Political Headlines – May faces defeat over deal again and BoJo calls on MPs to vote it down

Today’s political headlines covers May facing defeat over deal again, Johnson calling on MPs to vote the deal down, May pins her hopes on the DUP and Brexiteers could join forces with Corbyn to topple Government. 

May ‘faces defeat’ over deal again
The Times says that Theresa May ‘faces defeat’ over her third attempt to secure MPs’ backing for her Brexit deal, despite personally lobbying some Brexiteers. Esther McVey has confirmed that she will now back the deal, while Lord Trimble has backed her changes to the Irish backstop in a report published by Policy Exchange today. However, former Brexit Secretary David Davis, who backed the deal in the last vote, told the paper that he ‘might not vote for it this time’.

Johnson calls on MPs to vote down deal
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Boris Johnson says that MPs should vote down the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal, claiming that the Government is participating in ‘the final sabotage of Brexit’. The paper adds that the Government will only put the deal to a further vote if it believes it will win, with a possibility that it could be delayed until next week, so that MPs would already know the length and terms of an extension.

May pins her hopes on the DUP
The Financial Times claims that Theresa May is ‘pinning her hopes’ of winning the third vote on her Brexit deal on securing the support of the DUP. Officials have said that they expect the DUP to offer a ‘Stormont lock’ under which any EU regulations applied to the Northern Ireland would be applied to the rest of the UK. Chancellor Philip Hammond has denied suggestions that the DUP are being offered more funding to back the deal.

Brexiteers could join forces with Corbyn to topple Government
According to The Sun, Brexiteers could join forces with Jeremy Corbyn in order to topple the Government. Corbyn said yesterday that it would be ‘appropriate’ for Labour to table another confidence motion in the Government if the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal was rejected for a third time.

MPs call for social media tax
The BBC carries details of a report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Media and Young People, which calls for a tax on social media firm’s profits and claims they are operating in ‘an online wild west’. The report says there is no robust scientific evidence to link social media to mental health problems, but calls for precautionary action to be taken, including a duty of care and considering making social media addiction an official disease.

Abuse victims accuse Government of punishing them
The Times says victims of child sexual abuse are accusing the Government of punishing them by forcing them to disclose criminal convictions linked to their sexual exploitation. Fiona Broadfoot, one of three claimants who won a High Court action claiming that the disclosure rules were unlawful, said that the Government’s decision to appeal this ruling was an example of ‘victim blaming’ and the ‘Home Office need to hang their heads in shame’.

Patel in call for aid spending reform
The Guardian reports that former International Development Secretary Priti Patel is backing a pamphlet published by the TaxPayers’ Alliance which calls for reform of the international development budget and for the UK to set the definition, instead of using one set by international bodies, allowing it to include spending on measures such as peacekeeping.

Stricter checks for online gamblers
The Daily Telegraph says that the Gambling Commission is planning to introduce strict ID and age checks for online gamblers as part of creating a national ‘self-exclusion’ scheme for gambling addicts. The House of Lords is setting up a special committee to examine the impact of gambling deregulation following a proposal from the Bishop of St Albans.

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