Osborne says Theresa May is a 'dead woman walking'

Political reporter(wp):

George Osborne has called Theresa May “a dead woman walking” and suggested the prime minister would be forced to resign imminently.

The former chancellor said he did not expect to back the prime minister for much longer. “I think we will know very shortly. We could easily get to the middle of next week and it all collapses for her,” he said.

Osborne said the campaign had undone the work of himself and former prime minister David Cameron in winning socially liberal seats such as Bath, Brighton Kemptown and Oxford East, now lost to Labour and the Lib Dems.

“She is a dead woman walking and the only question is how long she remains on death row,” the editor of the Evening Standard said, defending his paper’s attacks on May as speaking from a “socially liberal, pro-business, economically liberal position” that he said had been consistent as editor and chancellor.

Asked if Boris Johnson was in a position to replace her, Osborne also mocked the foreign secretary whom he said was “in a permanent leadership campaign”.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Osborne said he and Cameron had spent “years getting back to office, winning in seats like Bath and Brighton and Oxford and I am angry when we go backwards and I am not afraid to say that”.

Osborne said the Conservatives’ political strategist Lynton Crosby, blamed by May’s advisers for an overly negative, presidential-style campaign with robotic slogans, had been undermined by the prime minister’s own flaws.

Crosby ran two successful campaigns for the Conservatives when Cameron was elected in 2010 and 2015. “They are professionals,” Osborne said, blaming May’s “failure to communicate and a disastrous manifesto”.

Osborne said blame should be on the shoulders of May, though her advisers Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill resigned on Saturday. “You can’t just blame the advisers. The only person who decides to have an election is the prime minister, the person who decides what’s in the manifesto is the prime minister.”

The former chancellor has a long enmity with the prime minister, who sacked him the day after she was elected Conservative leader, telling him to “get to know the party better”.

As editor of the Evening Standard, Osborne’s paper has repeatedly attacked the May government for its stance on Brexit, especially the apparent willingness in Downing Street to control immigration at cost to the British economy.

In one savage editorial, the paper said the Tory campaign had “meandered from an abortive attempt to launch a personality cult around Mrs May to the self-inflicted wound of the most disastrous manifesto in recent history”.

Brexit negotiations “could not have got off to a worse start”, the paper argued, citing “high-handed British arrogance” as part of the problem. The newspaper did endorse the Conservatives ahead of the election, but in a symbolic twist on election night, the Conservative stronghold of Kensington, which houses the Evening Standard offices, fell to Labour by 20 votes.

During election night as a pundit on ITV, Osborne spent the evening taking pot shots at May and the Conservative campaign as the results rolled in.

“The manifesto which was drafted by her and about two other people was a total disaster and must go down now as one of the worst manifestos in history by a governing party,” he said. “I say one of the worst, I can’t think of a worse one.”

On Sunday, Osborne praised the performance of the Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, calling her “the heroine of the party ... if she had not won seats in Scotland there would not be a Conservative government and Jeremy Corbyn would be in Downing Street”.

Osborne called for Davidson to “flex her muscles” over Brexit and push to prioritise the economy and free trade. “I think there is no majority in the House of Commons for a hard Brexit and if the Ruth Davidsons of the party are starting to flex their muscles, in my view that is only a good thing.”

However, Osborne said the party had no choice but to do a deal with the Democratic Unionist party despite its attitudes to social issues such as gay marriage and abortion. “I reject all of those views personally, but the Tory party doesn’t have a choice in order to get a majority,” he said.

The party would be “basically at the whim [of the DUP] on every vote ... you have to negotiate every line item of the budget with them,” Osborne said.

“The DUP need a Brexit deal, they are absolutely committed to no hard border with the Republic of Ireland. Therefore the position that no deal is better than a bad deal is untenable because DUP would never allow no deal. There is not a parliamentary majority for no deal.”

Osborne also said May’s speech on her return to Downing Street had caused further upset within the party. “The Tory party was absolutely furious that Theresa May failed to acknowledge the loss and suffering of many MPs,” he said.

Private schools to save £522m in tax thanks to charitable status

Educational reporter(wp):

Private schools are set to get tax rebates totalling £522m over the next five years as a result of their controversial status as charities, according to a study of local council records.

Charitable organisations in England and Wales are entitled to relief of 80% on the business rates payable on the buildings they use, and some of the country’s best-known private schools qualify under the rules.

Business rates firm CVS sent freedom of information requests to councils, and responses from 132 showed that 586 out 1,038 private schools held charitable status and were granted the mandatory relief.

