Archive for: Political Services

Today’s Political Headlines include the destruction of Windrush documentation, Labour antisemitism, Parliament backing May on Syria and Arron Banks staff working on Brexit. 

Labour calls on Government to explain the destruction of Windrush landing cards
The Guardian reports that Labour is calling on the Government to explain the destruction of thousands of landing cards containing information about the Windrush migrants. David Lammy said that the problems being faced by the Windrush generation were ‘a direct result of systemic incompetence, callousness and cruelty within our immigration system.’ The Home Office said that the cards did not provide ‘reliable evidence’ and that their retention could have breached ‘data protection’ principles.

Antisemitism in Labour raised in Parliamentary debate
The Times says that Labour’s antisemitism row intensified after three of the party’s Jewish MPs received standing ovations in the Commons after attacking the way it had handled the issue. Jewish leaders have also said that they will boycott a meeting with Jeremy Corbyn next week after it emerged that a hard-left group which denies that Labour has a problem with antisemitism had also been invited.

Parliament backs May on Syria, as NAO warns armed forces ill-equipped to handle cyber-attacks
The Times reports that Theresa May has received backing from the Commons for her decision not to consult Parliament for missile strikes on the Syrian regime, with a vote freeing Theresa May’s hands for future intervention. The Daily Telegraph adds that a report by the National Audit Office claims that the UK’s armed forces are ill-equipped to handle the increasing threat of cyber-attacks from Russia and a new era of ‘electronic warfare’.

Staff employed by Arron Banks worked on Brexit campaign
The Guardian reports that a former Cambridge Analytica employee has told the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee that insurance companies owned by Arron Banks, the key backer of Leave.EU, were used as part of the Brexit campaign. Brittany Kaiser, the former business development director, said that she saw employees staffing a Leave.EU call centre.

EU takes action to prepare for no-deal Brexit
The Financial Times claims that the European Commission is to issue dozens of legal proposals over the next ten weeks to prepare the EU for a no-deal Brexit. Diplomats have been told that the measures will cover a wide range of areas. Separately, the paper also reports that the Government has asked the Supreme Court to rule on emergency Brexit legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.

Senior police officer says police ‘too slow to change’ after Lawrence death
The Guardian has interviewed Chief Constable Jon Boucher, the national police chiefs’ lead on race and religion to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of Stephen Lawrence. He told the paper that the police had been too slow to improve their record on race and that he was challenging his fellow leaders to do more.

Gove calls on Premier League to lead fight against plastics
Environment Secretary Michael Gove is to call on Premier League bosses to lead the charge against plastics, The Sun reports. He will be meeting sports leaders on a warship as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, suggesting measures such as giving fans cashback when they return used cups.

De La Rue abandons plan to appeal passport decision
The BBC says that De La Rue has abandoned its plan to appeal against the Government’s decision to award a contract to make the UK’s new passports to the Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto. The firm had originally described the decision as ‘shocking’ but said that it had ‘submitted the highest quality and technically most secure bid’.

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Today’s Political Headlines include the Cabinet’s decision on Syria, Jeremy Hunt breaking money laundering rules, apologising to ex-colonies and UK Aid. 

Cabinet agrees military action in Syria is needed
The BBC reports that the Cabinet has agreed ‘on the need to take action’ in Syria in order to prevent the further use of chemical weapons. No details of any UK military involvement in Syria had been given by the Government, and MPs from both the Conservative Party and opposition parties have called for a vote in Parliament before any action is taken.

Jeremy Hunt admits breaking money laundering rules
In an exclusive, The Daily Telegraph reports that Jeremy Hunt has admitted breaching the Government’s anti-money laundering legislation when he set up a company to buy seven luxury flats, as he didn’t declare his 50% interest in the firm. The Cabinet Office found that he did not breach the Ministerial Code of Conduct, but he could still be investigated by a House of Commons committee.

Emily Thornberry says UK should apologise to ex-colonies
According to The Times, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry has called on the Government to use the upcoming meeting of the Commonwealth to apologise for Britain’s past mistakes, including over the Chagos Islanders and apartheid. The paper adds that Shadow International Development Secretary Kate Osamor has said that Prince Charles is not suitable to succeed the Queen as Head of the Commonwealth.

