Archive for: Political Services

A round-up of the latest political headlines, including the UK’s talks to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Chris Grayling defending his Qatar trip and only minor changes to Theresa May’s Cabinet.  

UK takes part in talks to join a trans-Pacific trade group
As reported today in the Guardian, the Department for International Trade is believed to be taking part in talks on the UK’s potential membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership after its departure from the European Union. The partnership currently consists of 11 members, including Australia, Mexico, Singapore and Canada. It lost its largest member, the US, last year.

Chris Grayling defends himself following criticism over his trip to Qatar
Chris Grayling has reportedly defended his trade mission in Qatar, telling The Times that he was negotiating two big contracts for British companies, including the construction of a new airport. Grayling became the focus of criticism as his trip to Qatar coincided with the biggest rail fare rise in five years.

Theresa May plans few Cabinet changes in minister re-shuffle
The Sun has reported that despite planning big changes to junior ministers, Theresa May plans to make only minor changes to the Cabinet. These plans come as a result of pressure to introduce new talent into the Government following the disappointing election result and the poor performance at the party conference. The Sun reports that several 2015 Conservative MPs could be offered promotions.

The US threatens to stop aid to Palestine over Jerusalem row
The BBC has published a story following Donald Trump’s comments on Twitter that the US may put a stop to aid payments to the Palestinian Authority until it is willing to recommence peace talks. The President’s comments came following US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley’s statement that the US would cut funding to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees unless the Palestinian Authority resumed negotiations.

Non-urgent NHS operations to be delayed
The BBC has reported on the planned delays to non-urgent operations and procedures. Due to a ‘winter crisis’, hospitals have been ordered to postpone delay routine outpatient appointments in order to concentrate on emergency care.

DfE’s defence of Toby Young’s suitability for watchdog job put into question
New questions have been asked over whether Toby Young should be allowed to sit on the board of the Office for Students, the Guardian reported. It recently emerged that the Government had exaggerated Young’s qualifications, casting doubts on Young’s suitability to sit on the board of the universities regulator.

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, including the former police officers criticised over Damian Green leaks, Boris Johnson delivering a warning to Russia, Passports returning to the colour blue and Diane Abbott’s turned down requests to visit Yarl’s Wood.  

Former police officers criticised over Damian Green leaks
The Times reports that Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, has joined forces with Tory MPs to condemn the actions of former police officers Bob Quick and Neil Lewis in leaking details of the pornography found when Damian Green’s office was raided nine years ago. The leaks are now the subject of a criminal inquiry. The paper also says that Lewis has liked anti-Tory posts on Facebook.

Boris Johnson to deliver warning to Russia
According to the Guardian, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is to deliver a warning to Russia that the UK will retaliate if Russia continues to use cyber-attacks. He is the first Foreign Secretary to visit Russia for five years. The paper adds that ‘neither side expects any major breakthrough’.

Passports to turn blue post-Brexit
In an exclusive, The Sun broke the news that from October 2019 the Government is to produce passports in what it calls ‘the dark blue colour that was once famous across the globe.’ People will have the option of requesting that their existing burgundy passport is replaced by a blue one.

Diane Abbott request explanation over being denied access to Yarl’s Wood
Diane Abbott has written to the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, after more than a dozen requests to visit Yarl’s Wood immigration detention centre were turned down, the Guardian reports. In a statement, she said ‘It is of critical importance that we are able to scrutinise the conditions in which people are held, especially given the allegations of appalling treatment, abuse, and a lack of legal advice and medical support in this centre.’

Brexit sector reports released amidst criticism
The Guardian says that the Brexit sector reports, published in redacted form yesterday, have been ‘criticised for containing little more than padding, repetition and plagiarism’. Lord Jay, former Foreign Office head and acting chair of the Lords Brexit Committee described the reports as containing ‘little overarching analysis’ and being ‘inconsistent in approach and in the use of statistics’.

Mark Garnier cleared of wrongdoing
International trade minister Mark Garnier has been cleared of wrongdoing, as The Times reports. He had been accused of calling his secretary ‘sugar tits’ and asking her to buy him sex toys, but an inquiry by the Cabinet Office concluded that ‘that there was no evidence to suggest that Mr Garnier’s conduct as a minister since 2016 had breached the expected standards of behaviour’, Number 10 said.

