Today’s political headlines includes Trump’s continuing attack on the British ambassador, Johnson’s vow to fix the NHS pension cap and Hammond to agree May’s legacy funding if she allows free vote on blocking no-deal.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Trump attacks British ambassador Johnson vows to fix NHS pension cap Hammond to agree May\u2019s legacy funding if she allows free vote on blocking no-deal New report reveals \u00a315bn \u2018dementia tax\u2019 Unions agree new Labour Brexit stance Labour\u2019s gagging orders aren\u2019t valid, legal advice says Hunt and Mordaunt back \u2018Veteran\u2019s Pledge\u2019 Taxes on tobacco and milkshakes delayed
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Donald Trump has used Twitter to attack the British ambassador, saying that \u2018he is not liked or well thought of within the U.S.\u2019 and that he would \u2018no longer deal with him\u2019. He added that it was \u2018good news\u2019 that the UK would \u2018soon have a real Prime Minister’. Theresa May\u2019s spokesperson has said she had \u2018full faith\u2019 in Sir Kim Darroch, the ambassador, while\u00a0The Sun<\/em>\u00a0has been told<\/a>\u00a0by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt that officials are investigating whether the leaked memos were hacked by a hostile state, such as Russia.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Boris Johnson used a hustings it organised last night to promise to \u2018fix\u2019 the pension cap which has led some doctors to refuse to work, claiming that the policy was \u2018obviously wrong\u2019. A\u00a0poll<\/a>\u00a0by ComRes, commissioned by the paper, shows that Johnson as leader would deliver a 40-seat Conservative majority, while a Jeremy Hunt leadership would result in Labour becoming the largest party.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that Philip Hammond has told Theresa May that he would agree to fund \u00a35bn of her demand for \u00a327bn of education spending as part of her legacy if she agrees to allow MPs a free vote on a cross-party attempt to rule out a no-deal Brexit in October. Hammond has already signalled that as a backbencher he \u2018will continue to argue against a no-deal exit\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>\u00a0carries details<\/a>\u00a0of a new report by the Alzheimer\u2019s Society which reveals that families have spent almost \u00a315bn on caring for relatives with dementia in the two years since a green paper on social care was first promised. The society claims the current system amounted to a \u2018tax on dementia\u2019 and is calling for a \u00a32.4bn interim dementia support fund.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Guardian<\/em>, Labour is to announce that it would campaign to remain in the EU in a referendum on a deal agreed by a Conservative Prime Minister. The stance follows an agreement by unions of a joint position, which also agreed that if Labour was in government, it would agree its own Brexit deal and hold a referendum, in which it would not necessarily campaign to remain in the EU.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that ahead of tomorrow\u2019s screening of a BBC documentary about antisemitism in the party former Labour staff have received legal advice telling them that the non-disclosure agreements they had with the party are not valid as they do not meet standards introduced to protect whistleblowers<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Sun<\/em>\u00a0reveals<\/a>\u00a0that Jeremy Hunt and Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt have each backed the paper\u2019s \u2018Veteran\u2019s Pledge\u2019. They have agreed to end \u2018vexatious historical investigations in Northern Ireland\u2019, set up an independent department to co-ordinate support for veterans and put the Armed Forces Covenant into law.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that proposals for new taxes on tobacco and sugary milkshakes has been delayed. The Prevention Green Paper was due to be published on Monday and would have proposed a levy on the tobacco industry to fund smoking-reduction measures, higher taxes on sugary milk drinks and a ban on children buying some energy drinks. It has now been delayed to Thursday, but some officials have suggested it might be delayed indefinitely.<\/p>\n