Today’s political headlines include May’s return to Brussels as Merkel threatens to boycott the summit, criticism of the Foreign Office’s handling of Matthew hedges’ case, more criticism but this time of the Brexit deal, and the People’s Vote.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
May to return to Brussels for talks as Merkel threatens to boycott summit<\/span> Foreign Office criticised after UAE gives British student life sentence<\/span> Cabinet\u2019s Brexit deal criticisms revealed<\/span> Pro-EU MPs disagree over People\u2019s Vote timing<\/span> Women descend on Westminster to mark 100 years of being able to stand for Parliament<\/span> Motorists who pass cycling proficiency to get cheaper insurance<\/span> Former ministers urge Government to freeze rail fares<\/span> Families affected by benefit cap should consider taking lodger, MP says<\/span>
\n<\/strong>The BBC\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May is to return to Brussels for talks at the weekend after talks finished yesterday without the final text of the political declaration on the future relationship between the UK and the EU being settled. Outstanding issues include Spanish concerns about Gibraltar and access to UK waters for EU fishermen.\u00a0The Times<\/em>adds<\/a>\u00a0that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has threatened to boycott Sunday\u2019s summit unless all the negotiations have been completed in advance.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Daniela Tejada, the wife of the British student Matthew Hedges who has been imprisoned by the UAE for spying, has criticised the conduct of the Foreign office, describing it as \u2018appalling\u2019. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt is thought to have been assured that Hedges would be treated leniently, but instead he received a life sentence yesterday. Hunt has warned that \u2018serious diplomatic consequences\u2019 will follow.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0has\u00a0obtained<\/a>\u00a0details of the criticisms of Theresa May\u2019s Brexit deal made by Cabinet ministers at their meeting last week. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that it was a \u2018Turkey trap\u2019, using the country as an example of how temporary arrangements become permanent, while Home Secretary Sajid Javid warned that the deal would prevent the UK from striking new trade agreements.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that pro-EU MPs are in disagreement about the best time to table a Commons vote on holding a People\u2019s Vote. Some want to force a vote in early December, before a vote on Theresa May\u2019s deal, while other believe that it would be better to wait for the deal to be voted down or a vote of no confidence to be passed in the Government, as acting earlier would make it look like they were trying to block Brexit.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that 317 women visited 238 MPs at Parliament yesterday as part of #AskHerToStandDay, celebrating 100 years since women first good the right to stand for Parliament. The event was claimed to be the first time women had outnumbered men at Westminster. The founder of 50:50 Parliament, Frances Scott, said that the aim was to get gender parity in Parliament in ten years.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that motorists who pass cycling proficiency tests offered cheaper insurance as part of new Government plans to improve cyclist and pedestrian safety. Other measures include giving councils powers to use surveillance cameras to catch people parked in cycle lanes and getting people to send dashcam footage of road rage to a new police unit.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Sun<\/em>, three former Conservative ministers \u2013 Michael Fallon, Grant Shapps and Tim Loughton \u2013 are urging the Government to ditch plans for a 3.2% increase in rail fares in the new year and instead to freeze prices. Fallon said that the increase was \u2018outrageous\u2019 given the problems experienced by commuters over the last year.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that work and pensions minister Justin Tomlinson has been attacked by charities and Labour for suggesting that families in poverty because of the benefit cap should consider taking in a lodger. He admitted that no analysis was being done on the effectiveness of the cap and suggested that families could also move or try to renegotiate their rent.<\/p>\n