Political news

• Local elections: something for everyone, but politics deadlocked

  05-05-2018 22:44
  The results suggest main parties have not found a way to bridge the divisions revealed in the EU referendum In last year’s general election everything changed, but no one won. In this year’s local elections everyone won something but nothing changed. The Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens all had vote and seat gains to cheer about, as all parties took a share of the electoral windfall from the dramatic collapse in Ukip.The Conservatives went into Thursday nig
  
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• Labour peers accuse Corbyn of Brexit cowardice

  05-05-2018 22:30
  Party is blocking efforts in Lords to call for membership of the European Economic AreaLabour peers launched an attack on the party leadership last night, accusing it of “paralysis” and “cowardice” over Brexit policy, as bitter recriminations over disappointing local election results burst into the open.The row exploded as calls grew for a full post-mortem into why Labour failed to make more decisive progress in key council battlegrounds and lost control in others, despit
  
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• 'Britain's Got Talent': 'Wiggle Wine' Singer Donchez Dacres Gives Us The Feel-Good Moment Of The Series

  05-05-2018 22:16
  ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ has delivered the feel-good moment of this year’s series, thanks to David Walliams’ Golden Buzzer act, Donchez Dacres.In past years, David has usually given the Golden Buzzer - a fast-pass to the live semi-finals - to acts a little left field, including singer and crumble devotee Lorraine Bowen, husband-and-wife duo Anne and Ian Marshall and questionable ‘Sex Bomb’ performer Cristian Spridon.And while we’re not questioning th
  
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• Sir Alex Ferguson Seriously Ill In Hospital After Suffering Brain Haemorrhage

  05-05-2018 21:02
  Sir Alex Ferguson has undergone emergency surgery on a brain haemorrhage today .The procedure on the former Manchester United manager has gone very well, according to the club.However, they say he needs a period of intensive care to optimise his recovery.United added that the 76-year-old’s family have requested privacy in the matter.Absolutely devastated to hear about Sir Alex being unwell in hospital. All my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. 🙏🏻🙏
  
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• Diane Abbott joins Windrush protest march on Whitehall

  05-05-2018 19:53
  Shadow home secretary tells crowd that ‘all roads lead back to Theresa May’ regarding Tories’ hostile environment policyMembers of the Windrush generation, their families and supporters have been joined by the shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, at a rally outside Downing Street. The demonstration on Whitehall, which called for the end of the “hostile environment” deportation policy, was organised by campaign group Stand Up to Racism. There are three layers of stat
  
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• Donald Trump Mocked By The British Surgeon He 'Misquoted' During US Gun Rally

  05-05-2018 19:34
  The British surgeon who today unwittingly found himself at the centre of yet another Donald Trump international faux pas has responded with an invitation and a couple of funny gifs.Martin Griffiths, Lead for Trauma Surgery at Royal London Hospital, was referenced by the US President during a gun rally on Friday as he appeared to suggest guns are the solution to rising knife crime in London.Responding to a Channel 4 News tweet of the speech, Griffiths first replied with some Kanye-inspired m
  
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• Thousands of Scottish independence supporters march through Glasgow

  05-05-2018 18:34
  March was organised by All Under One Banner coalition, which aims to run regular events until ‘Scotland is free’Tens of thousands of independence supporters marched through the streets of Glasgow, aiming to bring Scotland’s largest city to a standstill.Marchers draped in Saltires waved flags and played bagpipes and drums as they walked from Kelvingrove to Glasgow Green on Saturday.Continue reading...
  
