Political Headlines – May’s trip, Corbyn crisis, exit checks and gender pay

Today’s Political Headlines include May’s community visit around the UK, a Corbyn ally quitting and the continuing antisemitism row, the Home Office criticised over exit checks and the gender pay gap. 

May to visit communities across UK to mark a year to Brexit
Theresa May is to visit communities across the UK, marking a year until Brexit, the BBC reports. She will promise to keep the UK ‘strong and united’ and ensure that ‘no new barriers are created within our common domestic market’. After Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry said that if the Brexit deal was a ‘blah, blah, blah divorce’ it would pass Labour’s six tests for support, The Guardian says that Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer has reassured MPs that the party is prepared to vote against the deal.

Corbyn ally quits after row over Holocaust hoax allegations
The Times says that Christine Shawcroft quit as head of Labour’s disputes panel last night after she was revealed to have defended a council candidate who posted an article calling the Holocaust a hoax. She claims that she had not seen full details of the complaint, and has apologised. In an interview with Jewish News, Jeremy Corbyn described antisemitism as a ‘cancer in our society’, while The Sun claims that MP John Woodcock is considering quitting the party over Corbyn’s stance on antisemitism, Russia and other issues.

Home Office criticised over exit checks
A report by the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, published yesterday, found that the Home Office’s system of exit checks is so unreliable that it does not contain departure records for 600,000 people who should have left in the last year, The Guardian reports. The Financial Times adds that this was one of just five critical reports of the Home Office to be published on the second-last day before Parliament’s Easter recess.

Only half of companies required to publish gender pay gap have done so
The Financial Times reports that only half of the companies required to publish their gender pay gap data have done so, despite the fact that only a week remains until the reporting deadline. The Government is also being criticised over the design of the reporting requirements and their effectiveness at addressing gender imbalances. Analysis by the paper suggests that the median gender pay gap so far is 9.7%.

Conservatives accused of breaching manifesto promise on broadband
According to The Daily Telegraph, the Conservatives are being accused of breaching a manifesto promise. The new Universal Service Obligation, under which households have the right to request a broadband connection with a 10mbps minimum speed, will not apply to households where installing the connection would cost over £3,400.

Parole system in crisis following Worboys ruling
The Daily Mail says that the parole system is in ‘crisis’ after three high court judges overturned the Parole Board’s decision to free the rapist John Worboys, citing ‘basic failures’ in the process. The board’s chairman, Nick Hardwick, has resigned and Justice Secretary David Gauke has ordered investigations into six other recent decisions, as the paper claims that he is ‘fighting for his job’.

Grayling accused of lying over rail electrification cancellation
The Daily Mirror says that the rail union Aslef has accused Transport Secretary Chris Grayling of lying over his decision to cancel electrification projects. While Grayling had claimed that improvements could be delivered sooner with ‘state of the art’ bi-mode trains, a National Audit Office report reveals that ‘the major reason for the cancellation was affordability’.

UK using aid spending as bargaining chip in Brexit negotiations
The Times reports that the UK is using the prospect of continued aid spending of over £1.4bn a year to secure a deal on security with the EU after Brexit. While May had hinted at this in a speech last year, the paper reports that it is now being treated as an explicit part of the UK’s negotiating position.

The Political headlines are curated by Vuelio political services team.