Archive for: Blog Posts

Today’s political headlines include Robbins’ claims that MPs will be offered choice of deal or extension, EU to help May, Hancock tells doctors to use email and just six trade deals ready for Brexit. 

Robbins claims MPs will be offered choice of Brexit deal or long extension
In an exclusive, ITV News overheard the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins having a conversation in a hotel bar, in which he claimed that at the end of March, MPs would be given a choice of a reworked Brexit deal or a significant delay to Brexit, despite Theresa May having claimed that the latter is not an option.

EU to help May by ‘dragging out’ Brexit agreement
The Sun claims that the EU is prepared to help Theresa May by keeping Brexit negotiations going until March and offering a last minute compromise at a summit on March 21. It could propose six-monthly reviews of the backstop and turning the political declaration on the future relationship into a legal instrument or depositing it at the UN.

Hancock to tell doctors to use email, not post
The Times says that Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock will use a speech at a conference held by NHS England to tell the health service to stop sending letters, setting 2021 as a target for email to be the default means of communication. He will warn that ‘a letter lost in the post could be the difference between life and death’, but doctors and patient representatives have warned about confidentiality and digital exclusion.

Just six trade deals ready to rollover after Brexit
The Sun has obtained leaked documents which show that just six of the 40 free trade deals which the EU has with 70 other countries are ready to rollover in a no-deal Brexit. A minister told the paper that the Government is now hoping to obtain ‘letters of understanding’ with other countries

Shadow cabinet in antisemitism argument
The BBC says that Labour’s chair Ian Lavery and deputy leader Tom Watson fell out over antisemitism at a meeting of the shadow cabinet. Watson argued in favour of suspending the Liverpool Wavertree branch of the party for ‘bullying’ its MP Luciana Berger, but Lavery claimed that this would be ‘unhelpful’. A source described the argument as ‘shouty’.

May warns business leaders extending Article 50 won’t help
According to the Financial Times, Theresa May used a phone call with business leaders to tell them that there was no reason to extend the Article 50 negotiation period, claiming that it wouldn’t end uncertainty or bring Parliament closer to agreeing a Brexit deal. One participant warned her that a no-deal Brexit would be ‘a failure of duty’. The Guardian reports that the British Chambers of Commerce have produce twenty questions about trade after Brexit which they want the Government to answer.

Home Office criticised over deportations to Zimbabwe
The Guardian says that Labour, charities and asylum lawyers are criticising the Home Office after it started working with the Zimbabwean government to increase deportations of asylum seekers to the country despite human rights abuses. Two people are believed to be due to be deported ‘within days’.

Campaigners say immigration will rise under new policy
The Daily Telegraph carries details of a new report by the anti-migration campaign group Migration Watch, which claims that the Government’s new migration policy could lead to net migration increasing by over half, reaching 300,000. It believes that a fall in immigration from the EU will be cancelled out by an increase in skilled migrants coming to the UK.

Ready for more Brexit talks? Find out what they mean for you with Vuelio Political Services.

Today’s political headlines include May telling MPs to hold their nerve, Tories would get majority if a general election was held today, NSPCC calls for a new duty of care and Treasury Committee rejects Hammond’s claims. 

May to tell MPs to hold their nerve
The BBC says that Theresa May will today tell MPs that ‘we now all need to hold our nerve’ because the Brexit negotiations are at a ‘crucial stage’ and that ‘a deal that this House can support’ is still possible. The Daily Telegraph adds that May is expected to use her statement today to rule out membership of a customs union with the EU. The Sun claims that pro-EU ministers will today demand that May gives parliamentary time at the end of this month to debate a bill to extend the Article 50 talks unless progress had been made, because her promise of another vote on February 27 is not felt to be sufficient.

Tories would get majority if a general election was held today
The Times says that according to YouGov’s modelling which correctly predicted a hung parliament in 2017, the Conservatives would win a slim majority if a general election was held today, gaining four seats to give them a total of 321, while Labour would lose twelve, falling to 250/ The Liberal Democrats and the SNP would also gain four seats each.

NSPCC calls for new duty of care on social media firms
The Daily Telegraph reports that the NSPCC is to publish plans to introduce a statutory duty of care for social media firms overseen by a regulator able to issue unlimited fines if they fail to protect children from online harms. There would be a new criminal offence, based on corporate manslaughter laws, with executives held personally liable for any breaches.

Treasury Committee rejects Hammond’s ‘deal dividend’ claims
The Guardian carries details of a report by the Commons Treasury Committee which rejects Chancellor Philip Hammond’s claim of a dividend from Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal, saying that this suggestion lacks credibility. Data published yesterday showed that GDP grew by just 0.2% in the last three months of 2018, with a decline of 0.4% in December.

Journalism review suggests restrictions on BBC, Facebook and Google
The Daily Telegraph reports the findings of a review on safeguarding quality journalism by Dame Frances Cairncross, commissioned by Theresa May. She suggests restrictions on the BBC, Facebook and Google and the creation of an institute of public interest news, which would funnel finance into the news industry. Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Jeremy Wright will now examine the recommendations.

