UK Politics

[Dong Zhou]

I imagine it is worse here, I really really don't care about a royal marriage but the press sure does. The US does seem to have a fascination for the Royals, possibly it provides a sense of history and fantasy that a newer nation like the US perhaps feels it lacks? Something untouched by politics and non-partisan?

[Dong Zhou]

PMQ's or deputy show, Green (some surprise given he is under investigation) vs Thornberry who opened off with a joke about her history with St George's flag. Thornberry seemed set to open off with an attack on Green's position as she asked about the standards he asked of Prescott 17 years ago, Green was clearly rattled in his response, but then she revealed it was a question about nursing numbers with even Tory frontbench laughing. Green did a good general defence of NHS nurses numbers but as Thornberry noted, he didn't answer the specific question and pushed on why nurses are leaving, Green dodged it again and got in a mess as he talked about measures for nurses so went for Wales. Thornberry pointed out nurses exist outside wards (where Green) said they were up and pushed on reasons why they are leaving and links it up 17 years well while plunging into his local hospital record, Green stuttering and struggling as he goes onto measures for nurses pay, Thornberry going in hard on local hospital troubles.

In summery she tried to build it into a wider case about NHS, stumbled on winter crises (called it winter fuel crises and realized) but it came too late to build a theme I felt, she had clever questions throughout and performed well but failed to quite build it up and started to stumble near end. Green, who gave a good general defence at end, did some good defences of general NHS record but struggled on nursing specifics and was rattled at times.

Ian Blackford remained, goes on armed sales cash from Saudi's since war with Yemen, Green defends defence industry and export license but didn't know the answer (unsurprisingly, Blackford did), the SNP representative gave a passionate attack on government for this, Green asks if SNP and Labour are prepared to admit to job losses if defence companies don't sell to Saudi and that Saudi's were invited in by Yemen government with UN backing. Ill-feeling when Nadine Dorries asked about Tulip Saddiq without informing her, Bercow shoots down Zahwai's attempt to ask about McDonnell policy

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-Budget passes but Bercow has to ask twice for Aye's due to lacklustre response

-Apparently Dugdale isn't impressing TV bosses

-Widely believed 40bn and 55bn euros (£35bn-£49bn) over 40 years has been offered to EU and though number 10 downplaying rumours bill deal has been reached (as is Barnier who says he is still working), is a feeling we are getting close to money agreement. UKIP furious and some MP' not happy (Sir Bone and Philip Davies say that fund should go to public services) but a lot of Tory Brexiteers attitudes seem to be a grumbling "I don't like but accept it as payment only if we get trade deal"

-Facebook and Twitter agree to supply information on Russian interference in Brexit referendum

-Government considering reopening some rail-lines if they think it will boost economy

-Nicky Morgan concerned at uneven distribution of ATM's

-Barnier says talks on transitional deal will come before talks on trade, says Brexit was selfish when Europe needed to stand together against terrorism (feel that is a low blow), UK won't be member of European Defence Agency or Europol. The selfish line has gone down very badly

-SNP sets up independent national whistleblowing officer for NHS

-Boris says he is happy with current offer to EU, using phrase 'now is the time to get the ship off the rocks', hopes for imminent breakthrough

-Fury as Trump retweets Britain First, Corbyn calls it abhorrent and dangerous, number 10 calls it wrong but doesn't go further

-Truss says payments to EU depend on suitable outcome

-Varadkar says doubt there will be veto as EU behind them

-May says Whitehall and government done a lot of preparatory work for Brexit, not worried about Irish border as all sides agree strongly no hard border

-Labour to try to force vote calling for OBR and National Audit Office to scrutinise Brexit bill and then Commons vote on it

-Government wants Terry Burns, the former head of the Treasury, to chair Ofcom but needs to pass Culture Committee

-European parliament declares not enough progress has been made to start trade talks. Awkward but time left to change minds so I get the feeling this the parliament trying to ensure it gets what it wants on Ireland and citizens rights

-HMRC says due to staff needed for Brexit, taxpayer needs to find an extra 200 million for HMRC alone

-Abott says she will keep arguing for second referendum, Sir Stramer says transition period may make it impossible

-Tulip Saddiq forced to apologize to channel 4 after comments (“Thanks Daisy for coming. Hope you have a great birth because child labour is hard.”) seen as threatening a pregnant producer. Saddiq did not like being asked if she would ask her aunt Sheikh Hasina Wazed, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, over the detention of Ahmad bin Quasem, a British-trained barrister in prison in Bangladesh, Saddiq felt since he isn't British or her constituent then it is not a matter for her (which contradicts past statements she has made).

