Today’s political headlines include May to face a rebellion over Brexit, opposition parties signing a letter to Hunt over Saudi Arabia, tax to be hiked on offshore gambling and department budgets to grow if there’s a Brexit deal.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
May faces rebellion over Brexit\u2019s impact on Northern Ireland Opposition parties sign joint letter to Hunt over Saudi Arabia Tax on offshore gambling to be hiked Department budgets will grow if there\u2019s a Brexit deal Hammond to replace blanket pay increases with a \u2018targeted\u2019 approach MPs call for more action on domestic abuse Plastic straw ban could be introduced next year EU could ban British Summer Time
\n<\/strong>The Times\u00a0<\/em>alleges<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May is facing a rebellion by over 40 MPs if she doesn\u2019t give in to Brexiteer demands in the next two days. Former Brexit minister Steve Baker has tabled amendments that would stop Northern Ireland being placed in a separate customs and regulatory territory without approval from the Northern Ireland Assembly, which will be put to the vote on Wednesday.\u00a0The Guardian\u00a0<\/em>adds<\/a>\u00a0that May is to use a statement today to tell MPs that 95% of the Withdrawal Agreement has been agreed including issues to do with Gibraltar, Cyprus and dispute resolution.\u00a0The Daily Telegraph\u00a0<\/em>says<\/a>\u00a0that May called members of the Cabinet over the weekend to try to secure support, with Esther McVey, Sajid Javid and Geoffrey Cox among those raising concerns about her policy.\u00a0Writing<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0The Sun<\/em>, May insists that she will make the \u2018right choices, not the easy ones\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian\u00a0<\/em>says<\/a>\u00a0that Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to take a tougher stance against Saudi Arabia following the death of Jamal Khashoggi and the conflict in Yemen after representatives of Labour, the SNP, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Greens signed a joint letter claiming that the Government\u2019s \u2018inaction\u2019 is \u2018utterly incompatible with our most basic value as a democracy\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times\u00a0<\/em>reveals<\/a>\u00a0that Chancellor Philip Hammond is to use the Budget to increase the tax paid by offshore gambling companies, raising \u00a31bn over five years by raising remote gaming duty. The move will help to fill the hole in the public finances created by lowering the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals from \u00a3100 to \u00a32.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times\u00a0<\/em>claims<\/a>\u00a0that Philip Hammond is to say that Government departments will receive above average budget increases in the 2019 spending review, if there\u2019s a Brexit deal. Sources told the paper that Hammond faces a tricky situation, starting out \u00a3100bn \u2018in the red\u2019 owing to the NHS funding pledge and commitments made in May\u2019s conference speech.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph\u00a0<\/em>suggests<\/a>\u00a0that Philip Hammond is to abandon blanket public sector pay increases in favour of a more \u2018targeted\u2019 approach based on factors such as people\u2019s performance and where in the country they live, with salaries rising slower outside London and the south east.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times\u00a0<\/em>carries details<\/a>\u00a0of a new report by the Commons Home Affairs Committee that calls on the Government to take \u2018stronger action\u2019 to protect domestic abuse victims. Suggested measures include increased funding for refuge centres, automatic split payments for couples receiving Universal Credit and a statutory responsibility for local authorities to make refuge places available.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mail\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>\u00a0that Michael Gove, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, is to announce today that plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds could be banned from next year. Warning that oceans and wildlife need \u2018urgent protection\u2019, Gove will say that the UK \u2018needs to do more\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Daily Mirror<\/em>, the EU is proposing to ban member states from observing daylight savings time. The paper warns that there is a risk that the proposal will be put through during the Brexit transition period, when the UK will be unable to stop it. A report by the Lords EU Internal Market Sub-Committee claims that the plan breaches EU treaties.<\/p>\n