Political news

• Renters Fined For Leaving Peanut Butter In Cupboards - And New Law Could Make It Worse

  08-05-2018 23:58
  A legal loophole allowing landlords to charge outgoing tenants for petty acts such as leaving a jar of peanut butter in a cupboard could be exploited further thanks to new laws, a housing charity is warning.Shelter is concerned the Government’s plan to ban letting fees will drive landlords to squeeze money out of tenants with increasingly harsh punishments for relatively minor acts.The charity has revealed to HuffPost UK one tenant was charged £3 after a jar of peanut butter was left
  
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• Lords rebellion backs keeping UK in single market after Brexit

  08-05-2018 23:36 via ft.com
  Vote for European Economic Area membership defies both Tory ministers and Labour leaders
  
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• Theresa May pressed to revive inquiry into newspaper malpractice

  08-05-2018 23:00 via ft.com
  Publishers fear for free speech as Miliband and Clarke seek data bill amendment
  
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• Founder Of UK Black Pride Tipped For Lewisham East As Labour Prepares All-Woman, BAME Shortlist

  08-05-2018 22:52
  The founder of UK Black Pride is among a group of minority ethnic women tipped for a safe Labour seat after MP Heidi Alexander announced she would quit Parliament to work for Sadiq Khan.Union official Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, who once turned down an MBE in protest at the British Empire’s record on race and sexuality, is seen as a potential favourite amid moves to ensure the candidates reflect the make-up of the ethnically diverse Lewisham East constituency in London.Senior party sources have to
  
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• Google Unveils Android P Along With New Well-Being Features

  08-05-2018 22:42
  Google has unveiled its brand-new mobile operating system called Android P.The new operating system contains a number of major updates but the most significant of them are a series of new features around well-being and mental health.The first is a new feature called Dashboard that lets you see how you’re using your apps and for how long. It’ll correlate information around when you’re using those apps and try to recommend ways for you to use them less.Learn how we’re suppo
  
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• Debbie Abrahams, Labour Shadow Cabinet Minister, Sacked Over Bullying Accusations

  08-05-2018 22:27
  Debbie Abrahams has been sacked from Labour’s shadow Cabinet after an investigation into workplace bullying, a party spokesman said.The Oldham East and Saddleworth MP faced claims by multiple complainants that are understood to have been supported by several witnesses.But Abrahams said she strongly denied the allegations and criticised the investigation.She said: “I strongly refute the allegations of bullying made against me. I believe the investigation was not thorough, fair or inde
  
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• These Are The 83 Labour Peers Who Defied Jeremy Corbyn On Brexit

  08-05-2018 22:13
  Theresa May suffered another serious blow in her Brexit battle, as peers inflicted four embarrassing defeats on the government in a single day. But the PM isn’t the only party leader dealing with trouble in the ranks, as a crunch Lords vote on the government’s beleaguered EU Withdrawal bill revealed. A total of 83 Labour peers voted for an amendment tabled by Lord Alli which would see the UK remain part of the European Economic Area - and effectively the single market.
  
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• Abrahams axed from shadow cabinet over bullying claims

  08-05-2018 22:12 via bbc.co.uk
  Debbie Abrahams is "relieved" of her shadow cabinet post following a "thorough investigation".
  
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• Google's AI Assistant Can Now Make Phone Calls For You

  08-05-2018 22:11
  Google has unveiled a brand-new feature that allows Google Assistant to actually make phone calls on your behalf.Known as Google Duplex, the new AI was revealed at the Google I/O developer conference and allows you to book an appointment at a hairdressers or doctors without you ever having to say a word.Instead you simply say “Hey Google, book a hair appointment for tomorrow between 10-12”.Google Assistant will then call your hairdresser and have a fully flowing conversation with the
  
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• EU withdrawal bill: 14 defeats in the Lords for the government

  08-05-2018 21:44
  There were several setbacks for No 10 as Brexit legislation passed through the upper chamberThe government lost 14 votes as the EU withdrawal bill made its way through the House of Lords. It has also made some concessions. Continue reading...
  
