UK Politics

[Dong Zhou]

McDonnell, Scottish Labour

-Papers on British Airways chaos and Brexit

-McDonnell saying if Boris loses confidence vote then Corbyn would go to the Queen

This may well be a valid plan but unwise to have announced, better let Boris be accused of "bringing the Queen into it" rather then allowing Boris to now accuse Labour of it and also will put off Tory figures who oppose no deal but worry about handing Corbyn the keys

-Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard says second Scottish referendum is not on table and he has made that clear to McDonnell

-Hancock pledges £250 million for a NHS national artificial intelligence laboratory

-Transport Minister Freeman accuses train driver of smirking when shutting doors on him

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-Kettle Cummings needs to be careful and deal could still happen

-Stephen Glover worried at state of union

-Dr Ewan Gibb argues McDonnell right to allow Scotland a second referendum

-David Clegg McDonnell has ditched irrelevant Scottish Labour

-Geoff Norcott liberals dire warnings about Boris and Brexit backfire

[Sun Fin]

Well it's taken me a few days to catch up with this thread !

I can't say Johnson as a PM pleases me. I just hope his better than I expect.

As for McDonnell's comments on Scotland... they are idiotic. It might give them a short term chance of governing, but long term it will consign Labour to the permanent political scrapheap. I read recently that if you were to remove Scotland's seats from the House of Commons then the Tories would have had an unbroken majority for over 200 hundred years. Even after Tony Blair's landslide victory, without Scotland, the Conservatives had more seats. If Scotland do go independent then Labour will never be able to form a government again. Absolutely moronic.

[Dong Zhou]

I think McDonnell's logic is 1) Labour have already already lost Scotland, Scottish Labour are struggling badly so hopes of seats being enough to get them over line is limited, an alliance with SNP even temporary would do more to get him his shot at power and long term, Labour need to learn to win in England as Scotland seems gone.

2) Easier to argue for second Brexit referendum if one also allows a Scottish one

Brexit, economy contracts, government pledges

-Papers on Boris pledges and Corbyn's civil service attempts

-Boris pledges fast track visa's for scientists and an end to cap on top tier migrants, pledges to restore power to front-line police

-Javid fast-tracking a one year spending review to be published before budget, McDonnell accuses Javid of pre-election panic and creating uncertainty as most departments plan and budget for multi-years

-Corbyn trying to get Sir Sedwell to promise not to let UK lapse into no deal during election as would be anti-democratic, Bone considers Corbyn's efforts as clutching at straws, row going on in N.Ireland over if no deal would mean cow herds being culled. Boris says bags of time for EU to compromise and come to talks, changes would be common sense

-Scottish Labour slams Westminster Labour leadership's position on the union

-Economy shrank 0.2% in last quarter in worst performance since 2009 and manufacturing doing badly (though expected to bounce back a little), people had expected flatlining and Javid is arguing the fundamentals remain strong

-All leave for special advisers cancelled till Brexit day

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-Mundell says if SNP have majority after next Hollyrood elections, there needs to be a Scottish referendum

-IDS says people need to recognize public are divided on Brexit but government priority has to be delivering Brexit

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-Simon Jenkins time to prepare for Scotland leaving

-Chloe Chaplain and Dr Simon Usherwood discuss the claims of no deal benefits

-Professor Goodwin condemns Remains dragging Queen into Brexit

-Rachel Cunliff McDonnell's Scotland comments

-Simon Walters questions Boris citing Australia type immigration system

-Tom Peck Boris and Cummings have damaged science in UK

[Dong Zhou]

Brexit, not much

-Papers on economy shrinking and power chaos, Express saying Boris has told civil servants they must prepare for no deal as top priority

-Memo warning UK doesn't have fleet to patrol fishing waters if no deal has accidentally been sent to BBC, Gove admits Operation Kingfisher where most in need business will get government funding to cope with no deal Brexit

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-Adam Payne Lib Dem resurgence may help Boris and Brexit

[Dong Zhou]

law and order, union, UKIP

-Boris to clamp down on early release and pledges 10,000 more prison places by 2020 with new prisons, Patel says police should know she will back them all the way on stop and search

-Certain papers welcome Boris harder stance on crime, Sunday Telegraph saying Javid has asked if mint can do 50p Brexit coins

