Today’s political headlines include May facing fresh Brexit defeat, McDonnell calling Churchill a villain, Labour frontbenchers might quit and Conservative MPs back end to indefinite immigration detention.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
May facing fresh Brexit defeat as Brexiteers object to motion McDonnell calls Churchill a \u2018villain\u2019 Labour frontbenchers may quit if Corbyn doesn\u2019t back referendum<\/strong><\/p>\n The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Jeremy Corbyn will see up to ten frontbenchers resign unless he backs a second Brexit referendum in a fortnight. However, Len McCluskey, Unite\u2019s General Secretary has warned that stopping Brexit \u2018is not the best option for our nation\u2019 and other frontbenchers have indicated that they could not back such a policy.<\/p>\n Conservative MPs back end to indefinite immigration detention Almost all councils plan to increase council tax May warns BBC not to cut free TV licences Williamson attacked after Chinese cancel trade meeting Williamson calls for gay troops to be allowed to marry at bases
\n<\/strong>As the BBC\u00a0reports<\/a>, MPs will debate the next steps on Brexit later today, with the Government facing a potential defeat at the hands of Conservative Brexiteers. This is because the motion tabled by the Prime Minister backs the views expressed by MPs in their last Brexit vote, including ruling out a no-deal Brexit. The deputy chairman of the European Research Group of Eurosceptic MPs said that its members had \u2018pleaded\u2019 for the wording to be changed\u2019 and they could not back the motion as it \u2018removes our negotiating leverage\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has caused controversy after he\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Politico<\/em>\u00a0that Winston Churchill was a \u2018villain\u2019, citing his role in sending troops into the Tonypandy riots. In response, Sir Nicholas Soames, a Tory MP and Churchill\u2019s grandson,\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0that McDonnell was a \u2018third-rate, Poundshop Lenin\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>\u00a0that eleven Conservative MPs have written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid demanding that immigration rules are reformed to restrict the amount of time people can be held in immigration centres to 28 days. The MPs, including David Davis, Andrew Mitchell, Dominic Grieve, Anna Soubry and Dame Caroline Spelman, claim that the current policy \u2018undermines our proud traditions of justice and the rule of law\u2019 and is \u2018expensive and inefficient\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0carries<\/a>\u00a0the results of a survey by the Local Government Information Unit which shows that almost all councils plan to increase council tax in April, with three-quarters planning increases of over 2.75%. However, they also plan cuts to services as a result of falling funding from the Government, with 80% having no confidence that the current funding model is sustainable.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May has warned the BBC not to end free TV licences for the over-75s, using Prime Minister\u2019s Questions to say that the Government \u2018want and expect the BBC to continue free licences when they take over responsibility for the concession in 2020.\u2019 A final decision is due by June.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Sun<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that a row has broken out in the Government after the Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Hu Chunhua cancelled trade talks with Chancellor Philip Hammond at which he was due to lift bans on British poultry and cosmetics, following a speech in which Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson attacked China\u2019s military plans.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>In an\u00a0exclusive<\/a>,\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0says Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has written to Women and Equalities Secretary Penny Mordaunt, calling for legislation to be changed so that gay members of the armed forces can marry at bases, describing the current situation as \u2018unacceptable\u2019.<\/p>\n