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• Peers vote to keep UK in EEA as 83 Labour peers defy orders to abstain – as it happened

  08-05-2018 21:42
  Peers vote against specifying 29 March 2019 as Brexit day. Plus Caroline Nokes and Hugh Ind give evidence on WindrushNo 10 lobby briefing - SummaryBoris Johnson attacks Theresa May’s ‘crazy’ customs planEvening summary 8.34pm BST8.24pm BST Peter Ricketts, a former head of the Foreign Office and now a crossbench peer, thinks EEA membership could end up as a useful insurance option for the government.In last day of voting on amendments to EU Bill, Lords have just carried an amend
  
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• Debbie Abrahams loses Labour frontbench role amid bullying claims

  08-05-2018 21:19
  MP sacked as shadow work and pensions secretary after party investigation of allegations
  The Labour frontbencher Debbie Abrahams has been sacked from the shadow cabinet after an investigation into workplace bullying.The shadow work and pensions secretary, who had been suspended, has now been referred to Labour NEC’s disputes committee over the allegations. Continue reading...
  
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• Google News App Gets Redesign As It Takes On Apple And Facebook

  08-05-2018 21:16
  Google has unveiled a completely redesigned News app that will look to compete with both Apple and Facebook in providing us with the latest news around the world.Revealed at Google’s I/O developer conference, Google News has a number of new features that will reduce the amount of fake news being read and increase the number of people reading premium journalism.At the centre of the app though is personalisation. In much the same way that Apple News lets you customise the types of content yo
  
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• Google Can Actually Add Colour To Your Black And White Pictures

  08-05-2018 20:50
  Google has announced a brand-new feature for Google Photos that will actually add colour to black and white pictures.Using advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, the new Photos app will recognise if it’s looking at a picture in black and white and then suggest whether or not you want to add colour.Tap ‘colourise’ and your smartphone will add colour to the image, instantly.What’s happening here is some pretty complex machine learning, the smartphone
  
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• Home Office stumped by MPs questions on Windrush scandal

  08-05-2018 20:34 via ft.com
  Testy exchanges as minister and officials fail to provide basic information
  
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• Hung, withdrawn and re-quartered: May portrait in Oxford row

  08-05-2018 20:26
  Protest over inclusion of prime minister in university exhibition of female geographers
  A row has broken out over a portrait of Theresa May which was removed from the walls of her alma mater, the University of Oxford, after students and academics objected to her being included in a celebration of female geographers.The picture of the prime minister, who graduated from St Hugh’s College with a second-class degree, was put up on the walls of the school of geography and the environment last w
  
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• Donald Trump To Withdraw The US From The Iran Nuclear Deal

  08-05-2018 20:25
  Donald Trump has announced the US is to pull out of the landmark nuclear deal with Iran - demolishing a Obama-era agreement and leaving the US isolated on the world stage.The US President said he will not extend waivers on sanctions targeting Iran’s nuclear programme, and said he would impose the “highest level” of economic punishment on the country, as he blasted a “regime of great terror”.Hitting out at the “horrible, one-sided deal that should have nev
  
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• Downing St overlooks Johnson’s ‘crazy customs plan’ outburst

  08-05-2018 20:03 via ft.com
  Prime minister focuses on how to win over and unite a sceptical cabinet
  
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• Hey England fans, everything'll be fine in Russia. Probably | John Crace

  08-05-2018 20:02
  Supporters’ chief tells MPs he can’t promise all will be OK. But can’t everyone just chill a bit?How things change. Time was when the name “England football supporter” meant something. Someone who could get completely drunk in a foreign city centre by lunchtime and then spend the afternoon throwing up into a fountain. Someone who could play the opening bars of The Great Escape theme tune on a trumpet for hours on end. Someone who could be guaranteed to terrify the l
  
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• Britain’s press singled out for further punishment

  08-05-2018 19:33 via ft.com
  New legislation risks curtailing journalists’ ability to do their jobs
  
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• Liam Fox’s trade department to receive emergency cash injection

  08-05-2018 19:30 via ft.com
  Treasury agrees up to £10m to safeguard trade promotion staff jobs
  
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• Exclusive: Concerns Over PrEP Trial As Charity Leading NHS Study Announces Shock Closure

  08-05-2018 19:28
  Thousands of people receiving HIV prevention medication in a pivotal NHS trial face uncertainty as the charity leading the research closes down.St Stephen’s Aids Trust, which partnered with Public Health England and the NHS last year to trial pre-exposure prophylaxis, known as PrEP, is to shut amid financial concerns, HuffPost UK has learned.St Stephen’s was “working with researchers to co-ordinate and lead the trial” day-to-day through its clinical research arm
  
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• Madeleine McCann’s Parents And Other Victims Of Press Abuse Urge Theresa May To Complete Leveson Inquiry

