Inside Politics: Posturing

Foreign secretary issues new warning to EU over Brexit’s Northern Ireland protocol as cabinet meets in Stoke-on-Trent for away day, writes Matt Mathers

(PA)

Is Michael Gove ok? The levelling up secretary gave a bizarre interview to BBC Breakfast yesterday morning, adopting Liverpudlian and American accents when Dan Walker dared to ask him why the government didn’t include any measures to ease the country’s spiralling cost of living crisis in Tuesday’s Queen Speech. The peculiar nature of the Surrey Heath MP’s performance was such that some observers – and even a few MPs – jokingly asked if he might have been on drugs. The Lib Dems are now writing up a general election manifesto pledge to have the mysterious substance legalised.

Inside the bubble

Commons action gets underway at 9.30 with any urgent questions. This will be followed by the weekly parliament business statement from Commons leader Mark Spencer. After that comes other ministerial statements and the Queen’s Speech debate will resume. Fairness at work and power in communities are the proposed subjects.