Today’s political headlines includes senior Conservatives tell May to reject customs union, top economist warns of rising inequality and Hunt calls for more defence spending.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Senior Conservatives tell May to reject customs union Top economist warns of rising inequality Hunt calls for more defence spending Eight of the UK\u2019s top 20 hedge fund managers donated to Tories in last two years Gove backs calls for tougher fines for leaving engines on Organised crime offenders double the size of the army Javid resists pressure to allow asylum seekers to work Heidi Allen challenges Nigel Farage to a debate
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that thirteen former Cabinet ministers and Sir Graham Brady, Chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, have written to Theresa May, arguing that she should reject Labour\u2019s demands for a customs union with the EU after Brexit. All of the members of the group, which includes Gavin Williamson, Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, point out that they voted for May\u2019s deal in March. The BBC\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that the UK\u2019s chief Brexit negotiator, Olly Robbins, is visiting Brussels today to discuss how quickly changes could be made to the political declaration on future relations between the UK and the EU.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Sir Angus Deaton, the Nobel-prize winning economist leading a review of inequality in the UK with the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has said that rising levels of inequality mean that the UK is at risk of following the example of the USA, one of the world\u2019s most unequal nations. He told the paper that \u2018there\u2019s a real question about whether democratic capitalism is working, when it\u2019s only working for part of the population\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said the UK should \u2018decisively increase\u2019 defence spending, claiming he favours spending 4% of GDP on the armed forces, rather than 2%. He warned of the risks posed by Russia and China, cyber warfare, and a \u2018conflict happening by accident\u2019 as tensions between the USA and Iran increase.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>In an\u00a0exclusive<\/a>, the\u00a0Daily Mirror<\/em>\u00a0carries details of research by Labour which reveals that eight of the 20 wealthiest hedge fund managers in the UK have donated to the Conservatives in the last two years, amounting to \u00a32.9m. Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Jon Trickett said that this explained why \u2018the Tories have failed to tackle runaway inequality\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Michael Gove is backing calls from Westminster City Council for councils to be empowered to instantly fine drivers who repeatedly leave their engine running while parked. Council leader Nickie Aitken also called for a \u2018four-figure\u2019 fine for company vehicles, in place of the current \u00a320 to \u00a380 fine.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Lynne Owens, Director of the National Crime Agency, said there are more than 180,000 offenders linked to organised crime, more than double the size of the army. She is calling for her agency\u2019s budget to be doubled to tackle this threat.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Sun<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Home Secretary Sajid Javid is resisting demands from the Treasury to allow asylum seekers to work, in a bid to reduce the cost of benefits and bring in more income tax. The change could form part of the new post-Brexit immigration rules, but a Home Office source asked how it could \u2018allow people to work in any job that involves a degree of trust when we are yet to establish exactly who they are\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Heidi Allen, the leader of Change UK, has challenged her counterpart at the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, to a televised debate ahead of the European elections. She said that the debate would be between a vision \u2018which seeks to divide communities, demonise migrants and blame all of the world\u2019s problems on the EU\u2019 and one which puts the UK \u2018at the centre of the global community and leading on the world stage\u2019.<\/p>\n