-UK consumer credit growth hits 18-month low of 9.6%

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-Suella Fernandes points out letter to Brexit Committee got leaked to Mirror in recent past

-Huge Gye profiles Dent Coad and her history in Kensington politics

-UKIP MEP Mike Hookem says rumoured Brexit bill is an outrage, Farage calls it unacceptable to British public and a sell-out when we should walk away

-Farron says devout Christians are seen as dangerous and offensive , he handled gay sex question badly but people seemed surprised he could hold such views and be liberal, liberalism has eaten itself and is no longer tolerant, social media has led to group think.

-Jess Philips on impact of budget on women

-Ian Murray calls for a sitcom based on women warwork during WW1

-IDS comments that Ireland preparing for Presidential election and government being scarred off Sinn Feinn has led to a hardline, not gone down well in Ireland. He also says finical offer should be linked to trade deal and wants to see if we are legally obliged to pay that sum but will save money over long term

-Ian Paisley says Ireland government attitude is a disgrace and if they keep this up, we should punish them in fishiers talk

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-Bush warns Tories can't fix their problems if they think all youngsters are communist

-Hardman on government's announcement on stillbirths show how backbenchers can make a difference

-Gina Miller suspicious about finding of Brexiteers

-Matthew Norman mocks David Davies reclaiming parliaments sovereignty by ignoring it

-Kuessenberg on state of Brexit talks

-Lionel Shriver sees divorce bill as weak response to EU bullying

-Andrew Lilico is happy wit Brexit sum but only if deal is agreed

[Dong Zhou]

-Abbott backtracking from second referendum, saying she phrased the letter badly

-Trump needed two goes to attack the right May on twitter, when he finally manages it he tells May to focus on terrorism. This for May daring to say he was wrong to retweet Britain First (even her cabinet was harder line, Javid saying "So POTUS has endorsed the views of a vile, hate-filled racist organisation that hates me and people like me. He is wrong and I refuse to let it go and say nothing"), Rudd (encouraged by Sir Bone) suggests Trump stop tweeting and Javid's views have support while her thanking those calling those for state visit to be stopped has led to speculation Rudd wants him barred. Brendan Cox tweets "You have a mass shooting every single day in your country, your murder rate is many times that of the UK, your healthcare system is a disgrace, you can’t pass anything through a congress that you control. I would focus on that."

-Ireland's EU commissioner Phil Hogan welcomes movement on bill and hopes UK will now do likewise on border

-Government trialling companies that run trains to also run tracks

-May is being damaged by her efforts to win over Trump clearly failed

-Labour, Lib Dems, Khan and others calling for Trump's state visit to be cancelled, Cooper says UK ambassador should be summoned

-Bercow grants debate on Trump as "I thought the House would want urgently to express support for the victims of racism and bigotry and to denounce their purveyors."

-Record slowdown in migration, down to +230,000 with EU decrease of 82,000 providing most of 106,000 decline

-Our ambassador to US Sir Kim Darroch sent to White House to express concerns

-May says Brexit is not stepping away from the world, refuses to withdraw invitation to Trump as wants US and UK to continue close bond

-Ireland's Agriculture minister Michael Creed says UK still to deliver draft of what border would be like

-Robert Wood Johnson, the US ambassador to London, may have chosen wrong day to hold a "Ask Woody" session on twitter, Says he has passed on concerns to White House

-Simon Convey, now Deputy PM of Ireland, says decision to go to phase 2 or not will permanently change relations with UK but EU won't force Ireland to try to use veto but stand with Ireland

-Corbyn coverstar of GQ

-Government gives Jordan £90 million for it's economy

-Carwyn Jones says progress has been made on Brexit but it must be agreement rather imposition between Welsh Assembly and Westminster

