Also: Dugdale wins lawsuit against cybernat blogger; devolution row as English hospitals shut out Welsh patients over funding; and a week in SNP bad news.
Not only is television a comfort to many older citizens, but we should not be allowing the BBC to start setting social policy.
There is a mismatch between Government announcements and Commons realities. It cannot attempt reforms without risking them being amended out of recognition.
We can choose either to vote idealistically or for the least worst option, given the current political realities. Politics must be the art of the possible.
Also: May cites absurd fears about ‘direct rule’ to justify abandonment of No Deal; Tory rebels wooed separatist votes; and polls open in Newport West.
May has clearly given up on the party – not without reason – so will it now give up in her? What happens to what’s left of the confidence and supply deal?
He describes the backstop as “a con trick which breaks up the UK”.
In order to ensure that the Conservative Party remains able to govern effectively, I have concluded that, despite its faults, I will vote for the Withdrawal Agreement.
In other words, May waits for Letwin. Which adds a new dimension to her chicken game. Her message is: “vote for my deal soon – or get his.”
“Why do we need another two weeks? What is going to happen in another two weeks that couldn’t have happened up to now?”
The Ribble Valley MP says that May’s neglect of her Northern Irish allies is one of the worst cases of political misjudgement he has witnessed in his career in the Commons.
Also: Eleven candidates prepare to fight Newport West by-election; Trimble hints that backstop changes could be enough; and more.
A dedicated band of Conservative pro-Brexit holdouts stands ready to perish rather than let May’s deal pass.
I believe that the actions of politicians over the last two years have seriously weakened trust in the system.
But the Chancellor suggests that there will be more money for Northern Ireland and other places in the Spending Review.