Political news

• EU shows sign of softening its position on Irish backstop

  02-08-2018 20:38 via ft.com
  Barnier hints at shift to help May push Brexit deal through parliament
  
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• May prepares for talks with Macron that could make or break Brexit plan

  02-08-2018 20:10
  French president may be tough to win over but could influence other EU states to back UK planTheresa May’s hopes of prising away Emmanuel Macron from the rest of the European Union to sign up to her Chequers vision for Brexit looked tenuous on the eve of the pair’s crunch talks.
  But while senior Whitehall sources warned that the French president would be tough to win over, they suggested that his influence could prove vital in swaying the rest of the EU27 member states if May were su
  
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• Labour calls for inquiry into ex-Tory chairman Grant Shapps

  02-08-2018 20:08 via ft.com
  Grant Shapps says ‘would welcome’ investigation to show he followed official advice
  
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• Jeremy Corbyn expected to make speech on Labour's antisemitism crisis

  02-08-2018 19:25
  London’s Jewish Museum has reportedly been approached as venue for speech addressing crisis in partyJeremy Corbyn is expected to make a speech next week to address Labour’s ongoing crisis over antisemitism, amid increasing divisions in the party over how to tackle the issue.The Labour leader had reportedly planned initially to speak on Friday, with London’s Jewish Museum approached as a venue. The museum told the Jewish Chronicle it had been approached, but that no agreement ha
  
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• Electoral Commission drops investigation into DUP over Brexit spending

  02-08-2018 18:41
  Democratic Unionist party faced allegations of breaching spending rules in its pro-Brexit campaignThe Electoral Commission will not investigate the Democratic Unionist party over claims it coordinated its Brexit referendum campaign spending with Vote Leave in order to break legal spending limits.The Northern Irish party, which props up Theresa May’s government in the Commons, had faced a series of allegations about its spending during the 2016 EU referendum, after it spent hundreds of thou
  
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• Improve 'emergency brake' offer to stop Brexit, says French senator

  02-08-2018 18:35
  Jean Bizet says safeguard on migration should be discussed at May-Macron meetingEurope should try to keep the UK in the EU by improving its offer on an emergency brake on the free movement of people, first made before the 2016 referendum, the chair of the French senate’s European committee has said.
  Jean Bizet was speaking to the Guardian before a meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Theresa May at the French president’s holiday retreat on Friday. Bizet is the first senior French poli
  
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• Martin Rowson on the failings of David Cameron's youth project – cartoon

  02-08-2018 18:32
  Continue reading...
  
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• No probe into BBC Spotlight's DUP 'dark money' claims

  02-08-2018 18:12 via bbc.co.uk
  The Electoral Commission will not investigate BBC allegations about the DUP's Brexit vote campaign.
  
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• Margaret Hodge criticises 'ridiculous' disciplinary action over anti-Semitism row

  02-08-2018 18:00 via bbc.co.uk
  The Labour MP says it "beggars belief" she is facing action, unlike NEC member Peter Willsman.
  
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• UK Brexit team seeks to exploit EU concern over Corbyn state aid plans

  02-08-2018 17:15
  Exclusive: Chequers plan ties future governments to EU rules on subsidies, negotiators sayBritain’s Brexit negotiators have tapped into growing concerns in Brussels over Jeremy Corbyn’s plans for the British economy, by stressing in recent talks that the Chequers plan would tie any future prime minister to the EU’s evolving rules on state aid in perpetuity, according to EU sources.The anger of Conservative party Brexiters has focused on the plan to maintain EU regulations in re
  
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• MPs call for £100bn northern transport investment

  02-08-2018 16:39 via bbc.co.uk
  The money is needed to "reverse decades of underinvestment" in the north, the cross-party group says.
  
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• UK's Brexit proposals threaten future of EU, says Barnier

  02-08-2018 16:15
  Article by EU negotiator seen as rebuff to UK efforts to persuade individual leaders to back its visionMichel Barnier has launched his own appeal for hearts and minds in Europe by warning that Theresa May’s Brexit proposals, put forward in the UK government’s recent white paper, pose a threat to the future of the European single market. Related: Brexit is direct result of austerity and cuts like bedroom tax, research suggests - Politics liveContinue reading...
  
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• British National Party pinning hopes on money from wills

  02-08-2018 15:47 via bbc.co.uk
  Nearly half the money raised by the anti-immigration party comes from bequests, its latest accounts show.
  
