Political news

• Minister's 'relief' as EU bill leaves Lords

  16-05-2018 23:34 via bbc.co.uk
  The Brexit legislation returns to the Commons after peers inflict 15 defeats.
  
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• Spike Lee on BlacKkKlansman, society and Trump

  16-05-2018 23:18 via bbc.co.uk
  The director's new film is the true story of a black detective who infiltrated the KKK.
  
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• Big Four accountancy firms plan for forced break-up

  16-05-2018 22:32 via ft.com
  Chairman of KPMG says it is ‘undeniable’ that the audit market is an ‘oligopoly’
  
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• Grenfell Tower fire: Survivors in emergency housing 12 months on

  16-05-2018 22:16 via bbc.co.uk
  Seventy four households, out of 210 affected, are in permanent homes, the housing secretary says.
  
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• Windrush: Man left 'broken' after immigration detention

  16-05-2018 22:07 via bbc.co.uk
  Two members of the Windrush generation describe to MPs and peers the ordeal of facing deportation.
  
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• TfL operating deficit worsens by 26% to £1bn

  16-05-2018 22:04 via ft.com
  Passenger numbers fall and government cuts London transport grant
  
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• John Bercow investigation blocked by MP standards committee

  16-05-2018 22:00 via bbc.co.uk
  The standards committee of MPs votes against an inquiry into the Speaker's conduct by three to two.
  
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• Lords inflict 15th defeat on government over EU withdrawal bill

  16-05-2018 21:49
  Rebellion on environmental protection post-Brexit carried by 294 to 244 votesPeers have inflicted a 15th defeat on the government’s key Brexit bill, underlining the acute political challenge Theresa May faces in seeking a deal that both parliament and her warring ministers can live with.
  The latest amendment, aimed at bolstering environmental protection after Brexit, was carried by 294 to 244 votes on Wednesday. Continue reading...
  
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• John Bercow bullying inquiry blocked by MPs' committee

  16-05-2018 21:22
  Speaker in Commons denies allegations that he bullied his former private secretaries An inquiry into allegations that the Speaker of the House of Commons bullied members of staff has been blocked by MPs. The Commons standards committee voted three to two against allowing parliament’s watchdog to investigate the claims against John Bercow.Bercow has emphatically denied allegations that he bullied his former private secretaries Angus Sinclair and Kate Emms. Continue reading...
  
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• Bookies braced for cap on fixed-odds betting machines

  16-05-2018 21:11 via ft.com
  Government expected to impose £2 limit on gambling terminals
  
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• East Coast train line to be put into public control

  16-05-2018 20:26 via bbc.co.uk
  Rail services on the East Coast Main Line to be brought back under government control.
  
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• From royal table to bust: asparagus farmer could close over Brexit

  16-05-2018 19:56
  His veg may be served at royal wedding, but Andy Allen says he needs migrant workers An asparagus farmer whose produce looks set to be served at Saturday’s royal wedding has warned he faces going bust because of Brexit. Kensington Palace dropped a heavy hint that the 600 guests will be offered asparagus from Andy Allen’s Norfolk farm when it published pictures of his fronds being prepared by the royal kitchens.Continue reading...
  
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• Carillion is no one-off scandal. Neoliberalism will bring many more | Owen Jones

  16-05-2018 19:52
  ‘Recklessness, hubris and greed’ describes the entire system of delivering public services through profit-driven companiesCarillion is no isolated failure, no fluke, no aberration. It is another symptom of a decaying social order that is anti-democratic, inefficient and places profit ahead of people’s needs, aspirations and even lives. That social order is neoliberalism, a term which I accept is probably not bandied around your local pub, and is invariably met with “hur h
  
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• Corbyn finds the formula to fire up the Maybot. Just ask after Brexit

  16-05-2018 19:50
  The Labour leader has a cunning plan for PMQs – keep it simple, inquire about Brexit, cue groans of despair from the ToriesJeremy Corbyn has a stubborn streak. Critics might call him a slow learner. But even he can recognise when he’s on to a winning streak. After months – years – of rambling on about something sent in by Susan of Solihull that goes on for so long no one can remember quite what his original point was, the Labour leader has twigged that prime minister&rsqu
  
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• Vote Leave and BeLeave used identical datasets to target Facebook users

  16-05-2018 19:44
  Revelation raises new questions in ongoing investigation into Brexit campaign groupsTwo Brexit campaign groups under investigation for potential collusion during the EU referendum used identical datasets to target potential adverts at Facebook users.
  Vote Leave, the lead campaigner for a Brexit vote, and BeLeave, a campaign group run by an activist named Darren Grimes, used identical data to target audiences, according to a letter from Facebook to the Electoral Commission that raises new questio
  
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• Len McCluskey criticises 'stale' Labour MPs

  16-05-2018 19:35 via bbc.co.uk
  The Unite union leader says he "won't cry" if local parties oust MPs.
  