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• Tories would fail their Ofsted test, Angela Rayner tells teachers

  05-05-2018 18:24
  Shadow education secretary attacks government at annual headteachers’ conference The shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, has attacked the government’s record on schools, telling a conference the Tories “wouldn’t survive their own Ofsted inspection”.Rayner, who left school pregnant at 16 with poor grades, told the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) annual conference that the government’s record on education has meant targets for teacher recruit
  
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• Putin Answers Anti-Corruption Protests With Arrests And Police Crackdown

  05-05-2018 18:04
  Russian police have detained opposition leader Alexei Navalny and over 1000 protestors at a demonstration against President Vladimir Putin in central Moscow.Thousands of demonstrators denouncing Putin’s upcoming inauguration into a fourth term gathered on Saturday in the capital’s Pushkin Square.Video showed police carrying a struggling Navalny, who is Putin’s most prominent foe, out of the square, carrying him by the legs and arms.Police in riot gear waded into the crowd on Pu
  
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• Trump's London knife crime comments ridiculous, says surgeon

  05-05-2018 17:59 via bbc.co.uk
  A doctor says London has a "serious issue" but the US president was wrong to see guns as a "solution".
  
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• A Brief History Of Donald Trump's Dubious Relationship With Facts About The UK

  05-05-2018 17:24
  The President of the United States has once again exploited a crisis in the UK in an attempt to justify his domestic policy, this time suggesting a lack of guns in Britain is the reason people are being stabbed in London.Speaking at a National Rifle Association (NRA) meeting on Friday, Donald Trump said a top hospital in the capital was like a “military warzone hospital” despite “unbelievable tough gun laws”.Pretending to stab someone, the 71-year-old continued: &ldq
  
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• This Is What It's Like To Be Released From Captivity In North Korea

  05-05-2018 16:21
  (Reuters) - Freedom can come with remarkable swiftness for US citizens held prisoner by North Korea, an experience that may await three Americans currently detained by the reclusive nation.After months and even years of hardship, former detainees often say they found themselves boarding a US plane and flown out of the country less than an hour after being told by their captors that they were going home.Ahead of a diplomatic thaw and planned summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean
  
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• First NASA Lander To Study Mars' Interior Launches From California

  05-05-2018 15:46
  An Atlas 5 rocket soared into space early on Saturday carrying NASA’s first robotic lander designed for exploring the deep interior of Mars.The Mars InSight probe lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at about 4.05am Pacific time (12.05pm UK time), treating early-rising residents across a wide swath of the state to the luminous pre-dawn spectacle of the first US interplanetary spacecraft to be launched over the Pacific.The lander will be carried aloft for NASA and its Jet Propulsi
  
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• UK regulator orders Cambridge Analytica to release data on US voter

  05-05-2018 15:13
  In landmark cross-border decision, Information Commissioner’s Office gives company 30 days to comply with David Carroll’s requestCambridge Analytica has been ordered to hand over all the data and personal information it has on an American voter, including details of where it got the data and what it did with it, or face a criminal prosecution.The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) served the enforcement notice to the company on Friday in a landmark legal decision that o
  
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• Strabane: Woman's Head Drilled In Possible 'Homophonic' Attack In Northern Ireland

  05-05-2018 14:55
  A 38-year-old woman is in a critical but stable condition after being attacked with a cordless drill in Northern Ireland in what police say is possibly a “homophobic” incident. The “monstrous attack” happened on Railway Street, Strabane, around 2am on Saturday. SDLP assembly member for West Tyrone, Daniel McCrossan, said it was “one of the most horrific incidents” he had learned of during his time as a politician.He said he understood the cordle
  
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• Strabane: Woman Attacked With Drill In Possible 'Homophobic' Incident

  05-05-2018 14:55
  A 38-year-old woman is in a critical but stable condition after being attacked with a cordless drill in Northern Ireland in what police say is possibly a “homophobic” incident. The “monstrous attack” happened on Railway Street, Strabane, around 2am on Saturday. SDLP assembly member for West Tyrone, Daniel McCrossan, said it was “one of the most horrific incidents” he had learned of during his time as a politician.He said he understood the cordle
  
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• Alastair Campbell berates Labour over local election results

  05-05-2018 13:11
  Tony Blair’s former adviser launches broadside against party unable to beat shambolic ToriesThe former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell has hit out at the state of the party after this week’s local elections.Tony Blair’s former adviser said in a speech that “huge swathes of the country” could not accept the current party in power.Continue reading...
  
