Members of Pedro Sánchez’s party vote 87% in favour of proposal to form government backed by smaller parties

Members of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) have backed plans to secure another term as prime minister for the party’s leader, Pedro Sánchez, in return for granting a hugely controversial amnesty to people involved in the illegal and unilateral bid for Catalan independence six years ago.

Spain has been in the hands of Sánchez’s caretaker government since July’s inconclusive snap general election, in which the PSOE was narrowly beaten by the conservative People’s party (PP). Although the PP won the most seats, it fell short of a parliamentary majority and has proved unable to form a government, even with the support of the far-right Vox party and other, smaller political groupings.

MPs from far-right Vox stage walkout in protest at recognition of co-official languages

Spanish MPs have been able to address congress in Basque, Catalan and Galician for the first time after the country’s Socialist-led caretaker government agreed to smaller parties’ demands for the the three regional languages to be granted official parliamentary status.

The change – which is intended to help the chamber “progress along the path of linguistic plurality” – was requested by the Catalan pro-independence parties on whose support the acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, is relying to form a new government after July’s general election resulted in a hung parliament.

Nationalists furious as court sides with family abused for seeking quarter of lessons in Spanish for their child

The long-running and bitter row over language teaching in Catalonia has intensified after a family in the Spanish region was harassed and abused for seeking to ensure that a quarter of the lessons at the school their five-year-old son attends are taught in Spanish.

The family’s actions have provoked an angry response from some Catalan nationalists who view their stance as an assault on the region’s language and culture.