Today’s Political Headlines – 29 January 2018

Today’s Political Headlines are dominated by Brexit – with a ‘coordinated attempt’ to discredit the Chancellor and civil servants; the potential transition deal delay; and the Lords committee’s criticism. 

Brexit: Brexiteers in ‘co-ordinated attempt’ to discredit Chancellor & civil servants
According to this morning’s Times, Brexiteers are on ‘a co-ordinated attempt to discredit Philip Hammond and senior officials’. Key cabinet members are to be shown government economic impact assessments for different Brexit options this week, the paper reports. The Daily Telegraph has obtained a WhatsApp message in which energy minister Claire Perry claims that the ‘sell out traitor mob’ who criticised the Brexit bill are the ‘swivel-eyed few’.

Brexit: Transition deal may be delayed over law vetting demand
The Financial Times warns that the UK could be on a ‘collision course’ with the EU over demands to vet new EU laws agreed during the transition period. According to the paper, senior officials on each side are worried that the disagreement could delay reaching a deal. Meanwhile, The Times says that EU negotiators expect the UK to request an extended transition period, but that this will be kept secret to avoid a rebellion by Eurosceptics.

Brexit: Lords committee criticises Withdrawal Bill
The House of Lords Constitution Committee has criticised the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill ahead of the start of debates this week, The Guardian reports. The committee says that ‘the bill risks fundamentally undermining legal certainty’, criticising the ‘overly broad’ powers and the failure to secure agreement from the devolved governments.

Social media firms called on to do more about grooming
The Times dedicates its front page to a call for social media firms to crack down on online grooming. According to the paper, the NSPCC is calling for the Home Office to put pressure on social media companies to use artificial intelligence to block predatory behaviour online. The charity says that the Government’s new voluntary code ‘does not go far enough’.

Pensions Regulator criticised for failure to act over Carillion
The House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee has criticised the Pensions Regulator for allowing Carillion to defer pension deficit contributions in September, according to The Guardian. Frank Field, who chairs the committee, said ‘It’s clear that Carillion has been trying to wriggle out of its obligations to its pensioners for the last 10 years.’

Tory peer and Church of England call for Government action over gambling adverts
A study commissioned by the Conservative peer Lord Chadlington has found that 65% of teenagers think that television channels carry too much advertising for gambling, the Daily Mail reports. He is calling for the Government to ban gambling advertising during sporting events. Alan Smith, the Bishop of St Albans, told The Daily Telegraph that advertising for gambling was ‘an increasing moral crisis for us as a society.’

Increased automation may deepen the UK’s economic divide
The Financial Times has details of a report by the Centre for Cities think-tank, which suggests ‘the rise of the robots’ will deepen the UK’s economic divide, with a third of jobs in some northern and midlands cities vulnerable to automation and globalisation. The centre’s chief executive, Andrew Carter, has called for more devolution.

Labour would buy 8,000 properties for the homeless
Appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn pledged to provide 8,000 homes ‘immediately’ to house people with a history of rough sleeping, should his party enter government. He described the scale of homelessness as ‘disgusting’ and ‘wholly unnecessary’.

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