EU preparing Canada-style deal for the UK
The Financial Times claims that the EU is preparing to present the UK with a Canada-style deal in early summer unless the UK is able to clarify its demands. As the paper reports, this would fall short of what Britain hopes for, as it will give only limited access for services.

Puppy farmers to be cracked down on
According to the Daily Mail, Theresa May has promised to ‘eradicate animal cruelty from our society’ by cracking down on puppy farmers. Proposals include forcing breeders to show puppies alongside their mother before selling them, ensuring sales are completed in the new owners’ presence, banning licensed breeders from selling puppies they haven’t bred, and regulation of adverts.

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, including no special deal for the City, May’s third Brexit speech, Paradise Papers legal action and racial bias in the justice system.  

No special deal for the City
Featuring on the front page of the Guardian this morning is EU negotiator Michel Barnier’s ruling out of a special arrangement that would protect City firms. Barnier has warned that upon leaving the Single Market, the UK’s financial services sector will lose the right to trade freely.

Theresa May is preparing her third major Brexit speech
Theresa May has started preparing for her third major Brexit speech that will outline the UK’s future relationship with the EU. According to The Financial Times, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson all back regulatory divergence from the EU as part of an ambitious trade deal.

Paradise Papers legal action condemned
Key media partners in the Paradise Papers investigation have spoken out against legal action that would force the BBC and the Guardian to disclose documents used by reporters. The Guardian has reported that the editor-in-chief of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung and the director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists have reacted to Appleby’s launch of breach-of-confidence proceedings against the BBC and the Guardian.

Government steps up to call to address racial bias in the justice system
Secretary of State for Justice David Lidington has today announced measures to implement recommendations made in David Lammy MP’s Government commissioned review of race disparity. The Guardian has reported that a pilot programme being considered by the Government could mean that prosecutions of suspects in London could be deferred or dropped.

Department for Transport has the widest gender pay gap in Government
The BBC has reported that the Department for Transport has the widest gender pay gap of any government department, with women earning on average 16.9% less than their male counterparts. According to new government figures, the Department for Culture, Media, Digital and Sport has the narrowest gender pay gap, with men earning 3% more than women.

Ministry of Defence confirms £3.1bn aircraft carrier leaks
Both the Guardian and The Financial Times have reported confirmation from the Ministry of Defence that the £3.1bn HMS Queen Elizabeth is leaking. After less than a month in service, the most expensive warship to ever be commissioned by the Royal Navy has a problem with a shaft seal.

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, including the ‘Brexit Cabinet’, divisions in Labour, cold war relations and May being urged to remain as PM. 

May to hold a Brexit Cabinet meeting
Reuters reports that Theresa May will hold a meeting with her ‘Brexit Cabinet’, to discuss what the relationship between the UK and the EU should look like going forward. This could cause conflict as different members of May’s cabinet have very different ideas of the relationship that should be pursued.

Labour divided over second referendum policy
Diane Abbott insisted a second EU referendum is not the policy of the Labour Party. The Guardian reports on this in the interview Abbott conducted on the Andrew Marr Show. The same article also looks at remarks Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Tom Watson made on Pienaar’s Politics where he said backing for a second referendum could not be ruled out.

A return to Cold War relations
The Independent reports on remarks made by Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, who said relations between Russia and the West have not been so bad since the Cold War. He went on to accuse Russia of undermining democratic elections. These remarks come ahead of Johnson’s visit to Russia where he will hold talks with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Johnson said collaboration is needed with Russia.

May urged to stay on as PM
The Times has reported that Theresa May is being urged by cabinet ministers and senior backbenchers to stay on as leader of the Conservative Party until 2021 to avoid conflicts within the party during a time of essential trade talks with the EU. This contrasts with suggestions that the Prime Minister would struggle to remain in the job beyond Christmas after losing a Commons vote last week.

Damian Green to learn inquiry outcome
Damian Green will likely learn the outcome of the inquiry into allegations against him regarding misconduct in the next couple of days. The Telegraph suggests the outcome will focus on Green’s denial that pornography was found on his work computer. It has been suggested that Green will likely be cleared as the incidents under investigation took place when he was not a minister.