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• The Guardian view on renationalising rail: give it a chance | Editorial

  16-05-2018 19:30
  Corporate bungling means the state will run the east coast mainline. It should be left in government hands to better observe the relative merits of public and private ownershipThe U-turn is a difficult manoeuvre to perform on rails, but Chris Grayling has managed it. The transport secretary did not look comfortable on Wednesday, informing the House of Commons that the east coast mainline would be brought under government control. He tried to present renationalisation as something other than a 18
  
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• Labour MPs 'now accountable to members'

  16-05-2018 19:25 via bbc.co.uk
  The Unite leader says he "won't cry" if local parties oust MPs who criticise Jeremy Corbyn.
  
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• May loses 15th Lords vote on Brexit bill as peers vote to keep EU environmental standards - Politics live

  16-05-2018 18:55
  Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQsPMQs - Snap verdictLunchtime summaryAfternoon summary 5.48pm BST It would not be in the national interest to release information that would form part of our negotiating position, and in order to ensure good governance, it is in all our interests, including the interests of those who might have the ambition at some very distant date to serve in a Labour government, to preserve
  
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• Emily Thornberry cites popularity of Syria's Assad in interview

  16-05-2018 18:21
  Shadow foreign secretary’s remarks could be controversial among opponents of dictator
  The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has a greater “depth and breadth of support than is recognised in the west”, the shadow foreign secretary has said.
  Emily Thornberry’s remarks to the magazine Prospect are likely to be controversial among those who regard Assad as a brutal dictator who has killed tens of thousands of his citizens and driven millions of refugees over the border. Thor
  
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• Benedict Cumberbatch to play Vote Leave supremo in Channel 4 Brexit drama

  16-05-2018 17:55 via bbc.co.uk
  He will play the man who masterminded the leave campaign in the Channel 4 docudrama.
  
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• Grenfell inquiry to begin taking evidence – Politics Weekly podcast

  16-05-2018 17:30
  Pippa Crerar is joined by Robert Booth, Dawn Foster and Deborah Coles to discuss the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry which begins taking evidence next week. Plus economist Dambisa Moyo on how to fix the crises in global democracy and Libby Brooks on the SNP’s deputy leadership electionSir Martin Moore-Bick will begin taking evidence next week in the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire. After a fraught process of establishing the panel and the terms of reference, it aims to establish the facts
  
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• Diane Abbott: Labour would close two immigration detention centres

  16-05-2018 17:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour pledges to close Yarl's Wood and Brook House and limit immigration detention to 28 days.
  
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• Trump helped Europe lose its illusions, says Tusk

  16-05-2018 16:54 via bbc.co.uk
  European Council President Donald Tusk slams the US for abandoning the Iran nuclear deal.
  
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• East Coast collapse gives a boost to UK rail nationalisation

  16-05-2018 16:51 via ft.com
  The failure of an important railway franchise shows Labour is winning the argument
  
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• Chris Grayling defends handling of East Coast line

  16-05-2018 16:23 via bbc.co.uk
  The transport secretary tells Laura Kuenssberg nationalising the whole network is not the answer.
  
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• Five complaints over Lord Kilclooney 'Indian' tweet

  16-05-2018 16:19 via bbc.co.uk
  The peer sent a tweet referring to the taoiseach as a "typical Indian" which he acknowledged as a mistake.
  
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• PMQs: Corbyn and May on cabinet splits over trade deal

  16-05-2018 15:59 via bbc.co.uk
  Jeremy Corbyn opens PMQs teasing the PM over reported splits in her cabinet about future UK-EU customs arrangements.
  
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• Barnier? Try the BBC's Brexit HQ trivia quiz

  16-05-2018 15:58 via bbc.co.uk
  Are you a fan of the quiz show app HQ Trivia? Have a go our Brexit quiz, inspired by the app.
  
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• No new cameras on Irish border after Brexit, Karen Bradley says

  16-05-2018 15:55
  Northern Ireland secretary’s comments appear to cast doubt on ‘max fac’ customs proposalThere will be no new cameras on the border on the island of Ireland after Brexit, the Northern Ireland secretary, Karen Bradley, has said, warning that any physical checks on the border could be targets for criminal activity.However, she said physical infrastructure could be needed away from the border to implement whatever customs deal is struck in the Brexit negotiations. Continue reading.
  
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• Theresa May vows to fund tower block cladding replacement

  16-05-2018 15:43 via ft.com
  PM’s £400m pledge is latest government response to last year’s Grenfell fire
  
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• Brexit at PMQs: Corbyn tells PM to 'step aside' and let Labour do deal

  16-05-2018 15:35 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour's leader says at PMQs the talks are in "disarray", but Theresa May insists she will deliver.
  
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• PMQs: Blackford and May on Scottish devolution and Brexit

  16-05-2018 15:33 via bbc.co.uk
  The SNP's Westminster leader and UK PM clash over the Scottish Parliament's rejection of the EU Withdrawal Bill.
  
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• PMQs: MPs cheer PCs who arrested Jo Cox's killer

  16-05-2018 15:12 via bbc.co.uk
  It is a convention that MPs do not clap, but the Speaker, who introduced the officers, made no effort to halt the unparliamentary behaviour.
  
