Political news

• Help to Buy offers biggest hand to housebuilders

  01-03-2019 22:58 via ft.com
  Loan scheme attracts criticism in era of record profitability
  
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• Why central banks are wary of bouts of March madness

  01-03-2019 22:39 via ft.com
  ‘Policy put’ explains calm state of stocks, bonds and currencies
  
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• Labour activists backlash over anti-Semitism row

  01-03-2019 21:41 via bbc.co.uk
  A motion at a Hackney North meeting takes issue with MPs who say the party has an "institutional" problem.
  
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• Crown dependencies face crackdown on secret companies

  01-03-2019 21:30 via ft.com
  Tory MPs demand that Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man reveal names of corporate owners
  
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• Tory Eurosceptics offer devil’s bargain to May

  01-03-2019 20:45 via ft.com
  Hardliners say they will back Brexit deal if PM names departure date
  
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• Labour leadership struggle to bridge party divides

  01-03-2019 20:30 via ft.com
  Clash at the top personifies the wider huge split between the moderates and the hard left
  
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• EU gives Irish asset investors all-clear in hard Brexit

  01-03-2019 19:50 via ft.com
  European authority approves customers to use central securities depository
  
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• Martin Rowson on Chris Grayling and the Brexit ferry fiasco – cartoon

  01-03-2019 19:45
  Continue reading...
  
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• Brexit: The view from BBC Radio 5 Live listeners

  01-03-2019 19:42 via bbc.co.uk
  BBC Radio 5 Live hosted a special Your Call programme, with views from across the UK.
  
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• Grayling under pressure to quit over Brexit ferry fiasco

  01-03-2019 19:33
  Labour attacks transport secretary after £33m out-of-court Eurotunnel settlementChris Grayling’s five biggest failings
  The beleaguered transport secretary, Chris Grayling, is under mounting pressure to resign after reaching a humiliating £33m out-of-court settlement over a botched Brexit ferry deal.The deputy Labour leader, Tom Watson, said “heads must roll” after the latest chapter in the fiasco, in which the startup company Seaborne Freight was awarded a £14
  
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• The Guardian view on delaying Brexit: time to take part in the EU elections | Editorial

  01-03-2019 19:30
  Theresa May envisages only a short delay. But any extension of article 50 raises big issues that would take months to sort outFor two long years, Theresa May always insisted that Britain will leave the European Union on 29 March. So determined has she been to deliver Brexit by this self-imposed deadline that she has even had the date written into law. This week, she made an uncharacteristic bow to political reality and accepted that it may not happen after all. This was a pivotal concession and
  
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• SNP eyes path towards independent Scottish currency

  01-03-2019 19:17 via ft.com
  Resolution backing new policy will be put to the party conference in April
  
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• Chuka Umunna: I never felt totally comfortable in the Labour party

  01-03-2019 19:13
  Exclusive: Streatham MP says decision to breakaway and form TIG, ‘hugely liberating’Chuka Umunna, who quit Labour last week to form the breakaway Independent Group, has said he never felt “comfortable” in his old party – and found his mixed cultural and class background were “a chain round my neck”.One of eight Labour MPs who joined the Independent Group (TIG), citing antisemitism and Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of Brexit, the Streatham MP said the de
  
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• MPs in renewed attempt to force money laundering crackdown

  01-03-2019 19:09 via bbc.co.uk
  Tax havens under UK jurisdiction will have to be open about who owns assets there if MPs get their way.
  
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• We now know the great prize of Brexit: becoming Trump’s prey | Jonathan Freedland

  01-03-2019 19:00
  The US would give us a great trade deal, we were told. This week the president has shown how volatile and untrustworthy he isShall we take a gentle amble down memory lane, a nostalgic trip back to the heady days of the referendum campaign of 2016? So many sweet promises were murmured into our ear, it can be hard to remember them all. No talk then of shelling out £33m to settle a legal case with Eurotunnel or ferry contracts for companies with no ferries, or spending billions to prepare for
  
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• MPs back staff pay rise protest

  01-03-2019 18:37 via bbc.co.uk
  MPs from across the political spectrum back a campaign by their staff for a pay increase.
  
