Inside Politics: Government preparing to rush Brexit deal through parliament

If a trade agreement is struck with the EU, it may have to be ratified after 1 January, writes Adam Forrest

Jacob Rees-Mogg (AP)

Harry and Meghan have only gone and done a podcast! The semi-royal Sussexes’ will releasing an exciting holiday special very soon. Will they talk about Christmas coronavirus restrictions? The ins and outs of regulatory divergence and the chances of a Brexit trade deal? Stanley Johnson’s ongoing reluctance to wear a face mask? No. Probably not. But you’ll get all that good stuff right here. Speaking of podcasts, Jacob-Rees Mogg has revealed to Moggcast listeners that MPs could be asked to ratify a UK-EU trade deal after it comes into force at the start of 2021.

 

Inside the bubble

 

Political editor Andrew Woodcock on what to look out for today:

Decisions on whether any parts of England can be moved down a level will be made on Wednesday, but Downing Street is yet to confirm whether they will be announced immediately – or held back until Thursday. Boris Johnson can expect to come under more pressure over his Christmas plans at the weekly session of PMQs, after Labour leader Keir Starmer demanded an urgent review.

 

Daily briefing

 

GREAT BREXPECTATIONS: There is a buzz a-building about the government finally nearing a trade deal with the EU. Boris Johnson has played down expectations, telling his cabinet that talks are still “most likely” to end without an agreement. But Downing Street sources have said they are preparing to push back the Christmas recess in the event a deal is secured in the next few days. Commons’ leader Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested MPs may not get to vote on a deal until next year – after it has come into force. He told Moggcast listeners parliament could be asked to “retrospectively correct” domestic law to recognise any agreement forged in the final days of 2020. What about ratification in Brussels? If there’s a deal agreed this week then the European Parliament still has time to ratify on December 28 or 29, according to The Times. But if negotiations go past Monday, MEPs could also be asked to ratify a provisional deal in retrospect next year.

 

A HARD RAIN’S A-LREADY FALLEN: Deal or no deal, the mammoth lorry park in Kent won’t be ready in time. The special customs control area being built near Ashford to deal with Brexit congestion will not be completed for 1 January, the Department for Transport has confirmed. Why not? The damned rain. The department blamed an unplanned level of rainfall in England for the work falling behind schedule. Unplanned rain? In England? Meanwhile – undaunted by the expected mess at the ports – the government is said to be drawing up plans to rival Singapore by turning London into an international hub for shipping companies to register vessels. The light-touch regulation scheme is described as “blue-sky thinking”, according to the FT. Will the UK be able to do light-touch regulation? The latest from the Brexit talks suggest the EU is prepared to accept some UK regulatory divergence, but the two sides are yet to settle on an arbitration process.

 

BUBBLES UNBURST? Widespread reports this morning suggest Boris Johnson is sticking with his plan for a five-day easing of Covid restrictions over Christmas. Michael Gove – having held talks with leaders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland yesterday – will hold more urgent talks today over the extended bubbles. One possible change reportedly being discussed is a limit on how far people can travel. “If you go down that route, we will support you on that,” said Keir Starmer on any possible tightening of holiday rules. “Doing nothing is not really viable.” Nicola Sturgeon said there was “a case” for tightening planned rules, while the Health Service Journal and British Medical Journal warned that the Christmas easing would be a “major error” that would “cost many lives”. Meanwhile, as London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire go into tier 3 today, there is hope in the Tees Valley, Manchester and parts of Yorkshire that they may be heading for tier 2 status.

 

LIVING THE LIE: Fake news, lies and nonsense? All absolutely brilliant stuff, according to some Tory party activists. A bulletin sent out to members in Peter Bone’s Wellingborough constituency says there are “lessons that we can learn” from Donald Trump by “weaponising fake news”. The newsletter says campaigners should view fake news as a technique that “crowds out genuine news”, explaining: “You say the first thing that comes into your head. It’ll probably be nonsense, but it knocks your opponent out of his stride.” Prepare to be knocked off your stride by the news that Dominic Cummings enjoyed a bumper pay rise of around £45,000 earlier this year, taking his salary somewhere between £140,000 and £144,999. Labour said it was an “insult” to millions of workers whose pay’s being frozen during the pandemic. The latest government document release also shows the PM rejected advice to reach a settlement Sonia Khan, the aide sacked and frogmarched out of Downing Street on Cummings’ orders.

 

THE UNMASKED MAN: Once seems careless. Twice appears daft. Three times is odd, it could be argued. Now Stanley Johnson has been seen breaking Covid restrictions for a fourth time – getting on a Tube train without wearing a face covering before boarding. Footage obtained by The Independent shows a maskless Johnson Snr getting on a carriage as it pulled out of Victoria station on Monday afternoon. In south London, Greenwich council has told its schools to reopen to pupils after the threat of legal action issued by education secretary Gavin Williamson. At least two other London boroughs – Islington and Waltham Forest – have received a letter from the schools minister Nick Gibb telling them to stay open after they advised schools to switch to online learning. Meanwhile, the contentious planning reforms for England have been changed, rural Tory MPs will be pleased to known. A algorithm used to decide on housing targets has been “updated” to focus on cities and existing urban areas in the north and Midlands.

 

FRIEND OF THE DEVIL: Defence secretary Ben Wallace says he will “miss” Donald Trump – arguing that the departing US president has been “quite a good friend” to Britain. From old alliances to new ones, Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell suddenly appear quite pally. The Republican leader in the Senate finally congratulated Biden on winning the election last month. Biden said he had later phoned McConnell up to thank him and said the pair agreed to “get together sooner than later”. The Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called on Trump to “end his term with a modicum of grace and dignity”. Absolutely no chance of that. Trump may be too worried about his finances to bother with grace and dignity. The Trump Organisation has been told to turn over documents related to a property under investigation by New York attorney general, following allegations that the president and associates inflated assets to obtain millions of dollars in tax benefits.

 

On the record

 

“Normally, you would expect a treaty to be ratified before it comes into force, but if both sides accept that ratification is done in a different way that is theoretically possible.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg raises the possibility a Brexit deal could be ratified next year.

 

From the Twitterati

 

“I don’t remember electing either the BMJ, the Health Service Journal or Keir Starmer to run this country, do you? When did this happen? Was I napping? Did I miss a memo?”

Julia Hartley-Brewer is livid at the pressure on the PM to cancel Christmas…

 

“The reason Christmas rules are unlikely to change in England, a minister tells me, is that Boris Johnson does not want to be seen to be punishing the North … because of virus surge in London and South East.”

…but Robert Peston says the PM will stick with the Christmas easing.

 

Essential reading

 

Tom Peck, The Independent: Key to a Covid-secure Christmas? Follow another government’s advice

 

Vince Cable, The Independent: Can an apology for historic crimes ever benefit those who suffered?

 

Ailbhe Rea, New Statesman: How Boris Johnson could have avoided his Christmas crisis

 

Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times: Kamala Harris deserves a more important job

 

Sign up here to receive this daily briefing in your email inbox every morning