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• Tommy Robinson case exposes links between far-right in US and UK

  02-08-2018 15:42 via ft.com
  English Defence League founder backed by former Trump adviser Bannon and Ukip leader
  
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• Corbyn allies split over Momentum's decision to drop Willsman

  02-08-2018 15:19
  Union chief accuses leftwing group’s founder of ‘bottling it’ over antisemitism rowSenior allies of Jeremy Corbyn are divided over Momentum’s decision to pull its support for Pete Willsman, the Labour national executive committee member who suggested that Jewish “Trump fanatics” could be behind accusations of antisemitism in the party’s ranks.Jon Lansman, the grassroots organisation’s founder, has been accused by the general secretary of the Fire B
  
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• Remain EU referendum campaign spending claims rejected

  02-08-2018 15:10 via bbc.co.uk
  However, the Electoral Commission will investigate complaints about two other groups.
  
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• Seven exhausting arguments against a second Brexit referendum

  02-08-2018 15:05 via ft.com
  A plurality of voters want another vote — but Leavers have plenty of reasons why not
  
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• Seven compelling arguments against a second Brexit referendum

  02-08-2018 15:05 via ft.com
  A plurality of voters now want another vote on the deal — they should think again
  
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• 'You're safe here … until you're not': EU citizens in the UK are fighting for their rights

  02-08-2018 13:10
  
  EU citizens who made their home in the UK have been living in limbo for over 760 days
  
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• ‘No-deal’ Brexit and the sovereignty myth

  02-08-2018 13:06 via ft.com
  The prospect of food and medicine shortages will trump the fantasies
  
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• EEA could be port in Brexit storm

  02-08-2018 13:02 via ft.com
  European withdrawal scenarios once thought unlikely now seem plausible
  
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• Britain faces a simple choice: raise taxes or cut services

  02-08-2018 12:35 via ft.com
  Population pressure is putting an intolerable strain on the public finances
  
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• British Sign Language: GCSE plan after boy's campaign

  02-08-2018 12:12 via bbc.co.uk
  Daniel Jillings, 12, and his family have been campaigning for the qualification to be introduced.
  
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• Communities are no longer waiting for weak politicians to solve their problems

  02-08-2018 11:49
  
  Government’s too busy with Brexit and local communities are using own resources to solve issues
  
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• Brexit logjam?

  02-08-2018 11:13 via bbc.co.uk
  A look at some of the bills which made it into law that were nothing to do with the UK leaving the EU.
  
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• Councils want National Citizen Service funding for youth services

  02-08-2018 10:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Spending on the flagship government scheme could instead keep youth centres open, councils say.
  
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• Smaller firms should publish gender pay gap, say MPs

  02-08-2018 09:09 via bbc.co.uk
  MPs say only half the UK's workforce is required to report the difference between men and women's salaries.
  
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• NI has UK's highest public spending per person

  02-08-2018 07:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Spending per person in Northern Ireland was £14,000 in 2017, compared to £11,000 in the east of England.
  
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• Competition can help Britain’s digital economy thrive

  02-08-2018 06:01 via ft.com
  Consumers and businesses can reap the benefits of the coming technological revolution
  
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• UK takes heart at Angela Merkel’s rethink on Brexit

  02-08-2018 05:01 via ft.com
  Theresa May is encouraged German chancellor is becoming more flexible on future ties
  
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• Michael Gove discusses backstop UK plan to stay in single market

  02-08-2018 05:01 via ft.com
  Eurosceptic in private talks with Tory MPs on ways to avoid no-deal Brexit chaos
  
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• Apology after 300 new UKIP members get Senedd leadership vote

  02-08-2018 01:25 via bbc.co.uk
  An official apologises to candidates after confusion over the assembly leadership contest's rules.
  
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• UK gender pay reporting should be extended say MPs

  02-08-2018 01:01 via ft.com
  Small businesses must be required to publish figures, Commons committee argues
  
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• UK appoints former Obama adviser to lead tech review

  02-08-2018 01:01 via ft.com
  Jason Furman has been an influential US advocate for increased competition
  
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• Keith Vaz bullying allegations: Former clerk speaks to Newsnight

  02-08-2018 00:44 via bbc.co.uk
  The Labour MP reportedly told one clerk that she was bad at her job because she was 'not a mother'.
  
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