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Welcome to the new Reform roadshow. Same as the last but more desperate | John Crace
Source: The Guardian
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The Guardian
How success of Manchester City helped put Andy Burnham in power
PM has praised Abu Dhabi group as ‘huge partner’ in reshaping Manchester, but critics say this ignores public cost of city’s transformation In July 2016, the Manchester City player Yaya Touré ambled into a small bar near Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium and offered a bemused smile as dozens of Chinese fans rushed towards him. Manchester City had just won their sixth trophy under the big-spending ownership of Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group and the blues were international megastars. They were also magnets for investment. Continue reading...
The Guardian
Key disability benefit for young people may be axed under major welfare changes
Exclusive: Plan under discussion involves intensive support to help young people into employment Ministers are working up sweeping plans for welfare changes including scrapping a key disability benefit for under-25s and replacing it with a multibillion-pound package of support to get into work, the Guardian has learned. Whitehall sources said the package of changes under debate was much bigger than previously thought, as Andy Burnham’s government hopes to persuade more people on benefits back into work. Continue reading...
The Guardian
Labour figures uneasy about Healey’s ‘underpowered’ approach to budget
Chancellor faces global volatility and soaring energy costs as some insiders worry lack of clarity could trigger fresh market shock Senior Labour figures are privately voicing unease about John Healey’s approach to his crucial first budget this month, against the backdrop of volatile global markets and soaring energy costs. The chancellor’s work has been made significantly harder by the global bond sell-off, which continues to raise the cost of government borrowing, and ever increasing energy prices as Donald Trump continues the US war with Iran. Continue reading...
NPR Politics2 outlets
A judge permanently dismisses former Olympian's Reflecting Pool charges
Citing "exceptional circumstances," a D.C. judge has ruled that the federal government cannot refile its Reflecting Pool charges against David Hearn, despite pressure from President Trump to do so.
The Guardian
‘Total class act’: Marie-France van Heel is poised to be a very different PM’s wife
The former marketing executive is expected to play a big role in promoting the UK and could be the most influential spouse in No 10 in years Sarah Brown called Gordon her hero , Samantha Cameron insisted David was “incredibly funny” , while Akshata Murty said Rishi was her best friend . When Marie-France van Heel spoke about her husband, Andy Burnham, in a rare public interview a decade ago, she joked that she had noticed his “good looks … and monobrow”. The spousal humanising of a party leader is a well-worn political tool, but van Heel is likely to be a very different prime ministerial partner. The former senior marketing executive is poised to play a more significant role in promoting Britain than any other spouse in the last two decades, stepping up her political engagements after stepping back from her own corporate career. Continue reading...
The Guardian
Ben Jennings on Andy Burnham’s suggestion that the Brexit question could be revisited – cartoon
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