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• Bank Holiday Weather: UK Set To Sizzle In Record-Breaking Heatwave

  05-05-2018 12:42
  Sun worshippers are set to sizzle in the spring heatwave, with Bank Holiday Monday forecast to be the hottest since records began.The mercury could hit 28C as people round off their three-day weekend – making it the hottest in 40 years.The May Bank Holiday was introduced in 1978 and the temperature has never topped the 28C mark since then.Most of us will enjoy some #sunshine ☀️☀️☀️ today with moderate to high levels of UV expected - so don't forget th
  
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• Identity politics has veered away from its roots. It's time to bring it back | Kimberly Foster

  05-05-2018 12:00
  A misuse of identity is not just a conservative problem – it affects well-meaning people on the left, tooIdentity politics have become a convenient scapegoat for the deepening political divisions in the United States. Though evidence for the claim is thin, detractors blame Hillary Clinton’s presidential loss on her choice to provide a platform for discussions of identity and inequality during her campaign. In the months leading up to 8 November 2016, Clinton differentiated herself fr
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn: Labour In Position To Fight And Win Next General Election

  05-05-2018 11:43
  Jeremy Corbyn has claimed the local election results left Labour “well placed” to win the next general election despite the party’s failure to capture key targets from the Tories.A mixed set of results left both Labour and the Tories claiming success, with the Conservatives holding on to “crown jewel” authorities in London including Wandsworth.For Labour, despite the ongoing row over anti-Semitism – which may have damaged the effort in key target Barnet, which
  
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• Alarm raised over scale of task of registering EU citizens

  05-05-2018 11:00 via ft.com
  Ex-Home Office head Normington warns process could take years after Brexit
  
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• South Wales Police Defend Facial Recognition Software Amid Criticism Over Inaccurate Matches

  05-05-2018 10:51
  A police force has defended its use of facial recognition technology after it was revealed that 2,000 people at the 2017 Champions League final in Cardiff were wrongly identified by the software as potential criminals.South Wales Police began trialling the technology in June last year in a bid to catch more criminals, using cameras to scan faces in a crowd and compare them against a database of custody images.As 170,000 people descended on the Welsh capital for the game between Real Madrid and J
  
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• Local election results 2018: No clear winner as Labour and Tories neck and neck

  05-05-2018 10:40 via bbc.co.uk
  Analysis suggests the two main parties are neck and neck overall in terms of national vote share.
  
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• Local election results 2018: The results in maps and charts

  05-05-2018 10:29 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour has failed to take target councils in London, while the Conservatives have lost control of two councils.
  
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• One Of Britain's Most Wanted Fugitives, Jamie Acourt, Arrested Outside Barcelona Gym

  05-05-2018 10:04
  One of Britain’s most wanted fugitives has been captured by armed officers in Barcelona.Jamie Acourt was detained after he left the Metropolitan Sagrada Familia Gym on Friday, the National Crime Agency said.The 41-year-old from south London is wanted by police investigating the large-scale supply of drugs.He is also a former suspect in the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence, but has always denied any involvement in the killing.  Acourt, who was apprehended on a European Arrest Warra
  
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• Holly Willoughby And Phillip Schofield To Appear In ‘Coronation Street’ As Part Of Rosie Webster’s Exit Storyline

  05-05-2018 09:54
  Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield are set to show off their acting skills when they appear in an episode of ‘Coronation Street’.The pair will swap the ‘This Morning’ studios for the cobbles of Weatherfield as part of Rosie Webster’s (Helen Flanagan) exit storyline.The surprise additions to the ‘Corrie’ cast was revealed by the ITV soap’s showrunner Kate Oates.She told Radio Times: “Phillip and Holly are coming in for a bit of fun as part
  
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• Davina McCall Says She’d Love To Do ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ After Years Of Saying ‘No’

  05-05-2018 09:09
  Davina McCall has revealed she’d love to take part in ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ after years of turning down the opportunity.The presenter says she’s been asked to take part in the BBC dance show on multiple occasions but she’s always declined the offer.But now the 50-year-old has had a change of heart - although it could still be a few years until we see her strutting her stuff on the ‘Strictly’ dancefloor.She told The Sun: “Strictly Come Dancing kep
  