Penny Mordaunt describes UK Aid as shield
The Guardian says that International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt described UK Aid as a ‘shield’ against pandemics, poverty, organised crime and terrorism in a speech yesterday. However, the paper adds that the speech was ‘short on detail, but long on colour and allusion’ and a planned question and answer session was cancelled.

OPCW confirms nerve agent analysis
The BBC says that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has confirmed the UK’s analysis of the type of nerve agent used in the Salisbury poisoning. Russia has called the allegations an ‘anti-Russian campaign’ but Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said there was ‘no alternative explanation’ and ‘only Russia has the means, motive and record’.

Arlene Foster gives evidence to RHI inquiry
As The Guardian reports, giving evidence to the inquiry into the renewable heat incentive, Arlene Foster said that she deeply regretted its spiralling costs. However, she also claimed that Sinn Fein’s protests over the scheme had been a pretext to bring down the executive.

Councils run down financial reserves as funding is cut and costs increase
The Financial Times reports that almost half of councils in England have run down their financial reserves over the last two years, as they struggle with cuts in funding from central government and increases in social care costs. The councils whose reserves have increased are largely small district councils which do not handle social care.

Norman Lamb suffers stroke due to long working days
The Sun says that the Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb suffered a stroke a fortnight ago, which he has attributed to long hours and a lack of sleep. He now plans to make changes and ‘work smarter’, saying that he was lucky not have received any lasting damage.

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Today’s Political Headlines include the Syrian chemical attack, Labour’s Barry Gardiner, British Gas price rise and Davis’ internal victory.  

UK and allies agree that international community must respond to Syrian chemical attack
The BBC reports that Theresa May has agreed with her counterparts in the US and France that the international community must respond to an alleged chemical attack in Syria, and that those responsible must be ‘held to account’. A report in The Times suggests that Theresa May has rejected a swift retaliation, telling the US that the UK needed more evidence. The paper adds that Julian Lewis, Chair of the Commons Defence Committee, has said that the UK should not take action without the approval of the House of Commons.

Barry Gardiner ‘fully supports’ Labour policy on Brexit, despite calling it ‘bollocks’
Labour has claimed that its Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner ‘fully supports’ the party’s policy on Brexit, The Guardian reports, despite it having emerged that he described one of Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer’s six tests for judging the final deal as ‘bollocks’.

Energy Minister criticises British Gas price rise
The Daily Mail reports that Energy Minister Claire Perry ‘savaged’ British Gas last night, telling customers to switch providers, after the firm announced a 5.5% rise in the cost of gas and electricity which she said was ‘unjustified’. Separately, The Sun says that Environment Secretary Michael Gove has been asked for stronger powers by Ofwat in order ‘to get the water sector back in balance’.

Davis wins internal battle over Brexit negotiations
The Times says that David Davis has won an internal battle with Oliver Robbins, Theresa May’s chief Brexit negotiator, over how much the UK could realistically agree with Brussels before October. Robbins was pushing for ‘a broad, high-level document’ agreeing the principles for the future EU-UK relationship, similar to the approach put forward by the European Commission, while Davis argued that it was possible to ‘get pretty substantively close to a free trade agreement by October’. The paper adds that a study of 23 sectors by the CBI has found that 18 ‘favoured complete alignment with European rules and regulations’ after Brexit. The Daily Telegraph says that EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has demanded the UK signs a ‘non-regression clause’, pledging not to undercut standards.

Bill Clinton praises Good Friday Agreement, as Blair warns of Brexit challenge
Former US President Bill Clinton has called the Good Friday Agreement a ‘work of genius’ at a conference to mark its 20th anniversary, the BBC reports. The Guardian adds that Tony Blair has said that the UK and Ireland would have to ‘overcome the challenge’ posed by Brexit, and urged Northern Irish leaders ‘not to cast aside’ the gains from the agreement.

Rudd to announce £9m fund to tackle dark web
According to The Sun, Amber Rudd is to announce a £9m fund to ensure that every UK police force has a dedicated cyber crime unit, to tackle the ‘sickening shopping list of services and products’ available on the dark web. She will also ask tech and social media firms to do more to help authorities to capture criminals.

