinin
  
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• Chance The Rapper Addresses Critics After Defending Kanye West's Pro-Trump Tweets

  28-04-2018 12:31
  Chance The Rapper has responded to criticism he faced after defending Kanye West’s tweets in defence of Donald Trump.While many celebrities immediately unfollowed Kanye when he began firing off tweets in support of the current US President, Chance took a rather different approach, insisting that the ‘Yeezus’ rapper was still the “same Ye from the VMAs… and the [Hurricane Katrina] telethon”.He added at the time: “Black people don’t have to be democ
  
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• Corbyn's office denies it advised Labour activist day before expulsion

  28-04-2018 12:06
  Marc Wadsworth found to have brought party into disrepute by conduct at antisemitism event
  Jeremy Corbyn’s office has been forced to deny that a staff member offered supportive advice to the activist Marc Wadsworth the day before a disciplinary hearing at which he was expelled for behaviour that was deemed “grossly detrimental to the party”.Wadsworth was initially suspended after a confrontation with the Jewish MP Ruth Smeeth at an event launching the party’s inquiry into
  
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• UK free childcare funding woes forcing some providers out of business

  28-04-2018 12:00 via ft.com
  Sector under huge strain over newly introduced 30-hour entitlement for three and four-year-olds
  
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• 'Strictly Come Dancing' Host Claudia Winkleman Backs Same-Sex Couples On Show

  28-04-2018 11:58
  ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ presenter Claudia Winkleman has said she’s keen to see same-sex pairs perform on the show.In recent years, the show has been at the centre of a debate about whether it’s time to see two men or two women hit the ‘Strictly’ dance floor, with arguments on both sides from past contestants and judges.Claudia, who co-hosts the show with Tess Daly, has now added her voice to the discussion, saying she’s keen to see a LGBT+ celebrity cont
  
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• Challenging parole could get easier for members of the public

  28-04-2018 11:37 via bbc.co.uk
  The government proposes changes to the parole process, in the wake of the John Worboys case.
  
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• Boy, 17, Who 'Obsessively' Fixates On Women Must Be Detained, Judge Rules

  28-04-2018 11:20
  A 17-year-old boy who has mental health problems and gets fixated on women should be detained in a specialist unit, a judge in the Court of Protection has decided.Mr Justice Williams heard that a “particular feature” of the teenager’s behaviour was that he could become “obsessive” about girls or young women and follow them or bombard them with messages.He has also threatened people with a knife, started fires at his home, self-harmed and run into busy roads.The judg
  
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• Polling station voter ID plans are deeply flawed, say critics

  28-04-2018 11:06
  Electoral Reform Society says plans are ‘calculated effort by the government to make voting harder for some citizens’Plans requiring voters to prove their identity before casting their ballot are deeply flawed, the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) has said. The group said it appeared the plans were a “calculated effort by the government to make voting harder for some citizens”.Continue reading...
  
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• Kanye West Defends Donald Trump Tweets In New Track, 'Ye Vs. The People'

  28-04-2018 10:57
  Kanye West has defended his recent declarations of support for Donald Trump in a new rap.Earlier this week, Kanye made headlines when he posted a string of tweets in support of Trump, including sharing that he had a signed ‘Make America Great Again’ hat.He’s now explained the posts in a new track, ‘Ye Vs. The People’, in which he and T.I. swap verses discussing the situation.Kanye kicks off the track by declaring that Trump’s election proves that even he could
  
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• Amber Rudd was sent targets for migrant removal, leak reveals

  28-04-2018 10:57
  Exclusive: Secret memo undermines home secretary’s claim she was unaware of targets
  Amber Rudd’s insistence that she knew nothing of Home Office targets for immigration removals risks unravelling following the leak of a secret internal document prepared for her and other senior ministers.
  The six-page memo, passed to the Guardian, says the department has set “a target of achieving 12,800 enforced returns in 2017-18” and boasts that “we have exceeded our target of as
  
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• John Prescott: ‘My most unappealing habit? Always looking glum’

  28-04-2018 10:30
  The life peer on buying Jaguars, being quick to anger and failing the 11-plusBorn in Prestatyn, north Wales, John Prescott, 79, left school at 15 and joined the merchant navy. He later gained a degree from the University of Hull and, in 1970, became MP for Hull East. In 1994 he was made deputy leader of the Labour party, and was deputy prime minister from 1997 to 2007. He is married with two sons and holds a life peerage. He presents the Channel 5 documentary series Made In Yorkshire.What is you
  