-Robert Chote, head of the Office for Budget Responsibility, denies it is biased against Brexit

-Allegations that Foreign Office officials told Irish counterparts to ignore whatever Boris said on Brexit when Boris visited Ireland recently

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-Chris Leslie notes we would be paying 50 billion for worse trade deal with EU

-Regulatory Reform Select Committee sees change of chair with Bridgen overthrown for Stephen McPartland

-Women's pensions age debate sees it turning into Black vs Scottish Tories

-Fiona Onasanya slips in lines from Shaq's Man's Not Hot in budget speech

-Ian Paisley says Ireland should stop talking about gloom and doom but instead work with UK to sort out border issue. Maybe N.Ireland Brexit party, like the DUP, could come up with solutions?

-Sammy Wilson says DUP may not back government in Commons votes if N.Ireland is given separate treatment to UK on Brexit

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-Bush says Labour aren't racing ahead as Corbyn bad at Parliamentary side of politics, warns Tory MP's don't understand Brexit bill

-Katya Adler on Brussels attitude to Brexit bill rumours

-Andreas Whittam Smith not happy May is visiting Saudi Arabia

-Kettle urges May to make stand against Trump

-Professor Jonathan Portes on fall of immigration

[Dong Zhou]

-Twitter should be concerned at MP's angry with them over Trump as well

-Green's alleged computer habits have come up again, rumours David is trying to shield Green from sack and I get the slight sense police have overplayed their hand here

-Brexit Committee says government proposals on Irish border are untested and speculative but more details are needed while it's "hard Brexit=no borders" is just impossible to reconcile, transition period details need to be published by end of March. However 4 Tories and a DUp MP voted against the report conclusions, Rees-Mogg says it has a Remonerish tinge due to splitting on Brexit lines but praises the calm and patient Benn, feels HMRC have found a solution

-May supporting constituent Debbie McGee in Strictly though she also likes Alexander Burke

-DUP making very very clear to government they will not accept sea border with UK or regularity convergence with Ireland, Sammy Wilson's threat seen as approved by DUP HQ

-Minister Sam Gyimah says he is deeply uncomfortable with Trump getting a state visit, calls him divisive

-Corbyn says he is a threat to bankers as it is a damaging rigged system

-MP's and MSP alarmed by major branch closures by RBS with Mundell seeking a meeting with the bank

-Rupa Huq says Tulip Siddis mishandled the interview but she sees why

-Manufacturing has best November in four year and better then expected month

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-Katya Adler on state of Brexit talks

-David Shariatmadari Britain First's views are more mainstream then we would like to admit

-Melanie McDonagh wonders why police see Green's alleged interests as a matter for them or the public

[Dong Zhou]

-Debate on deafness first to be fully interpreted by sign language

-England are playing Belgium on June 28 which is the day of a European Council summit, Theresa May will be in Belgium

-Mayor Khan puts West Ham's loss making stadium under London's control

-Tusk says Brexit offer must be acceptable to Ireland before phase 2 can start, sarcastically notes some MP's seem to struggle to understand the logic that EU would favour remaining Ireland over leaving UK, Brexit has caused uncertainty for millions

-Commons culture committee Damian Collins says police should have gone to inquiry with allegations against Green rather then media, rumours Davies has threatened to resign of Green goes, Dominic Grieve accuses the ex-police briefing against Green of breaching code of conduct and very worrying breach of data protection, Dodds say police must not be above the law

-Tulip Saddiq says she had difficulty at borders as child has father's name, Nick Hurd indicates government is sympathetic at need to look at passports are done to cover this

-Bob Spink fund guilty of electoral fraud

-Bercow rebukes David Linden for describing peers as "ermine vermin"

-Government admits parts of it's investigator powers act breaches EU law so will change it

-D'Arcy's Week ahead including Brexit bill

-Sturgeon wants UK to stay in single market

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-Harper and Prentis had fun with boundary review debate

-Dan Jones, editor of GQ, calls Corbyn underwhelming in person and very difficult to work with due to team failing to understand how photographing someone works but Jones supported Cameron in past so his views are being taken with a pinch of salt.

