Political Headlines – Vote Leave, Brexit, fishing and Unite

Today’s Political Headlines include Vote Leave to be found guilty of breaking electoral law, the dangers of a hard Brexit, post-Brexit fishing plans and Unite’s stance on Brexit. 

Vote Leave campaign expected to be found guilty of breaking electoral law
The BBC says that it has been told that the Vote Leave campaign is expected to be found guilty of four charges of breaking electoral law. A draft of an investigation by the Electoral Commission concludes that the Brexit campaign broke spending limits and failed to obey campaign rules, but former Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliot has denied the claims.

Hammond to warn of hard Brexit dangers at Cabinet summit
The Times alleges that Theresa May has asked Chancellor Philip Hammond and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clark to warn of the dangers of a hard Brexit for tax revenues and businesses when the Cabinet meets on Friday. According to The Daily Telegraph, May is set to face an ‘almighty row’ with Eurosceptic ministers, with a source telling the paper her plans were ‘a fiction designed to keep us in the EU and single market’. The Financial Times adds that May is ‘pleading’ with EU leaders not to reject her proposal, with an EU diplomat telling the paper she didn’t ‘want to be fighting on two fronts’.

Gove sets out post-Brexit fishing plans
The Daily Telegraph reports that Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Michael Gove is to set out his post-Brexit fishing plans in a white paper today. The proposals would see the UK own the sea and the fish it contains for up to 200 miles from the coast, with a ‘zonal attachment’ scheme based on the distribution of fish stocks replacing EU quotas.

Unite says it is ‘open to the possibility’ of a vote on the Brexit deal
The Guardian says that Unite has issued a statement at its conference, claiming that it is ‘highly unlikely’ that Labour will back Theresa May’s Brexit deal in parliament. The union also reveals that it is ‘open to the possibility’ of a public vote being held on the deal. The paper suggests that this ‘could increase pressure on Jeremy Corbyn’ to follow suit.

NHS may offer medical cannabis ‘within weeks’
The Times claims that medicinal cannabis may be available from the NHS ‘within weeks’, following a review by Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer. Her report said that current controls on the drug were ‘very difficult to defend’. A further report on rescheduling the drug will now be produced by the advisory council for the misuse of drugs.

Home Office forced immigrants to take DNA tests
According to the Financial Times, the Home Office has admitted that it forced some foreign parents of British children seeking to remain in the UK to take DNA tests, despite this contravening the department’s own policy. After the paper informed the Home Office of the cases, immigration minister Caroline Nokes ordered an urgent review.

Corbyn tells Unite conference Labour is ‘the political voice of the working class’
The Mirror reports that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told Unite’s policy conference that ‘Labour is back as the political voice of the working class’. He said that more needed to be done to ‘give a real voice to working class communities who feel they aren’t heard in politics’ and accused the Conservatives of ‘posturing’ over Brexit, putting jobs at risk.

Reports warn of Brexit’s regional economic impact
The Guardian says that two reports have found that Brexit will make people outside London worse off. Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research warns that households outside the capital will be disproportionately affected by price rises in the event of a hard Brexit. Research by Oliver Wyman found that poor areas would be worst hit as households spend a greater proportion of their income on weekly shopping and transport.

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