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The last PMQs gives MPs time to feel their unimportance | John Crace

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The last PMQs gives MPs time to feel their unimportance | John Crace Looking at their leaders, both benches wondered what brought them to vote for a general election Morning after the night before. On Tuesday evening, MPs had been out on the lash, got a bit lairy and voted overwhelmingly for a general election. Now many had returned to the Commons with a bad hangover and gripped by remorse.The sense of an ending weighed heavy in the late autumnal air. Political careers both distinguished and entirely unremarkable faced extinction. Most by accident. Only a few by design. That which had been done could not now be undone. Even those who would return to Westminster would be changed by the experience of the next six weeks. Not necessarily for the better. The obnoxious would only become...

Grenfell inquiry chair demands end to ‘stay put’ advice for all high-rises

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Grenfell inquiry chair demands end to 'stay put' advice for all high-rises Sir Martin Moore-Bick’s call for new fire guidelines would mark shift away from advice given in tower disasterGrenfell Tower inquiry: the chair’s findings so farGrenfell Tower inquiry: the main playersLives of Grenfell: portraits of the 72 who diedHundreds of thousands of people who live in tower blocks should be prepared to evacuate in the event of a fire, according to a key demand made by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the chair of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry.In what fire safety experts said would be a significant change to the default advice for most tower blocks that residents should stay put, he told ministers to develop national guidelines for total or partial evacuation of towers and to make it illegal...

Law banning assisted dying must be reviewed, say MPs

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Law banning assisted dying must be reviewed, say MPs Cross-party group responds to calls by police chief Ron Hogg, who has motor neurone diseaseLetter: Assisted dying laws are in need of reviewThe law banning terminally ill people from being helped to end their lives must be reviewed because it may not be working, a cross party group of MPs have said.They say the government should examine whether a total ban on assisted dying should be ended. Continue reading... Go to Source

Tactical voting could deliver remain victory in election – study

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Tactical voting could deliver remain victory in election – study Conservatives could be denied majority if one in three remain supporters switch votesTactical voting could swing a victory for pro-remain parties in the December election, research suggests.Boris Johnson would fail to get a majority if one in three pro-remain voters in England and Wales switched their vote, the campaign group Best for Britain said. Continue reading... Go to Source

Chinese province closes all glass bridges over safety fears

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Chinese province closes all glass bridges over safety fears Series of injuries and deaths prompts closure of 32 glass-bottomed attractions in HebeiThey were meant to be futuristic marvels, allowing thrill-seeking tourists to feel like they were walking on air.But China’s growing obsession with glass bridges may be coming to an abrupt end, after a series of accidents led one province to close down all its glass-bottomed attractions. Continue reading... Go to Source

Chilean president cancels Apec and climate summits amid wave of unrest

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Chilean president cancels Apec and climate summits amid wave of unrest Sebastián Piñera confirms he will not hold summits in November and December, as government struggles with massive protestsChile’s embattled president has been forced to cancel two major international summits after government concessions failed to defuse weeks of violent protests that have seen thousands of arrests, left at least 20 dead and sent shock waves across Latin America.Sebastián Piñera made the announcement on Wednesday morning, telling reporters Chile would no longer be able to host November’s Apec trade summit and the COP25 UN climate conference the following month. Continue reading... Go to Source

General election: Amber Rudd joins exodus of MPs quitting parliament ahead of December poll – live news

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General election: Amber Rudd joins exodus of MPs quitting parliament ahead of December poll – live news Former home secretary will not contest election as country to head to polls on 12 December Full story: General election confirmed for 12 DecemberAnalysis: can Labour eat into projected 58-seat Tory majority?How the parties are shaping up for December’s election 12.00pm GMTPMQs is about to start. It is only Boris Johnson’s third PMQs since he became prime minister in July. 11.57am GMTHere is an interesting question from below the line.Andrew, what is the likely effect on the election of 51 MPs standing down? Are those seats more likely to switch from current party to another? Or less?*CORRECTION*We reckon it's 53, excluding John Mann (h/t @MShepheard)Data here, corrections welcom...

Let battle commence: how the parties are shaping up for December’s election

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Let battle commence: how the parties are shaping up for December's election How ready are the Tories, Labour, Lib Dems, SNP, Brexit party and Greens for the snap poll?All the day’s politics news – livePreparednessThe Conservatives have been obviously preparing for a general election since the summer. The signs were all there, even while Boris Johnson was insisting he did not want to go to the polls, with the appointment of Isaac Levido, a protege of Australian election strategist Lynton Crosby, as campaigns director. Two women from a thinktank background, Munira Mirza and Rachel Wolf, have been writing the party’s manifesto for months. MPs have been hitting the phones canvassing, and special advisers are expecting to be assigned roles in Conservative party headquarters and on the ...

Lib Dems could win hundreds of seats in election, says Swinson

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Lib Dems could win hundreds of seats in election, says Swinson Leader talks up chances of breakthrough as party election machines swing into actionLatest politics news - live updatesThe Liberal Democrats are “within a small swing of winning hundreds of seats”, Jo Swinson has claimed, as the main parties began pushing out key messages before what is billed as the most volatile general election in living memory.Although the official campaign does not begin until parliament is dissolved next week, the near-certain passage through parliament of a bill calling a 12 December poll has prompted party election machines to swing immediately into action. Continue reading... Go to Source

Grenfell Tower fire survivors welcome damning inquiry report

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Grenfell Tower fire survivors welcome damning inquiry report ‘Heartbreaking’ to read more loved ones could have been saved, say bereavedGrenfell Tower inquiry: the chair’s findings so farGrenfell Tower inquiry: the main playersLives of Grenfell: portraits of the 72 who diedThe survivors and the bereaved of the Grenfell Tower fire have welcomed a damning public inquiry report into the disaster that concludes there were “systemic failings” by the London fire brigade. But they said it was “heartbreaking” to read that more of their loved ones could have been saved if the building was evacuated earlier.The long-delayed report into the blaze that claimed 72 lives was released on Wednesday morning by the inquiry chairman, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, and was branded “strong” by Grenfell United...

Facebook agrees to pay fine over Cambridge Analytica scandal

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Facebook agrees to pay fine over Cambridge Analytica scandal Company withdraws appeal against £500,000 penalty imposed by UK data watchdogFacebook has agreed to pay a £500,000 fine, the highest possible, to the Information Commissioner’s Office over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, ending more than a year of litigation between the regulator and social network.The ICO announced its intention to fine Facebook in July 2018. Unusually, the office went public with its intention before giving Facebook a chance to respond, and ultimately issued the official penalty notice three months later, in October. Facebook appealed against the fine, and in June 2019 the tribunal issued an interim decision “holding that procedural fairness and allegations of bias on the part of the ICO should be con...
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