Politics

Theresa May could be about to make a U-turn on public sector pay caps, according to leaked documents. The PM stoically rejected calls to lift the 1 per cent pay cap after the controversial policy saw the average public sector worker lose £13,000 over the last seven years. But according to reports a letter has been issued by ministers to pay review bodies signalling the lifting of the pay cap on those professions with the biggest recruitment and retention problems -...

A Tory MEP has got himself an Irish passport as he wanted to ensure he was a EU citizen after the UK finally leaves the economic union after the Brexit deal is finally agreed. Charles Tannock is a passionate remainer who was deeply saddened by the EU referendum result. He has an Irish grandmother so was able to apply for a passport for the Republic. Tannock told the Irish Times about his newly found passion for his Irish family background...

A Tory Peer, who is in the top 1,000 richest people according to the Sunday Times, has argued that Brexit is a good idea, as young people can work even longer hours. Retail tycoon, Lord Harris, is worth around £100m and said during a radio interview that “I just feel we would be better off out of the EU.” Harris was the chairman of Carpetright plc and was appointed to the board of Arsenal Football Club as a non-executive director...

MPs are reporting their own constituents to immigration enforcement using a new Home Office hotline and webpage. A Freedom of Information request submitted by Politics.co.uk has revealed that the Home Office has received 482 tip-offs from MPs between 2014 and 2016, raising the possibility that MPs are reporting their own constituents to the authorities when they have come to them for help. The news comes after London mayor Sadiq Khan said police officers were "duty bound" to report both victims and witnesses of crime...

The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, thinks that the UK is aiming for an “impossible” Brexit deal where it retains the benefits of EU membership despite leaving the economic union. At a press conference after latest round of talks, top EU negotiator Mr Barnier said: “The UK wants to take back control, it wants to set its own standards and regulations, but it also wants to have these standards recognised automatically in the EU, that is what the UK position...

Brexit has made England an increasingly "hostile and divided" nation, according to the Fear and HOPE 2017 report. The study revealed that despite the nation becoming more open and tolerant as a whole, responses to Brexit have left Britain more divided. A quarter of English people think Islam is a dangerous religion that incites violence, with 52 per cent saying that Islam poses a threat to the West and 42 per cent saying that they are more suspicious of Muslims as a result...

President Donald Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio on Friday despite the Arizona sheriff having a human records history that would make the most brutal dictators blush. Arpaio was a vocal proponent of Trump's candidacy during his presidential campaign, and used his national notoriety to advocate for Trump's similarly aggressive stance on border security and deportations. In a brief statement released late Friday evening, the White House praised Arpaio's career, saying he gave "50 years of admirable service" to the United States. Arpaio...

Police have confirmed they are carrying out a “significant” investigation into possible Conservative breaches of electoral laws during June’s election. The potential misuse of a call centre to campaign in marginal constituencies was revealed by a Channel 4 News undercover investigation. The Conservative Party has denied these allegations. But South Wales Police have confirmed that they are carrying out an investigation of "scale and significance" into the whether the party acted illegally by misusing a call centre in Wales to...

A conservative councillor has refused to apologise after comparing the huge crowds at Jeremy Corbyn's rallies with Nazi rallies under Adolf Hitler. Cllr Chris Steward, who is a former City of York council leader, drew the comparison on his Twitter account on Sunday, but has since removed the tweet. The tweet read: "You can judge mass attendance at rallies as the proof of a great leader if you want, I will judge their views," and was posted alongside an image...