Rudd admits link between Universal Credit and foodbank use
The Daily Mirror says that Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd admitted yesterday that there was a link between the rollout of Universal Credit and increases in foodbank uses, although she claimed that the situation was improving. Her predecessor, Esther McVey, had suggested the rise was due to Labour not having let jobcentres refer people to foodbanks, while minister Alok Sharma had claimed there wasn’t a ‘single reason’ for the increase.

May to resign this summer
According to The Sun, Theresa May has dropped hints to Cabinet ministers including Liam Fox and Greg Clark that she plans to resign in the summer so that she can influence her party’s choice of successor, with a new leader being picked at the party’s conference in October. The paper suggests that this ‘will widely be seen as a plan to stop Boris Johnson.

Labour releases antisemitism statistics
The Guardian reports that Labour has released details of the scale of antisemitism allegations received by the party, which has investigated 673 complaints since last April and expelled 12 members. The statistics have been questioned by MPs such as Margaret Hodge who said that there had ‘been a breakdown in trust’. They plan to use a meeting next week to demand to know why 146 of those investigated were only given a ‘preliminary warning’.

Ready for more Brexit talks? Find out what they mean for you with Vuelio Political Services.

Today’s political headlines include May opening the door to Corbyn, William’s use of ‘hard power’, No-deal would mean two more years of austerity and Truss criticises Green’s use of NDAs. 

May opens door to Brexit talks with Corbyn
According to The Times, Theresa May has ‘opened the door’ to a soft Brexit by writing to Jeremy Corbyn suggesting talks on a post-Brexit customs union with the EU, despite the risk of Cabinet ministers resigning. The letter adds that her deal already offers the benefits of a custom union’, while a Number 10 source said it was ‘nonsense’ to suggest that Corbyn’s proposal was being considered. The Guardian, however, claims that the letter has ‘effectively ruled out’ Labour’s compromise proposal with the CBI warning that the UK is now ‘in the emergency zone of Brexit’.

Williamson to call for use of ‘hard power’
The BBC says that Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson will use a speech today to argue in favour of having armed forces prepared to use ‘hard power to support our interests’ with increased ‘mass and lethality’, rather than being a ‘paper tiger’. He will say that the UK must confront those who ‘flout international law’, confirm the deployment of a new aircraft carrier to the Pacific and outline a ‘very significant investment’ in cyber forces.

No-deal Brexit would mean two more years of austerity
The Financial Times reports that a new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies warns that the UK would have to undergo two more years of austerity in order to tackle the impact of a no-deal Brexit on the public finances. The Resolution Foundation has published analysis suggesting that Brexit has led to households’ disposable income being £1500 lower than it would have been otherwise.

Truss criticises Green’s use of NDAs
The Daily Telegraph reports that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss said that Sir Philip Green’s use of non-disclosure agreements to tackle allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and racism was ‘morally wrong’ and ‘flouting the law’, and is pledging to ‘get changes’ to how they are used. Maria Miller, who chairs the Commons Women and Equalities Committee told the paper that she wanted Green to give evidence to her committee.

Tory backbenchers seek to ban eating dog and cat meat
The Sun says that an amendment to the new Agriculture Bill tabled by 15 backbench Tories led by Giles Watling would ban the consumption of dogs and cats to ‘send a powerful moral message to Far East countries’. The paper adds that Labour could also support the plan.

Calls for Grayling to be sacked after ferry contract scrapped
The Times reports that Downing Street has said that it has full confidence in Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, despite calls for his dismissal from Conservative MPs including Anna Soubry. At the weekend the Government cancelled plans to give a £13.8m no-deal Brexit ferry contract to Seaborne Freight, a firm with no ferries.

Thinktank warns of cost of immigration plans
The Guardian carries details of a new report by the pro-immigration thinktank Global Future  which warns that the Government’s proposed post-Brexit immigration system will cost employers £1bn in administration costs over five years, put EU students off studying in the UK, and could risk a repeat of the Windrush scandal.

Ministers revolt against HS2 costs
The Daily Mail claims that there is ‘a growing Cabinet revolt’ which threatens to axe HS2 after the cost of the project grew from £33bn to over £60bn. A source told the paper that while the final decision point had not been reached, concerns about management of the scheme was ‘continuing to grow’ and ‘opposition is mounting’.

Ready for more Brexit talks? Find out what they mean for you with Vuelio Political Services.

Today’s political headlines include Brexiteers rejecting EU concessions, May to deliver speech in Northern Ireland, Clark criticised over Nissan offer and Labour MPs pass motion criticising party’s handling of antisemitism. 

Brexiteers reject EU concession
The Times says that Brexiteers have rejected an offer from the Secretary-General of the European Commission, Martin Selmayr, who offered to give Theresa May a legally binding assurance that the backstop would not result in a permanent customs union between the UK and the EU during a meeting he held with the Commons Exiting the EU Committee. Brexiteer members of the committee, including Andrea Jenkyns and John Whittingdale reportedly rejected the idea.

May to deliver speech in Northern Ireland
The BBC reports that Theresa May will give a speech in Northern Ireland today, telling business leaders that she wants a Brexit deal which ‘commands broad support’ and ‘honours commitments to Northern Ireland’. However, the DUP leader Arlene Foster has called for the ‘toxic backstop’ to be removed.

