UK Politics

[Dong Zhou]

-Corbyn now accepts some responsibility for Copeland and urges unity but will fight on, need to rebuild trust after 20 years with voters

-Baroness Chakrabarti blames Andrew Marr bias for not helping with Copeland, blames Blair and Brown, says unions should stop attacking Corbyn and unite, says party is hampered by Brexit split and admit they have yet to turn strong membership into votes and communication must get better (sorry, communication isn't the problem, the media single-handedly shutting down Labour shadow female voices, including failing to include those who refuse to appear).

-Tom Watson says not time for leadership contest, warns party is distant from electorate, how they are so bad seven years from power is a big question

-Max Hill, the independent reviewer of terrorism laws, warns that due to Islamic terrorism, the threat level is highest since the Ira threat in 70's

-Grayling says buyers of diesel cars in cities needs to have a long hard think

-Leaks that Sadiq Khan was going to say there isn't difference between dividing people by race, class, religion or nationality has not gone down well with SNP, Khan says he isn't saying SNP are bigots but is talking of division.

-Dugdale pushing for a Scottish Child Benefit

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-Paul Mason says his side must stop talking about sabotaging Brexit but instead "here is how we can turn Brexit into good for you"

-Aaron Banks demands he be made UKIP chairman or he will leave

--Lord Heseltine will rebel on Article 50 if there isn't a meaningful vote at end of process and sets out why

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-Rawnsley on Copeland fallout

-Iain Watson's short three lessons from Copeland

-Anthony Wells on limited lessons from the by-elections

-James Morris says both Labour factions have a point about who is to blame for loss of working class vote

[Dong Zhou]

-The Father of the House Sir Gerald Kaufman, has died after a long illness. Adviser and press officer to Harold Wilson, Mirror and Statesmen journalist, BBC sketch-writer. Became MP for Manchester Ardwick constituency in 1970 (in 83 changed to Manchester Gorton), a junior minister from 74-79 in environment and industry. In Labour's long years of opposition, was shadow environment, home and foreign secretary, constantly near the top in shadow cabinet elections despite fighting the left in the Labour civil wars (the family statement on his death rather pointed about this) and was the man who remarked of 1983 manifesto "the longest suicide note in history". In 92, moved to backbenchers to make way for a new generation, he chaired Culture Committee (a big cinema fan) where he battled the BBC and forced the chief executive of the Royal Opera House to resign. Remained a powerful speaker with a sharp tongue and a prolific author though he never served in cabinet.

-Public Accounts Committee slaps down NHS and PM over bickering on funding, accuses government of raiding NHS funds

-Rebecca Long-Bailey calls for emergency help on business rates, business rates to be indexed to the lower CPI measure of inflation rather than RPI and to exclude investment in plant and machinery from future business rates valuations.

-No 10 policy unit head George Freeman (who has suffered mental illness himself) attacked after saying disability benefits should go to "really disabled people" not those "taking pills at home, who suffer from anxiety", saying tribunals have made some bizarre decisions. He has apologized

-Tom Watson says some of Corbyn's big cheerleaders are peeling away and pointedly ask where McCluskey is

-Corbyn says byelections show the scale of the task to win people over, urges Labour not to run away from the task, will be leader in 2020. Says if they reject Brexit, how will the 17 million react? The new way of developing policies means it takes longer then before

-First Minister Carywn Jones fears a "frictionless border" between N.Ireland and Republic or Ireland would shaft Welsh ports as would be easier for EU trade to go through N.Ireland

-McDonnell (wrote before byelections, only published now) says (article here) a soft coup against Corbyn is under-way by parts of party allied with Murdoch, distorting Corbyn's message in the media and trying to destroy everything Corbyn stands for, now says he was frustrated at the time he wrote it and retracts it. Barry Gardiner goes on TV and says "no there isn't", suspects McDonnell may have been ranting out of frustration with Blair and Mandelson

-Ken Clarke is the new Father of the House

-Pound spooked by talks of a second Scottish referendum

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-Farage has dinner with president Trump and makes sure world knows about it

-Richard Tice, co-chairman of the pro-Brexit Leave Means Leave campaign, accuses Lord Heseltine of being unpatriotic. This would be the long serving public servant vs Tice who has never run for public office?