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• Simon Thomas Quits Sky Sports Job To Care For Eight-Year-Old Son, Following Wife's Death

  28-04-2018 10:10
  Sky Sports presenter Simon Thomas has announced that he’s stepping down from his role after 13 years.Simon’s wife, Gemma, died last November at the age of 40, three days after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.In a blog post published on Friday (27 April), Simon revealed that he was quitting his presenting job so he could focus on raising his eight-year-old son, Ethan.He wrote: “Firstly and most importantly, I’m [leaving] for Ethan.“I remember Ethan comin
  
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• The Questions You'll Be Asked As A Lesbian Mum - And How To Answer Them

  28-04-2018 10:07
  Congratulations to the leader of the Scottish Conservative Party Ruth Davidson and your partner Jen, on sharing the joyful news that you are expecting a baby. We don’t know you – but we felt a particular thrill of excitement in hearing your news. When my partner and I started planning our family over a decade ago, we didn’t know any other lesbian, gay, bi or trans (LGBT) parents. We barely knew anyone who knew any LGBT parents. There were few LGBT people in the public eye
  
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• ‘It’s not a done deal’: inside the battle to stop Brexit

  28-04-2018 10:00
  With less than a year remaining, the opponents of Brexit are mobilising. Could a second referendum be forced by people who won’t take go for an answer?Mark Malloch-Brown is drawing me a picture. He first saw a version of it 28 years ago, while working on Mario Vargas Llosa’s presidential campaign in Peru. In a Lima bar one night, Malloch-Brown’s fellow consultant Rob Shepardson flipped over a beer mat and drew two intersecting axes that, he said, summed up all political campaig
  
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• Will Grenfell Impact The Kensington And Chelsea Council Elections?

  28-04-2018 09:33
  In just under a week, voters will head to the polls in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea – the first political test for local councillors since flames engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in June last year, killing 71 people.Though the area has been under Conservative control for 53 years, the fire has threatened to shift the political landscape on the ground. Councillors have been widely criticised, accused of apathy and incompetence by residents in the north of the borough who
  
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• How Will Grenfell Impact The Kensington And Chelsea Council Elections?

  28-04-2018 09:33
  In just under a week voters will head to the polls in Kensington and Chelsea, the first political test for councillors since flames engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in June last year, killing 71 people.The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) has been under Conservative control for 53 years. But since the fire, councillors have been widely criticised, accused of apathy and incompetence in the face of one of the worst modern disasters. Members of the Grenfell community and the
  
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• The Immigration Scandal Didn't Begin With Amber Rudd And Needs More Than An Apology To Fix

  28-04-2018 09:31
  When the former head of the Civil Service, Lord Bob Kerslake, remarked that some Ministers had compared the governments ‘hostile environment’ policy as reminiscent of “Nazi Germany” it was clear that ‘Windrush’ was more than an unintended consequence of government policy.When policies are resisted by civil servants when colleagues within government highlight their concerns and policy impact assessments warn in black and white, then how can anyone possibly beli
  
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• Perfect Knits To Get You Through The British 'Summer'

  28-04-2018 09:12
  Summer in the UK is temperamental to say the least, if you’re a sensible Brit your scepticism won’t allow you to leave the house without at least a jacket.Summer knits may not seem like the most seasonal purchase but as well as being transitional, a simple cardigan or jumper can be all you need to update your wardrobe.A post shared by María Bernad (@maria_bernad) on Apr 24, 2018 at 6:37am PDTInstead of layering, pair a knit with a midi skirt or high waisted trousers for a mill
  
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• UK Festival Guide: Here Are The Best Alternatives To Glastonbury

  28-04-2018 09:11
  It’s been a long while since the Eavis family confirmed that Glastonbury wouldn’t be happening in 2018 but, quite frankly, we’re still struggling to deal with the news. A Glastonbury-free festival season is always tough going, but on the bright side, it does give Worthy Farm devotees the chance to try something a little different. So whether you prefer camping out in front of the main stage, or late nights - and early mornings... - at Shangri La, we&rsq
  
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• Labour antisemitism talks: six key sticking points

  28-04-2018 09:00
  After a meeting between Jeremy Corbyn and Jewish leaders there are several areas of contentionJeremy Corbyn met senior figures from the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council this week to try to address concerns over antisemitism in the Labour party. Jewish leaders have said they want to see improvements in six key areas. Continue reading...
  
