Inside Politics: Boris Johnson offered polite no-deal warning and outrage over HS2

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Premature exhilaration is no laughing matter. One over-excited Liverpool FC fan has been mocked for getting a tattoo declaring the mighty reds Premier League champions for 2019-20 before the deal is sealed. Boris Johnson should take note of the old footie cliche “one game at a time”. The hubristic manager of the mighty blues told everyone Brexit was won and the free trade deal trophy was already in the bag. But EU bosses continually warned him Brexit was a game of two halves. They’re now spelling out what crashing into the WTO league will actually mean at the end of 2020’s transition season. 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 today:

Labour’s (slowly) departing leader Jeremy Corbyn will go up against Boris Johnson at PMQs, before the government tries to rush through emergency legislation to prevent the automatic release of terror offenders. Elsewhere, the first televised debate between the four candidates hoping to become succeed him will take be screened on BBC2’s Newsnight at 10.30pm tonight. The pressure will be on Emily Thornberry to make an impact. She needs nominations from another 12 constituency parties by Friday to reach the threshold of 33 and join the others on the final shortlist.

Daily briefing

WONDER DOWN UNDER: Boris Johnson may have hoped that talking about an “Australia-style” Brexit would conjure up images of sun, sea, sand and the pleasant lives of suburbanites on Ramsey Street. But the leaders in Brussels won’t play along with the narrative. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen gently mocked the PM by expressing her “surprise” at the concept. She made clear Brussels had no free trade deal with Canberra and that kind of arrangement would mean a no-deal crash out for the UK – trading on WTO terms. “We are fine with that,” she shrugged. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier shot down British hopes of special access to the single market for the City of London: “Certain people in the UK should not kid themselves about this.” And the British Retail Consortium warned of “problems on supermarket shelves” – price hikes and food shortages – because of border checks coming into force in January 2021. Doesn’t sound very much like Neighbours, does it?

YOU MAY SAY I’M A DREAMER: Who cares about today’s reality, when you can fantasise about slightly faster train journeys 20 years from now? Johnson gave the “green signal” to HS2, and said it would show we Brits still have “the vision to dream big dreams”. The anger reaction from Conservative backbenchers opposed to it was slightly kinder than the PM probably expected – though Tory MP Andrew Bridgen did warn that the “unloved” project would end up costing the party votes in the Midlands and north of England. Dominic Cummings is no fan of HS2. When the evil genius at No 10 was asked by the BBC why he’d called it a “disaster zone”, he quoted the catch phrase from kids’ cartoon PJ Masks – before suggesting he’d like to replace cabinet minsters with the tiny crime fighters. “PJ Masks will do a greater job than all of them put together.” Defence secretary Ben Wallace appeared to have an older cartoon in mind – Thomas the Tank Engine – when he was asked about HS2. “Choo choo, choo choo,” he replied. Which was weird.

OH SO EXTRA, EXTRA: What sort of cartoons has Labour’s Richard Burgon been watching? Herge’s Adventures of Tintin, perhaps? The deputy leadership hopeful wants reporters with moxie and derring-do, suggesting the party produces its own free newspaper. He told the online media outlet Novara – one of the few outlets that actually takes him seriously – an old-fashioned tabloid would be “fantastic” and could be “given out on public transport because that is when people will read it”. Rebecca Long-Bailey has guaranteed trans rights comes up at tonight’s BBC Newsnight leadership debate after backing a pledge to kick out party members who express “transphobic” views. Expulsion is part of a 12-point plan by the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights – as is fighting against the allegedly “transphobic organisations” Woman’s Place UK and the LGB Alliance. Lisa Nandy appeared to endorse the plan on Twitter too, so now it’s over to Keir Starmer and Emily Thornberry.

LET THE RIGHT-WING ONE IN: Rory Stewart wants a sleepover at your house. No, really – the former Tory MP has a sleeping bag ready and he’s hoping to kip in your spare room or living room floor. The independent London mayoral candidate pleaded for citizens across the capital to invite him over, so he can stay up late and have really long talks about council tax and life in general and whether God exists and stuff like that. The uber-earnest politician admitted it was “weird” but promised to bring “a box of chocolates”. Among the many people who found it a bit creepy, one tweeter asked: “Why don’t you just use Tinder like everyone else?”

FARCE AND THE FURIOUS: No 10 is adamant the judicial review process must change. The PM was said to be “furious” the Court of Appeal halted the deportation of 25 offenders set to leave on the flight to Jamaica. According to ITV’s Robert Peston, Cummings believes “the farce” is all part of a shady politico-media-legal elite conspiracy in the capital. He told officials the ruling showed they “haven’t understood what the last few years has been about ... The country outside London is horrified.” Meanwhile, campaigners have accused the Home Office of inhuman treatment, as details of Tuesday’s controversial charter flight emerged. The Independent understands around 20 men were told they would not be on the flight, before being driven from detention centres near Heathrow to Yorkshire in the middle of the night – with no details about where they were going.

On the record

“Honestly, I was a little bit surprised to hear the prime minister of the United Kingdom speak about the Australian model.”

Ursula von der Leyen derides Boris Johnson’s plan B for the post-Brexit era.

From the Twitterati

“Had a packed day today then got home and found @RoryStewartUK in my kitchen. Wouldn’t mind but he had taken a nibble out of one of my fish cakes.”

Professor Alan Simpson mocks the mayoral candidate’s sleepover stunt...

“I have eaten the fish cakes that were in the oven / and which you were probably saving for breakfast / Forgive me they were delicious so fishy and so hot.”

...before Rory Stewart channels The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

Essential reading

James Moore, The Independent: Of course wealthy people like Boris Johnson love HS2 – they’re the only ones who’ll be able to afford to use it

Roy Greenslade, The Independent: Now that election euphoria has died down, can Sinn Fein give Irish people what they voted for?

Frances O’Grady, The Times: Green jobs are crucial for the ‘infrastructure revolution’

Ben Mathis-Lilley, Slate: Joe Biden’s inevitable electability is at the bottom of a crater in New Hampshire

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