Inside Politics: The B-word

Downing Street denies reports UK will try to work towards Swiss-style deal with EU as Sunak prepares to address CBI conference, writes Matt Mathers

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Hello there, I’m Matt Mathers and welcome to The Independent’s Inside Politics newsletter.

Matt Hancock performed admirably in last night’s I’m a Celeb balancing task. All that parkour has clearly served him well. Perhaps we’ll soon be treated to him spitting some bars or listing his top 10 grime tracks of all time.

Inside the bubble

Commons action gets underway at 2.30pm with levelling up questions, followed by any urgent questions or statements. After that the main business will be the first of two days of debates on the autumn statement.

Daily briefing

Swiss-rolling the pitch?

Whisper it ever so quietly, but the B-word is increasingly coming up in political discourse of late – and increasingly so, it seems, since last week’s autumn statement and the dire picture painted for the next few years ahead by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

With the UK already in recession, and households facing the largest drop in their living standards for six decades, somebody “senior” in the government thinks it could be a could idea to forge closer economic ties with the EU – the world’s largest trading bloc – to stop us from becoming even poorer post-Brexit.

The source told The Sunday Times that senior government figures plan to put Britain on a path towards a Swiss-style relationship with the EU – a move that would infuriate rightwingers in the European Research Group.

The source insisted that any plan would not mark a return to free movement, but this was still not enough for Steve Barclay, the health secretary, who essentially admitted to broadcasters that Brexit was not going well, but said he would not support such a deal, which gives Switzerland access to the EU single market through a series of bilateral agreements.

And then came the government denial. A government spokesperson rubbished the reports and said that the UK would not jeopardise the “full benefit of trade deals we are now able to strike around the world” – perhaps not one of the strongest lines to take given that just days ago Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, was forced to admit that we have no chance of striking a deal with the US any time soon and a recent confession from George Eustice that the deal Truss struck with Australia on farming isn’t very good.

Despite the pushback, the reaction among the headbangers in the ERG and their favoured media outlets – among the most ardent supporters of Liz Truss’s failed experiment on the economy – has been just as expected. “Fury at ‘absurd idea’ to go soft on Brexit”, says the Daily Express. “Don’t betray us on Brexit”, says The Daily Mail. The Daily Telegraph, meanwhile, says Sunak “totally” rejects the idea.

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It all comes as the Confederation of British Industry kicks off its annual conference in Birmingham today. Tony Danker, its director general, will tell politicians that arguments about Brexit must end and that immigration should be used to solve worker shortages and boost growth. Sunak is scheduled to address the conference later this morning.

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‘Weaker’ or ‘wan*er’?

Embattled deputy prime minister Dominic Raab is under growing pressure amid calls for a third probe into his alleged behaviour.

The justice secretary faces fresh accusations that he used “obscene” language in the chamber of the House of Commons.

The row centres on claims that Mr Raab mouthed the word “w***er” at the Labour leader during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) 10 days ago.

It is understood that Mr Raab categorically denies he said the word w***er and instead said “weaker” after Sir Keir used the word “weak” multiple times.

On the record

A government spokesperson denies reports UK will seek a Swiss-style deal with the EU.

“This government is focused on using our Brexit freedoms to create opportunities that drive growth and strengthen our economy. Brexit means we will never again have to accept a relationship with Europe that would see a return to freedom of movement, unnecessary payments to the European Union or jeopardise the full benefit of trade deals we are now able to strike around the world.”

From the Twitterati

Kevin Schofield, HuffPost UK politics editor, pokes fun at the ‘settled’ Europe question.

“So glad the Brexit referendum settled the European question once and for all.”

Essential reading

• Kate Devlin, The Independent: Talking about politics is the only way politicians can make it more boring
• Hamish McRae, The Independent: Why advertisers have to stick with Qatar – but not with Twitter
• Sean O’Neill, The Times:It’s a scandal we are leaving social reform to coroners
• Tom McTague, The Atlantic: The Qatar World Cup exposes football’s shame

Inside Politics first appeared in our daily morning email. You can sign up via this link.