Political news

• Murdoch’s News UK takes potshot at BBC radio

  01-02-2019 23:00 via ft.com
  Face-off highlights media mogul’s increasing focus on commercial radio interests
  
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• EU gives airlines deadline for no-deal Brexit

  01-02-2019 22:30 via ft.com
  Plan would potentially force sales of shares for carriers to stay in the air
  
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• Pension freedoms open tax trap for over-55s

  01-02-2019 22:00 via ft.com
  Experts fear 1m people unaware of cut to savings allowance if they dip into funds
  
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• Labour: May proposals for workers' rights likely to be rejected

  01-02-2019 20:18
  Party chair warns against allowing prime minister to divide and rule over BrexitLabour and leading trade unions have said they are unlikely to endorse any proposals from Theresa May aimed at improving workers’ rights after Brexit, with one leading figure accusing the prime minister of trying to “divide and rule”.Trade unions involved in discussing a possible workers’ rights package, which the government hopes will help some Labour MPs support its Brexit deal, said they ha
  
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• The Guardian view on business and arts: cash without a voice | Editorial

  01-02-2019 19:25
  Corporate sponsorship needs to steer clear of impinging on artistic freedomsNews that investment managers the Man Group is withdrawing its sponsorship from the Booker prize after 18 years has shocked the literary world. The hedge fund’s decision to move on was linked in the press to novelist Sebastian Faulks’s negative comments about the firm last year, made on the How to Fail podcast . The Man Group, he said, are “not the sort of people who should be sponsoring literary prizes
  
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• Bercow insists he is neutral referee in Brexit debates

  01-02-2019 19:13
  Speaker says his job is to give House of Commons freedom to breathe over EU departure
  John Bercow has insisted he aims to be neutral over Brexit, likening his role as Speaker to that of a football referee and saying his hope is to give the Commons “freedom to breathe” on the issue.While Bercow is unpopular with many Conservative MPs, especially after his occasionally personal interpretation of Commons procedures on Brexit, his handling of recent noisy debates has won him fans oversea
  
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• Officials warn of putrefying piles of rubbish after no-deal Brexit

  01-02-2019 19:00
  Exclusive: leaked emails show officials planning crisis centres to manage halt in waste exports to EUGovernment officials are preparing to deal with “putrefying stockpiles” of rubbish in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to documents leaked to the Guardian.If the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March, export licences for millions of tonnes of waste will become invalid overnight. Environment Agency (EA) officials said leaking stockpiles could cause pollution. Continue rea
  
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• Martin Rowson on Theresa May's Brexit game – cartoon

  01-02-2019 18:44
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• Labour leadership urged to 'adequately' tackle antisemitism

  01-02-2019 18:42
  Motion revisiting long-running issue will be put to a vote at meeting of Labour MPsTwo Labour MPs have put down a motion at next week’s meeting of the parliamentary Labour party (PLP) calling on the leadership to “adequately tackle cases of antisemitism”, reigniting a long-running row within the party.MPs supporting the motion accuse the party’s ruling NEC of leniency and call on the leadership to intervene, but the party hierarchy rejects this, saying its disciplinary pr
  
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• Is Chile a Brexit seer?

  01-02-2019 18:26 via ft.com
  Agreement with the UK aims to protect trade relationship between the two countries
  
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• Brexit Britain is now the only argument on Earth for rising sea levels | Marina Hyde

  01-02-2019 18:17
  The rest of the world will look at what happened this week in parliament and want to put the UK out of its miserySo many people have been branded traitors in the past year of Brexit that many of us now have traitor fatigue. But everyone should salute Ukip leader Gerard Batten for totally revitalising the genre this week by calling the Queen a traitor. Gerard, a sort of radicalised Just For Men box, wrote to Her Majesty to ask her to prorogue parliament to save Brexit. He also took the opportunit
  
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• Weak EU economies will push for deal, asserts Fox

  01-02-2019 18:16 via ft.com
  Trade secretary joins ministers saying delay to Brexit day may be necessary
  
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• These Tories won’t fix the rough sleeping crisis, no matter what they say | Nye Jones

  01-02-2019 18:08
  They encourage us to think that anyone who is homeless deserves it. A radical cultural shift is needed on this subjectThe latest official figures for homelessness show that, in England outside cities, the number of people sleeping rough on any one night is down 2%. But this is where the good news ends. Rough sleeping has increased by 165% since 2010, with rises of as much as 60% in major cities, compared with last year. The homeless charity Crisis’s own research estimates that more than 8,
  
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• Brexit: Labour MPs in 'show us the money' row

  01-02-2019 17:42 via bbc.co.uk
  Rebel MPs warned against accepting cash for constituencies from the government for Brexit deal support.
  
