Political Headlines – Corbyn, May, Macron, Wollaston and the NHS

Today’s Political Headlines include the Jewish Museum blocking Corbyn’s speech, May set to meet Macron, another Tory MP backing a second Brexit referendum and the need to speed up NHS training. 

Jewish Museum blocks Corbyn speech
The Telegraph is reporting that the Jewish Museum has rejected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s request to make a speech at the venue, over fears that the event would be a stunt rather than a constructive exercise. This follows the decision by Momentum to pull their support for NEC candidate Peter Willsman, after he questioned legitimacy of anti-Semitism complaints, a decision that The Guardian has said split Corbyn’s allies. The Times also reports that a former wizard of the Ku Klux Klan praised the election of Corbyn in 2015, saying that it proved that people were recognising ‘Zionist power’.

May set to meet Macron for Brexit crunch talks
Theresa May is set to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron today, in an attempt to gain support for her Chequers plan, according to The Guardian. May is hopeful that she can win over Macron, a move that would help influence other EU partners and potentially shift chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier away from his opposition to the deal.

Tory MP backs second Brexit referendum
According to Business Insider, Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston has pledged her support for the People’s Vote campaign, a group that is calling for a vote on the final Brexit deal. Wollaston joins party colleagues Justine Greening, Anna Soubry and Philip Lee in calling for a second vote, but is only the second Tory MP to publicly back the People’s Vote campaign itself. Fellow Conservative MPs Amber Russ, Nicky Morgan and Antoinette Sandbach are also rumoured to be joining the People’s Vote.

Speed up NHS training to solve Brexit shortages, says Health Minister
The Telegraph reports that Health Minister Stephen Barclay has suggested NHS staff shortages after Brexit could be solved by accelerating the qualification process. Currently medical students must train for five years before becoming doctors, however Barclay has suggested this could be shortened to ease staffing pressures. Patients’ groups have warned against any watering down of training, saying that patient safety must not be compromised.

Government department under fire for advertising low-paying jobs
The Times has revealed that an initiative by the Department for Work and Pensions to get young people into summer employment has listed job vacancies paying as little as £2 an hour. The scheme, overseen by work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, has been exposed for offering positions paying lower than the national minimum wage, with some adverts described as apprenticeships and others offering zero-hour contracts.

No investigation into DUP spending during the EU referendum
The Guardian is reporting that the Electoral Commission will not open an investigation into spending by the Democratic Unionist Party during the EU referendum. Allegations that the party had coordinated spending with the Vote Leave campaign in order to break legal spending limits have been dismissed, with the commission citing a lack of evidence for the claims.

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