New centrist party claims to have links to Tony Blair and son
The Guardian claims that the new centrist party being funded by Simon Franks has told potential recruits that it has links to Tony Blair and his son Euan. One person was told that Euan Blair sat on the board and that Tony Blair had recommended potential donors. Euan Blair has not commented, while Tony Blair denied having direct involvement.

Israeli Labor Party cuts ties with UK Labour Party
The BBC reports that Israel’s Labor Party has suspended relations with the UK’s Labour Party over claims that Jeremy Corbyn has allowed ‘anti-Semitic statements and actions’ and exhibited ‘very public hatred of the policies of the government of the state of Israel’.

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Today’s Political Headlines include Russia accusing UK of creating a fake story, Lammy’s criticism of the Government, Labour’s warning over benefit changes and the sugar tax. 

Russia accuses UK of creating a ‘fake story’
The BBC says that Russia has accused the UK of inventing a ‘fake story’ and ‘playing with fire’ over the Salisbury poisoning at a UN Security Council meeting. Former foreign secretary Sir Malcom Rifkind has accused Russia of an ‘attempt to obfuscate’. The Times reports that British intelligence has identified the source of the nerve agent as Russia’s Shikhany facility, in a briefing used to persuade allies that Russia was the source.

Lammy criticises Government over London murders
The Guardian reports that Labour MP David Lammy has accused the Prime Minister and Home Secretary of abdicating responsibility over a ‘culture of violence that’s now becoming endemic’. The Daily Telegraph says that Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police Chief Commissioner, has vowed to use Al Capone tactics to target violent gang members, while The Times claims that use of stop-and-search has fallen, despite Dick endorsing the tactic.

Labour warns that benefit changes may lead to vulnerable people struggling to pay mortgages
The BBC carries details of a warning by Labour that benefit changes may lead to vulnerable people struggling to pay their mortgage. Around 90,000 people on some benefits claim support for mortgage interest, but this is being replaced by Government loans from today.

Sugar tax on soft drinks comes into force
As the BBC reports, the sugar tax on soft drinks has come into force in the UK. Treasury estimates suggest that 50% of manufacturers have reduced sugar content ahead of the change, but some experts warned that consumer’s response to the levy was uncertain. Public health Minister Steve Brine described the levy as ‘a ground-breaking policy’.

Peers write to police to report antisemitic abuse
The Guardian says that a cross-party group of peers, including Lord Sugar, have written to the Metropolitan Police, reporting antisemitic abuse on pages backing Jeremy Corbyn. The Times adds that Joshua Garfield, a Jewish Momentum official in Newham, has quit his post after witnessing ‘more antisemitism in the past week’ than in eight years as a party member.

Justice Secretary on the side of homeowners who defend their property
According to The Daily Telegraph, Justice Secretary David Gauke has said that he is on the side of homeowners who defend their property, following the arrest of a pensioner on suspicion of murdering a man following a burglary. Former justice minister Mike Penning said that the decision appeared ‘heavy-handed’.

Momentum founder outlines plans to make it easier to oust MPs
The Daily Mirror has obtained a recording of Momentum founder Jon Lansman, in which he outlines a plan to make it easier for Corbyn supporters to force out MPs who oppose the Labour leadership, and to curb the power of the unions. The Times reports that the party’s new General Secretary Jennie Formby has placed two senior staff members, the head of the compliance unit and the secretary of the parliamentary party, on gardening leave.

Thirty organisations under investigation by ICO
The Daily Mail reports that thirty organisations, including Facebook, are being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office as part of its probe into the use of personal data and analytics for political purposes. Other organisations include Cambridge Analytica and Aggregate IQ.

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Today’s Political Headlines include the Commons committee calling on the Government not to rule out EEA membership, the ‘burning injustice’ of the gender pay gap, May battling to preserve alliance against Russia and Corbyn defending his decision to attend the Jewdas event. 

Commons committee calls on Government not to rule out EEA membership
The Commons Exiting the European Union Committee has published a report calling on the Government not to rule out continued membership of the European Economic Area, the BBC says. The report outlines 15 tests for the Government to meet, based on pledges made by Theresa May and David Davis. The conclusions have caused a split on the committee, with Conservative Brexiteers led by Jacob Rees-Mogg voting against the report.