-Frank Field says excess army food (over 12,000 between April and December) should go to homeless rather then thrown away

-Lord Kerslake concerned social care has reached breaking point due to funding cuts, urges government to offer help on business rates but don't retreat and to do the review more often, calls for finical devolution to north

-Harman says buck stops with leader of parties

-Lord Hain concerned government hasn't realized the full implications for N.Ireland of Brexit

-Heidi Allen wants government to review Pip

-Clive Lewis denies rumours he had been preparing websites for leadership bid

-Sir Major urges May to be honest about costs of Brexit

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-Trevor Kavanagh on how May should use her unopposed power

-Zoe Williams slaps both sides of the Labour divide, calls for unity and sets out where she thinks Corbyn needs to do a lot better

-Paul Mason on how Stoke shows how to beat UKIP

-Anne McElvoy warns Commons will get harder for May over Brexit, not easier

-Bush not enjoying prospect of Scottish referendum

-Andrew Lilicco on trade with Commonwealth

[Dong Zhou]

-Treasury demanding 6% cuts from Whitehall departments bar NHS and schools with council savings to go to social care. Announcing it as Sir Major was about to make speech has led to accusations of sneaking it out

-Labour MP's unhappy Corbyn and Baroness Chakrabarti missed PLP meeting after Copeland, PLP refused to accept Gwynne's attempt to take blame on himself and Gwyne praised local activists+Woodcock for their efforts, Greenwood mocked the excuses for defeat

-Sturgeon says Scottish independence 2 would be down to May's intransigence and refusal to compromise, says unionists could no longer use Project Fear

-Farage demands "Tory posh boy" Carswell be expelled from party for undermining Farage and party. UKIP chairman Oakden to meet with Carswell but I'm not sure Nuttall's camp is pleased with Farage

Farage successful runs for MP: 0. Carswell: 4. Just saying...

-Debbie Abrahams uses speech on intergenerational fairness to demand Hammond keep the pension triple lock

-Boris tells people to stop being so pessimistic and grouchy, backs globalization as a force for good, we have friends and influence across the world, admits trade deal could take longer then two years and there is goodwill with EU

-David Davis says cabinet must prepare, though unlikely, for failure to agree deal with EU
-Sir Stramer says Labour have no prospect of winning election unless they improve

-Lords defeat government to ask that planning permission to be sought for a change of use or demolition of puns

-Creagh furious after Hammond says she mustn't be hysterical, he has withdrawn the comments

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-British Chambers of Commerce says Brexit should be delayed till trade deal is done and be allowed to recruit employees easily in EU

-IDS accuses Sir Major of refighting referendum and being bitter, Rees-Moggcalls Sir Major craven and taking out bitterness of his failings over Europe on May

-Sir Major warns very high risk of not being deal to do Brexit deal in time, accuses Brexiteers of contempt for losing side, fears for peace in N.Ireland

-Lord Hain fears for peace in N.Ireland after Brexit

-MP's win pancake race

-Aaron Banks says UKIP needs a complete rebrand and a role for Farage, professional agents in winneable seats, a CEO from industry to oversee a new membership drive and for expulsion of all who disagree with him as that must be a Tory cabal. Will stand against Carswell at next election if Carswell is still at UKIP

-Osborne warns leaving EU without a trade deal would be the biggest single act of protectionism in UK history and no amount of trade deals with likes of New Zealand could make up for that, goverment should ensure UK magnet for students and skilled migrants

-Burnham praises Osborne for his work to get north back on the political map but suspects May's government is less committed

-Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn says it's position with UK may be adjusting depending on how Brexit turns out and wants us to stay in custom union

-General Medical Council Survey has found six in 10 doctors from EU working in the UK are considering leaving the country because of Brexit but only 10% took part in that survey

-Baroness D'Souza on Lords reform she wants to see

-Daniel Hannan pleased pleased at proposed immigration measures

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-Eaton says UKIP is far from dead

-Kuessneberg on sir Major's speech

-Politico on Corbyn's team digging in

-Hannah Sander on rise of swing voters

[Dong Zhou]

PMQ's: Corbyn had nice tribute, went on budget and disability cuts but it was all a bit flat. May had strong answer on explaining she hadn't snuck it out, pointing out she had done a written answer to Parliament, Green had talked to two select committee heads and had attempted to speak to Debbie Abrahams (who is vigorously denying this story), that she had been out of contact for four days, Corbyn struggled to combat that. May also set out a good general defence for Pip's. Corbyn went on George Freeman though the nasty party speech part of the attack wasn't effective, May went with "he apologized" and widened it out to wider issues but Corbyn took credit for it. He also had a neat answer for her "need strong economy" but May pounced on Ashworth's very recent comments about having no idea how to fund it, attack for Copeland wasn't strong. May will be fairly pleased with that.