Its analysis of government data suggested that on 2,707 properties classified as private schools there would be a business rates bill of around £1.16bn over the next five years. Extrapolating from the data received from councils, it forecast that £634m would be paid, with £522m saved through the schools’ charitable status.

CVS said Eton College, whose former pupils include David Cameron and Boris Johnson, would have faced a bill of £4.1m for business rates over the next five years without its charitable status, but instead it would pay just £821,040.

Dulwich College in south London, which educated former Ukip Leader Nigel Farage, will only pay £786,752 out of its £3,933,760 five-year bill under the tax regime.

Leeds grammar school, which offers extensive sports facilities on a campus of nearly 60 hectares (140 acres), will only pay £826,016 out of its £4,130,080 five-year bill.

Business rates have come under fire since an overhaul resulted in huge rises for schools and hospitals along with businesses in London and the south-east. The government promised £300m to ease through the reforms, but refused to alter the status of public sector organisations or review the charitable status of private schools.

The Department for Communities and Local Government said private schools seeking charitable status “must meet a robust public benefit test”. It also said academies, foundation schools and voluntary-aided schools automatically qualified for charitable status, while insisting that state-school funding accounted for the cost of business rates.

In the run-up to the election, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced plans to charge VAT on private school fees to fund free school meals for primary school children.

DUP deal with Tories 'could lead to vote on reducing abortion time limits'

Pic:the DUP's leader Arlene Foster with Theresa May
Political reporter(wp/es):
A former Tory minister has suggested MPs could vote to reduce time limits on women having abortions after Theresa May struck a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.

Owen Paterson opened the door on debating the 24 week time limit which is currently in place after the Conservatives entered an agreement to govern with the right-wing Northern Irish party the DUP.

Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland unless a woman’s life is in danger or there is a serious or permanent risk to her mental or physical health.

The DUP has a consistently anti-abortion stance and has repeatedly opposed attempts to legalise it. Last year, its leader Arlene Foster said: “I would not want abortion to be as freely available here as it is in England.”

Asked about the impact of Mrs May’s deal with the DUP Mr Paterson, who served as Northern Ireland Secretary from 2010 to 2012, said: “I don't see many major social issues coming up in the next parliament.

"You might get a debate I suppose on further reduction of abortion times as medical science advances.”

Addressing criticism of the DUP’s stance on gay rights, he said: “That is all devolved. It's not only a free vote issue, most of this, but it's nearly all devolved and that's down to the politicians in Northern Ireland to resolve."

Mrs May announced on Friday that she would govern in partnership with 10 DUP MPs sitting in Westminster after losing the Conservatives’ Commons majority in a humiliating snap election.

The decision was met with criticism almost immediately as abortion rights groups voiced fears over the DUP’s record on the issue.

Mrs May has previously backed the reduction of abortion time limits from 24 to 20 weeks, saying: “I think there is scope for some reduction.”

The London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign, which campaigns for legal abortion in Ireland and Northern Ireland, warned the PM about the agreement with the DUP.

“The DUP has consistently blocked any attempts to allow abortion even in limited circumstances,” the group told Newseek.

“They are out of step with the Conservative Party and the people of Britain on many moral and social issues, having also blocked attempts to legalise gay marriage in Northern Ireland. We urge Theresa May to think carefully before aligning herself with a party intent on undermining the human rights of Northern Irish women.”

Others have expressed fears over the DUP’s stance on gay rights.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said she has received assurances from the Prime Minister over gay rights should the Tories do a deal with the party.

Ms Davidson, who is gay, appeared to criticise the deal on Friday when she tweeted a link to a speech she made in favour of marriage equality, with the message: "As a Protestant Unionist about to marry an Irish Catholic, here's the Amnesty Pride lecture I gave in Belfast."

Ms Davidson, who became engaged to partner Jen Wilson in May 2016, later told the BBC: "I was fairly straightforward with her (Mrs May) and I told her that there were a number of things that count to me more than the party.

"One of them is country, one of the others is LGBTI rights.

"I asked for a categoric assurance that if any deal or scoping deal was done with the DUP there would be absolutely no rescission of LGBTI rights in the rest of the UK, in Great Britain, and that we would use any influence that we had to advance LGBTI rights in Northern Ireland

"It's an issue very close to my heart and one that I wanted categoric assurances from the prime minister on, and I received (them)."

Northern Ireland is the only part of the British Isles where same-sex marriage remains outlawed.

The DUP has repeatedly used a controversial Stormont voting mechanism - the petition of concern - to prevent the legalisation of same-sex marriage, despite a majority of MLAs supporting the move at the last vote.