-Ian Paisley does not want convergence of N.Ireland and Republican's regulations

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-Freedland calls for end to special relationship obsession

-Councillor Naushabah Khan on sexual discrimination by business

-Forsyth (sun) on state of Brexit talks, defence spending, Trump

[Dong Zhou]

-The entire Social Mobility Commission has resigned in protest at government's lack of headway on the matter, says they don't doubt May's personal commitment but aren't seeing it turned into action, suspects Brexit has distracted government and points out two key posts on Commission have not been filled for two years. Given the respect held onto it and it's head Alan Milburn, damaging for government though Milburn's term was at an end.

-Labour chief whip Lord Bassam pays back wrongly claimed travel expenses

-Rumours current plan is Trump will come over for opening of American embassy building and will go to Downing Street but won't meet Queen

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-IDS not happy at rumoured plans for referring cases to ECJ

-Roy Hattersley accuses Momentum of an attempted purge, is a bigger threat then Militant

-Lord Prescott calls for rail back to public ownership

-Farage says Trump's tweets weren't in good taste but isn't fake news and outrage is out of proportion from liberal elite

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-Forysth says Tories fate remains in their own hands

-Nick Cohen on Trump row

-Kevin McKenna argues Hollyrood has priorities badly wrong

-Rentoul thinks Corbynisim will end when the leader goes

[Dong Zhou]

-Hopes of phase 1 agreement today has failed. That Davies (who unwisely said he expected it done today whereas number 10 were cautiously saying next few days, Verhofstadt gave today 50/50), Junker, May were there, Tusk cancelled trip to Middle East this week was a symbol of belief that it might happen. Ireland held emergency meeting between party leaders and quickly leaked that UK has said that if no solution can be found on Irish border, N.Ireland will have regulatory alignment with EU where it was needed for Good Friday. If true, this will go down very badly with DUP and Tory Brexiteers. Tusk indicated he expected deal done that day, DUP pt about that the leak was a plot by Dublin and just a draft, Convey said deal was done as Irish had been given reassurances it needed about no border (when his boss cancelled press conference later, that indicated things had gone wrong. SNP, Welsh Labour and Major Khan demanded same deal as N.Ireland would get for their own patches while DUP is digging in very very hard to block it happening in N.Ireland

Juncker went out of his way to praise May for defending UK's interests with vigour while May is expected to return later in week but Varadkar devastating as he accepts May acted in good faith and happy to give her more time to sort things out in UK but leaders are expected to only promise something they can expect to get through their own country

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-Met investigating the police who alleged about Green's computer for possible breach of confidentially

-Hunt says if MP's undermine May, there will be no Brexit

-Nigel Dodds says Ireland have taken harder line under new leaders and rejecting technology that could answer border concerns

-Construction grows at fastest rate in 5 month

-Not sure it is going to help that Convey is quoting Westminster's Brexit committee on border concerns

-Downing Street tries to, due to RTE starting the rumours of Irish border solution, attack credibility by pointing out they said there was a cabinet meeting when there wasn't

-Dianne Abbott on privatization of forensic services

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-Rees-Mogg, Redwood, Owen Paterson and Lord Lawson demand May make demands of EU before we pay up

-Alan Milburn wants Greening to remain at education

-Alarm as Nadine Dorries says she shares her passwords with her staff including interns on exchange programs , Nick Boles says he also shares passwords with staff

-Blair fears Brexit is risking Good Friday agreement, housing being ignored due to Brexit distracting government, backs Labour's proposed land value tax

-Farage says it is not hypocritical for him to take EU pension though he suspects EU will stop him getting it, says proposed deal risks the unity of the four kingdoms and so is a betrayal

-Sammy Wilson says Stormont would veto proposed Ireland solution, Lord Trimble said the proposed plan was a bad one

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-Fraser Nelson says having tried to destroy Social Mobility Commission, government should have foreseen Miliburn's attack

-Adler senses confidence we will reach phase 2 in Brussels

-Zoe Williams social mobility is not same as dealing with child poverty

-Bush on Irish fudge

-Tom Bradby on Irish question is an emotional one

-Robert Peston on May's high stakes Brexit gamble

[Dong Zhou]

-Corbyn blames "grubby deal" with DUP for Brexit failure and that it shows May can't deliver a good Brexit

-Bercow rebukes Javid for use of term disingenuous about Healey

-Apparently some Tory MP's wondering if DUP can be brought off again. Not sure they quite get how fundamental the Irish border question is for DUP

-May's planned statement to MP's cancelled, Bercow grants urgent question so Davies sent and he says regulatory alignment meant for whole of UK.

