Labour says May’s red lines have stalled Brexit talks
The Labour party has accused Theresa May of failing to offer any movement on the Brexit political declaration, as talks see another stall ahead of the upcoming European elections.
Cross-party talks aimed at finding a compromise on Brexit resumed on Tuesday, after MPs’ Easter break. However, Labour sources say the government is unwilling to negotiate the political declaration, which sets out the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
Speaking after the talks, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “We’ll continue putting our case but quite honestly there’s got to be change in the government’s approach. They cannot keep on just regurgitating what has already been emphatically rejected three times by parliament, there’s got to be a change,”
“We have a window of opportunity to bring about that change so I hope the government recognises that.”
Greta Thunberg: government’s support for fossil fuels “beyond absurd”
climate change activist Greta Thunberg has condemned the government’s support for fossil fuels and airport expansions as “beyond absurd”, in a speech given to MPs.
The 16-year-old Swedish student known for staging a “climate strike” outside Sweden’s parliament last year, said world leaders had not acted fast enough to tackle disastrous climate change.
“You lied to us. You gave us false hope. You told us that the future was something to look forward to,” she said. “You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before.”
Thunberg was highly critical of the UK’s stance in particular: “The UK’s active current support of new exploitation of fossil fuels, like for example the UK shale gas fracking industry, the expansion of its North Sea oil and gas fields, the expansion of airports, as well as the planning permission for a brand new coalmine, is beyond absurd.”
Javid under pressure to head off ‘biggest immigration scandal since Windrush’
Sajid Javid is facing pressure to act on reports that thousands of foreign students had their visas cancelled and others were deported as a result of the English language testing scandal.
According to reports by the Guardian newspaper, thousands of students who took a Home Office-approved English language test are still being targeted by officials who accuse them of cheating to pass the test.
Undercover filming undertaken by Panorama in 2014 showed clear evidence of cheating in at least two testing centres, with fake candidates turning up to take the test for students renewing their visas.
In the documentary, May, then home secretary, says: “What Panorama has uncovered is extremely important. It’s very shocking and I want to do something about it.” However, it is unclear how widespread the practice of cheating is.
MP Mike Gapes, who has had constituents affected by the Home Office policy, said the revelation was “a bigger scandal than Windrush in terms of the number of individuals removed from the country and whose livelihoods are being destroyed by anguish and despair”.
Theresa May could table key Brexit legislation
Theresa May is getting ready to give MPs a vote on key aspects of Brexit legislation, in an effort to push forward with her controversial Brexit deal.
The prime minister is considering tabling the withdrawal and implementation bill (WAB) in the next ten days, which would help secure the deal, and pass speaker of the Commons John Bercow’s ruling that another “meaningful vote” cannot be held on an identical deal.
Speaking on Tuesday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “Every day that parliament doesn’t ratify the withdrawal agreement, the harder it will be to avoid the European parliamentary elections, and the prime minister has made clear that she doesn’t believe it is in the country’s interests to take part in those elections.”
Speaking this week, a source from the Labour party rejected the idea of May tabling the WAB, saying: “There’s a sequence; you have got to start with a different deal.”
