Political news

• Hammond Budget to tackle ‘gap-toothed high street’

  26-10-2018 23:41 via ft.com
  Plan to turn more town centre properties into housing and office space
  
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• Chancellor plans High Street rates relief

  26-10-2018 23:31 via bbc.co.uk
  Philip Hammond is set to announce a £1.5bn lifeline for small retailers in Monday's Budget.
  
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• Budget to offer business rates relief for small shops

  26-10-2018 23:30
  Chancellor’s move should give breathing space to high street retailers squeezed by online rivalsThe chancellor will cut business rates bills by a third for almost half a million small high street shops in a £1.5bn spending pledge to fight the threat posed by Amazon and other online retailers.In next week’s budget, Philip Hammond will order £900m of immediate business rates relief for small retailers in an effort to combat shuttered shops on the high street, where small bu
  
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• Blow for Fox as UK’s fast-track WTO bid hits buffer

  26-10-2018 20:45 via ft.com
  Members object to Britain’s plan to copy EU’s international trade commitments
  
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• Ten ways the chancellor could budget for a big NHS spending increase | Richard Partington

  26-10-2018 20:30
  Philip Hammond will have to come up with extra funds for Theresa May’s £20bn pledgeBritish taxpayers will soon learn how the government plans to finance Theresa May’s pledge to increase spending on the NHS by £20bn by 2023.After months of intense speculation, Philip Hammond, the chancellor, will on Monday announce the tax and spending changes required to accommodate the extra funds in his budget. Continue reading...
  
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• Claire Bassett to step down as head of Electoral Commission

  26-10-2018 20:04
  Chief executive led regulator as online campaigning grew and pro-Brexit groups broke law
  Claire Bassett is to leave the Electoral Commission after a three-year stint as chief executive during which the regulator contended with the growth of online campaigning, investigated pro-Brexit campaigns for breaking electoral law and fined the Conservatives for busting spending limits in the 2015 general election.Bassett will leave the chief executive role at the end of the year. Under her watch, the regu
  
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• Budget tax tinkering will not be enough

  26-10-2018 18:54 via ft.com
  Funding public services and managing expectations is one of our greatest challenges
  
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• Martin Rowson on the Philip Green allegations – cartoon

  26-10-2018 18:50
  Continue reading...
  
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• Civil Partnerships Bill clears Commons

  26-10-2018 18:27 via bbc.co.uk
  An MP's bid to include mixed-sex couples makes progress - but ministers want to pass their own law instead.
  
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• Opt-out organ donation plan wins Commons backing

  26-10-2018 18:16 via bbc.co.uk
  Ministers estimate changing the law to one of presumed consent will save up to 700 lives each year.
  
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• Ruth Davidson gives birth to baby boy

  26-10-2018 18:05 via bbc.co.uk
  The Scottish Conservative leader says she and partner Jen Wilson are "delighted" to welcome Finn to the world.
  
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• Russia seeks to capitalise on Brexit after blocking Liam Fox's WTO plan

  26-10-2018 18:04
  UK must now open talks with countries that opposed proposals or face trade disputesRussia is among 20 countries that are looking to squeeze a commercial advantage from Brexit after blocking an attempt by the international trade secretary, Liam Fox, to fast-track a World Trade Organization deal on the UK’s terms of trade with the world.Whitehall is now facing “up to two dozen” different negotiations with countries over how much meat and dairy produce will be permitted into the B
  
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• Brexit, bitcoin and marijuana — Martin Wolf answers readers’ questions

  26-10-2018 17:49 via ft.com
  The FT’s chief economic commentator invited Reddit users to ‘Ask Me Anything’. From pot to populism, here are the highlights
  
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• What could Budget 2018 mean for your money?