-Chief whip Julian Smith sent to talk to DUP counterpart Sir Jeffrey Donaldson

- Information Commissioner's Office reminds MP's they have a duty not to share passwords

-Forster accuses Dublin of trying to change Good Friday Agreement without unionists consent

-Sense still some work needed on ECJ issue

-Ruth Davidson suggests why not do the N.Ireland deal for all of UK as doing it for N.Ireland only risks the union, David Mundell has got behind Davidson on this as have all 13 Scottish Tory MP's. Another headache for May while DUP figures seem to be backing Davidson

-Rail fares up 3.4% from Jan 2nd, car sales down 11% with eight month of decline, pound takes a hit

-Rachael Reeves, chair of business committee, concerned at proposed merger of SSE and Npower

-Forster sings for Christmas charity single and refuses to meet May today, says she only get text of Irish deal on Monday morning despite asking for it for five weeks, says she was told the Irish blocked her from seeing it

-Convey says they won't retreat on substance but will help on any presentation issues

-Sturgeon calls for informal coalition to try to keep us in single market and custom's union, challenges Corbyn to shape up and join

-Sinn Feinn deputy Mary Lou McDonald says DUP's attitude throughout Brexit has been reckless and Irish deal is a good one

-Hammond very confident we can get deal back on track

-Cecilia Malmström, the EU’s trade commissioner, dismisses rumours of punishment clause but says UK won't find it easy to just replicated the 60 trade deals of EU

-MI15 have foiled 9 attacks this year

-Nigel Dodds says it will take ages to repair damage to Anglo-Irish relations but blames Dublin rather then DUP

-Ireland's ambassador to London Adrian O’Neill urges DUP to calm down a little and deal needs to be agreed by end of week

-Gauke promises papers on Universal Credit to go to Select Committee

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-Farage demands May resign for betraying Brexit and endangering UK (maybe he should have thought of the risk to UK when he pushed for Brexit?)

-Sammy Wilson says current border agreement would secretly keep N.Ireland in single market and customs union, special status for N.Ireland would see other parts of UK make similar demands

-Soubry says simple answer is to keep all of UK in single market and customs union

-Will Quince says office manager has his password and doesn't always lock up computer to give his staff aces

-Ed Miliband "What an absolutely ludicrous, incompetent, absurd, make it up as you go along, couldn’t run a piss up in a brewery bunch of jokers there are running the government at the most critical time in a generation for the country."

-David Jones opposes the Irish compromise

-Peter Grant says May is being interviewed to be Scotland football manager due to ability “to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory”.

-Heidi Allen in tears during Universal Credit debate

-Enda Kenny urges calmer language in Ireland dispute

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-Kuessenberg on Brexit talks

-Eatson says Brexit has seen EU given greater control of UK

-Fintan O'Toole says Hard Brexiteers should worry at what defeat to Ireland reveals about UK

-Sean O'Grady thinks the Irish question will bring down May within weeks

-Toynbee accuses nation (but mostly Tories) of ignoring poverty and inequality

-Kevin Meagher says N.Ireland i already a special case and May must see off DUP

-Professor Brian Lacey not happy with DUP's handling of Brexit

-Alex Massie on Ruth Davidson's intervention

[Dong Zhou]

PMQ's: Corbyn decided to go on Brexit, starting with Dr Fox's remark that it would be easiest deal in human history, May gets on general argument about trade freedom and says progress is being made but attacks Labour MEP's for voting against phase 2. Corbyn messes up with a out of context shot about looking behind her, quotes a Tory donor but it lacks a big punch and loses rhythm as he goes on not telling DUP, May points out Labour are all over place on Brexit. Corbyn ignores that and says missed Davies said it would be done by October and Forster not getting papers then asks about Irish border position, May says same as Lanchester house speech, Corbyn says she didn't answer question (felt mistake as soon as he said it) and goes on DUP in control, goes on Davies and sectoral reports, May points out she had answered question and gives technical answer on sectorial reports, Corbyn goes on the Davies scandal but doesn't go anywhere with it then asks about itemised accounts list of payments, May says that won't be possible till final deal. Corbyn goes for summery of government unable to solve any big issue, May more effective on Labour's promises they can't delivery including a leaflet on promising to abolish student debt

