Politics
Tory plot to pull UK out of EU Working Time Directive could see 7m UK workers lose rights to paid holidays
Reports of a Tory plot to pull the UK out of the EU Working Time Directive could see 7 million workers in the UK lose rights to paid holidays, GMB has warned today. Brexit hardliners are today expected to demand Theresa May ditches safeguards post-Brexit which were designed by the EU to protect employees from working excessive hours. Michael Gove is among the staunch Brexiters wanting Britain to scrap the working time directive which stops staff in most jobs from working more than...
Man selling Brexit number plate after being told by his partner not to put it on his car
A man is selling a Brexit number plate after being warned he won't get his Christmas dinner if he puts it on his car. Mark Hoyle, 58, bought the registration X17 BRE for his black VW Golf. Mark Hoyle is selling a Brexit number plate after being warned he won't get his Christmas dinner if he puts it on his car. But after the ultimatum from his partner he has stuck it on Gumtree for £750. Mark, of Torquay, Devon...
Britain First leader Paul Golding has been arrested
Paul Golding, leader of right-wing group Britain First, has been arrested in Belfast regarding speeches he made at rally in the city. The 35-year-old was arrested shortly after arriving at Belfast magistrates court. Golding was his deputy, Jayda Fransen, 31, as she made her first appearance after being charged with “using threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour” at the same rally. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said: “Detectives investigating speeches made at the Northern Ireland Against Terrorism rally...
Donald Trump’s NYC mayoral vote binned – because he got his birthday wrong
Donald Trump's vote for the New York City mayoral race had to be binned because he got his birthday wrong. The President was not in the Big Apple when voters went the polls, so he voted by absentee ballot. But things didn't go too swimmingly for the man who once owned a large chunk of Manhattan. According to the New York Daily News, which obtained his ballot and found the error, the President put his birth date as 14 July 1946, when...
“Parliament has taken back control” – reaction to Theresa May’s humiliating Brexit defeat on Amendment 7
After a tentative agreement was finally achieved in the first phase of Brexit negotiations, Theresa May was not expecting a major defeat on her Brexit plans in the House of Commons. Eleven Conservative rebels voted with the opposition for Amendment 7 - an amendment by former Conservative Attorney General Dominic Grieve to ensure that parliament has a meaningful vote on the Brexit Deal negotiated by the Government. Tumultuous cheers broke out across the house of Commons as the shock result...
Prime Minister accused of “one law for her own constituency” as Parliament hears it’s the least hit by austerity
In a question about sprinklers being urgently needed in tower blocks after the Grenfell Tower disaster, Prime Minister’s Questions today heard how the Prime Minister’s constituency has been protected from the austerity cuts that have ravaged other local authorities around the country. “Not one penny to fit sprinklers to Birmingham’s 230 tower blocks from Government,” said Jack Dromey, MP for the Birmingham constituency of Erdington. "Now the city suffering the biggest cuts in local government history is to suffer a further...
Electoral data highlights stark racial divide in Alabama
White Alabamans voted enthusiastically for Donald Trump's Republican candidate in yesterday's election. Doug Jones became the first Democrat in 25 years to win a US Senate seat for Alabama after a bitter campaign against Roy Moore. His unexpected victory deals a blow to President Donald Trump, who backed Mr Moore, and narrows the Republican majority in the Senate to 51-49. Mr Moore has been criticised for being a white supremacist in the past and has alleged sexual assaults against his name....
Tory aide accused of raping woman in MP’s office
A Tory aide raped a woman in his MP boss's office after a night of drinking in a parliamentary bar, a court heard. Samuel Armstrong, 24, the chief of staff to South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay, is accused of carrying out the attack on October 14 last year. The distressed woman was then found wandering the corridors of Westminster before being found by cleaners, it was alleged. He is on trial at Southwark Crown Court charged with two charges of...
Government bows to public pressure over animal sentience
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has bowed to public pressure over animal sentience, saying he will "make Brexit work for animals". In a speech today he said he will enhance animal welfare standards, increasing the maximum prison sentence for 'animal cruelty' from six months to five years in England and Wales. He said: "Animals are sentient beings who feel pain and suffering, so we are writing that principle into law and ensuring that we protect their welfare. "We are a nation of...