Yahoo News general election 2019
Rapist Isla Bryson not truly transgender, Nicola Sturgeon suggests
Rishi Sunak Slaps Down Boris Johnson Over Call For UK To Send Tanks To Ukraine
Three years post-Brexit, how does the travel reality match up with what we were promised?
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PoliticsHuffPost UKBoris Johnson Urged To Reject Tommy Robinson Endorsement
English Defence League founder Stephen Yaxley-Lennon said "everyone should vote for Boris Johnson".
PoliticsThe GuardianBoris announces spending plan for neglected towns
Prime minister says new measures will focus on rail links and pub closures. Boris Johnson has announced another election package costing hundreds of millions of pounds for neglected towns, some of which will be spent in marginal constituencies. Concentrating on rundown high streets, the closures of pubs and post offices and the restoration of rail links, the prime minister has claimed that the measures will build upon the £3.6bn towns fund first announced in July. Towns that have been singled out in the new measures include Cleveleys, near Blackpool, where the Conservatives are defending a majority of 2,023, and Willenhall in Walsall North, where they hope to improve on a 2,601 majority. Labour said last night the Conservatives were responsible for the destruction of the high streets they are now claiming they will help. Andrew Gwynne, the shadow communities secretary, said: “The Tories are destroying our high streets and towns. A decade of vicious cuts to the services that people in our communities rely on has taken 60p in every £1 from council budgets.” Johnson said a future Conservative government would extend the retail discount on business rates to 50% next year. For businesses with a rateable value of less than £51,000, this will mean an increase on the current retail discount of 33% in 2020-21. This would amount to “an effective £280m tax cut” for small businesses, the party claimed. A new £1,000 business rates relief for pubs would also be introduced under a Johnson majority government – an £18m tax cut for next year, it is claimed. The Conservatives said they would also introduce a £150m fund that will help groups trying to take over and run pubs and post offices threatened with closure. Following on from previous pledges to reverse rail cuts recommended by Dr Richard Beeching in the 1960s, Johnson has also pledged to set up a £500m Beeching Reversal fund. Towns such as Ashington, Seaton Delaval and Blyth, with a combined population of 100,000, will receive cash following a request from Northumberland council for £99m to reinstate stations, the Tories claimed. Willenhall and Darlaston in the West Midlands will receive £18m to reopen stations – a further £10m has already been provided by the government, the party said. Investment will also be provided to connect Skelmersdale to Liverpool and Manchester. A disused railway line will be funded to improve transport connections for Thornton-Cleveleys and Fleetwood. In a statement last night, Johnson said: “For too long, too many towns and villages across Britain have been overlooked and left behind. When the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, many communities felt their voices had been heard for the first time in decades and that their lives would improve. “We will invest in these communities and help people put the heart back into the places they call home.” One organisation representing retailers said Johnson’s plans did not go far enough to revive the UK’s troubled shopping districts. Tom Ironside, director of business and regulation at the British Retail Consortium, said the majority of the UK’s 3 million retail workers were employed in businesses that would not benefit from today’s announcement. “It is essential that the next government scraps ‘downwards transition’, which costs retailers £1.3bn, freezes next year’s rates increase, and introduces an improvement relief to encourage investment in our high streets. “To ensure the long-term vitality of our town and city centres, the next government should follow the recommendations of the treasury select committee and commit to wholesale reform of our broken business rates system,” he said. The Conservatives have been accused of using public money to boost their election prospects after it emerged that funding from the towns fund was going to wealthier Tory marginals. An analysis by the Times found this week that a third of the 100 towns due to receive some of the £3.6bn pot were not among the 300 most deprived towns. These included Loughborough, which was won by Nicky Morgan, the culture secretary, at the last election, with a majority of around 4,000. Kirby was not on the list.
NewsThe TelegraphDominic Raab ‘not an easy man’ but isn’t a bully, says Boris Johnson’s ex-chief of staff
Dominic Raab is “not an easy man” to work with but is not a bully, Boris Johnson’s former chief of staff has said.
NewsThe GuardianAlbanese says voice referendum will go ahead even if political dissent presents risk of failure
Exclusive: Prime minister says there are many obstacles but it is an important opportunity for First Nations recognition that should not be wasted
NewsSky NewsNicola Sturgeon says double rapist Isla Bryson 'almost certainly' claiming to be transgender as 'easy way out'
Nicola Sturgeon has said she believes a double rapist is "almost certainly" claiming to be transgender as an "easy way out". Scotland's first minister was asked about Isla Bryson, who was convicted in Glasgow last month. Ms Sturgeon said last week that Bryson would be removed from a women's prison, where she was awaiting sentencing, following uproar about the safety of other inmates.