Poor by Corbyn, worst for some time from him, he seemed jittery, losing rhythm, his attacks lack punch or passion, delivery poor and not really responding to what was going on, May shaky at start but pounced on every mistake, growing in confidence and exploiting Labour's lack of coherence. Blackford says this week shows DUP has veto on Brexit, that Monday was embarrassing and shows May is in office, not in power, May talks about the particular circumstances of N.Ireland, Blackford calls for us to remain in single market and customs union which would save Irish question, May says Brexit means leaving both and building trade deals across the world. Blackford spoke with passion and better delivery but lack of killer blow, Haigh showed them both how it should be done.

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-Spring statement 13th March but Hammond warns not to expect too much other then OBR reports and setting out some thinking in preparation for budget

-David Anderson's review says Manchester attacks might have been prevented in certain circumstances, failed to pick up significance of two pieces of intelligence an MI5 needs to share more

-Davies met with laughter in Commons yesterday

-Hunt furious with Facebook creating a service for U13's

-Damien Green accuses one ex-cop of lying and now may face legal action

-Accusations inquiry into Sargeant got leaked before the late AM was told

-Dublin denies they stopped Forster being shown negotiation papers

-Rumours Boris has told cabinet he has concerns at "regulatory alignment" and rumours of a revolt forming

-Barnier deputy Dutch MEP Sophie in 't Veld says they need to know what UK wants, UK's Ireland proposal was unworkable but they have no wish to punish UK

-Boris wants phase 2 to start now

-Davies tells Brexit committee there is no sector by sector Brexit study, will be impact assessment later (as right now would be pointless) but won't be released as would hamper talks, refuses to defend government/whip decisions not to amend the Commons demand for Brexit papers to be released to committee, Brexit won't lead to shortage of nurses, willing to use privy council terms to give more information to certain MP's, they took no impact assessment before deciding to leave customs union. Not sure saying he is being made late for next appointment went down well

-Plenty of opposition MP's accusing Davies of misleading Parliament, Bercow says he will wait for Brexit Committee report before deciding if to allow a debate

-MI5 foil assassination plot against May

-Hammond banned from using RAF transport due to Treasury vs Mod row over bill (possibly also due to Hammond's allies saying Williamson has struggled to get head round the post). Hammond says cabinet have not discussed what final Brexit would look at (number 10 very quickly announces it will be done before Christmas), we will pay what we owe EU even without a trade deal (number 10 slaps him down for that), no deal would cost UK way more then Brexit divorce bill, when told he isn't trending on twitter like Davies did that morning Hammond remarks that is probably a good thing

-Confusion as Sir Stramer seems to indicate we should stay in single market and customs union

-Dublin offers to insert clarifying text to help May, suggesting it says integrity of UK won't be undermined

-Forster says DUP should have seat at EU talks, will travel to London when things are nearly done

-OECD says state pension is worst in any major country

-Sir Stramer on Brexit

-Junker says he is willing to meet May at any time to help

-A strong sense the Hard Brexiteers are losing patience with May and acting with loaded questions at PMQ's

-Varadkar says phase 1 could go into January but he is under some pressure to soothe things with N.Ireland

-Parliament's sports and social bar shut indefinitely after braw

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-Warm welcome for Jowell as she enters Lords

-IDS says EU needs to back off or we walk away from talk, Nicky Morgan calls that madness and a betrayal of the young

-Rees-Mogg says Davies and government have gone above and beyond call of duty in trying to help incompetent motion calling for release of papers and given more then called for. Not what he was saying last week... Notes May's red lines seem rather pink

-Robert Hutton

Brexit Committee hearing on sectoral analyses starts up. I'm having flashbacks to university seminars where I'd been caught out pretending to have done the reading.