Clark criticised over Nissan offer
According to The Daily Telegraph, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Greg Clark is facing criticism after an October 2016 letter in which he promised Nissan £80m to build two new models in Sunderland was published. He had previously claimed that there was ‘no chequebook’ involved in the firm’s decision. He said yesterday that Nissan’s decision not to build the X-Trail in Sunderland after all was a ‘warning sign’ about a no-deal Brexit.

Labour MPs pass motion criticising party’s handling of antisemitism allegations
The Guardian says that Labour’s General Secretary Jennie Formby was criticised at a meeting of the party’s MPs, who suggested that she had been slow to tackle antisemitism in the party. They unanimously passed a motion warning that this failure ‘risks antisemitism in the party appearing normalised and the party seeming to be institutionally antisemitic’.

Trimble to challenge Brexit deal in court
The Daily Telegraph reveals that Lord Trimble is planning to challenge Theresa May’s Brexit deal because he believes that it undermines the Good Friday Agreement, setting up a crowdfunding page to fund the legal action, which he expects to launch either this week or next week.

Flint will vote for ‘reasonable’ Brexit deal
Writing in The Sun, Labour MP Caroline Flint says she will vote for any ‘reasonable’ Brexit deal the Government agrees, so long as it commits to workers’ rights and environmental protections, denying her vote had been ‘bought’ and refusing to ‘apologise for demanding a Rebuilding Britain fund’ to provide ‘a new deal for our small towns after Brexit.’

EU imports won’t be checked in a no-deal Brexit
The Financial Times reports that HMRC has announced that goods being shipped from the EU to the UK will not be checked at ports for a limited period after a no-deal Brexit in a bid to reduce gridlock. Importers will be able to make a full declaration about their imported goods until after the border has been crossed.

EU to blame for no-deal Brexit, Grayling says
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has claimed that if a no-deal Brexit happened, it would be the result of the EU’s being unwilling ‘to work with us to find common ground’ and that Article 50 would not be delayed. He also claimed that Nissan’s X-Trail decision ‘has much more to do with the diesel car market than Brexit’.

When it comes to political intelligence, don’t get left behind Vuelio Political Services.

Today’s political headlines include ministers considering withholding £60m from Nissan, Truss says women should be less ‘squeamish’ about money making, Government intervention called for over cost of cystic fibrosis drug and Government sets up group of MPs to find backstop alternative. 

Ministers considering withholding £60m package from Nissan
According to The Times, the Government is considering withdrawing a £60m support package from Nissan, after it reversed its promise to build the next generation of its X-Trail SUV in Sunderland, giving the Government less than 24-hours’ notice. Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark said that while ‘no jobs will be lost’, the development was a ‘blow to the sector and the region’.

Women should be less ‘squeamish’ about money making, Truss says
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss has told The Daily Telegraph that women should be less ‘squeamish’ about making money, claiming that female entrepreneurs often find a money-making focus ‘vulgar’ but that they should instead ‘celebrate’ profits. The Treasury is to release a report today showing that female start-up founders are missing out on investment.

Government intervention called for over cost of cystic fibrosis drug
In an exclusive, The Guardian says that campaigners are calling on the Government to intervene over the cost of the drug Orkambi which tackles the cost of cystic fibrosis. Negotiations between the NHS and the manufacturers have been in ‘stalemate’ since July. They’d like the Government to set aside the drug’s patent in the national interest.

Government sets up group of MPs to find backstop alternative
The BBC reports that the Government has established an Alternative Arrangements Working Group made up of leave and remain MPs to try and find a way of avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, after the ‘Malthouse Compromise’ plan gained what the Government called ‘significant support’. The group of MPs will have regular meetings with Stephen Barclay, the Brexit Secretary, and senior civil servants.

Johnson claims early election may be ‘scare tactic’
Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Boris Johnson claims that preparation for a snap election may be a ‘scare tactic’ designed to encourage Tory MPs to back Theresa May’s Brexit deal. He described the idea of an election this year as ‘lunacy’ because the ‘big questions’ about Brexit still haven’t been answered. Yesterday, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that voters ‘would never forgive us’ if an early election was called.

Centrist Labour MPs plot split
The Times claims at a group of centrist Labour MPs are discussing leaving the party to create their own centrist political group, although a member of the group told the paper that though a split would be inevitable, it would not happen soon as ‘we’re all looking to the next set of Commons Brexit votes at the moment’.

Hancock to meet Instagram boss
The Daily Telegraph reports that Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock is to meet the worldwide Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, on Thursday, to tell him to enforce the service’s ban on under-13s creating profiles, and to use Instagram’s experience in removing terrorist-related content to remove suicide and self-harm content.

NHS to use smart meters to track dementia patients
The Daily Mail says that the NHS is to use energy smart meters to track dementia patients at home, flagging up sudden changes of routine which might indicate that they need help and alerting relatives or carers. Privacy campaigners have raised concerns about the meters, but a trial is due to begin in Liverpool later this year.

Don’t leave your political intelligence to chance, get Vuelio Political Services.