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• Chris Grayling is the Berk du Soleil as Farage maps out a road to nowhere | Marina Hyde

  01-03-2019 18:08
  Breathtaking feats of incompetence by Grayling provide a fitting backdrop to the unveiling of the £50-a-head ‘March to Leave’Say what you like about Chris Grayling – and I’m about to – but his face at least has the decency to “get it”. No matter what bullish self-justification is coming out of the transport secretary’s mouth, the face knows the truth. Look at literally any photo of Chris Grayling – honestly, go to Google Images now &nda
  
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• 'Right to rent' checks breach human rights - High Court

  01-03-2019 18:02 via bbc.co.uk
  Making landlords check the immigration status of tenants leads to racial discrimination, judge rules.
  
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• May sees Brexit as 'damage limitation', says ex-aide Nick Timothy

  01-03-2019 17:55 via bbc.co.uk
  The PM's ex-chief of staff Nick Timothy tells the BBC her government has not made the most of Brexit.
  
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• Brexit: Tusk urged to meet MPs on citizens' rights

  01-03-2019 17:47 via bbc.co.uk
  Tory Alberto Costa wants to discuss with EU chief how expats' rights can be protected if there is no deal.
  
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• Brexit: Tobias Ellwood says ministers will stop no-deal 'whenever'

  01-03-2019 17:46 via bbc.co.uk
  Minister Tobias Ellwood says leaving the EU without a deal is "not something we can contemplate".
  
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• Labour is mistaken: there are enemies to the left

  01-03-2019 17:38 via ft.com
  The tide of enthusiasm around Corbyn brought with it beliefs that had been expunged
  
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• Government pays Eurotunnel £33m over Brexit ferry case

  01-03-2019 17:29 via bbc.co.uk
  Government settles with Channel Tunnel firm after accusation of "secretive" no-deal Brexit contracts.
  
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• Spain to guarantee healthcare for British residents after Brexit

  01-03-2019 17:22 via ft.com
  Provision is among issues addressed by government in a no-deal scenario
  
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• Brexit: Spain to give 400,000 Britons rights under no deal

  01-03-2019 17:08 via bbc.co.uk
  Foreign Minister Josep Borrell says a decree will ensure Britons will have the same rights as now.
  
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• May 'struggling to see any Brexit upside', says ex-aide

  01-03-2019 16:21 via bbc.co.uk
  Theresa May's ex-adviser Nick Timothy tells the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg the PM has always seen Brexit as "damage limitation".
  
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• UK says food standards will not be lowered for US trade deal

  01-03-2019 16:10 via bbc.co.uk
  Number 10 says it won't give in to US calls to allow chlorine-washed and hormone-treated meat into the UK.
  
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• Concern over food safety as US seeks greater access to UK markets

  01-03-2019 16:04
  US sets out aims for post-Brexit trade deal amid fears about chicken and beef standardsThe US has outlined its objectives for a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK, demanding greater access to the food markets where products such as chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef are banned under EU rules.The US laid out its aims for a trade deal to cut tariff and non-tariff barriers for US industrial and agricultural goods and reduce regulatory differences. Continue reading...
  
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• UK government debt sells off most since 2017 with Brexit in focus

  01-03-2019 15:49 via ft.com
  Gilt yields climb as City expectations for no-deal UK exit from EU dim
  
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• Week in Review: A govt coming apart at the seams

  01-03-2019 15:45
  
  Downing Street's lack of basic moral decency competes only with its functional inadequacy.
  
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• How a second Brexit referendum could be won

  01-03-2019 15:42 via ft.com
  A spirit of mutual understanding would need to inform debate the second time around
  
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• Labour harassment procedures 'flawed' says Hopkins complainant

  01-03-2019 15:09 via bbc.co.uk
  Activist who has brought case against MP urges deputy leader to intervene to ensure process is fair.
  
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• Back to the basic question

  01-03-2019 14:56 via ft.com
  Is Theresa May’s deal truly in the UK’s economic interest?
  
