Archive for: Political Database

A round-up of the latest political headlines, including the Brexit divorce bill, a new rail strategy, a 50-year citizen threatened with deportation and David Davis accused of contempt. 

Britain settles EU divorce bill
In an exclusive, The Daily Telegraph revealed that the UK has agreed to a financial settlement with the EU. Two sources told the paper that terms were agreed last week following back-channel discussions led by Oliver Robbins, the UK’s chief negotiator. The final figure will be between €45bn and €55bn, with a gross settlement (before deductions) of €100bn. This leaves just two major obstacles before the meeting of the European Council on December 14-15: the role of the European Court of Justice in governing citizens’ rights and the Irish border. May will deliver an offer covering all three areas on December 4.

Government unveils new rail strategy
The Times has spoken to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, who unveils his new rail strategy today. Headline measures include re-opening some lines closed in the 1960s Beeching cuts to unlock housing development, grow business or relieve overcrowding. Other reforms include breaking up large franchises, joining-up Network Rail and train operators to co-ordinate disruption and engineering work, setting a deadline for the introduction of smart card and contactless payments, and creating a new independent rail ombudsman.

Woman threatened with deportation, despite living in the UK for 50 years
The Guardian tells the story of 61-year-old Paulette Wilson, who was detained at Yarl’s Wood detention centre and then nearly deported, despite having lived in the UK since she was ten. The paper says that migrants’ rights charities are ‘increasingly’ coming across similar cases, where people have no documents proving their right to live in the UK because they moved before there was a legal need to apply for leave to remain.

Davis accused of contempt over Brexit impact papers
The Financial Times reports on Brexit Secretary David Davis’s decision not to hand over unredacted versions of the Government’s Brexit impact analyses to Parliament. Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary, Keir Starmer said ‘Whether he is in contempt of parliament is a matter we will come to at a later date but he is treating parliament with contempt. This is not a game.’ Commons Speaker John Bercow has told Davis to explain himself to MPs.

Damian Green to stand in at Prime Minister’s Questions
First Secretary of State Damian Green is to stand in at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions, The Daily Telegraph says. Theresa May is visiting the Middle East to champion women’s rights, but said that Damián Green, currently under investigation following allegations into his behaviour towards women, would do a ‘good job’.

Universal Credit hotline to close over Christmas
The Mirror reports on a letter to Theresa May written by Frank Field, chairman of the Commons Work and Pension Committee. He highlights the fact that the Universal Credit hotline will be open fully for just two out of ten days this Christmas, and told the paper that he was ‘fighting against hunger’.

MPs attack NHS over data loss
The Daily Mail has details of a report by the Public Accounts Committee on the NHS’s response to the loss of almost 900,000 medical documents by a private firm. 18 months after the scandal was revealed, the NHS still can’t say if any patients were harmed. Meg Hillier, the committee’s chair, said ‘we are far from confident health officials are on top of the issues.’

Tulip Siddiq makes ‘threatening’ remark to journalist
The Telegraph reports that Tulip Siddiq told a Channel 4 journalist to be ‘very careful’ and told a pregnant producer ‘Hope you have a great birth, because child labour is hard.’ The journalists were questioning her about human rights in Bangladesh, where her aunt is prime minister.

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, including the big Budget day stories, Brexit divorce agreement deadline and Kezia Dugdale on ‘I’m a Celebrity’. 

Budget: Last minute briefing as Downing Street takes control
This morning’s Daily Telegraph reports that 10 Downing Street took control of a last minute Budget briefing, as it is worried that the statement will ‘fall flat’. The paper quotes a Cabinet source who described it as ‘the worst Budget build-up in history’, as the Treasury first issued an ‘uninspiring’ statement and claimed that no policy announcements would be made, before performing a U-turn over two hours later. According to The Sun, May cannot sack Philip Hammond as Chancellor as ‘she fears she is too weak’.

Budget: More funding for schools and house-building measures
The Times reports that schools are to be paid £600 for each extra pupil they persuade to sits Maths A-level, with teachers in poorly-performing areas to benefit from £1,000 career development grants. The paper also expects measures to increase house-building, including direct state intervention (including a land-buying programme) and loosened borrowing restrictions for councils.

Budget: Veterans to get funding from LIBOR fines
In an exclusive, The Sun says that the Chancellor is to announce that veterans will benefit from £4.5m of fines from bankers as a result of the LIBOR scandal. £1.5m will be allocated to fund a new support programme by the charity Help For Heroes, whilst the Scar Free Foundation Centre for Conflict Wound Research will be given £2.95m. In total, over £30m in funding from the fines will be allocated today.