Cable accuses Corbyn of deceit
The Daily Express reports that Vince Cable has accused Jeremy Corbyn of deceiving young people over his true feelings regarding Brexit. Cable also went on to say that there is no chance of him aligning in a coalition with Corbyn in the future. Cable’s remarks come after Nigel Farage claimed Corbyn hid his true Brexit beliefs due to pressure from his party.

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, including Theresa May at the European Council summit, Government to drop the Brexit date amendment, the threat of Russian cyber attacks and the Scottish government increasing income tax. 

May lobbies for swift transition agreement at European Council summit
As the Guardian reports, Theresa May lobbied for a swift agreement on a transition period at the European Council summit last night. Leaders are due to agree today that sufficient progress has been made in the first part of the talks, while Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister said that talks about the new trading relationship would have to wait for another three months.

Government to drop Brexit date amendment
The Times claims that the Government is to drop its amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill setting the date of the UK’s departure from the European Union, as it aims to avoid a second defeat in the House of Commons. Dominic Grieve, who has received death threats for his role in this week’s backbench Tory rebellion, has said that he believes more MPs are prepared to oppose this amendment. The paper also says that May is planning to create more Conservative peers ‘within weeks’, improving the Government’s position in the Lords.

Russian attack could disrupt the UK’s internet access
The Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach has said that Russia’s navy has the ability to disrupt the UK’s internet access, The Daily Telegraph says. He has called for naval forces to be strengthened to combat the threat. Peach’s intervention comes amid an effort by the Ministry of Defence to secure more funding from the Treasury.

Scottish government increases income tax
The Guardian reports on the decision by Derek Mackay, Scottish finance secretary, to make use of the Scottish Government’s recently-strengthened tax powers. He will increase the higher and top rates of tax, whilst introducing a new starter rate for low earners, freezing the basic rate, and introducing a new intermediate rate. This will fund pay increases for public sector workers, and £400m extra for the NHS.

Northern transport needs £60bn over 30 years
Transport for the North has announced that it will unveil its 30-year plan in January, according to the Financial Times. The body’s chair has said that for its plans to succeed, Government transport spending in the region would have to increase by a third, whilst fixing the transport system will cost at least £60bn over 30 years.

Government targets for gender and ethnic diversity in quangos
A report in the Guardian says that the Government is to set targets for the proportion of women and people from ethnic minority groups across all public appointments. Within five years, half should be women, and 14% from ethnic minorities. The paper also reports that the only female Downing Street communications director since 2010 was paid £15,000 less than the three men who held the position in that time.

442 civil servants paid more than the Prime Minister
The Sun reports that 442 civil servants are paid more than the Prime Minister. The Network Rail chief Mark Carne topped the list, earning £750,000. 50 of those on the list work for HS2, which The Times says is to be accused of covering-up unauthorised redundancy payments, in a Commons Public Accounts Committee report today.

‘Youthquake’ is the word of the year
The Daily Telegraph reports that Oxford Dictionaries has picked ‘youthquake’ as the word of the year, in reference to Jeremy Corbyn’s youthful supporters in the general election. The word apparently saw a 400% increase in usage between 2016 and 2017.

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, including disagreements in both parties on Brexit, new reforms announced by Michael Gove and Labour MP Clive Lewis cleared of sexual harassment allegations. 

Social media firms should be prosecuted over abuse, May told
The Times reports that the Committee on Standards in Public Life is to advise the Prime Minister that social media companies should face fines or prosecution if they fail to remove racist, extremist or child sex abuse content. The committee is to recommend laws to shift liability for illegal content to social media firms, making them publishers, not platforms.

Corbyn refuses to agree more detailed Brexit plans
The Guardian says that Jeremy Corbyn is resisting pressure to add more detail to Labour’s Brexit plans, as the shadow cabinet meets today. Whilst some members have signalled a shift towards a closer future relationship with the EU, Corbyn’s team reportedly believe that a more specific position could alienate key groups of voters.

Brexit: May unites party for now
The Financial Times claims that May managed to unite her party yesterday in support of her deal with the EU, aided by the Government making a concession on the ‘Henry VIII powers’ which would have reduced the amount of parliamentary scrutiny of the implementation of Brexit. However, the paper says that this unity could be short-lived, and warns of splits over the details of a future UK/EU trade deal.