  08-05-2018 19:26
  Gerry and Kate McCann, Christopher Jefferies and other victims of phone hacking and press intrusion have urged Theresa May to back fresh moves to tighten up media regulation.In an open letter to the PM, published on HuffPost UK, more than 30 high profile campaigners say that the Prime Minister should not block a Parliamentary plan to make it easier to take newspapers to court – and should complete a public inquiry into journalistic abuses. Labour and cross-party amendments to the Data
  
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• As Victims Of Press Abuse, We Are Disappointed And Angered At May's Surrender To Powerful Media Interests

  08-05-2018 19:25
  Dear Prime Minister,We are writing as victims of press abuse, some of whom received categorical promises from your predecessor David Cameron. Several of us gave evidence to Part One of the Leveson Inquiry. Others have suffered at the hands of the press subsequent to that inquiry.We are all disappointed and angered by your decision to surrender to powerful corporate media interests by cancelling Part Two of the Inquiry and seeking repeal of Parliament’s costs-shifting measures.In 2013, foll
  
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• 'Humans' Series 3: Ruth Bradley And Mark Bonnar Reveal 5 Things About The New Series

  08-05-2018 18:43
  Sci-fi fans rejoice, as Channel 4′s hit series ‘Humans’ is returning to our screens for a third series, and it promises to be just as compelling and thought-provoking as the previous two. Viewers have waited a painful 17 months to find out what happened after the mass synth awakening, which occurred after Mattie Hawkins uploaded a code that suddenly allowed almost five hundred million synths to be able to think and feel. Sure enough, these actions have had catastrophi
  
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• Government Suffers Three House Of Lords Brexit Bill Defeats In One Day

  08-05-2018 18:22
  The government has suffered three Brexit bill defeats in the House of Lords in one day.Peers voted by 311 to 233 to remove the government’s fixed European Union ‘exit day’ from the legislation, following an earlier vote to allow the UK to participate in EU agencies.Later in the evening, despite an abstention by Labour frontbenchers, an amendment seeking continued UK participation in the European Economic Area (EEA) was carried by 245 votes to 218.The government previously passe
  
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• Government Suffers Four House Of Lords Brexit Bill Defeats In One Day

  08-05-2018 18:22
  The government has suffered four Brexit bill defeats in the House of Lords in one day.Peers voted by 311 to 233 to remove the government’s fixed European Union ‘exit day’ from the legislation, following an earlier vote to allow the UK to participate in EU agencies.Later in the evening, despite an abstention by Labour frontbenchers, an amendment seeking continued UK participation in the European Economic Area (EEA) was carried by 245 votes to 218.Labour had whipped its peers to
  
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• Government Suffers 12th Brexit Bill Defeat As Lords Back Removal Of 'Exit Day'

  08-05-2018 18:22
  The government has suffered its twelfth Brexit bill defeat - and second of the day - at the hands of the House of Lords.Peers voted by 311 to 233 to remove the government’s fixed European Union ‘exit day’ from the legislation, following an earlier vote to allow the UK to participate in EU agencies.The government previously passed amendments during the bills committee stage to define exit day as “11pm on 29 March 2019”.Critics warned it would undermine any transition
  
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• Home Office Has Wrongfully Deported A 'Handful' Of People - But The Immigration Minister Claims She Did Not Know

  08-05-2018 18:11
  The Home Office has wrongfully deported a “handful” of people from the United Kingdom in the last six years a senior official revealed on Tuesday - moments after the Immigration Minister said she did not know of any cases.Appearing before the Commons home affairs committee on Tuesday, Caroline Nokes was asked how many people had been wrongfully deported.“I don’t think I have had any cases of wrongful deportation brought to my attention, no,” the minister told MPs.Ho
  
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• Aidan Connor's Suicide In 'Coronation Street' Is A Story That Needs To Be Told

  08-05-2018 18:09
  A post shared by Coronation Street (@coronationstreet) on Apr 30, 2018 at 2:33pm PDTMonday night’s Coronation Street saw Aidan Connor’s heartbreaking last scenes. In Wednesday’s hour-long special Aidan’s father, Johnny, will discover his son’s dead body.For those of you unaware, Corrie is tackling the very difficult subject of male suicide. Aidan, portrayed brilliantly by Shayne Ward, appeared to have it all; the ladies fancied him, the men liked him, he had hi
  
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• Jeremy Hunt Defends Non-Medical Staff Running Breast Cancer Screening Failure Helpline