EU and UK aim to reach Brexit divorce deal within three weeks
The UK and the EU are aiming to reach a Brexit divorce deal within three weeks, according to the Financial Times. Negotiators have apparently pencilled in the week of December 4 as a breakthrough moment, with senior EU diplomats suggesting that there is ‘now a better than even chance of agreement’ on ‘sufficient progress’ at the EU summit in December.

Kezia Dugdale avoids ‘I’m a Celebrity’ suspension
Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has avoided being suspended by her party, according to an article in The Daily Telegraph. The party’s MSP group ruled that Dugdale would not be suspended despite taking ‘an unauthorised leave of absence’ to appear on the TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and would instead be interviewed on her return.

Hinkley Point power station deal to hit poorest hardest, report says
The Guardian carries details of a report by the Public Accounts Committee, which has found that the price the Government has promised to pay for power from the new Hinckley Point C power station will add £10-15 to the average household energy bill, hitting the poorest households the hardest.

Brexit rebels force Government climbdown
The Times reports on the progress of the EU Withdrawal Bill through Parliament yesterday. Conservative rebels, led by Dominic Grieve, forced the Government to announce that it would attempt to find a compromise on plans to remove the right of citizens to sue the Government, and on protecting citizens’ rights outlined in the EU’s charter of fundamental rights.

Conservative claims over police budget protection ‘a lie’ says Mirror
The Mirror claims that Theresa May’s boast that the Government had ‘protected’ police budgets is ‘a lie’. It reports research by the House of Commons showing a £413m cut in police force funding. Labour’s Shadow Policing Minister Louise Haigh said the cuts were ‘a threat to public safety’, whilst the Government did not deny the accuracy of the figures.

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A round-up of the latest political headlines from the UK’s media, including Priti Patel’s resignation, a Brexit ‘crisis’, the sexual harassment scandal and Corbyn’s call for sprinklers. 

Priti Patel resigns amid unauthorised meetings scandal
Yesterday evening Priti Patel resigned as International Development Secretary, having been summoned back to London by Theresa May following further revelations about her authorised meetings with Israeli officials. The BBC explains the scandal, whilst The Times says that friends of Patel believe that the story was leaked by the Foreign Office to kill off an attempt by her to change Government policy towards Israel. The Daily Telegraph reports that allies of Patel claim that she is ‘livid’ and ‘could do some pretty hard damage’ to the Government from the backbenches.

EU leaders fear Government instability could lead to Brexit crisis
The Times says that ‘fears are growing in Brussels’ that instability in the British Government could lead to a new Prime Minister or new elections, resulting in a Labour victory. Brussels is therefore planning for a disorderly ‘no deal’ exit or even for the UK to decide to stay in the EU. The Financial Times reports that the UK will offer more clarity on budget commitments if the EU simultaneously outlines a transition deal, but that the EU will only do this the UK makes ‘sufficient process’ on financial issues, quoting a diplomat who described this as a ‘chicken and egg’ dilemma.

Sexual harassment scandal: bar manager speaks out and Welsh First Minister criticised
Alice Bailey, a former bar manager at Parliament’s Sports & Social Bar spoke to The Sun about her experiences of harassment by MPs whilst working at the bar. When she asked bosses about reporting one incident, in which an MP followed her onto her bus home, she was told that she would not be believed. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reports calls for Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones to resign as a result of his handling of allegations against Carl Sargeant, who was found dead earlier this week having been sacked from his cabinet post.

NHS Chief Executive warns of soaring waiting lists
The Guardian reports that Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, has called for NHS England to be given at least £4 billion more in 2018-19, and for the Government to emulate German, French and Swedish levels of health spending. He warned that waiting lists could reach 5 million if action wasn’t taken.

Corbyn calls for high rises to be fitted with sprinklers
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is to call for £1 billion to be set aside in the budget in order to fit all social housing blocks with sprinklers, starting with those over 30m (ten storeys), to prevent a repetition of the fire at Grenfell Tower, The Mirror says.

Gove backs ban of neonicotinoids
The Guardian reveals that Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Michael Gove is to back a proposed ban of neonicotinoids across the European Union. In an article for the paper, Gove writes that ‘the risks neonicotinoids pose to our environment, particularly to the bees and other pollinators which play such a key part in our £100bn food industry, is greater than previously understood’.

Iranian prisoner’s husband asks to accompany Boris on Iranian visit
The husband of the Iranian prisoner Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has told The Sun that he will ask if he can accompany Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson when he visits Iran. Richard Ratcliffe told the paper that he had not seen his wife for 18 months and that Johnson had repeatedly turned down requests to meet. The Foreign Office told the paper that Johnson would meet Ratcliffe and try to arrange a family reunion.

Leading US General warns against cuts to the UK’s armed forces
Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, who commands the US Army in Europe, has told the BBC that if the British armed forces ‘got any smaller’, the UK’s position as a US ally and leading NATO member would be at risk, and the country would struggle to meet is global commitments.

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