-Tracy Crouch welcomes ban on Russia at winter Olympics combined with clean Russian athletes allowed under neutral flag

-Elisha McCallion not happy with DUP stance

-Momentum head Jon Lansman demands return of all council candidates in London, saying sitting Corbynites have been excluded from shortlist for no reason (some of the sitting councillors are considering legal action against Labour)

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-Mark Devenport on Ireland issue

-Eaton on Labour's careful Brexit position

-Behr calls for Tory Remainers to rise up now

-Simon Boyd wants to leave EU standards behind

-Mick Hume rails against DUP being made scapegoat and EU generally

[Dong Zhou]

-Trump recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital not gone down well among UK politicians or government, Boris calls it unhelpful, Thornberry says Trump is setting fire to theatre

-EU saying they need agreement in 48 hours to get it done by December then change it to midnight Sunday (as a counciltry gesture, they accept Brussels or London midnight), Ireland says they need written agreement on border within 24 hours

-Electoral Commission head Sir John Holmes warns security is a real issue due to Russia and council cuts, electoral laws need a rehual urgently like rules on political campaigners identifying themselves to public, photo ID (will go down badly), bigger fines for breaching spending limits or trying to trick way round them and against online voting due to hacking fears

-Williamson says no IS fighter should be allowed to return to these shores and the only good one is a dead one (neither Boris or Downing Street backing him on this) which has gone down badly

-Boris makes speech saying UK remains committed to fighting terrorism and Brexit has not weakened the fight, opposes efforts to stop advertising in right-wing papers, says go whistle was in relation to claims of Brexit bill of 80-100 million

-Electoral Commission checking Momentum's accounting after they admit to errors and given how narrowly they came under spending limit. Momentum have taken this maturely but aren't helped when likes of Owen Jones complain of establishment conspiracy

-Bercow accidentally calls Bradshaw "MP for Brexter"

-Grayling optimistic about chances of deal

-Lord Jay, the former head of the Foreign Office and acting chair of the Lords EU committee, says Brexit papers are underwhelming and surprised there haven't been impact assessments

-Commons committee on standards demands Hodge apologize finding she used parliamentary facilities, such as stationery and phones, to carry out work on review of London’s proposed Garden Bridge for Mayor Khan. Says amount of money on this was small but the offence was very repeated and she gave the impression of this being a Commons matter

-Brexit Committee visits Ireland bar Rees Mogg and Sammy Wilso. N.Ireland's deputy chief constable Drew Harris warns there have been 58 shootings and 32 bombing incidents this year so far and that any check point system would be a target, no deal means UK would really need an extradition treaty

-Sturgeon on May's government “dissembling, mendacious and totally, totally incompetent” and worst in her lifetime, Labour needs to get act together on Brexit

-Khan rules out ever running for Prime Minister

-Osborne does the press gallery lunch, on Corbyn says ‘If the Labour movement was lead by a social democrat of even middling ability they would now be 20 points ahead in the polls.’, says Tories should be
pro-market, pro-business, fiscally responsible but warns that will spit party, warns they risk appearing anti-change and there is an isolationist wing of the party, says he and Boris were both warned by whips in 2002 that voting for gay adoption would their careers, May can't get hard Brexit through parliament and will go before election, he should have made clear benefits of migration when in government

-Charles Walker, the wily leader of Commons procedure committee, will be tabling amendments to the EU withdrawal bill that would create a sifting committee with powers to demand votes when ministers want to amend the law using secondary legislation.

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-Sylvia Hermon has passionate speech about her childhood and why no deal can not happen for the sake of Irish peace, Nigel Dodds promptly accuses her of being an agent of Dublin. Unlike the jerk Dodds, Hermon showed maturity and withdrew her amendment after talks with ministers and opposition MP's

-Stanley Johnson quips on leaving reality TV show that he wants to know if Boris is still foreign secretary

-Hannan on Irish border and government needs to make a choice about future

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-Kuessenberg says May now has to come down on one side of Brexit divide or the other

-Bush warns Hammond could pay for defence row and May has room to manoeuvre on Ireland

-Dawn Foster on Brexit has taken over everything in politics

-Steve Richards on a trapped May