Sadiq Khan warns London could lose almost 13,000 police officers under Tory spending plans

Pic:Sadiq Khan and Cressida Dick
Political reporter(wp/es):
Sadiq Khan has issued a stark warning that London will lose thousands of frontline police officers under Conservative spending plans.

The Labour Mayor said the Metropolitan Police could lose as many as 12,800 constables – a reduction in its strength of up to 40 per cent – as it seeks to slash at least £400 million from its budget.

Scotland Yard has already had to make savings of £600m since 2010, with more cuts to come.

Mr Khan said that on top of the £400m, the Met could also face a further loss of up to £700m a year under Tory plans to change the formula for determining police funding.

"Our city has suffered two awful terrorist attacks since I was elected as mayor - and we must do everything possible to stop there being any more," said Mr Khan, who praised emergency services after seven people were killed in Saturday night’s London Bridge attack. 

"Police officers in our communities act as the eyes and ears of the security services, providing the intelligence and information that allows us to disrupt attempted terrorist attacks.

"Cuts on this scale would make it harder to foil future terrorist attacks on our city - and as the mayor of London I'm simply not willing to stand by and let that happen."

The warning comes as Theresa May faces growing pressure over police cuts after presiding over a loss of almost 20,000 officers during her time as Home Secretary between 2010 and 2016.

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick asked for extra resources after the third terror attack in 10 weeks hit Britain at the weekend.

“In the face of this changing and changed threat, absolutely I will be seeking for London and for policing generally more resourcing obviously," she said on Monday.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for Theresa May to resign over policing cuts, but the Prime Minister insisted she had protected numbers of counter-terror officers.

Hundreds of furious voters left without postal ballot papers days before the Election

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Hundreds of furious voters in Plymouth have been left without postal voting forms just days before the General Election.

Plymouth City Council says it has reissued "around 370 replacement ballot packs" to those who have contacted them, and urged anyone whose remain missing to call their offices.

The local authority claimed it had sent out all the forms in accordance with the regulations, adding that this had been "confirmed by our printers". Both it and Royal Mail are now investigating.

Those who applied before the May 23 deadline and have not yet received them can order replacement packs via special delivery, go in to the council offices or nominate someone to collect it for them.

Elliot Phillips, 25, who is due to go on holiday before election day, described the problems as "an absolute joke", saying: "People are essentially being robbed of their right to vote."

Mr Phillips said: "I'm lucky as the only reason I requested a postal vote is because I'm going on holiday later today. My boss let me out of work early so I can go and vote before I leave.

"I know some people now won't get the chance which is unacceptable and blaming it on the Royal Mail is utter b******,*."

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: "We are aware that a number of postal votes in Plymouth have not arrived with recipients.

"Royal Mail takes its responsibility of delivering election information very seriously and is investigating this matter urgently.

"We are currently working closely with the council to organise specific deliveries so that the individuals affected receive their ballot packs as soon as possible."

Theresa May declares 'enough is enough' and promises new era in fight against terrorism

Pic:Theresa May declared: "enough is enough" after the terror attack in central London
Staff reporter(wp/es):

Britain today entered a new era of clamping down on terrorism, as the Prime Minister declared "enough is enough" after seven people were killed in an extremist attack in London.

In a frank, hard-hitting speech outside Downing Street, Theresa May declared “things need to change” to counter the terrorist threat.

It came after seven people were slaughtered by terrorists who mowed people down on London Bridge and launched a knife attack in Borough Market.

The Prime Minister condemned the "evil" ideology behind the recent attacks on London and Manchester, saying the world was facing a new type of threat.

She said: "As terrorism breeds terrorism and perpetrators are inspired to attack, not only on the basis of carefully constructed plots after years of planning and training, and not even as lone attackers radicalised online, but by copying one another and often using the crudest of means of attack."

She announced more needed to be done to clampdown on extremist “safe spaces” both online and in Britain’s communities.

Mrs May also claimed there was "far too much tolerance of extremism in our country" and called for it to be tackled head on, while reviewing the country's counter-terrorism strategy to combat the changing threat.

But she insisted, after a day’s break from campaigning, the General Election would go ahead as planned on June 8.

She said: “We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are. Things need to change and they need to change in four important ways.

The Prime Minister said the attacks on Westminster Bridge, Manchester Arena and the most recent atrocity were not connected by common networks but shared the same “evil ideology of Islamist extremism that preaches hatred, sows division and promotes sectarianism.”

