Author: Loveworld UK

The outcome of Brexit negotiations is “up to the UK”, European Council president Donald Tusk has said. He told the European Parliament the UK would determine whether there was a “good deal, no deal or no Brexit”. In an update following last week’s EU summit, the former Polish prime minister who represents EU leaders said he was “obsessed” with the remaining 27 countries in the EU staying united. The UK’s departure, he added, was the EU’s “toughest stress test”. “If we fail then the negotiations will end in our defeat,” he told MEPs. “It’s up to London how this will…

On the eve of a crucial Brussels summit, the Prime Minister has appealed directly to EU citizens living in the UK that she wants them and their families to stay after Brexit. The appeal comes as Jeremy Corbyn redoubles his attack on the Government’s “ever more damaging Brexit bungling” and on a possible “no deal Brexit that would be a bad deal for Britain, threatening jobs and living standards”. The Labour leader is also on his way to Brussels on Thursday to meet with three EU prime ministers and the EU’s lead Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. In a social media…

Low pay is “endemic” in the UK with few workers managing to progress into better paid jobs, according to a new study. Just one in six (17%) of those on low pay manage to move permanently up the salary scale over the last decade, the report from the Social Mobility Commission said. It also said that a quarter remained permanently stuck on low pay while 48% fluctuated in and out of this category. On average, people stuck in this group have seen their hourly wages rise by just 40p in real terms – stripping out the effects of inflation -…

Facial detection technology in the new Piccadilly Circus lights is “incredibly intrusive”, according to privacy campaigners. The revamped screen in central London will be turned on later in October in a space where 100 million people pass each month. Cameras hidden in the screen will detect people’s faces, figuring out their age, gender and mood, and use that to tailor brand messages. According to Ocean Outlook, the company that provides the screen’s technology, the system can detect people’s age and gender with 90% accuracy. The system can identify the makes of vehicles and will also feature Wi-Fi to let people…

British financial institutions in South Africa may have been used as conduits for laundered money, a former Cabinet minister has suggested. Ex-Northern Ireland secretary Lord Hain said that Chancellor Philip Hammond had agreed that the matter would be looked into. Lord Hain told the Press Association: “I have written to the Chancellor asking for British authorities to investigate British financial institutions that may have been used as conduits for money laundering.” The Labour peer, who was a leading anti-apartheid campaigner, is set to raise his concerns in the House of Lords on Thursday. Lord Hain said it has been estimated…

Vauxhall has announced plans to cut 400 jobs at its factory in Ellesmere Port by the end of the year – nearly a quarter of the workforce. Just under 1,800 people work at the Cheshire plant, which has made the Astra since 1979, and makes about 680 of them each day. Vauxhall said it took the decision due to “challenging European market conditions and a declining passenger car market”. “Vauxhall needs to adjust production volumes at its Ellesmere Port production facility to the current level of demand and to improve its performance, in order to protect its future,” the company…

Austria’s foreign minister is on course to become the country’s next chancellor and the world’s youngest head of government. Sebastian Kurz, 31, has declared victory after near-final results from Sunday’s election put his People’s Party on 31.4%. That figure is not enough for an overall majority, meaning he would either have to form a coalition or a minority government to become chancellor. The eurosceptic Freedom Party is in second place with 27.4% and the centre-left Social Democrats are third with 26.7%. Both Mr Kurz’s People’s Party and the Freedom Party have focused their campaigns on concerns about immigration and Islam.…

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has failed to give a clear answer about whether he has declared independence for Catalonia. He has written a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy requesting a meeting within the next two months. The letter, made public in Catalan media, does not directly answer the question of independence, but says the “offer of dialogue is sincere despite everything that has happened.” Mr Rajoy had demanded a definitive statement on independence by 10am on Monday, after a contested referendum in Catalonia on 1 October. About 90% of those who voted in the referendum backed separating from…

Storm Ophelia is set to bring “potentially deadly” gusts of up to 80mph from the Atlantic to Ireland and parts of the UK. The Met Office has warned that remnants of Ophelia – which was previously classified as a hurricane – have “the potential for injuries and danger to life”. The Republic of Ireland’s meteorological service, known as Met Eireann, extended a “status red” weather alert – its highest – across the entire country on Sunday night. It described the storm as the most powerful hurricane to have ever been this far east in the Atlantic. All schools and colleges have been…

Theresa May will make an unannounced trip to Brussels today to meet the key players negotiating Britain’s exit from the EU. Sky News understands the Prime Minister will accompany Brexit Secretary David Davis on the trip, which is expected to include dinner with Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, and Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission president. Government sources say the meeting has been planned for “a while” and therefore “it would be wrong to say it represents any view on negotiations”. However, it follows a marked ramp-up in high level discussions between the Prime Minister and fellow leaders, including telephone conversations…