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As it happenedended1520270585

Brexit - as it happened: Theresa May accused of presiding over '20 wasted months', as PM vows to unite nation

Ashley Cowburn
Political Correspondent
,Lizzy Buchan
Monday 05 March 2018 09:34 GMT
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Theresa May tells developers to 'do their duty' to the country on home building

Theresa May has defended her Brexit vision in a statement to MPs amid warnings that EU leaders will not accept her plans.

In a major speech at Mansion House in London last week, the Prime Minister told the bloc that refusing to include financial services in a trade deal after Brexit would “hurt” its own economies.

However European leaders suggested the plan would be difficult to accept because it would undermine the EU’s single market.

Earlier, Ms May attempted to shift focus away from Brexit when she announced plans to penalise property developers who do not build homes quickly enough.

The Prime Minister also used the speech to address rising levels of homelessness, adding: "In 2018, in one of the world’s largest, strongest economies, nobody should be without a roof over their head.

"This isn't just a British problem – in recent years homelessness has risen across Europe – but it is source of national shame nonetheless."

See below for the latest updates

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Theresa May to tell property developers to 'do your duty to Britain' in major speech on restoring 'home-ownership dream'Theresa May will announce plans to penalise property developers who do not build homes quickly enough, as she uses a major speech to warn housebuilders they must “do their duty to Britain”.  The Prime Minister will criticise developers who profit from building expensive properties rather than the quantities of new homes the country needs, telling them it is time to “step up do your bit”. She will vow to “rewrite the laws on planning” in order to help more people get on the housing ladder.

Ashley Cowburn5 March 2018 08:30
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Theresa May responds to Donald Trump's decision to raise steel tariffsTheresa May has expressed the UK's "deep concern" at Donald Trump's decision to raise tariffs on steel and aluminium.  The Prime Minister raised the issue during a call with the US President on Sunday afternoon. Mr Trump has outlined plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium.

Ashley Cowburn5 March 2018 08:30
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Welcome to The Independent's politics live blog. 

Later today the Prime Minister is set to deliver a major speech on housing, warning property developers to 'do their duty' to Britain. 

She will later update the House of Commons on her Brexit speech last week at Mansion House, around 3.30pm.

According to Gaby Bertin, the former press secretary to David Cameron, May sought advice from her predecessor ahead of the Brexit speech last week.

She told Radio 4's Westminster Hour on Sunday evening: “She did speak to him before this speech. So they’re on pretty good terms … I wasn’t privy to the conversation. But they were in contact over the speech, you know, a couple of days before.”

Ms Bertin also said that Mr Cameron currently had "no plans" to make an intervention on Brexit - after last week's speeches by Tony Blair and John Major.

Ashley Cowburn5 March 2018 08:44
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Vulnerable children forced into homelessness as local authorities routinely ignore child protection lawsVulnerable children are being forced into homelessness because local authorities are routinely flouting child protection laws, lawyers and charities have warned.  Families with young children have been denied emergency accommodation by their local council and subsequently forced out onto the streets, spending nights in A&E waiting rooms, night buses and police stations.

Ashley Cowburn5 March 2018 08:54
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Over the weekend Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said the leader’s office would investigate the appointment of transgender activist Munroe Bergdorf, who is now an LGBT+ adviser to the party.

It comes after Ms Bergdorf apologised on Twitter yesterday for a string of comments on Twitter sent several years ago, including one where she joked she would have “gay based” a celebrity.

McDonnell told Sky News: “I don’t know the individual concerned…I know she’s been appointed as one of our advisers, we’ll be talking to her about her views and whether these are . . . just reported views or whether they are her real views and that will be a matter obviously for the, well, her employers, she’s employed directly I believe by the leader’s office but obviously what will happen is those views will be taken into account in those discussions.

Ashley Cowburn5 March 2018 09:24
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Senior Tories hit back at Theresa May’s plans to tackle the housing crisisSenior Tories have poured scorn on Theresa May’s plans to tackle the housing crisis, warning they will fail to give Britain the homes it desperately needs. A former housing minister and the Tory head of the Local Government Association (LGA) both warned “the nonsense will go on and nothing will change” unless the proposals are dramatically beefed up.  In a speech today, the Prime Minister, will vow to get tough with property developers who sit on planning permissions, warning they could be penalised in future bids.

Ashley Cowburn5 March 2018 09:28
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Home Office tells women they will be deported more quickly for hunger strikingThe Home Office has been accused of “shocking and inhumane abuse of process” after it told vulnerable women on hunger strike about conditions at a controversial detention centre they faced “accelerated” deportation if they continued to protest.  Last night the Home Office confirmed the letter, sent to all those on strike, told them their cases would not be halted or delayed by the protest. The documented added it “may, in fact, lead to your case being accelerated and your removal from the UK taking place sooner”.

Ashley Cowburn5 March 2018 09:43
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Aid agencies to promise to combat sexual exploitation at Dfid summit after Oxfam scandalBritish charities are to set out action to prevent the sexual exploitation exposed at Oxfam and other NGOs, in a bid to restore public trust.  Representatives will be attending a summit held by the Department for International Development (Dfid) and the Charity Commission today, alongside regulators and experts. Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, said it was a “crucial moment” to drive up standards across the aid sector.

Ashley Cowburn5 March 2018 09:47
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Climate change poses a major risk to people’s pensions, MPs warnClimate change poses a major risk to people’s pensions, MPs have warned.  The Government has admitted that “a lack of attention and outright misunderstanding remain widespread” among fund trustees of their duty to take environmental risks into account.  Climate risks posed to investments include increasing numbers of claims made to insurance firms related to extreme weather, fossil fuel companies losing value and energy businesses “being left behind” by the shift to a low carbon world.

Ashley Cowburn5 March 2018 10:12
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Theresa May's speech is expected to start any minute now..

Ashley Cowburn5 March 2018 10:30

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