Political Headlines – No deal planning, Labour’s dark place, IEA and ID Cards

Today’s Political Headlines include Tory Brexiteers’ criticism of May’s no-deal planning, Corbyn accused of taking Labour to a dark place, the IEA’s offer to ‘US donors’ and the reintroduction of ID Cards. 

May facing criticism over no-deal Brexit
The Telegraph reports that May is facing further criticism from Brexiteers in her own party over the Government’s planning for a ‘no deal’ Brexit. They are angry at what they perceive to be overly negative planning, after viewing some of the 70 reports due to be released in August that set out Britain’s approach to ‘no-deal’. Jacob Rees-Mogg has added his assessment in the Mail, describing the plans as ‘Fretful, weak and incompetent’.

Corbyn accused of taking Labour to a ‘dark place’
The Times has reported that Jeremy Corbyn is facing further pressure over anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. It follows reports of Labour MP Ian Austin clashing with the party chairman over the failure of the party to adopt the full IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.

IEA offered ‘US donors’ introductions to UK ministers working on Brexit
The Guardian has revealed a video in which the director of the Institute for Economic Affairs is recorded offering possible access to the Brexit ministers. Mark Littlewood is recorded saying his organisation knew high-profile Brexiteers such as Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Liam Fox, and that donors could fund and shape IEA research, which would always support the argument for free-trade deals.

Policy Exchange calls for a reintroduction of ID Cards
The Times reports on a Policy Exchange paper due to be released later today that calls for the reintroduction of a national identity system after Brexit. The report states that the Government plans to give 3.8 million EU citizens should be administered through an ID card system, with the scheme extended to UK-born citizens.

Fears over Brexit food crisis
The Times reports that plans have been drawn up by Ministers to call in the army if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, to help deliver food, medicines and fuel in the event of shortages. This follows from recent reports that the Government is preparing to stockpile food and essential medicines as part of their ‘no deal’ planning.

Report calls for state loans for young house buyers
The Guardian reports on new analysis released by the Housing and Finance Institute that urges the Government to offer loans to young people to enable them to pay for a deposit. The HFI say the initiative should be part of a wider strategy to increase the number of homeowners by one million by 2035.

Environment secretary Michael Gove summons water companies
The Times reports that Michael Gove has summoned chief executives of several water companies to explain why water leakages targets set by regulator Ofwat have not been met. Gove has said that customers expect a ‘reliable and resilient supply’, despite recent dry weather. The call comes ahead of a ‘drought summit’ between farmers and the Government, to discuss the effect of the recent dry weather on food supplies.

Northern Rail restoring cancelled services
The Telegraph reports that Northern Rail are set to reinstate three-quarters of services initially removed in May. The move comes after hundreds of delays, a situation described by Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham as ‘rail chaos’.

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