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• Windsor's Homelessness Campaigners Fear Its Rough Sleepers Will Be Forgotten After The Royal Wedding

  05-05-2018 09:01
  “The only thing that is different now is the fact that we’ve got the world’s press here,” says Murphy James, manager of the Windsor Homelessness Project.In January, the media descended on the town where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry in two weeks.Rough sleepers - who number at most 15 in the town - were inundanted with camera crews and journalists after Simon Dudley, the leader of Windsor And Maidenhead Council, urged police to move them on ahead of t
  
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• Wedding Guest Shoes You Can Wear All Day Without Achy Feet, For Under £50

  05-05-2018 09:01
  It’s approaching that time of year when it seems everyone around you is getting married. You have three invitations but you don’t want to spend a fortune on your outfits - and mostly, you want to dance all night without your feet needing a week to recover.We’ve found a selection of statement  sandals, shoes and boots that don’t have skyscraper heels, so they won’t kill your feet - and they’re all under £50. You’re onto a winner with
  
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• Detroit: Become Human – This Game Puts You In A World Where Robots Have Stolen Our Jobs

  05-05-2018 09:01
  Detroit: Become Human is not like most video games.You don’t have a health bar, you can’t go back and just redo a section if you get it wrong and there are no heroes and no villains. Instead there’s a story that - if a three hour preview is anything to go by - will stay with you for days.The game is set in Detroit in 2038, a future that looks and feels familiar except for one key difference. Robots are now a part of our everyday life.Capable of almost near-sentient intelligence
  
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• Local elections: neither Corbyn nor May able to break poll deadlock

  05-05-2018 08:43
  Labour and Tory leaders both find reasons to celebrate after mixed results
  How the night unfolded in key races
  Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May both sought to put a brave face on local council results that suggested neither can break the electoral deadlock that delivered a hung parliament last June.For Labour, setbacks in the Midlands and a failure to live up to sky-high expectations in the capital, where it had set its sights on Wandsworth and Westminster, took the shine off an unexpected victory
  
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• Not The Royal Wedding #8: How These Couples Nailed Low-Key Hen And Stag Dos

  05-05-2018 08:01
  Hen and stag dos can be a great source of stress for all involved. Finding a destination, date and a budget that suits everyone – not forgetting nailing down the fine details – can turn a celebration into a complete and utter ordeal.According to one recent study, the average spend on a hen or stag do is £507 per person - possibly unsurprising, given the tradition of a night out with pals has evolved into week-long breaks abroad. But for the couples featured in ‘
  
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• My Fashion Icon: The Style Lessons I've Learned From My Mum

  05-05-2018 08:01
  For many of us, our first encounter with fashion involved our mum. Whether it was the contents of her wardrobe, make-up bag or jewellery box, for many women, our mothers’ choices have made an impact on what we wear today.The fashion advice she gave us - well meaning, if not always well-received at the time - still resonates as adults. Which got us thinking … The HuffPost UK team got together to discuss style lessons passed on by mum that they still keep in mind when o
  
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• Listen: Stalemate in England's local elections, and the customs union debate

  05-05-2018 07:12 via ft.com
  Neither Conservatives nor Labour made big gains in this week's local elections. Is there any impetuous for the parties to change course?
  
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• London election results allow Tories to dream of being mayor

  05-05-2018 06:00 via ft.com
  After being braced for disaster in capital, party’s thoughts turn to City Hall
  
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• Privileged students should face greater scrutiny despite A-grades

  05-05-2018 05:00 via ft.com
  The context in which a pupil learns tells you as much as the actual results
  
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• Almost 4,000 people may have been denied vote by election ID pilots – as it happened

  05-05-2018 00:20
  Electoral Reform Society releases figure as local elections in England bring mixed results for main partiesLocal council election results 2018 - in full
  Early morning summaryHow the night unfolded in key races 11.20pm BST Labour has gained control of Tower Hamlets council, over which no party previously had overall control, the Press Association reports. The party has won 23 of the 45 available seats, though some wards are still to declare.With that, we’re going to close this live blog. Th
  
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