She said: “It is an ideology that claims our Western values of freedom, democracy and human rights are incompatible with the religion of Islam. It is an ideology that is a perversion of Islam and a perversion of the truth.

“Defeating this ideology is one of the great challenges of our time, but it cannot be defeated by military intervention alone.

“It will not be defeated by the maintenance of a permanent defensive counter-terrorism operation, however skillful its leaders and practitioners.

“It will only be defeated when we turn people's minds away from this violence and make them understand that our values - pluralistic British values - are superior to anything offered by the preachers and supporters of hate.”

Turning to the way the ideology was spread, she said the UK needed to reach international agreements to regulate cyberspace.

And she went on: “While we have made significant progress in recent years, there is - to be frank - far too much tolerance of extremism in our country.

“So we need to become far more robust in identifying it and stamping it out across the public sector and across society.

“That will require some difficult, and often embarrassing, conversations.

“But the whole of our country needs to come together to take on this extremism, and we need to live our lives not in a series of separated, segregated communities, but as one truly United Kingdom.”

London's hospitals are treating 48 people for their injuries, with many in a life-threatening condition, the Prime Minister said.

She concluded: "Since the emergence of the threat from Islamist-inspired terrorism, our country has made significant progress in disrupting plots and protecting the public.

"But it is time to say `Enough is enough'. Everybody needs to go about their lives as they normally would. Our society should continue to function in accordance with our values.

"But when it comes to taking on extremism and terrorism, things need to change. As a mark of respect, two political parties have suspended our national campaigns for today.

"But violence can never be allowed to disrupt the democratic process, so those campaigns will resume in full tomorrow and the General Election will go ahead as planned on Thursday.

"As a country, our response must be as it has always been when we have been confronted by violence. We must come together, we must pull together, and united we will take on and defeat our enemies."

The three London Bridge attack terrorists were killed within eight minutes of the first call to police, and the emergency services have been praised for their response to the atrocity.

The attackers brought carnage to the capital, stabbing a police officer and revellers with 12-inch knives - but police put a stop to the rampage in eight minutes.

Police were called at around 10.08pm to reports of a vehicle striking pedestrians on London Bridge.

The white van then continued to drive to Borough Market, and three men left the vehicle and began to stab people, including a British Transport Police officer. 

They were confronted and shot by police at Borough Market within eight minutes of the first call being made.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan described the attack as "deliberate and cowardly".

He said: "My thoughts are with everyone affected, and I'd like to thank the brave men and women of our emergency services who were first on the scene and will be working throughout the night."

Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick has praised the "extraordinary" courage of members of the public and emergency services who "ran towards the danger". 

She paid tribute to the actions of those caught up in the terror attacks in the London Bridge area on Saturday night, saying she was sure they had helped save lives.

Addressing media outside Scotland Yard, Ms Dick said: "In the early hours of the morning I visited one of the hospitals where the injured are being treated.

"There I heard truly remarkable stories of extraordinarily brave actions by officers on and off duty who were first on the scene. 

"I also heard of colleagues from other emergency services and members of the public who ran towards the danger as this incident unfolded.

"Many, many people risked their own safety to help others and to treat those seriously injured and indeed to confront the suspects involved.

"It's clear to me that the courage of those people during and following the attack was extraordinary and I pay tribute to all of them who came to the aid of those in need during this dreadful attack, and I am sure helped to save lives."

London Bridge attack: Armed police raid flat in East Ham after seven killed in terror attack

Crime reporter(wp/es):

Armed police have descended on a busy high street in east London in the wake of a terror attack which claimed the lives of seven people.

Officers swooped on a flat in East Ham, on Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours after three suspects mowed down pedestrians with a van on London Bridge before attacking victims at Borough Market with knives and “a machete”.

Scotland Yard confirmed seven victims had been killed in the attack and a further 48 injured.

Dramatic images on social media showed huge crowds gather at a police cordon in East Ham as officers armed with guns swarmed the area.

According to the Telegraph, police raided a flat above a betting shop.

One witness, who asked not to be named, described seeing armed police raid a fried chicken shop on the road.

The resident of nearby Lonsdale Close said the area was on lockdown with armed police “walking up and down” while police sirens blared out across the residential area.

Earlier on Sunday, 12 people were detained in connection with the atrocity after police raided flats in King's Road, Barking, where it is believed one of the attackers lived.

Residents described hearing gun shots as people were bundled into police vans and ambulances.

One said: “When I came out they were already taking some of the casualties away.

"There were three of them ... the ambulance came and took them away.” 

Met Police could not immediately confirm if the raid was linked to the attack at London Bridge.