Today’s political headlines includes ministers fearing May will ‘cave in’ to Labour, Corbyn faces down second referendum advocates, May’s dinner with Russian oligarch’s wide and Corbyn to urge MPs to declare a climate emergency.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Ministers fear May will \u2018cave in\u2019 to Labour over Brexit Corbyn faces down second referendum advocates May\u2019s dinner with Russian oligarch\u2019s wife Corbyn to urge MPs to declare climate emergency Corbyn wrote foreword to antisemitic book Hancock says people shouldn\u2019t have to sell their home to fund their care Social mobility has stagnated, commission warns Trump unlikely to address Parliament
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/em>, Eurosceptic ministers fear that Theresa May is \u2018preparing to cave in to\u2019 Labour\u2019s Brexit demands and agree a post-Brexit customs union with the EU, with May indicating that she wants talks finished by the middle of next week. At yesterday\u2019s Cabinet meeting, Michael Gove said that an \u2018unpalatable\u2019 deal with Labour was better than no Brexit, while Chief Whip Julian Smith said that ministers needed to \u2018get real\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian\u00a0<\/em>says<\/a>\u00a0that Jeremy Corbyn has \u2018faced down\u2019 a challenge by second referendum advocates, including Labour\u2019s deputy leader Tom Watson. At a meeting yesterday, the party\u2019s National Executive Committee decided that its European election manifesto would be \u2018fully in line\u2019 with its existing Brexit policy of an alternative plan for Brexit, with a public vote only if the Government\u2019s deal isn\u2019t changed and a general election doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mail\u00a0<\/em>reveals<\/a>\u00a0that Lubov Chernukhin, the wife of a Russian oligarch, had dinner with Theresa May and six other female ministers after paying \u00a3135,000 for the privilege at the Conservative Party\u2019s Black and White Ball. The meal was revealed after the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss posted a photo of the gathering in Instagram. A source told the paper \u2018it was bit like Cabinet at the start, very polite, but then a fair amount of wine was drunk and then it became a very relaxed and talkative dinner.\u2019<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mirror\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>\u00a0that Jeremy Corbyn will today urge MPs to do their \u2018historic duty\u2019 by calling the world\u2019s first climate emergency, forcing a vote to demand the Government to act on climate change \u2018with commensurate urgency\u2019. Yesterday, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Michael Gove said he was \u2018open to a higher level of ambition\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times\u00a0<\/em>says<\/a>\u00a0Jeremy Corbyn wrote the foreword to a book arguing that Jews controlled the banks and the press. The book, a reissue of JA Hobson\u2019s\u00a0Imperialism: A Study<\/em>, first published in 1902, came out in 2011 before he became Labour leader. In the foreword, Corbyn said it was a \u2018great tome\u2019 with \u2018brilliant, and very controversial at the time\u2019 analysis.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has told a House of Lords committee that people shouldn\u2019t have to sell their home to pay for social care, saying that ensuring \u2018that the home is in the means test under all circumstances\u2019 would extend \u2018one of the injustices\u2019 of the current system. Care Minister Caroline Dinenage separately said that she had found the delays to the social care green paper \u2018frustrating\u2019, telling the paper that a draft had been ready since December.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that the Government\u2019s Social Mobility Commission\u2019s State of the Nation report warns that class privilege is still entrenched in the UK, with the ability to gain higher pay and social position having stagnated since 2014. It blames Government policies for the lack of progress, including schools funding cuts and disadvantaged young people being less likely to undertake apprenticeships or relocate to other regions.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>\u00a0that Donald Trump is unlikely to address Parliament during his visit next month in order to avoid embarrassing the Queen. She would have to formally request permission for him to address Parliament from the Speakers of both houses, but Commons Speaker John Bercow is opposed to such a speech taking place.<\/p>\n