Inside Politics: Johnson to press ahead with relaxing Covid rules

Compulsory wearing of face masks to be scrapped and rule of six to go, writes Matt Mathers

(PA)

Maybe it is coming home? Following England’s brilliant win over Ukraine, Crawley council has said “nothing is off the table” in response to fans’ calls for a statue of manager Gareth Southgate in the town centre. What a sight that would be! At Westminster, Boris Johnson is expected to set in stone that most Covid restrictions will be axed on 19 July. Despite warnings from medics and scientists, the PM is likely to announce an end to social distancing rules. Elsewhere, Johnson is coming under renewed pressure on foreign aid cuts. Labour has launched a drive to get “on the side” of British businesses.

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Inside the bubble

Policy correspondent Jon Stone on what to look out for today:

There’s plenty of action in parliament today, with Defence Questions kicking off after 2.30pm followed by debates on the government’s controversial police and crime bill. But the focus will be on Boris Johnson holding a major press conference this afternoon announcing his ‘Big Bang’ decision to remove most coronavirus regulations. The Cabinet is thought to be behind him, but experts have various views – the exact reaction to what he announces will depend on the detail.

What to watch out for

-SAGE member Calum Semple on Sky News at 8.20am

-Labour MP and shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell on Times Radio at 8:35am

Daily Briefing

UN-MASKED: Today we find out more about what so-called “freedom day” looks like. At a press conference later, Boris Johnson is poised to announce the easing of social distancing rules, despite a backlash from medics, and he will warn that the UK must “learn to live with the virus”. The Daily Mirror this morning says face masks will be scrapped altogether, with people asked to use their own personal judgement instead. The Daily Telegraph reports the government will advise people to wear masks in confined spaces, but there will be no legal requirement to do so. Robert Jenrick all but confirmed the move yesterday. “We as private citizens make these judgments rather than the government telling you what to do”, the local government secretary said. In other Covid-related developments, double-vaccinated Brits will not have to quarantine after arriving back home from amber list countries, according to the Mail on Sunday. What is Labour’s stance on travel? Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says ministers should produce the evidence informing these plans “instead of briefing to newspapers”. Ouch. Ms Reeves also gave an interview to the Sunday Telegraph, setting out Labour’s plan to get “on the side of British businesses” and give more public contracts to UK firms, with The Observer headlining the story “Keir Starmer takes on Tories with ‘buy British’ economic plan”.

CULTURE WAR UPDATE: More culture wars news today. According to Frank Luntz, a prominent pollster who has worked for the Republican Party in the US, “wokeism” and other cultural issues are on course to become the biggest dividing line in British politics sooner than we might have thought. He tellsThe Times, “The problem with woke and with cancel culture is that it is never done. The conflict and divisions never end. This is not what the people of the UK want — but it’s coming anyway.” In an ominous warning to Labour, Luntz says the party has got an internal conflict that is “unsustainable”. In a sign of how difficult some of these issues are, Keir Starmer tweeted a photo of himself watching the England match at a pub and was immediately criticised by some because of the whiteness of the crowd. And there’s another grim poll reading for the leader of the opposition today. According to a J.L Partners survey shared with the Politico website, just 17 per cent of Britons think Starmer could win a general election against the PM.

REBEL REBEL: Tory rebels are causing headaches for the PM again, who is, according toThe Sunday Times, “actively considering” plans to allow MPs a binding vote on £4 billion cuts to the overseas aid budget. Some Conservatives remain livid about the move. Ruth Davidson, former leader in Scotland, warned the party will again be seen as the “nasty party”unless the plan is ditched. “Commitment to the 0.7 per cent runs deep and, if there’s no vote before summer, Tory MPs will join the rising chorus of outcry in the press at the same time as horrific pictures of the unfolding famine in Ethiopia hit our screens along with the ongoing horrors in Yemen and Syria”, she said. The rebels, former party leader Iain Duncan Smith among them, claim to have the numbers. Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, last month warned the government that it was wrong to deny MPs a vote on the issue. John Rentoul, our political commentator, says it is too late to avoid the reduction in aid spending in this financial year because it has already been implemented by the foreign office. “The question, therefore, is what will happen in the financial year beginning next April,” John writes. Dominic Raab, the PM and Rishi Sunak have yet to definitely say that the move won’t be permanent, despite suggesting so previously. This one isn’t going away.

UNJUSTIFIED: Another issue not going away is the government’s policing bill. Senior police officers have undermined ministers’ justification for controversial new laws to crack down on “noisy” protests, saying they did not ask for the powers. London’s Met police is among the forces that “did not request the legal change on noise” and Labour has pounced on the comments, with Sarah Jones, the shadow policing minister, branding the move a “partisan power grab”. “At no point have the police said they want or need these powers on the basis of noise, and it would be very serious if ministers were trying to mislead the public into thinking they did,” she added. Former police officers have told today’sTimesthat Priti Patel’s plans to curb protests will have “dangerous and harmful implications”.

UNIVERSAL CREDIT ROW: The government is also coming under pressure from Tory rebels on universal credit. Six former work and pensions secretaries have joined forces to urge chancellor Rishi Sunak to think again and keep £20 payments in the autumn, in an unprecedented alliance spanning both the left and right wings of the Tory party. “As the economy reopens, and the government re-evaluates where it has been spending money, we ask that the current funding for individuals in the universal credit envelope be kept at the current level,” the group, which includes Iain Duncan Smith and Amber Rudd, write in a letter to the Treasury. “We ask that you protect the investment in universal credit, to strengthen work incentives for those who can work and support more generously those who cannot work.” Elsewhere, over 3 million manual workers will need to retrain to help the government meet its green targets, according to toThe Sun. The paper says experts will today warn the PM “radical” policy action is needed now so that those workers won’t get left behind.

On the record

“Knocking down the Red Wall, only to allow the cultivation of a Yellow Hedge, isn’t smart politics”.

Tory MP Anthony Mangnall reckons his party will lose ground to the Lib Dems if it doesn’t not ditch foreign aid cuts

From the Twitterati

“The government can’t keep hiding from scrutiny. Parliament has made it clear that it does not support the callous and counter productive cuts to the aid budget. We are calling on the government to reverse the cuts or put them to a binding vote.”

Labour MP and shadow international development secretary Preet Kaur Gill

Essential reading

• Jess Phillips, The Independent: Labour is strongest when united by a common purpose – and resisting the desire for self-flagellation
• Andrew Grice, The Independent: Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak are ideological soulmates - but how long will their friendship last?
• Nesrine Malik, The Guardian: Europe has created a two-tier vaccination system that will hit poorer countries
• Philip Thomas, The Spectator: How bad will the third wave be?