-Gordon Brown horrified at UK being torn apart by nationalism

-Carwyn Jones says a bad Brexit could lead to UK break up

-Richard Braine becomes head of UKIP with 53% of vote, the chairman of the UKIP's West London branch had the backing of Batten and declares he will be the voice of "far-moderate voice of common sense"

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-Henry Hill economy contracting can work for Boris and Javid

[Dong Zhou]

Goverment law and order, Tom Watson backs Scottish Labour over McDonnell, Caroline Lucas big plan backfires

-Papers on Boris attempts to become law and order figure

-Government to give Ofcom new powers against social media giants, CPS to get extra £85 million for next two years, Patel says stop and search works but Labour (via Abbott) and Lib Dems (via Davey) warn it doesn't work and poisons community relations

-Labour wants a review of grouse-shooting impact on natural habitat

-Tom Watson says second Scottish referendum is not answer to UK's problems and backs Scottish Labour on this

-Environmental audit committee warns big business, pension funds and investment firms must come clean on the impact of climate change on them and wants law changes to prevent perverse short term incentives

-Caroline Lucas writes open letter to 10 MP's (Party leaders: Thornberry, Swinson, Sturgeon, Liz Saville Roberts. Heidi Allen, Soubry. Plus, Kirsty Blackman, Cooper, Lady Hermon and Greening) calling for all woman cabinet to deal with Brexit crises, Abbott calls it backroom route to government of national unity which didn't work for McDonald and won't work now, Clive Lewis points out all ten are white so Lucas agrees it should be wider and invites Abbott.

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-Cat Smith tries to win young voters over to Labour

-Bob Neill HMRC's loan charges should be scrapped

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-D'Ancona Queen won't come to Remainer rescue

-Institute of Government's Maddy Jack and Joe Owen 22 page PDF on parliament's role before Brexit day

-Sean O'Grady despairs at Caroline Lucas plan and Remainers lack of unity

-Simon Jenkins not impressed by Boris being hard on crime

[Dong Zhou]

John Bolton on trade and Brexit, Caroline Lucas fall out, Farage goes for royal family

-Papers on push to ban hand-free car phone sets, US Brexit pledge and Farage

- Trump's national security adviser John Bolton pledges to fast-track trade talks with UK after Brexit and we will be first in line with a suggestion of sector by sector with manufacturing first with Congress eager to get these done quickly. Accuses EU of treating voters like peasants and US understands UK's first priority is Brexit so other issues like Huawei is being put on hold

-Transport Committee want ban on drivers using hands-free mobile phones

-£100 million to be spent on improving prison security

-Truss says Caroline Lucas plan is sexist, Sturgeon says is willing to work with anyone but points out May was a woman so there is a flaw in Lucas argument, Thornberry on holiday but feels public would be furious, Saville Roberts and Soubry concerned at idea of all woman.

Caroline Lucas says she chose woman who were leaders or deputy leaders of their parties (Greening is neither, Thornberry is neither leader or deputy) so is blaming parties for her list being all white but then later apologises, says she should have thought it through and was wrong to overlook BME fiugres. Denies it is sexist as she isn't saying all woman are less tribal and all men can't compromise but believes history shows (N.Ireland Peace process was apparently down to women...) woman are more likely to be less tribal and willing to work together. A Labour MP would have to lead government of national unity for legitimacy, would be happy for Sir Grieve (she could really have done with choosing a BME figure) to be in cabinet.

-Wage growth at 11 year high of 3.9% (though not yet caught up with pre-recession wages) but unemployment has increased by 0.1% to 3.9%, productivity has fallen for four quarters now

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-In what seems like a big gamble, Farage says Princess Meghan has made Prince Harry popularity fall of cliff as no longer all male drinker and soldier, doesn't want Prince Charles as King due to his views on climate change

-Commons investigating allegations of security breaches in Jared O'Mara's office

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-Paul Goodman politics of US trade deal

-Will Heaven (sun) welcomes Boris prison reforms

-Nicolas Bouzou EU and UK need to cooperate

-Hammond's special adviser Poppy Trowbridge has a go at Boris

-Hinsliff US wants no deal for UK as it weakens UK in trade talks

-John Denham wants a regional strategy for the south

[Sun Fin]

What a brilliant idea by Lucas. When the country and parliament is so delicately split deciding to alienate 50% of the population by saying that they are less competent (in different words) was exactly the right thing to do. This is toxic feminism.