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• Brexit Britain and Turkey

  16-05-2018 14:52 via ft.com
  UK is undertaking a pragmatic search for friends and partners in trade and security
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn mocks Theresa May over Brexit divisions in cabinet

  16-05-2018 14:40
  Labour leader presses PM at question time for details of plan for customs deal with EUJeremy Corbyn has accused the government of being “in complete disarray” over its Brexit negotiations, using prime minister’s questions to warn that delays and uncertainty caused by cabinet divisions were risking jobs and investment.Focusing on Brexit for a second consecutive week, the Labour leader lambasted Theresa May for being unable even to unite her ministers around a common plan, leavin
  
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• Visa cap stopped 6,000 key workers coming to UK in 4-month period

  16-05-2018 14:18 via ft.com
  Increasing demand for tier 2 visas follows fall in EU citizens seeking work in UK after Brexit vote
  
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• UK East Coast rail line to be renationalised

  16-05-2018 14:07 via ft.com
  Decision to put failing line in state hands will fuel criticism from private operators
  
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• Flagship UK East Coast rail line to be renationalised

  16-05-2018 14:07 via ft.com
  Decision to put failing line in state hands will fuel criticism from private operators
  
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• #Readytogo? Rift over timing of indyref2 marks a turning point for yes movement

  16-05-2018 14:01
  While some Scottish independence activists warn against an early poll, others say a lengthy delay could pose an even bigger threat Continue reading...
  
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• If Labour is to truly end the ‘hostile environment’, policy is just the start | Ellie Mae O’Hagan

  16-05-2018 13:52
  Diane Abbott’s pledge is fantastic, but as much as anything it’s the toxic language around immigration that needs to change• Labour would end ‘hostile environment’ policy, says AbbottIn 2013, I interviewed a Nigerian man called Isa Muazu, who had come to the UK because he was fleeing Boko Haram. He wound up at Harmondsworth immigration detention centre, where he began a three-month hunger strike. He lost vision in both eyes, experienced chest pain and shortness of br
  
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• PMQs verdict: Corbyn is starting to make it look easy

  16-05-2018 13:50
  For the second week in a row, on a subject that for months he avoided, the Labour leader knocked the PM all over the placeBoth Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn began by offering congratulations to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their impending marriage, and thanks to the police officers – in the public gallery – who apprehended the murderer of MP Jo Cox. Continue reading...
  
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• Scotland had to reject the EU withdrawal bill. It was a power grab | Ruth Wishart

  16-05-2018 13:47
  Holyrood’s vote was not another independence bid, but a move to ensure Brexit does not undermine Scotland’s existing devolved powersTwenty years ago the often lugubrious face of the late Donald Dewar broke into a satisfied grin as he read out the first line of the Scotland Act at the Commons dispatch box: “There shall be a Scottish parliament.” “I like that,” he added. And eight months later he gave an impassioned speech to the inaugural meeting of that parlia
  
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• Online reporting of sexual harassment 'lacks empathy', MPs told

  16-05-2018 13:42 via bbc.co.uk
  A senior Rape Crisis counsellor tells MPs women want to talk to other women about their experiences.
  
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• Like Tessa Jowell, I have a brain tumour. I hope her death inspires new research | Jessica Morris

  16-05-2018 13:31
  It’s hard to attract research funding for this complex disease, with a mountain of patient experience going undocumentedMany people are grieving the untimely death of Tessa Jowell. She was an exceptional person. Tony Blair confirmed the impression she gave to those of us who only knew her from afar: “Tessa had passion, determination and simple human decency in greater measure than any person I have ever known.”For me, her death is personal for another reason. We found ourselves
  
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• UK missing deadlines for post-Brexit nuclear safeguards, leak shows

  16-05-2018 13:03
  Failure to put safeguards in place could disrupt flow of materials needed to fabricate nuclear fuel after BrexitBrexit deadlines have put the supply of nuclear raw material for power stations at risk, a leaked government document has suggested.The document, obtained by Sky News, shows that the UK is already missing critical deadlines to put full safeguards in place to keep the flow of components and raw material needed to fabricate nuclear fuel after Brexit.Continue reading...
  
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• UK must secure billions in investment to meet climate targets, MPs warn

  16-05-2018 12:47
  Influential committee says collapse in low-carbon investment is endangering jobs and threatening climate commitments Investment in the UK’s low-carbon economy has fallen dramatically, endangering jobs and putting in doubt the government’s commitments on climate change, an influential committee of MPs has warned.
  Funds going into renewable energy, the mainstay of the low-carbon economy, fell more than 50% in 2017, having dropped by 10% in 2016, bringing annual investment in the sector
  
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• MPs criticise government clean energy policies

  16-05-2018 12:26 via bbc.co.uk
  Two parliamentary committees say ill-thought out policies have driven down clean energy investment.
  
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• Drug policy is the latest front in the battle over evidence

  16-05-2018 12:18 via ft.com
  The UK government favours prohibition, but its approach is not working
  
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• Oxford Labour councillor resigns over 'anti-Semitic' Facebook post

  16-05-2018 12:10 via bbc.co.uk
  Ben Lloyd-Shogbesan's "anti-Semitic" post has prompted an inquiry by Oxford city's Labour group.
  
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