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• HMRC staff suffer abusive behaviour from co-workers

  01-02-2019 17:33 via ft.com
  Swearing, breaching confidentiality and mocking colleagues is common, says study
  
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• No incentive for EU to blink on Irish border

  01-02-2019 17:22 via ft.com
  Basic miscalculations over the backstop make a no-deal Brexit frighteningly likely
  
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• UK objects to description of Gibraltar as 'British colony' in EU law

  01-02-2019 17:16 via bbc.co.uk
  The UK objects to language in legislation allowing visa-free travel for Britons after Brexit.
  
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• Theresa May’s denial is staggering: Brexit absolutely must be delayed | Jonathan Lis

  01-02-2019 17:14
  In Brexit wonderland, the clearer something is, the more unsayable it becomes. The need to delay article 50 is obviousRemember the days when a British government demonstrated a basic awareness of its own terrible policies? When a prime minister was prepared to spell out obvious truths even though they were unpopular? Margaret Thatcher admitted that closing the mines would lead to job losses. Tony Blair acknowledged that invading Iraq would cost lives. And Theresa May? Not only can’t she ad
  
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• ‘There is no silver bullet’: how young BME people suffer under criminal justice system

  01-02-2019 16:48
  Theresa May promised to address injustice of black men being treated more harshly – but the problem has worsenedWhen Theresa May became prime minister in July 2016, she placed fighting “burning injustice” at the heart of her vision to put the “union” back into the politics of the Conservative and Unionist party. Among a litany of examples of such injustices, she included: “If you’re black, you’re treated more harshly by the criminal justice system
  
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• Foreign Office criticised over scrutiny of UK spy agencies

  01-02-2019 16:47 via ft.com
  Alleged failure to challenge MI6 and GCHQ over use of ‘James Bond clause’ alarms watchdog
  
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• What can the failed Brecq-xit teach us about Brexit?

  01-02-2019 16:44 via ftalphaville.ft.com
  Why Sark's divisions offer a cautionary tale for Brexit Britain.
  
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• Work isn’t working – but a four-day week would help fix it | Will Stronge

  01-02-2019 16:41
  Heavy workloads, stress and anxiety are costing the economy. A shorter working week would help both business and workersOur current political moment is defined by a state of paralysis. By refusing to face the reality of a broken economic model, reactionary forces are driving us towards a future based on exclusion, continued deregulation and the scrapping of workers’ rights. Instead of conceding to this “inevitable” race to the bottom, progressive forces of all kinds need to mee
  
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• Senior HMRC official sacked after sexual misconduct claims

  01-02-2019 16:30
  Exclusive: Mark Nellthorp was subject of complaints by five junior female employeesA senior civil servant at HM Revenue & Customs has been sacked after facing a catalogue of sexual misconduct claims by five junior female employees, the Guardian has learned.Mark Nellthorp was dismissed from his position as a deputy director at the government tax body in September after some of the grievances were upheld. Continue reading...
  
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• Week in Review: A quick reminder that Chris Grayling is the worst person in a terrible government

  01-02-2019 16:29
  
  Even in a government of limitless mediocrity, this man stands out.
  
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• Tom Watson: My sugar addiction caused constant hunger

  01-02-2019 16:17 via bbc.co.uk
  Labour MP who was diagnosed with type two diabetes and lost seven stone joins "Fizz Free February" campaign.
  
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• Theresa May is trying to bribe the people of Redcar. She can forget it | Anna Turley

  01-02-2019 16:13
  The prime minister has some gall asking my austerity-ravaged constituency to prop her up now she needs us for Brexit• Anna Turley is MP for RedcarFor nearly a decade my constituents have been told to put up with austerity in the name of the national interest. We were told the nation was broke, so grandmothers had to be forced out of their family homes by the bedroom tax, council workers had to lose their jobs, crimes had to go unsolved, disabled people had to lose financial support, NHS wal
  
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• Parliament is ill-equipped to deal with Brexit

  01-02-2019 16:13 via ft.com
  Too many MPs are cowed by their constituents and in thrall to local parties
  
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• CCTV calls to catch care homes injuries on camera

  01-02-2019 15:07 via bbc.co.uk
  The families of people living in care homes talk about the injuries received by their loved ones and their fears over who was responsible,
  
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• Myths about resilient Brits

  01-02-2019 14:56 via ft.com
  Would they really be so calm and resourceful? One group who does not think so are the police
  
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• Knife asbos won’t cut crime – but they will harm vulnerable young people | Dean Ryan

  01-02-2019 14:38
  Sajid Javid’s punitive measures criminalise children while ignoring the social deprivation that is creating a lost generationThe new knife crime prevention orders introduced by the home secretary, Sajid Javid, will only serve to stigmatise and criminalise young people. The KCPOs, which will target children as young as 12 who are suspected of involvement in knife crime, even if they are not caught with a blade, include measures that already exist and don’t work.Punitive measures propo
  
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• UK manufacturers' stockpiling for no-deal Brexit hit record levels

  01-02-2019 14:18
  Hoarding of raw materials is highest on record for a major advanced economyThe risk of border gridlock caused by no-deal Brexit has led British manufacturers to ramp up their stockpiling efforts to the highest levels on record for a major advanced economy.According to the monthly snapshot from IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, which is closely watched by the Bank of England and the Treasury for early warning signs from the UK economy, British factories in January
  
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• Venezuela: Ken Livingstone on Chavez, and US sanctions

  01-02-2019 13:36 via bbc.co.uk
  Donald Trump wants regime change in Venezuela, says former London Mayor Ken Livingstone.
  