Prime Minister describes gender pay gap as a ‘burning injustice’
The Prime Minister has warned that the country’s gender pay cap is a ‘burning injustice’ which must be tackled, in an article for The Daily Telegraph. Today is the deadline for larger firms to publish the average pay gap between male and female employees. So far, 8,330 of the 9,000 businesses and public sector bodies required to publish their pay gap have done so, with an average median hourly gap of 18%.

May battling to preserve alliance against Russia
The Times claims that Theresa May is battling to preserve the alliance against Russia, after Gary Aitkenhead, head of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, said that he had not identified the ‘precise source’ of the nerve agent used in the Salisbury attack. Downing Street said that the Prime Minister had drawn on a ‘comprehensive intelligence assessment’ before she blamed Russia.

Corbyn defends decision to attend Jewdas event
According to the BBC, Jeremy Corbyn has defended his decision to attend a dinner organised by the left-wing Jewish group Jewdas, despite criticism from mainstream Jewish leaders. A spokesman said that Corbyn had attended the event in a personal capacity, and not on behalf of the party. The Times adds that Corbyn has accepted an invitation to meet the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish leadership Council.

Dan Jarvis can stay as MP if he is elected as mayor, Labour decides
The Financial Times says that Labour’s National Executive Committee has decided that Dan Jarvis can remain as an MP, even if he is elected as mayor of the Sheffield City Region next month. The NEC has granted him an exemption from a resolution passed last month which would have prevented party members from holding two elected positions.

Passport firm in Estonian security scandal over ID cards
The Daily Telegraph reports that Gemalto, the Franco-Dutch firm set to produce the new UK passports, is currently caught-up in a national security row in Estonia after hundreds of thousands of identification cards that it produced were found to be vulnerable to hackers.

UKIP saved from bankruptcy
According to The Guardian, UKIP has been saved from bankruptcy after it raised £175,000 to settle a bill for costs resulting from a libel action brought by three Labour MPs and an additional £350,000. To avoid the cost of another leadership election, the party is also planning on keeping interim leader Gerard Batten in place for the next year.

Increase in childcare costs outstrips wage growth
The Daily Mirror reports that analysis by the Labour Party has found that the cost of childcare has grown by up to 47% since 2010, but wages only grew by 17% over the same period. Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner said this showed that the Government was ‘failing to deliver affordable, sustainable childcare for families across the country’.

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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.

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Today’s Political Headlines include potential criminal offences in Vote Leave, hundreds protesting antisemitism in Labour, universities as ‘safe spaces’ criticised and Stella Creasy attacking high cost credit cards. 

Vote Leave members may have committed criminal offences, lawyers say
The Guardian reports that lawyers advising the whistleblowers who worked for Vote Leave have said that members of the campaign may have committed criminal offences relating to overspending and collusion. The allegations will be debated in the Commons today, in an emergency debate secured by the Liberal Democrats. Yesterday, Theresa May defended her political secretary Stephen Parkinson, who faced criticism for outing a whistleblower as gay.

Hundreds protest about antisemitism in Labour
The Times says that John Mann, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Antisemitism has warned Jeremy Corbyn that behaviour in some parts of the party is ‘rotten to the core’. Hundreds protested in Parliament Square about antisemitism in the Labour Party yesterday evening, and Corbyn said he was a ‘militant opponent’ of antisemitism.

‘Safe spaces’ criticised by parliamentary report
According to The Times, a new report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights tells universities they cannot be ‘safe spaces’ and must allow unpopular and controversial voices to be heard. The committee, chaired by Harriet Harmon, described the concept of ‘safe spaces’ as ‘too broad or very vague’ and warned that they impinged free speech.

Stella Creasy attacks high cost credit cards
The Guardian reports that the Labour MP Stella Creasy, who it credits with forcing the Treasury to cap interest rates and fees from payday loan providers, is calling for similar action on high-cost credit cards in order to protect vulnerable consumers. She is backing an amendment to the Finance Bill today, which could lead to a limit if successful.

Simon Stevens says £4bn cash boost would bring back post war NHS
The Daily Telegraph reports that Sir Simon Stevens, the head of NHS England, has said that if Theresa May gave the NHS a £4bn cash boost to mark its seventieth birthday, it could return to being the ‘kind of health service we had for the post war period’. Also speaking to the Public Accounts Committee, Sir Andrew Dilnott, who conducted a review into social care, warned that the absence of a cap left pensioners ‘terrified’ about care costs.

