Theresa May: Brexit can "change Britain for the better"

Media captionCentre-ground politicians "must show they can respond to people"s concerns" Theresa May has criticised those who believe a so-called “hard Brexit” is inevitable after the UK leaves the EU.
The prime minister said she wanted the UK to “operate within” the single market as part of a new relationship.
Speaking in London, she vowed to build a “shared society” in which wealth and opportunity were not the preserve of an elite, and injustices were tackled.
She said that Brexit provided an “opportunity to fundamentally change Britain for the better”.
Outlining her social reform agenda in her most significant policy speech for three months, Mrs May announced steps to improve mental health provision in the UK and transform attitudes to people suffering from mental health conditions.
Mental health care overhaul pledged by PM Politics and jobs "swell youth anxiety" Pound falls after Sunday"s Brexit comments She announced extra training for teachers, mor..

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Brexit: Warning on migration if Britain stays in EU single market

Image copyright Reuters EU migration will not fall sharply if the UK stays in the single market, a pressure group has said.
If the UK kept market membership after Brexit, net migration from the EU was unlikely to drop below 155,000 a year in the medium term, compared to 189,000 now, Migration Watch said.
Market membership and migration control were incompatible, it claimed.
The government has not yet set out its negotiating objectives ahead of official Brexit talks.
Record numberTrade and migration are likely to be key sticking points when talks begin – expected to be in the spring.
Prime Minister Theresa May has indicated she wants limits on existing freedom of movement rules as part of the final deal.
This, ministers believe, would help the government in its broader objective of reducing net migration – the difference between the number of people settling in the UK and those leaving – to below 100,000 a year.
Overall net migration has been consistently higher than 300,000 in the la..

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Britain "got Syria wrong every step of the way"

Image copyright Reuters Image caption President Bashar al-Assad"s forces have regained control of Aleppo Britain"s policy on Syria has been “wrong every step of the way”, a former UK ambassador to the country has said.
Peter Ford said the UK had made matters worse by not putting troops on the ground and instead encouraging rebel groups to mount a doomed campaign.
The situation had led to hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, which could have been foreseen, he added.
The Foreign Office said removing the Assad regime was the only way to end the suffering of the Syrian people.
Mr Ford, who was the ambassador in Damascus from 2003 to 2006, said the UK should have put forces on to the battlefield or refrained from encouraging the launch of the opposition campaign.
In 2013, possible military action against the Assad regime in Syria to deter the use of chemical weapons was rejected by MPs,
Two years later, the UK launched air strikes targeting so-called Islamic State in Syr..

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Britain "got Syria wrong every step of the way"

Image copyright Reuters Image caption President Bashar al-Assad"s forces have regained control of Aleppo Britain"s policy on Syria has been “wrong every step of the way”, according to a former UK ambassador to the country.
Peter Ford said the UK had made matters worse by not putting troops on the ground and instead encouraging rebel groups to mount a doomed campaign.
The situation had led to hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, which could have been foreseen, he added.
The Foreign Office said it believed in a Syrian-led political settlement.
Mr Ford, who was the ambassador in Damascus from 2003 to 2006, said the UK should have put forces on to the battlefield or refrained from encouraging the launch of the opposition campaign.
Speaking on the Today programme: “We have made the situation worse.
“It was eminently foreseeable to anyone who was not intoxicated with wishful thinking. The British Foreign Office, to which I used to belong, I"m sorry to say has got S..

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Britain sleepwalking into care crisis, Ros Altmann warns

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Lady Altmann was pensions minister in David Cameron"s government Britain is in danger of “sleepwalking into a social care crisis”, a former pensions minister has warned.
Ros Altmann called on the government to use tax breaks to help people save for care in later life, as she said the cost of funding provision was pushing the NHS in England to breaking point.
She said she warned other ministers of looming problems last year.
The Department of Health said it was significantly raising the funds local authorities have access to for care.
Lady Altmann, who was pensions minister under David Cameron, said the chancellor should use Wednesday"s Autumn Statement to offer incentives to help families “recognise the need” to prepare for care costs.
"Eldercare vouchers"”This should have been done years ago, but successive governments have failed to offer any help,” she said.
“Government spends billions on private pensions tax breaks..

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Britain sleepwalking into care crisis. Ros Altmann warns

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Lady Altmann was pensions minister in David Cameron"s government Britain is in danger of “sleepwalking into a social care crisis”, a former pensions minister has warned.
Ros Altmann called on the government to use tax breaks to help people save for care in later life, as she said the cost of funding provision was pushing the NHS in England to breaking point.
She said she warned other ministers of looming problems last year.
The Department of Health said it was significantly raising the funds local authorities have access to for care.
Lady Altmann, who was pensions minister under David Cameron, said the chancellor should use Wednesday"s Autumn Statement to offer incentives to help families “recognise the need” to prepare for care costs.
"Eldercare vouchers"”This should have been done years ago, but successive governments have failed to offer any help,” she said.
“Government spends billions on private pensions tax breaks..

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