  08-05-2018 17:48
  Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has been criticised for allowing a helpline for women affected by breast cancer screening failures to be staffed by call handlers with no medical training.In a heated exchange in the Commons on Tuesday, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told Hunt victims “deserve better”.Attacking the government’s willingness to hand some public services over to private contractors, Ashworth said: “Now we learn that the hotline for women affected by th
  
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• Best Android Apps And Games 2018 From The Google Play Awards

  08-05-2018 17:01
  Google has announced, as is tradition, its annual selection of the best Android apps and games that you need to be downloading in 2018.The Google Play Awards take place every year just before Google’s I/O developer conference and this year is no different with some outstanding choices ranging from the latest mobile games to apps that can help increase our well-being.We’ll add to this piece as new apps become available throughout the year but for now here’s Google’s defini
  
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• Five Times Politicians Said Brexit Was About Parliament Taking Back Control As Leavers Accused of Hypocrisy

  08-05-2018 16:58
  With less than a year to go until the UK officially exits the EU, Theresa May faces a field full of Parliamentary hurdles.Last week the PM’s plan for a “customs partnership” was thrown into doubt, and on Tuesday evening the House of Lords will debate three cross-party amendments to the government’s Brexit bill on issues including Britain’s membership of the single market. Peers inflicted an embarrassing defeat on the government last month after they voted for t
  
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• Met Police Rape Cases Under 'Urgent' Review After Suspected Forensics Mishandling

  08-05-2018 16:57
  An “urgent” review into the Metropolitan Police is taking place after it was revealed that 33 criminal investigations may have been affected by suspected forensics mishandling, Scotland Yard has confirmed.The Directorate of Professional Standards is investigating after a forensic scientist working within the Met’s Forensic Services allegedly mishandled  material in its laboratory.More than half of the cases – 21 out of 33 – relate to investigations into rapes a
  
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• 'Grease' Star Didi Conn Defends The Film's Controversial Ending

  08-05-2018 16:52
  In the 40 years since ‘Grease’ first hit cinemas, society has changed in a number of ways, meaning certain scenes feel a little old-fashioned or even problematic when viewed through a modern lens.One such example would be the film’s ending, when Sandy - having been mocked by her peers throughout the film for her conservative and traditional attitude - undergoes a transformation, dressing more provocatively and smoking a cigarette, and ultimately winding up with her love interes
  
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• Would £10,000 Change Anything? Three Millennials Explain How They'd Spend A 'Citizen's Inheritance'

  08-05-2018 16:43
  We’ve all daydreamed about how life would change thanks to a huge, and unexpected, windfall. But wishful thinking could become a reality.A study by think tank the Resolution Foundation suggests a ‘citizens inheritance’ - through which everyone receives £10,000 on their 25th birthday to fund housing, a pension, a return to education or start a business - could be the best solution to intergenerational wealth disparity in the UK.“It’s an inte
  
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• Police Called To Suspected Acid Attack Near Brixton Tube Station, London

  08-05-2018 16:04
  Police have been called to Brixton following reports that a woman in her 20s has been attacked with a “noxious substance”.  Officers confirmed they were responding to a suspected attack on Brixton Road in south London around 1.45 pm on Tuesday. In a statement, Lambeth Police said the woman may have been on a bus at the time of the attack. A double-decker bus has been taped off by police near Brixton Tube Station. Police were called to Brixton Road, SW9 at 13:45hrs
  
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• Benedict Cumberbatch Says He Won’t Take On A Role Unless His Female Co-Stars Are Paid The Same

  08-05-2018 15:44
  Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed that he’ll only sign on for an acting job if his female co-stars are paid the same as him.In a new interview with Radio Times, the ‘Sherlock’ star says that equal pay is a “central tenet of feminism.”“It’s about implementation,” he says. “Equal pay and a place at the table are the central tenets of feminism. Look at your quotas. Ask what women are being paid, and say: ‘If she’s not paid the same a
  
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• Met Gala 2018: Rihanna, Katy Perry And Beyoncé Spark This Year's Funniest Tweets

  08-05-2018 15:28
  Every year, the Met Gala has pop culture devotees talking on social media, and with a theme as expansive as ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion And The Catholic Imagination’, it was inevitable that this year’s event would be a biggie.On Tuesday morning (8 May), social media was abuzz with commentary and memes on the A-listers in attendance, and the Catholicism-inspired outfits they’d thrown on for the annual gala. Here is what got people talking the most...Quite obviously, Rihanna
  