New corporate governance code won’t cover executive pay
The Financial Times reports that James Wates, the businessman drawing up the Government’s corporate governance code for private companies, has said that the code will not cover executive pay, but ‘may not be a million miles away’ from that for listed firms.

Williamson condemns Russian use of Internet to spread propaganda
Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, has spoken to The Times about Russia’s use of troll and robotic accounts online to spread propaganda, branding them the ‘Lord Haw-Haws of the modern era’ and saying that they must be confronted. As the BBC reports, the USA and over 20 other countries have followed the UK’s lead by expelling Russian diplomats.

UK threatens to cripple EU satellite programme
In an exclusive, The Sun claims that the UK will cripple the global coverage of the EU’s Galileo satellite programme if it is excluded from it. The UK is to threaten to turn off key infrastructure for the programme on the Falklands, Ascension Island and Diego Garcia.

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Today’s Political Headlines include Jeremy Hunt’s call for increased NHS funding, May under pressure over Cambridge Analytica, Corbyn’s antisemitism apology and the UK ‘fighting’ to stay in the EU’s satellite programme. 

Jeremy Hunt in call for ten-year deal to fix ‘crazy’ health budget
The Times reports that Jeremy Hunt called health funding ‘crazy’, launched a ‘political offensive’ for a ten-year NHS spending deal and backed moves for a ring-fenced tax on Peston on Sunday. The paper describes this as a ‘direct challenge’ to Philip Hammond. The news comes as 98 MPs, including the chair of the Health Select Committee Sarah Wollaston and 20 other committee chairs, backed a call for a commission on increasing NHS funding.

May under pressure over Cambridge Analytica scandal
The Guardian claims that pressure is growing on the Prime Minister to investigate what members of her cabinet and staff knew about allegations regarding Vote Leave and Cambridge Analyticia. Pro-EU campaign group Best for Britain has written to Theresa May with a series of questions. The Times adds that the fate of May’s political secretary, Stephen Parkinson, will be decided today after it was claimed that he helped the campaign to cheat spending limits and outed a whistleblower as gay.

Corbyn apologises for ‘pockets of antisemitism’
Jeremy Corbyn has apologised for ‘pockets of antisemitism’ in the Labour party, The Guardian says. His apology follows an open letter from the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council accusing him of ‘siding with antisemites’. A protest is planned to be held outside Parliament later today.

May fights to stay in EU’s satellite programme
The Financial Times reports that Theresa May is trying to prevent the EU from leaving the UK out of the €10bn Galileo satellite project. The next round of contracts is expected to be awarded in June, but British companies will be excluded in order to protect the security elements of the programme. A senior official described the EU’s approach as ‘outrageous’.

Labour plans to amend Brexit bill to give Parliament more say
According to The Guardian, Keir Starmer will use a speech in Birmingham today to announce that Labour is to table amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill which would prevent the UK from leaving the EU without a deal if Parliament rejects the outcome of the Brexit talks. Instead, MPs could pass a motion setting out the next steps, including resuming negotiations.

‘Damning report’ on Government childcare schemes
The Financial Times says that, in a ‘damning report’ published yesterday, the Commons Treasury Select Committee pressed the Government to reform childcare rules in order to boost productivity and to increase the take-up of tax-free schemes. The report also criticised problems with the Government’s tax-free childcare website.

Trump to expel Russian diplomats following spy poisoning
The Daily Telegraph reports that Donald Trump is set to expel more than 20 Russian diplomats from the USA, following the poisoning in Salisbury in a move that the paper describes as ‘a significant boost for Theresa May’. Up to 20 European nations may also follow the UK’s lead and expel Russian diplomats.

Councils spend £43m in compensation for injuries caused by damaged roads
The Times says that councils have spent over £43m over five years in settling legal claims brought by people injured on the country’s deteriorating roads. The figures were obtained by the charity Cycling UK, which warns that cyclists are being put at serious risk ‘due to years of persistent underinvestment in our rotting local road networks’. The Government has announced a further £100m will be given to local authorities for maintenance.

The Political headlines were curated by the Vuelio political services team.