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• The chances of Theresa May getting a Brexit deal through

  01-03-2019 14:48 via ft.com
  FT editor Lionel Barber and political commentator Robert Shrimsley on where the UK prime minister stands
  
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• Brexit: why a delay to Article 50 process looks likely

  01-03-2019 14:48 via ft.com
  FT editor Lionel Barber and political commentator Robert Shrimsley on where the UK prime minister stands
  
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• Crushing legal defeat for govt could finally kill off the Hostile Environment

  01-03-2019 14:18
  
  A devastating ruling against policies turning landlords into immigration enforcement officers could unravel the entire ugly Home Office programme
  
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• Chris Grayling's five biggest failings

  01-03-2019 14:11
  Transport secretary faces calls to resign for ‘serial failure and routine incompetence’. Here are some examplesIn 2010, the then shadow home secretary, Grayling, was forced to apologise after a recording obtained by the Observer captured him saying that people who ran bed and breakfasts in their homes should have the right to turn away gay couples on the basis that “we need to allow people to have their own consciences”. The remarks prompted a furious response from gay gr
  
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• I backed Sadiq Khan – but now his racist minicab policy has betrayed me | Abdurazak Hadi

  01-03-2019 14:08
  The London mayor’s new congestion charge discriminates against the ethnic minority workforce of UberThey say you can get used to anything in time, but I am not sure that is true. Some things in life, such as the loss of a loved one, we must find the courage to accept. Others, like discrimination and exploitation, we must find the courage to fight. Two weeks ago, I lost my dear son, Hadi, to leukaemia at 12 and somehow my family and I must find a way to grieve and carry on, though I doubt w
  
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• UK must hold EU polls if Brexit is delayed, says Bundestag

  01-03-2019 13:59 via ft.com
  German parliament warns that failure to take part in election could prompt legal challenges
  
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• There is no magic ‘stop Brexit’ button for Labour. There never has been | Owen Jones

  01-03-2019 13:57
  There are simply not enough Labour MPs in leave areas who are willing pass the Kyle-Wilson amendment and trigger another referendumThe problem with recommending good options for Labour on Brexit, with regards to their electoral prospects, is that none exist. Here is a party whose members and existing voters supported remain, but which cannot win a general election without leave voters. The only six seats lost by Labour in 2017 heavily opted for Brexit in the referendum, such as the ex-mining com
  
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• Chuka Umunna made Independent Group spokesman

  01-03-2019 13:34 via bbc.co.uk
  The breakaway former Labour and Tory MPs announce their roles and responsibilities.
  
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• UK pays Eurotunnel £33m to settle Brexit contracts lawsuit

  01-03-2019 13:26 via ft.com
  Out-of-court deal adds to pressure on transport minister Chris Grayling
  
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• EU bank watchdog calls for deposits to be protected post-Brexit

  01-03-2019 13:21 via ft.com
  ‘Take steps’ to guarantee money in EU branches of UK lenders, regulator tells authorities
  
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• Lord Ahmed charged with attempted child rape

  01-03-2019 12:44
  Former Labour peer charged with three offences dating from 1970s when he was a teenager
  The former Labour peer Nazir Ahmed has been charged with two counts of attempted rape dating back to the 1970s.Lord Ahmed, 61, is also charged with one count of indecent assault. His alleged victims were a girl and a boy aged under 13. Continue reading...
  
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• Lord Ahmed charged with attempted rape of girl

  01-03-2019 12:36 via bbc.co.uk
  Former Labour peer Lord Ahmed of Rotherham is also accused of indecently assaulting a boy under 13.
  
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• The madness, anxiety and absurdity of a full-English Brexit | John Crace

  01-03-2019 12:33
  Nigel Farage marching for the right to be put out of work and go hungry just about sums it upMondayA wonderful weekend away with friends who live just outside Hay on the Welsh border. It was the first time we’d been out of London this year and everything was almost perfect. Great company, top food, long walks, plenty of laughs and perfect – if you can allow yourself not to worry about global warming – weather. We had lunch outdoors on both Saturday and Sunday, something I&rsquo
  
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• Court rules UK’s ‘right to rent’ policy breaches human rights

  01-03-2019 12:11 via ft.com
  Provision to tackle undocumented immigration encourages discrimination, says judge
  
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• Court rules UK policy to tackle immigration breaches human rights

  01-03-2019 12:11 via ft.com
  Ministers suffer defeat as judge backs welfare of immigrants charity over scheme
  
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• Scottish independence: SNP says Scotland should have own currency

  01-03-2019 12:01 via bbc.co.uk
  The country would look to introduce its own currency within the first few years of leaving the UK under a new SNP policy.
  
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• My quest for a Brexit-proof passport

  01-03-2019 12:01 via ft.com
  For Marek Kohn, reclaiming Polish citizenship also meant clearing up questions of personal identity
  
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