Inside Politics: ‘Don’t panic’, says No 10 as petrol pumps run dry

Boris Johnson has been urged to get a grip of the ‘rapidly worsening’ supply chain crisis as he returns home from the US, writes Adam Forrest

Boris Johnson (EPA)

Actor Daniel Craig has been appointed an honorary Commander in the Royal Navy – the same rank as his James Bond character. Perhaps it’s time Boris Johnson was appointed an honorary Lance Corporal in Dad’s Army – the same rank as Jonesy, the character who ran around shouting, “Don’t panic! Don’t panic!” Despite the state of high alarm over the shutting of petrol stations, No 10 insists we’re not doomed yet. Labour, meanwhile, is in full-on Private Frazer mode – warning of disaster ahead as pumps run dry and energy firms go bust.

Inside the bubble

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

Grant Shapps will be on the airwaves, defending the government’s handling of the supply chain crisis. Parliament is in recess until conference season is over, with Labour folk preparing to decamp to Brighton this weekend. It might be worth watching Hillary Clinton speak in Belfast, as she’s made chancellor of Queen’s University at 11am.

Daily briefing

RUNNING ON EMPTY: Labour has urged the government to “drop everything” to sort the supply chain crisis after BP began restricting deliveries to dozens of petrol stations. The energy giant said it had “temporarily” closed stations because of the lorry driver shortage, with at least 50 outlets thought to be missing at least one type of fuel. BP’s Hanna Hofer described the situation as “bad, very bad”. A small number of Esso’s Tesco forecourts have also been affected. Jim McMahon, shadow transport secretary, called it a “rapidly worsening crisis that the government has failed to heed the warnings of”. No need to panic, No 10 insisted. Downing Street said people should continue buying fuel “as normal”. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said on Question Time that visa changes allowing more overseas drivers wouldn’t solve the problem. But almost everyone in the logistics, food and drink industries disagrees – pleading for an emergency visa scheme.

I HAVE IN MY HAND A PIECE OF PAPER: The government was warned 18 months ago that some energy companies faced possible collapse, a newly-shared letter has revealed. Regulator Ofgem wrote to business secretary Kwaswi Kwarteng last March to warn him of the “systemic risk” faced by suppliers. Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband waved the letter around in parliament – accusing the government of leaving the country “dangerously exposed”. Kwarteng said he remembered the letter, but denied any “complacency”. Small business minister Paul Scully said the country has to “prepare for the worst” if soaring gas prices do not come down. But the idea of state-backed loans for bigger energy firms is said to be on the back burner for now.

UNIVERSAL U-TURN? There may be a half-turn ahead on universal credit, with ministers mulling a partial climbdown. The fiercely-criticised £20-a-week cut will still go ahead, but working people who receive the benefit would be allowed to keep more of their earnings under the mooted proposal. The so-called “taper rate” – the amount a claimant loses for every extra pound they earn – would be reduced from 63p to 60p. It’s understood that the plan is being pushed by the Department for Work and Pensions and is being considered by the Treasury. Labour’s Ed Miliband warned that the £20-a-week cut risked “plunging” people into fuel poverty, while the SNP warned of a 1970s-style “winter of discontent” ahead. Tory MPs Christopher Chope and Robert Halfon told the government to consider reducing VAT on energy bills.

BRIDGE TO NOWHERE: Let’s hope Boris Johnson got a good look at some big bridges on his trip to New York. The PM has been forced to accept his cherished project of a bridge or tunnel linking Britain with Northern Ireland ain’t going to happen. Speaking as he returned from a trip to the US, Johnson downgraded the plan to an “ambition”, acknowledging it could not come to fruition until “substantially after” other infrastructure projects such as HS2. Meanwhile, the government is thought to be backing plans for another nuclear power plant in the UK to help the country achieve net zero targets. It’s in discussions with US manufacturer Westinghouse to develop the new plant in Anglesey, reports The Times.

FIRST DIBS ON NEW CRIBS: Labour folk haven’t had too much to get excited about of late. But some juicy pledges at the party conference in Brighton this weekend should cheer them up. Labour will promise to cap the amount of property that overseas investors can buy in new developments. The party will also offer first-time buyers “first dibs” on all new builds for six months. Meanwhile, there’s little momentum (excuse the pun) behind Keir Starmer’s plan to end the one member, one vote system and hand unions and MPs more power in leadership elections. London mayor Sadiq Khan refused three times to back the idea. Now that everyone has had a chance to read Starmer’s big essay The Road Ahead, it’s fair to say the reviews weren’t great. Blair-era minister Lord Adonis said: “When you haven’t got anything new to say, it’s best not to say it in 14,000 words.” Ouch.

AIN’T THAT ASHAMED: Thought you had heard the last of Keith Vaz? Not quite. The former Labour MP, who retired from parliament in 2019, was found responsible for “sustained and unpleasant” bullying of a committee clerk by a Commons inquiry. Vaz “should be ashamed of his behaviour”, said the independent panel – ruling that he should never be allowed a former members’ pass. The bullying of Jenny McCullough was judged to have had a “real and enduring psychological impact”. Vaz told McCullough she could not do her job effectively because she was “not a mother”, according to the inquiry report.

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT: George Osborne has been hard at work. The former Tory chancellor has won business for an investment bank from a firm set up by a Russian oligarch, according to the Financial Times. It just so happens to be the same oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, who hosted Osborne on his yacht off Corfu. Meanwhile, Dominic Raab has been branded “ridiculous” in an ongoing squabble over his reported attempts to cling on to use of the grace-and-favour Chevening mansion in Kent, despite being replaced as foreign secretary by Liz Truss. Apparently Raab still wants use of the place. “Liz thinks Dom’s claim is completely spurious, that he’s being ridiculous,” a Truss ally told The Times.

On the record

“The government’s planned £20 a week cut to universal credit seems more economically illogical, socially divisive and morally indefensible than anything I have witnessed in this country’s politics.”

Gordon Brown says the ‘callous’ cut is unprecedented.

From the Twitterati

“I honestly never thought that ‘Project Fear’ would turn out to be understatement.”

Brexit-hating James O’Brien on empty shelves, bust energy firms and shut petrol stations...

“A politics in which Brexit – as both a root cause & aggravating factor – isn’t mentioned by either main party is part of the dystopian atmosphere.”

… while John Harris is amazed Brexit doesn’t get mentioned.

Essential reading

Cathy Newman, The Independent: Could Angela Rayner be the answer to Boris Johnson?

Rupert Hawksley, The Independent: Andrew Neil’s public spat with GB News is delicious

James Forsyth, The Times: The spectre of the 1970s haunts the Tories

Sam Leith, The Spectator: Starmer’s essay is a cliché-ridden disaster

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