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• Mel B Gives Exciting Update On The Spice Girls Reunion, And It Seems We Might Get That Tour After All

  08-05-2018 15:28
  We’ll be honest - after initially being very excited about the prospect of a full-blown Spice Girls reunion earlier this year, our interest has waned in recent months, due to conflicting reports about what exactly the girls have been planning.However, Mel B has given us renewed hope about the whole affair by revealing that much-discussed tour could be happening after all.Scary Spice has said the girls are working on “a bit of everything” in their reunion plans - which includes
  
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• The Deodorant Challenge: Parent Warns This Teen 'Trend' Could Cause Second-Degree Burns

  08-05-2018 15:27
  A mum has warned parents about a teenage craze for spraying deodorant onto each other’s skin for as long as possible, which caused her daughter to suffer severe secondary burns. Jamie Prescott, from Bristol, shared a photo of her daughter’s injuries on Facebook and urged others to share the post “far and wide” to let parents know about the “challenge” that could be happening among their child’s school friends.“These ar
  
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• Labour’s Heidi Alexander to quit Commons for Sadiq’s City Hall

  08-05-2018 15:23 via ft.com
  Latest moderate to leave parliament since Jeremy Corbyn became party leader
  
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• Labour’s Heidi Alexander MP to quit Commons for Sadiq’s City Hall

  08-05-2018 15:23 via ft.com
  Latest moderate to leave parliament since Jeremy Corbyn became party leader
  
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• Boris Johnson Under Fire From No.10 As Tory Remain Rebels Warn They Have ‘Overwhelming Numbers’ For A Soft Brexit

  08-05-2018 15:11
  Boris Johnson has come under fire from both Downing Street and from Tory Remainers after he attacked Theresa May’s post-Brexit customs plans as “crazy”. No.10 reprimanded the Foreign Secretary for his remarks, as leading rebel Dominic Grieve warned that “overwhelming numbers” of MPs backed a soft Brexit and signalled they would vote accordingly in Parliament.Cabinet divisions over the issue burst into the open after Johnson told the Daily Mail that May’s
  
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• Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle Says Party's Election Campaign Was 'Treacherous'

  08-05-2018 14:58
  “I think that will never happen again,” says Lloyd Russell-Moyle of Labour’s 2017 general election campaign. “It was manifestly the wrong strategy.”The 31-year-old self-styled socialist MP for Brighton Kemptown has been in parliament for a year. He took the seaside seat back for Labour from the Conservatives and sits on a pretty healthy 9,868 majority. The party machine, he says, did not expect him to win.Labour vastly exceeded expectations last year. But in an inte
  
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• Specs, Hugs And Bacon Rolls: The Anatomy Of A Dad's Birthday

  08-05-2018 14:46
  Suddenly the lights go out, causing a frisson of excitement to run through the air and down your spine. Next, by pure magic, a flame flickers into existence. This spark warmly illuminates the faces of a gaggle of friends and family, whose grins are only bettered by your own. Then, just as suddenly, the drone of ’Happy Birthday to you…” begins, but nobody cares about the singing. Why? Because we’re all imagining how good the cake will taste.That’s how it used to be,
  
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• Which way will Theresa May jump on the customs partnership?

  08-05-2018 14:34 via ft.com
  PM in a bind but there are reasons to think she will press ahead with revised version
  
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• Heidi Alexander quits as Labour MP to be London deputy mayor

  08-05-2018 14:06
  Resignation of Alexander, who left Corbyn’s frontbench in 2016, to spark battle for her safe seatThe Labour MP Heidi Alexander will quit the House of Commons to be Sadiq Khan’s deputy mayor for transport, setting in motion what could be a fierce battle for her safe south London seat.Alexander, the former shadow health secretary who quit Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench during the string of resignations over his leadership in 2016, will replace the long-serving deputy mayor, Val Shawc
  
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• Record numbers pay into workplace pensions

  08-05-2018 14:03 via ft.com
  Auto-enrolment boosts number of savers, but amounts put aside are not enough
  
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• Catholics React To The Met Gala's Religious Theme

  08-05-2018 14:02
  The Met Gala’s theme for 2018 was pegged as a controversial choice from the moment it was revealed that religion was involved.The ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’ exhibit, has had approval from the Catholic church, as the Vatican were consulted about the contents and although Pope Francis has not spoken out on the matter, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, wrote an introduction to the exhibit’s cat
  
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