[ad_1] Tony Blair has described John Prescott as one of the "most talented" and "unusual" people he encountered in politics after his former deputy prime minister died aged 86."There was nothing about John which fitted conventional wisdom", he said.The former trade union activist served as Sir Tony Blair’s deputy for 10 years after Labour’s 1997 election landslide.Sir Tony said there was "nothing formal" about their partnership in government - and
[ad_1] BBCJohn Prescott was an old-style political bruiser who played a vital role in the New Labour project.He scorned what he called "the beautiful people" - the men in smart suits with red roses and mobile phones who became the new face of Labour.Yet he was an important figure in the campaign to sell modernisation to the party and pave the way for Labour to regain power after 18 years
[ad_1] The UK's two longest-serving MPs have united to oppose the assisted dying bill, which is due to be debated in Parliament next week.In a joint article for the Guardian, Labour's Diane Abbott and the Conservative Sir Edward Leigh have said their politics "could not be more different".However, they say they share concerns that the proposed legislation would put "vulnerable minorities" at risk.They also argue that the process for bringing
[ad_1] Getty ImagesFormer Labour MP and current crossbench peer in the House of Lords Gisela Stuart heads the Civil Service Commission A review into appointments to government jobs has concluded it is "largely satisfied" with the processes in place. The Civil Service Commission launched the probe in August after Conservatives said appointments to the new Labour government were evidence of a "culture of cronyism".The review examined "exception" appointments, whereby the
[ad_1] Getty ImagesThe number of hotels being used to house asylum seekers has risen by seven since the general election, the government has disclosed. Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle told MPs that 220 hotels were now in use, with 14 opened and seven closed since the July poll. Conservative former cabinet minister Sir Gavin Williamson noted that, in its manifesto, Labour had pledged to end the use of hotels.
[ad_1] An MP has has called for an end to the "depraved" practice of human remains being sold in auction houses and on social media.Labour’s Bell Ribeiro-Addy said she had been told of human remains frequently auctioned “disguised as modified items or replicas”.She told MPs that this included a “foetal skeleton posed under a glass dome, a human thigh bone turned into a cane, a human jawbone necklace and the
[ad_1] PA MediaChancellor Rachel Reeves's CV came under the spotlight at Prime Minister's Questions, following claims she had embellished some of her past achievements. Reeves has previously said she worked as an economist at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) before entering politics. However, her profile on the networking site LinkedIn has been changed to say the role at HBOS was in retail banking. Tory MPs Graham Stuart and Alex Burghart
[ad_1] UK PoolPolice should investigate non-crime hate incidents only when these risk "imminently breaking the law", the Conservatives have said. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp, the policing minister in the previous government, said the police guidance on dealing with hate speech should be updated to ensure officers were not "policing thought" or "free speech". His comments follow a row between Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson and Essex Police, who are investigating
[ad_1] BBCOn a spring day, Hamid Khoshsiar decided to make the perilous journey into the European Union. He was 31 at the time, an Iranian refugee who had been living in Turkey for two years. But in 2019, he felt it was time to go.Starting out in Igneada, in the north of the country, he walked along a slippery, uneven trail for half a day, through dense forest and sharp
[ad_1] The Conservatives have accused the government of "stoking inflation", after price rises hit their highest rate for six months. An increase in energy bills helped push up the UK inflation rate, which measures price changes over time, to 2.3% in the year to October, up from 1.7% in September.Shadow Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart, who was standing in for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister's Questions, blamed the
