Political Headlines – Northern Ireland, EU budget and NHS

Today’s Political Headlines include Theresa May challenged to ‘prove’ she is a feminist over abortion laws in Northern Ireland, Uk participating in EU budget negotiations, the Treasury and Bank of England at loggerheads and the NHS wasting resources. 

Prime Minister asked to back abortion law change in Northern Ireland
The BBC reports that Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti has challenged Theresa May to prove that she is a feminist by backing reform of abortion law in Northern Ireland and showing that she would ‘stick up for all women’. MPs from all parties have called on the Prime Minister to support a change in the law, following the successful referendum in Ireland.

European Commission and Brexiteers angry at UK participation in EU budget negotiations
The Times claims that the European Commission and Brexiteers are ‘united in anger’ after the European Council invited the UK to take part in negotiations to determine the EU’s budget up to 2027. The offer, which the UK has accepted, was made because the UK will still be paying into the budget after Brexit.

Treasury and Bank of England in post-Brexit regulatory clash
The Financial Times reports that the Treasury and the Bank of England have clashed over the regulation of the City of London after Brexit. Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, wants to keep the UK close to the EU rule book, but the Bank of England does not want to become a ‘rule taker’. One source described relations as ‘very, very bad’ and another as ‘terrible’.

Senior doctor accuses NHS of wasting resources
The Daily Telegraph says that a senior doctor has accused the NHS of a ‘ridiculous waste of resources’. Writing for the paper, Professor Keith Willett, medical director for acute care, warns of the problems caused by a failure to tackle bedblocking, leaving ‘highly skilled surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses sitting around waiting for patients’.

Number of leave voters in Labour seats could be lower than thought
The Guardian reports that a new study by the pro-remain group Best for Britain has found that the number of Labour leave voters in each constituency might be lower than had previously been thought. It claims that this means that Labour MPs in pro-Brexit seats who fear being punished by their electorate unless they adopt a hardline stance on Brexit may be worrying unnecessarily.

Free schools programme to be redirected to the North East
The BBC reports that the Government is to redirect its free schools programme towards the worst-performing areas of England, especially the North East. The money forms part of £680m which the Department of Education has allocated to help create 40,000 more good primary and secondary school places by 2021.

‘Influential Tories’ call on Government to introduce online sales tax
According to The Sun, ‘influential Tories’ are lobbying the Government to introduce a 3% sales tax on internet firms such as Amazon, eBay and Google in order to create a level playing field. Neil O’Brien MP has claimed that as much as £500m could be raised through the tax and this could be used to cut business rates.

Government announces plans to extend badger cull
The Daily Mail reports that the Government has announced plans to ‘dramatically extend’ the badger cull, allowing farmers to kill badgers in areas where cows are at a low risk of bovine TB on a case by case basis. The paper adds that Natural England is facing two legal challenges over the programme.

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