Inside Politics: Boris Johnson asks public to spare some change for Big Ben bongs

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Boris Johnson suggests crowdfunding £500,000 so Big Ben can bong on Brexit night

Whatever happened to the nation of Sir Francis Drake, David Bowie and William Blake – the explorers, the visionaries, the dreamers? More than half of the British public wouldn’t want to visit the moon – the actual moon! – even if you made it safe for them. Not bothered mate, most punters told YouGov. Boris Johnson thinks he understands the great grounded majority, and hopes they’ll be happy huddling indoors watching Big Ben bong for Brexit. The space cadets in the Labour Party desperately need to get to know the electorate better. But as they prepare for a nationwide hustings tour, leadership candidates still have to reach for the heavens and spark the imagination of the starry-eyed membership. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing.

Inside the bubble

Our political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for in SW1 today:

Boris Johnson will lock horns at PMQs with Jeremy Corbyn, who has to decide whether to try the domestic front or challenge the PM on his proposal for a “Trump deal” on Iran’s nuclear programme. In Labour’s leadership election, nominations open from constituency parties and affiliated groups. To get on the ballot, candidates must win the backing of either 33 local parties or three groups, including two trade unions. Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long Bailey and Lisa Nandy might win union backing – but Jess Phillips and Emily Thornberry might have to rely on local parties to make the cut.

Daily briefing

LATIN FLAVOUR: Nice to be given choices, isn’t it? It’s what democracy, and restaurants, are all about. For £25 – the price of a Nandos for two – Labour will let you take part in their leadership feast. The 48-hour window for registering as a party supporter is now open (closing at 5pm on Thursday). The Corbynista group Momentum appears less keen on choices, restricting the options on the menu to Rebecca Long-Bailey or Rebecca Long-Bailey. The left-wing group has been ridiculed for balloting its own members and asking for a “yes” or “no” response to the question: do you support our “recommended” candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey? Pundit-intellectual Paul Mason likened it to a survey by a “South American dictatorship”. Lisa Nandy, boosted by the endorsement of the National Mineworkers Union, has objected to the large urban locations of the upcoming hustings events. She likes her towns small and heartland-ish, asking why the crew aren’t “going to any of the places we lost”.

FLY BY NIGHT: After his lazy two-week break, Boris Johnson appears to be in hyper-active mode. The PM is taking personal charge of a new Whitehall taskforce on knife crime – with a focus on “county lines” drugs gangs. It doesn’t sound like his team have a firm grasp on the problem yet. According to The Times, home secretary Priti Patel told cabinet they had to “cut the head off the snake by going upstream” (whatever that means), while justice secretary Robert Buckland told them “every department should be a criminal justice department” (whatever that means). Johnson found the time to rush off a letter to Nicola Sturgeon rejecting indyref2, and sign off on a rescue plan for Flybe. The government has agreed to figure out a repayment plan for the troubled airline’s tax debt. Johnson the economic interventionist? When it comes to foreign affairs, the PM is strangely hands-off. He used his BBC interview to back Donald Trump to come up with a “replacement” deal for the Iran nuclear pact.

BONG TIME NO SEE: This Big Ben bonging for “Brexit Day” stuff is getting very, very silly. It was already quite silly, then Johnson made it extremely silly by suggesting the public could help fundraise the £500,000 needed to have the under-repair clock chime at 11pm on 31 January. The PM stifled a chuckle as he described the idea as “bung a bob for a Big Ben bong”. The House of Commons Commission fumed, putting out two statements arguing the use of public donations for such a pointlessly expensive operation would be “unprecedented”. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “You are talking about £50,000 a bong.” Nigel Farage then upped the absurdity a notch by claiming his mates would bring loudspeakers to their Parliament Square party and play a recording of the bongs to mark the moment we quit the EU. As Morrissey almost once sang in The Smiths’ classic Ask: “If it’s not love, then it’s the bongs, the bongs, the bongs, the bongs, the bongs, the bongs, the bongs that will bring us together.”

MEGXIT FOR BREXIT: Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, clearly enjoys keeping up with British tabloids. He mocked the prime minister by claiming Meghan and Harry might act as “inspiration” for a healthy transition agreement with the EU. If the Queen doesn’t insist on “hard deadlines”, Johnson shouldn’t either, Guy suggested. The less mischievous Michel Barnier insisted there will be “checks and controls” on trade between Britain and Northern Ireland under the Brexit deal. The EU chief negotiator’s remarks directly contradict our fib-prone PM, who still claims no checks will be necessary. Who do you trust? Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that the government has failed to inform the EU about 75,000 convictions of foreign criminals. One MEP has warned of an inquiry.

TAKING US FOR A RIDE: John Bercow’s booming voice has barely stopped echoing in the corridors of power. But his post-speakership years have begun with raised eyebrows over his pre-retirement expenses. Bercow was found to have splashed out £1,000 on a taxi for a 130-mile journey from Westminster to Nottingham in April last year. Aides cited “security concerns” as the reason he didn’t hop on public transport with the rest of the oiks. A FOI request also revealed he enjoyed a £7,000 jaunt around the US, and spent £12,000 on leaving parties for Commons staff. Elsewhere, Lord Lea has been suspended from Labour after being accused of “slightly stalkerish” behaviour. Parliamentary authorities upheld a harassment complaint after the 82-year-old peer sent a note to the woman in her 20s – telling her he had a framed photo of her on his piano, inviting her to share a bottle of champagne. Yuck.

On the record

“The implementation of this [deal] foresees checks and controls entering the island of Ireland.”

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, says Brexit means border checks.

From the Twitterati

“Momentum is balloting its members on the Labour leadership and deputy leadership election. Ludicrously, we only have one option for each position. This is a joke, and you should vote No on principle.”

Even former Momentum treasurer Michael Chessum thinks the ballot is ludicrous...

“I’m voting No in Momentum’s ludicrous fake consultation over the Labour leadership and for good measure, is anyone interested in standing for the National Co-ordinating Group, long overdue for re-election, so we can democratise things?”

...while author Paul Mason agrees and calls for a shake-up.