Gove: new rules on animal sentience & spend aid cash on plastic pollution
Michael Gove is the focus of two stories in today’s Times. He is pressing for more of the UK’s overseas aid budget to be spend on reducing plastic pollution of the oceans, after a new report found that 90% of the waste came from ten Asian and African rivers. Separately, new animal cruelty legislation to be unveiled today by Gove will ‘bind the government to consider “the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings”’.

Hammond sides with EU to demand Trump drops tax reforms
Philip Hammond has sided with four other European finance ministers to warn Donald Trump that his proposed tax reforms could prompt a trade war, The Daily Telegraph reports. The ministers have joined together to warn that the proposed changes might contravene World Trade Organisation rules, whilst the paper reports that the Government is increasingly worried by signs of protectionism in the US.

NHS ‘bloody stupid’ to expect £4bn cash injection, says former NHS Improvement chief
Jim Mackey, the former head of NHS Improvement, has said that NHS bosses were ‘bloody stupid’ to expect a £4bn cash injection in the budget, The Guardian says. He warned that statements made by NHS bosses will have alienated ministers, and that the amount given by the Government was ‘not enough’.

Tom Watson: ‘embrace an android’
Labour’s Deputy Leader, Tom Watson, is to mark the final report of the Future of Work Commission today by giving a speech in which he will call on people to ‘embrace an android’, according to The Mirror. The report will conclude that ‘mass technological employment is highly unlikely.’

Clive Lewis cleared by Labour investigation
The Guardian reports that Labour MP Clive Lewis has been cleared of allegations of sexual harassment, following a party investigation. He had been accused of grabbing a female party member’s bottom at the party’s conference, but an internal investigation has dismissed the claim. Lewis said that he was ‘pleased’ to have been cleared.

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, including the Ireland’s Brexit warning, Labour’s Brexit stance, chemical and pharma companies desiring EU rules and ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. 

Ireland in Brexit deal warning
The Times warns that Theresa May’s Brexit deal is in danger of ‘unravelling’, after Ireland and the EU questioned the Government’s commitment to it. This followed the appearance of David Davis on television yesterday, describing the deal as a non-legally enforceable ‘statement of intent’ and insisting that the divorce bill would only be paid if a trade deal was secured. The paper reported that a Government source ‘appeared to contradict’ these claims.

Labour in favour of a ‘Norway style agreement’ with EU
The Guardian reports that Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer has set out his party’s vision for Brexit. Appearing on The Andrew Marr Show, Starmer said that Labour was prepared to consider ongoing payments to the EU, accept the ‘easy movement’ of workers, wanted continued alignment of regulations and standards, and was seeking a ‘Norway style agreement for the 21st century.’

Chemical and pharmaceutical industries want to retain EU rules
According to the Financial Times, the chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries have written to Michael Gove urging the Government to let them remain within EU rules. A Government spokesperson said that it was working ‘to ensure a smooth transition for the chemical industry’.

‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British mother being held prisoner in Iran, has expressed hope after a trial scheduled for Sunday was postponed, after Boris Johnson met the country’s President, as The Daily Telegraph reports.

Labour considers moving Bank of England to Birmingham
Consultants commissioned by John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor, have recommended moving some functions of the Bank of England to Birmingham, the Financial Times says. The report says that co-locating these functions with Labour’s planned National Investment Bank and Strategic Investment Board would ‘create a new ‘economic policy’ hub.’

Calls for Government to ban pension cold-calls
The Work and Pensions Select Committee is to call on the Government to fast-forward legislation to halt the use of cold-calling by scammers targeting people’s pension pots, The Guardian reports. The committee is to publish its report on pensions freedoms today. The paper reports that almost £5m has been lost to fraudsters in the first five months of 2017, but a ban is unlikely to come into effect before 2020.

Ministers back straight civil partnerships
The Times says that the Government is to back a proposed change in the law to allow straight couples to enter civil partnerships. The paper reports that a private members’ bill by Tim Loughton has gained support from ministers, and that ‘it’s just a question of getting wording sorted out’.

AA calls for parking fines cap
In an exclusive, The Sun says that the AA is demanding a cap on the level of parking fines a council can issue each month, as well as more lenient treatment for first-time offenders. The organisation is launching a campaign ‘asking for Government intervention to restore fairness.’

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