Robinson pushes for devolution of agriculture and fisheirs , May says up for discussion with all devolved governments but SNP happy to pounce on her failure to go "yes, at once", Nigel Dodds does a great use of Brexit to mock "soft coup", Rebecca Pow amuses all sides

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-Lords EU Committee warns UK government has an obligation to Gibraltar

-RMT announces more nationwide strikes

-Government launches digital strategy

-Sturgeon claims Westminster government is seeking to use Brexit to role back devolution, government denies this and rival Scottish parties call it scaremongering

-Hammond looking at compensation rates for victims of car accidents

-May gives up crisps for Lent

-Trump delays visit till October

-Dr Woolostan warns of a perfect storm hitting health services

-McCluskey has been nominated by 80% of Unite branches that bothered to pick any of the three candidates

-Sarah Champion says Labour would introduce econimic equality bill and bring in gender budgeting as currently budgets hit women hardest

-Dr Fox says trade dispute between EU and UK would be irresponsible and damage the world economy

-In front of a watching Rudd who had written to them, peers (by 102) demand EU nationals be given right to stay

-Despite government denials, rumours that government is looking at Burnham's social care levy (or death tax as Tories called it when Burnham came up with it) will not die

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-Iain Wright still wants Philip Green to lose his knighthood despite coming to terms on pensions

-Migration Watch chairman Lord Green backs visa-free travel between the UK and the EU after Brexit but those working would need work-permit

-Bill Ethridge calls for Carswell to go, Reckless points out Carswell has won elections, Farage says Carswell is stopping UKIP becoming a radical anti-immigration party

-Damien Collins bemoans Trump's use of term "fake news"

-The archbishop of York, John Sentamu wants a truth and listening commission in all four nations on Brexit

-Lord Tebbit accuses peers of ignoring UK nationals and only being interested in rights of foreigners

-Lord Wallace on being an enemy of the people

-Lord Ashdown declares peers have found their voice

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-Ken Loach on who he blames for Labour's troubles

-Kuesseneberg on Lords revolt

-Behr on May's excellent reading of the British culture

-Iain Watson on internal Labour manoeuvrers

-Owen Jones says for his side of Labour to survive, Corbyn must go and rethink is needed

-Bush on a difficult budget hinting at problems for Brexit

[Dong Zhou]

-On the "whose to blame for Copeland/Stoke:" It is agreed by all and sundry the campaign locally was strong in both and the candidate an impressive one in Copeland, I think Corbyn was always going to take a hit for his anti-nuke stance in Copeland (I would have run big on that being the excuse if I was Corbyn's camp), I don't think any leader could turn Labour into winning the general election due to fundamental problems (I also don't think Labour are fated to such appalling lows as they look set to face). Copeland was a disaster, any election where people are looking up records for last similar bad result can not be painted away as ok or overblown. Even worse, the swing in the two-byelections warn Labour are heading for an election massacre unless things change. It can not be dismissed as anything less then alarming. Being able to hold the stonghold of Stoke is not a glorious victory that nobody saw coming.

There are kernels in truth in some of what Corbynites are saying: Hunt and Reed going was never going to look good, Blair's timing was not helpful, the decline of working class support has been going on for some time, their message doesn't seem to be having cut through yet, they are the establishment in those areas (and I believe in one of the seats, Labour council had lost control before Corbyn came in). Yet it is like a top flight team coming up with a litany of reasons for losing to a drunken non-league time, an unacceptable result in any circumstances and trying to shift blame from themselves. Why isn't the message cutting through? Why is the response to the establishment to elect the party of the establishment who has been in charge for 7 years now led by a vicar's daughter in Copeland rather then a rebel party? Why is slow decline suddenly turned into a massive nosedive in those two seats? If Corbyn is popular but held back by Labour, why does research and polling show Corbyn as incredibly unpopular and not winning in any voter demographic?

I think the Corbyn-left have made a huge mistake tying themselves so hard to Corbyn. Fate played them a bad hand when the moment came but they went beyond supportive, turning on anyone who doubted him, declaring him the Messiah, saying he would win over the working class and so on. They went beyond the normal expected backing for their leader and if/when Corbyn fails, any attempt by them to argue "go down our route" will now be met with "1983+Corbyn" shows your unelectable. Corbyn is no Sanders and it raises questions about British Corbynites who believed he would reach the working class, it seemed like a major misreading of what the working class believe, what they want in a leader. They may also have lost that 2015 influx who now feel betrayed (by their own stupidity rather then Corbyn) over Corbyn's handling of Brexit. I also think Corynite left is seeming to blame everyone but themselves.

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-N.Ireland goes to polls

-Government to seek to overturn Lords amendment

-Foreign Affairs Committee suggests using world cup to soothe relations with Russia rather then protest but has concerns about whether they are suitable hosts

-Carswell row passed to UKIP National Executive Committee. They will also be talking to Banks about the future

-Junker publishes whitepaper on future after Brexit with five paths: "Carrying On", 'Nothing but the single market', 'Those who want to do more', 'Doing less, more effectively', 'Doing much more together'

-Neil Hamilton remarks Farage doesn't seem to be using his retirement to get his life back, accuses Farage of a grudge match and looking ridiculous. Thinks Farage should be given a peerage

-Mail sees Lord vote as an attempt to sabotage Brexit.