[Dong Zhou]

I'll give her credit for acknowledging (eventually) that her attitude that led to her to only contacting white MP's was wrong and I hope this leads her to have a big think about her attitudes before she next goes on the attack, she has never come across as a compromiser either. Her plan is really bad, it has several impracticalities, has little sense of legitimacy, will upset several powerful figures (maybe they can afford to annoy Blackford, Corbyn and McDonnell but how do Abbott and Cherry, for example, feel?) and those that bemoan "the PC brigade" and oppose measures taken to even up job opportunities for woman are going to use this to prove their fears.

Brexit blame moves, SNP pay Salmond and other stories

-Sports Minister Nigel Adams says Derby's sponsorship decision with betting company with Rooney is very crafty but should be reconsidered for wider good, wishes to tackle discrimination in sports and get more participation

-Hammond says forcing through no deal Brexit would be betraying the UK public and the referendum result while Boris demands are a wrecking tactic to talks while no deal would lead to break up of UK and turn England into a diminished inward looking country, number 10 says they will get Brexit through despite Hammond's attempts to sabotage it and he undermined UK negotiating position, Hammond pointed out he voted for Brexit three times.

Bercow says he will oppose suspending of parliament with every body in his body, Rudd says she has warned cabinet against proroguing parliament and will not work against parliament while warning no deal will lead to job losses. Boris bemoans “A terrible kind of collaboration, as it were, going on between people who think they can block Brexit in Parliament and our European friends.” and EU are sticking to their stance because they are confident parliament will block no deal

-Papers on Brexit (I think they were mistaken to focus more on Hammond then Rudd though), Finical Times begs Parliament not to allow no-deal

-Boris clearly horrified as he is shown one prisoner scan of someone who had smuggled stuff in

-Scottish government forced to pay Salmond over 500k for flawed inquiry

-Damien Collins says Facebook are being disingenuous over it's denials about giving inconsistent evidence on Cambridge Analytica

-Rayner would scrap predictive grade university acceptance

-Inflation up to 2.1% when had been expected to drop a little

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-Lord Marks Boris prison stance is wrong tactic

-Williamson suing Labour over suspension

-Umunna wants government to intervene on sale of Cobham

-Mayor Khan backs a British slavery museum

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-Aditya Chakrabortty break down of social infrastructure

-Tim Newark welcomes John Bolton's comments

-Tom McTague Brexiteers have reason to be wary of backstop

[Dong Zhou]

Corbyn makes a major move, Brexit, Dr Woolstan joins new party

-Papers on Corbyn's move

-Patel asking police to look at claims about how their call centre handles fraud

-Corbyn says he should become caretaker PM, wouldn't implement Labour policies and would be time-limited, would delay Brexit then call for election and campaign for referendum as part of election. Lib Dems says no as he can't unite people, Greens and Plaid says referendum before election should be required, SNP says they aren't sure Westminster system can work with caretaker

-Abbott says using chicken boxes to warn against knife crime and suggest alternative lifestyles is offensive and crude+demonizes the community, Patel accuses Abbott of playing politics with knife crime

-Speaker Nancy Pelosi repeats her warning that Congress will not pass a trade deal with UK if UK's Brexit damages the Good Friday Agreement

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-Dr Woolostan joins Lib Dems as she wants a unified Remainer party, big coup as ex-Tory gives a "reaches across the divide" and there isn't the jokes like there was about Umunna, she is a Select Committee chair who commands respect across the house for her expertise on health matters while her chairing the Liaison Committee shows the political clout she has. Indicates she won't seek by-election as says Tories have shifted to right since they elected her

-Zippy Duvall, head of the American Farm Bureau, says UK must give access to US food industry to get trade deal or else it will be a betrayal of US farmers from Trump

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-Kettle Hammond raises flag but Boris domestic agenda shouldn't be overlooked

-Sunder Katwala on attitudes towards Edmund Burke and battle for political legitimacy

-The Sun not pleased with Hammond

-Paul Mason Corbyn's move is a big change