  26-10-2018 17:39 via ft.com
  Chancellor could tinker with Isa regime and pensions taxation
  
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• We urgently need an insurance plan for no-deal Brexit – here’s my idea | Frank Field

  26-10-2018 17:18
  ‘Norway for now, then Canada’ is both a short-term and long-term fix, and most MPs would get behind itWith time running out in the Brexit negotiations, and several vitally important issues still to be resolved, attitudes in parliament around what kind of deal would be acceptable are hardening.I very much hope that the prime minister will return from the negotiations with a deal that parliament can support in the national interest. No politician – at least none that are serious
  
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• ‘No one could do better.’ From Yorkshire, Brexit backing for May

  26-10-2018 17:12 via ft.com
  Among both Leavers and Remainers, talk of a leadership coup finds little support
  
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• EU must prepare to delay Brexit, Sadiq Khan tells Barnier

  26-10-2018 16:44
  London mayor says he ‘quite forcefully’ made point in meeting with EU negotiatorSadiq Khan has told Michel Barnier the EU must prepare to delay Brexit given the lack of support in parliament for a deal, and growing support for a second referendum.The mayor of London said he “quite forcefully” made the point during an hour-long meeting with the EU’s chief negotiator that Brussels must be ready for the UK to stay as a member state beyond 29 March next year. Continue r
  
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• Brexit won't ruin Strictly Come Dancing - No 10

  26-10-2018 16:40 via bbc.co.uk
  It comes after Sir Vince Cable claimed dancers from EU countries might not be allowed in to the UK.
  
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• Britain, this is not a wind-up: change your clocks to EU time | Nigel Gardner

  26-10-2018 16:14
  As Brexit tears the country apart, let time be the great healer – there are strong arguments for doing so come March 2019
  This weekend, as you perhaps struggle to remember to put your watch back an hour, it may have escaped your attention that the EU has launched ambitious plans to put an end to summer and winter time.European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker proudly announced that “clock-changing must stop”. And Euro MPs (never to be outdone by the commission) passed a
  
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• RBS: fear and loaning

  26-10-2018 15:26 via ft.com
  Bank’s display of realism should be applauded
  
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• What will the autumn budget 2018 mean for you?

  26-10-2018 15:05
  From inheritance to pensions, we set out the likely tax changes and what they mean to youOn Monday afternoon, the chancellor will present a budget amid the most febrile political atmosphere for years. Brexit uncertainty is at a peak, Philip Hammond needs to find £20bn to meet pledges to the NHS, and the public sector is on its knees after years of austerity. Will he raise taxes, or fund spending from better than expected flows into the public purse? Here’s what we know already, and w
  
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• Energy minister had private meeting with fracking firms in May

  26-10-2018 14:57
  Claire Perry failed to record meeting with Cuadrilla and others on transparency register
  The government wants Britain to export its approach to fracking around the world, the energy minister Claire Perry has told the shale gas industry.Details of Perry having a private meeting with fracking firms have emerged, as the 17th minor earthquake was recorded since the shale company Cuadrilla began fracking near Blackpool earlier this month. Continue reading...
  
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• No 10 refuses to back calls for Philip Green to lose knighthood

  26-10-2018 14:51
  Outcry follows tycoon being named as figure at centre of sexual harassment allegationsDowning Street has refused to back calls for Sir Philip Green to be stripped of his knighthood over sexual harassment and bullying allegations, saying it is a matter for independent review.After Peter Hain used parliamentary privilege in the House of Lords to name Green as the mystery figure at the centre of the allegations, MPs and others called for the title to be removed. However, a spokesperson said Downing
  
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• Grievance payouts to MPs' staff uncovered

  26-10-2018 14:41 via bbc.co.uk
  Up to £20,000 was paid out in seven months under an insurance policy for employment claims.
  
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• Why some seek apprenticeship more than university degree

  26-10-2018 14:38 via bbc.co.uk
  Are apprenticeships accessible enough for young people who might decide going to university is not for them?
  
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• Why the attorney-general will matter on Brexit

  26-10-2018 14:29 via ft.com
  Geoffrey Cox has emerged as a potentially pivotal figure in final phase of talks
  
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• Philip Green: Was it right to identify him?

  26-10-2018 13:46 via bbc.co.uk
  Chair of Committee on Standards in Public Life says non-disclosure agreements are "an undesirable thing to be used on a wide basis".
  
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• Week in Review: People's Vote changes the game

  26-10-2018 13:44
  
  No-one wants to talk about last weekend's People's Vote march
  
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• Housing: MPs back legal action against rogue landlords

  26-10-2018 13:27 via bbc.co.uk
  Plans to allow tenants to sue rogue landlords if their homes are uninhabitable are approved by MPs.
  