Next: "England defeat is attempt to sabotage Brexit", "bad weather is attempt to sabotage Brexit"

-IFS warns slowdown in living standards is worst in 60 years

-FTSE hits new record high

-McDonnell says Labour priorities for upcoming budget include living standards, funding for NHS and social care to however much is needed, protected public services and gender equality. Says Labour are unified on most things, says Owen Jones rejected chance to be McDonnell's advisor, would like to meet Lord Mandelson to get advice and wants to get advice from Progress (if serious and more then a "turn up, pretend to listen, ignore", he can't be accused of not reaching across the divide) and he did lavish praise on Mandelson. Wants OBR to decide how much NHS needs and a ten year funding settlement, indicates support for hypothecation for health spending

-Lib Dems (due to one £1 million donation by Greg Nasmyth) beat Labour in final quarter of 2016 donations list

-David Davis says EU nationals and UK nationals del would be first priority but suspects it may not be as easy as people think

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-Viscount Hailsham made a powerful speech pro EU migrant amendment

-Hansard Society fears Brexit and Great Repeal Bill could see government seize Henry VII like executive powers

-Cameron defends aid spending

-University of Nottingham live-tweeting 97 election

-Gwynne gives passionate defence of Blair government on DP

-SNP followers think guardian crossword was hinting Sturgeon is racist

-Baroness Beacher thinks there will be 30 Tory rebels in Commons on EU nationals, would be a tad surprised

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-Kuessenberg says government relaxed with Lords defeat

-Mark Mardell muses on how long May's hegemony can last

-Simon Jenkins on social care levy and inheritance tax

-D'Arcy on when government will feel Brexit pressure and how Brexiteers/Remain are struggling to new world

-Bush on why Owen Jones plan for Labour hasn't gained any traction

[Dong Zhou]

-A correction, McDonnell wants a OBR like body on NHS funding, not the OBR

-Wishart cheekily praises heroes of ermine, the arocrastic champions who must be listened to, Lidington remarking Wishart has joined Farage in having a secret longing to be ennobled

-George Eustice denies food prices are rising

-Ruth Davidson says agriculture could be a Westminster rather then Hollyrood power

-City minister Simon Kirby has been stripped of responsibilities for overseeing Brexit’s impact on financial services, been transferred to former Tesco executive and Treasury Minister Lady Lucy Neville-Rolfe. The role as part of the City Minister portfolio is very new and government trying to portray it as merely deciding which role was best for that issue but everyone else using terms like humiliation. There is a sense the City of London felt he lacked the high level business experience, a radio and nightclub entrepreneur who had few dealings with finical services before his appointment and once he got the rle, he really struggled to impress with one meeting being a disaster with concerns he failed to have a grasp of the detail. There are some rather... unkind comments floating around about Kirby

-May accuses SNP of independence tunnel vision and of playing games when they should be helping the Scottish people with day to day lives like deteriorating education. Sturgeon says May has no mandate in Scotland

-Tories point out Corbyn is against hypothecation NHS tax

-Green Party co-leader, Jonathan Bartley, has talked when he accidentally killed a student in a car crash when he was 17-years-old, was ruled accidental death and not at fault.

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-Paul Drechsler, the CBI president, warns leaving EU without trade deal would be irresponsible

-Carol Monaghan had ash cross while doing committee work on Ash Wednesday

-Beckett has an amusing story about Sir Kaufmann

-Baroness Stroud's budget proposals

-Kevin Schofield interviews the departing Burnham

-Kwasi Kwarteng argues time for the old guard to stand aside on Brexit

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-Ross Clark says parties would be run by shareholders rather then members

-Gabby Hinsliff UKIP may be election losers but they can still influence things

-Anna Rhodes donation figures

-Eaton on May's Scottish problem

-David Henderson urges Labour right to overthrow Corbyn

[SunXia]

Northern Ireland Assembly elections had amazing results for those of us who can accept that there is not equality, we are privileged, and sharing the privilege little by little until equality exists is not oppression.

[Dong Zhou]

At first glance, seems like DUP won as largest party, Sinn Fein increased votes so while more power to the Republicans, seems like the same only worse becuase power-sharing seems more difficult?

[SunXia]

At a glance maybe but the DUP have constantly used the Petition of Concern to squash all discussions they don't agree with before they hit the table. The Petition of Concern was brought in because of the history of Corruption that occurred that was intent on keeping a "Protestant Government for a Protestant People" despite the fact the Catholic or Nationalist represent a large section of the community. The demographic is more akin to 50/50 and now the seats reflect that demographic. Power Sharing can most certainly happen, the DUP has just lost the ability to toss out equality discussions based on Draconian beliefs.

If they want power sharing to work it most certainly can work but they will be claiming oppression just because the privilege of PoC will now force them to engage in politics rather than veto.

[Dong Zhou]

Thanks for explaining Sun Xia