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• Brexit: visa-free travel plans spark Gibraltar 'colony' row

  01-02-2019 13:34
  UK rejects description in footnote attached, on Spain’s insistence, to EU regulationA straightforward change in EU law guaranteeing visa-free travel for Britons in Europe after Brexit has sparked a diplomatic row after Brussels described Gibraltar as “a colony of the British crown” in its no-deal legislation.The footnote containing the contentious description of the Rock was attached to the EU’s regulation on the insistence of Spain, with whom the UK has been in dispute o
  
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• Brexit: Leave.EU and Arron Banks' firm fined £120,000 over data breaches

  01-02-2019 13:33 via bbc.co.uk
  Information Commissioner reduces Leave.EU's fine after "considering representations" from pro-Brexit group.
  
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• UK factories stockpile at fastest pace in 27 years

  01-02-2019 13:27 via ft.com
  Pounds falls after manufacturing growth hits three-month low amid Brexit uncertainty
  
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• Leave. EU and Arron Banks insurance firm fined £120,000 for data breaches

  01-02-2019 13:05
  Information commissioner also launches data protection audit after Brexit violations
  The information commissioner has launched an audit into Leave.EU and the insurance company owned by the campaign’s key financial backer, Arron Banks, after fining the organisations a total of £120,000 for data protection violations during the EU referendum campaign.The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced in November that it intended to fine the two companies, which it determined w
  
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• UK data watchdog fines pro-Brexit group Leave.EU

  01-02-2019 12:31 via ft.com
  Campaign body and insurer censured over ‘serious breaches of electronic marketing laws’
  
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• UK data watchdog fines Leave.EU and Banks-led insurer

  01-02-2019 12:31 via ft.com
  Fines stem from ‘serious breaches of electronic marketing laws,’ ICO says
  
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• Marie Colvin: U.S. Court Finds Syria Liable For Journalist's Killing

  01-02-2019 11:53
  
  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government is liable for $302.5 million in damages, a judge ruled.
  
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• The secret to Jess Phillips’s great political speech? Wit and authenticity | Anne Perkins

  01-02-2019 11:25
  The Labour MP’s speech on high and low earners woke up the Commons – and social media has given it a powerful afterlifeThe Birmingham Yardley MP, Jess Phillips, is known for her plain speaking, and she has a standup comedian’s sense of timing. A clip of her speech on Monday night pouring scorn on the government’s new immigration bill has been viewed getting on for 2 million times – and when James Corden and Gabby Logan are both admiringly tweeting about it, somethin
  
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• 'We are still friends': Gary Lineker and MPs pen reply to Germans

  01-02-2019 07:00
  Signatories thank Germans for ‘funny and touching’ letter and offer assurance of future friendshipIt began when eminent German politicians and business leaders wrote a widely shared letter lamenting Brexit, but assuring the UK of continued friendship nonetheless. Now, a corresponding British group, among them Gary Lineker, has penned a response.The new letter, to be published on the front page of the German newspaper Die Welt on Friday, makes no promises about Brexit – among th
  
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• Will the UK’s jobs boom survive Brexit?

  01-02-2019 05:00 via ft.com
  Workers are in their strongest bargaining position for years but the economy is starting to slow
  
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• Why UK pension rules are fuelling NHS staffing crisis

  01-02-2019 05:00 via ft.com
  Doctors cut their hours or take early retirement because of curbs on tax breaks
  
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• Brexit-hit UK assets look cheap — but investors are wary

  01-02-2019 05:00 via ft.com
  Fund managers have steered clear of stocks and sterling, bemused by EU exit outcomes
  
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• Brexit: Third of UK businesses considering move abroad - survey

  01-02-2019 04:34 via bbc.co.uk
  An Institute of Directors survey finds 29% of businesses are considering moving abroad after Brexit.
  
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• UK armed forces 'face £7bn equipment funding black hole'

  01-02-2019 03:09 via bbc.co.uk
  MPs say the department does not have a "credible" plan to fund equipment for the armed forces.
  
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• What are backstop 'alternative arrangements'?

  01-02-2019 02:20 via bbc.co.uk
  The government will pursue "alternative arrangements" to replace the Northern Ireland backstop
  
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• MoD urged to ‘scale back’ spending to plug £15bn gap

  01-02-2019 01:01 via ft.com
  Damning report by MPs says there has been ‘little progress’ in tackling overspending on equipment
  
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• MPs pressed to scrap business rates to save high streets

  01-02-2019 00:34 via ft.com
  Levy slammed as ‘regressive and not linked to ability to pay’
  
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