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• Crossrail given £350m bailout by government

  26-10-2018 13:24 via ft.com
  Loan is aimed at stopping east-west London rail project falling further behind schedule
  
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• Lord Hain defends naming Sir Philip Green over harassment claims

  26-10-2018 11:42 via bbc.co.uk
  Peer says he thought carefully before identifying the tycoon after being criticised for acting "improperly".
  
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• Universal credit: Ministers 'in denial', MPs say

  26-10-2018 11:29 via bbc.co.uk
  Universal Credit is causing "unacceptable hardship" but officials refuse to listen, say MPs.
  
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• Labour MP says the government ignored warnings about universal credit

  26-10-2018 11:23 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour's Lisa Nandy says the government ignored warnings that universal credit would leave people "destitute".
  
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• Brexit: French officials dismiss UK fears of Calais 'go-slow'

  26-10-2018 10:54 via bbc.co.uk
  The port won't be closed in a no-deal Brexit, with one official saying it would be "economic suicide".
  
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• Northamptonshire County Council: New chief 'understands' public anger

  26-10-2018 10:39 via bbc.co.uk
  Theresa Grant is aiming to make £65m of savings at Northamptonshire County Council by March.
  
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• Strawberry fields

  26-10-2018 10:26 via bbc.co.uk
  British berry growers have expanded rapidly on the back of cheap EU labour but the good times could soon be over.
  
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• I'm Broken, Britain: The brutal Catch-22 of the disability benefit programme

  26-10-2018 10:16
  
  Disabled people in the years of austerity have seen some pretty barbaric things
  
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• Alan Johnson criticises use of Parliamentary privilege to 'undermine law'

  26-10-2018 10:01 via bbc.co.uk
  Alan Johnson says peers need to be careful about "undermining the law" and use their parliamentary privilege "very carefully," after Lord Hain names Sir Philip Green.
  
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• RBS breaks with UK rivals to set up Brexit buffer

  26-10-2018 09:20 via ft.com
  Bank takes £100m charge in case of rising defaults following disorderly EU departure
  
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• Heathrow raises £1.6bn to defend against hard Brexit

  26-10-2018 09:16 via ft.com
  Airport says it has built up its ‘financial resilience’ in case there is no deal
  
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• MP 'signed a non-disclosure agreement'

  26-10-2018 08:54 via bbc.co.uk
  SNP MP Hannah Bardell says she signed the agreement after being bullied while working in business.
  
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• Your investments and how to navigate uncertain markets

  26-10-2018 06:01 via ft.com
  Brexit and the US-China trade war add to the unpredictability of markets
  
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• What Sydney’s opera house teaches us about Brexit

  26-10-2018 06:01 via ft.com
  The rules for delivering a successful megaproject are devastatingly simple
  
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• Unionists hold firm on Brexit in DUP’s stronghold

  26-10-2018 05:00 via ft.com
  Theresa May’s reliance on party for her survival leaves her exposed to the mood in Ballymena
  
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• Budget 2018: 10 things to look out for

  26-10-2018 05:00 via ft.com
  Chancellor Philip Hammond is preparing his final set-piece event before Brexit
  
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• Are high taxes killing the British high street?

  26-10-2018 05:00 via ft.com
  Business rates at the centre of debate over whether retailers face an unfair burden
  
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• Universal credit causing ‘unacceptable hardship’, MPs warn

  26-10-2018 01:02 via ft.com
  ‘Defensive’ ministers accused of turning deaf ear to flaws in flagship welfare reform
  
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• Rising sea levels threaten 1.5m English properties

  26-10-2018 01:02 via ft.com
  Uneconomical to protect about 1,600km of coast, climate report finds
  
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• Campaigners attack plan to build 1m houses in ‘Oxbridge arc’

  26-10-2018 01:02 via ft.com
  Proposals are being drafted without public consultation, pressure group warns
  
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• £3.5bn cut for school buildings leaves pupils in crumbling classrooms – Labour

  26-10-2018 01:01
  Analysis shows capital expenditure in England has fallen more dramatically than everyday education spendingGovernment spending on England’s ageing school buildings has fallen by £3.5bn, leaving thousands of children in classrooms that are “leaking and crumbling around them”, according to Labour.Data analysis has shown that capital expenditure on schools in 2010-11 was £8.8bn, but will fall to £5.2bn in 2018-19 – a 41% real terms cut – at a time whe
  
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