NewsEvening StandardWhen is the next UK general election? Polls show more support for Labour
What are the rules for holding a general election and who can call for an early vote?
NewsHuffPost UKBoris Johnson Is Now Claiming Brexit Helped To Boost The UK's Support For Ukraine
The former prime minister has already wrongly said the success of Britain's vaccine rollout was thanks to the decision to leave the EU.
NewsThe TelegraphPlanet Normal: Government is obstructing the Brexit the British people thought we were getting
School seems to be out for winter after teachers announced they would take part in a major walkout on February 1 that could bring the country to a standstill.
NewsThe TelegraphTories turn heat on Nicola Sturgeon to drop £1.3bn social care overhaul
Nicola Sturgeon must scrap her “discredited” plans for a National Care Service and give the £1.3 billion saved to councils, the Tories said ahead of a key vote on the Scottish Budget on Thursday.
NewsThe IndependentBoris Johnson calls for Ukraine to be given 'tools to finish the job' during US visit
Boris Johnson has called for the West to up what he has described as its "pipette titration" of support for Ukraine. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington, the former prime minister called for the war-torn country to be given the "tools to finish the job." "Above all, we need to avoid being drawn into Putin's personal psychodrama," Johnson said, insisting we shift our focus to Ukraine.
NewsThe GuardianBoris Johnson calls on US to give Ukraine fighter planes
Former UK prime minister tells US on Washington visit that giving Ukraine planes ‘is humane thing to do’
NewsThe TelegraphSNP minister accused of ‘throwing petrol onto the fire’ after publicising attempt to disrupt women’s rally
An SNP minister has been accused of “reckless” behaviour after she publicised an attempt to disrupt a women’s rally which has already been threatened with violence by transgender rights activists.
NewsThe IndependentSunak under pressure from ‘frustrated’ Tory MPs over Raab allegations
PM pressed to explain what he knew and when
NewsHuffPost UK'Childish' Tory MP Mocks Striking Civil Servants As War On Working From Home Continues
Former minister Jake Berry's dig at workers on the picket line follows previous attacks by Jacob Rees-Mogg.
NewsThe TelegraphLabour MP forced to apologise for ‘unacceptable’ Israel comment
A Labour MP has been forced to apologise after calling the Israeli government “fascist” and referring to the country as an “apartheid state”.
NewsHuffPost UKBoris Johnson Says Vladimir Putin Isn't 'Mad' And Won't Use Nuclear Weapons
The former prime minister piled pressure on Western leaders to provide more help to Ukraine.
NewsThe IndependentBoris Johnson says people accusing him of Partygate cover-up ‘out of their minds’
Claims of cover-up ‘strictly for the birds’, former PM tells loyal ally Nadine Dorries
PoliticsThe IndependentWatch live: Boris Johnson delivers speech on Ukraine aid in Washington DC
Watch live as Boris Johnson delivers a speech on Ukraine aid in Washington DC today, 1 February. The former prime minister is speaking at the Atlantic Council think tank to discuss the need for “Western unity and support for Ukraine and what more can be done against the threat Russia poses.” Mr Johnson met Republican lawmakers on Tuesday to make the case for the US to sustain its aid towards Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
NewsThe GuardianLabour MP apologises to Commons after calling Israeli government fascist
Kim Johnson summoned by party’s chief whip amid condemnation of comments during PMQs
NewsThe TelegraphNo 10 distances itself from Boris Johnson's US tour comments
Boris Johnson is not speaking for the Government on his high-profile trip to Washington DC, Downing Street has insisted.
NewsThe IndependentKeir Starmer condemns Labour MP for calling Israeli government ‘fascist’
Kim Johnson apologies after being called into the Labour whips’ office over controversial remarks
NewsThe GuardianTruss and Brexit have sunk Britain’s economy – and the right is in deep denial about both
The global economy is hardly booming, but the UK is at the bottom of the pile of developed nations for two clear reasons, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle
NewsEvening StandardLabour MP apologises for describing Israeli government as ‘fascist’
Kim Johnson also said she recognised the use of the term, ‘apartheid state’, was ‘insensitive’
NewsSky NewsPolice investigating 'grossly offensive' messages sent to Labour MP after she spoke out about Andrew Tate
Alex Davies-Jones revealed on Tuesday she had been "bombarded with death and rape threats" following her remarks about Tate's influence on young people, saying they were "being brainwashed online by his deeply toxic messaging". Now the force have confirmed they looking into messages sent to her over social media and email.
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