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• Alfie Evans, Toddler At Centre Of Court Battle Over Treatment, Dies

  28-04-2018 08:09
  The parents of Alfie Evans said they were “heartbroken” as they confirmed their son died in the early hours of Saturday morning.The 23-month-old, who was being treated at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool died at 2.30am, Kate James and Thomas Evans said on Facebook.The youngster was at the centre of a legal battle over his treatment that touched hearts around the world.The post on Facebook said: “Our baby boy grew his wings tonight at 2:30 am. We are heart b
  
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• Alfie Evans: Parents Confirm Toddler At Centre Of Court Battle Over Treatment Has Died

  28-04-2018 08:09
  The parents of Alfie Evans have said they are “heartbroken” as they confirmed their son passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning.The 23-month-old, who was being treated at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool died at 2.30am, Kate James and Thomas Evans said on Facebook.The youngster was at the centre of a legal battle over his treatment that touched hearts around the world.The post on Facebook said: “Our baby boy grew his wings tonight at 2:30 am. We
  
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• Not The Royal Wedding #7: The DIY Touches Making These Weddings Extra Special

  28-04-2018 08:03
  More than half of weddings now feature homemade invitations, stationery and favours, according to The UK Wedding Statistics Report. It’s a trend being embraced by the couples taking part in HuffPost UK’s ‘Not The Royal Wedding’ - our series celebrating people getting married on the same day as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. From reminders of absent love ones, to beautiful handmade pompoms, and of course the important matter of cakes, they explain
  
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• Holidaying With Parents As An Adult: 5 Highs And Lows You're Bound To Experience

  28-04-2018 08:03
  When you no longer live with your parents, deciding to go on holiday together can be a bold move. Chances are, you haven’t spent this much time in one another’s company for a while, and both you - and your expectations of travel - may have changed. For some, like me and my mum, a joint trip is an opportunity for a much-needed catch up with the bonus of new scenery, while for others, the countdown to heading home begins as soon as they step off the plane.Considering tak
  
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• Gifted Students Flunking A Levels Due To Flood Of Unconditional Offers - Universities Minister

  28-04-2018 08:03
  Promising students are flunking A Levels because landing an unconditional offer has become “the norm” no matter what grades they get, the Universities Minister has said. Sam Gyimah has told HuffPost UK he is concerned about a sharp rise in institutions making no demand for applicants to hit certain grades in order to secure a place on a university course. The Government wants a clampdown on the practice, because students stop “working as hard as they should” whe
  
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• Amber Rudd carries the curse of the woman expected to succeed

  28-04-2018 08:00
  The home secretary, once known as Silver Spoon, has found herself with a lot on her plateLess than two weeks ago, the biggest obstacle between Amber Rudd and No 10 seemed to be the question of whether she would hold her seat at the next election.But on Monday 16 April, news broke that Theresa May had declined a meeting with Caribbean leaders attending the Commonwealth summit who wanted to discuss the status of Windrush-era Britons.Continue reading...
  
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• Voter ID plans 'deeply flawed', says Electoral Reform Society

  28-04-2018 04:37 via bbc.co.uk
  Plans to make people prove their identity before voting will create new problems, say campaigners.
  
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• Listen: Customs union conundrums and the upcoming local elections

  28-04-2018 03:59 via ft.com
  Theresa May has yet to fully decide if it will have a customs union with the EU. Does it need one and will parliament force her hand?
  
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• Parole Board reform unveiled after John Worboys controversy

  28-04-2018 01:01
  Victims will be able to challenge decisions under measures announced by justice secretaryVictims of crime will be able to challenge Parole Board decisions for the first time under measures being introduced following the case of John Worboys, the black-cab rapist whose release from prison was overturned by the high court.Among the proposals being unveiled on Saturday are a judge-led process that could in some instances be open to the public to force the board to reconsider a decision without vict
  
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