Inside Politics: Oliver Dowden wants us to ‘work out to help out’

Slowly, slowly, slowly we inch forward. Netflix has revealed The Crown will be getting a sixth season after all. But those hoping it would cover the Megxit debacle will be disappointed – the extra episodes will merely allow producers to go over the 1990s in even “greater detail”. If lockdown has felt like being stuck on repeat, examining the same four walls in ever greater detail, the government has put some dates in the diary to freshen up our routines. Oliver Dowden has revealed when we’re allowed to get our nails done, head to the gym and take in some outdoor theatre.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock on what to look out for today:

With the Commons not sitting, MPs will be in their constituencies weighing up local voters’ response to Rishi Sunak’s £30bn rescue package. Meanwhile, experts from the Independent Sage group are to unveil their latest – no doubt scathing – analysis of the government’s test and trace programme, just days after it was revealed that the Treasury has set aside a staggering £10bn to pay for the much-criticised operation, alongside £15bn for personal protective equipment.

WE CAN WORK IT OUT(SIDE): Oliver Dowden wants us fit and cultured. Urging people to “work out to help out” and “do their bit” to support the arts, the culture secretary set out plans for outdoor pools and outdoor theatres to re-open from 11 July, beauty salons and tattooists from 13 July, and indoor gyms and pools from 25 July (the open-air plays and concerts will have limited, social-distanced audiences). “I’m really urging people to get out there and to play their part,” he said. Meanwhile, Matt Hancock hopes we’ll be able to visit loved ones in care homes soon. The health secretary said an announcement on safe visits will be made in the “next few days”. Dementia UK wants ministers to grant relatives key worker status, allowing them regular access and Covid-19 testing.

EARLY DOORS: Brexit trade talks have broken up early for the second week in a row, with those never-ending “significant divergences” still firmly in place. Michel Barnier said talks would resume later this month – but issued a grim communication to EU governments asking them to prepare for disruption at the end of 2020. The no-deal scenario looms large. Will the UK economy be in better shape by then? High-street misery continues with Boots announcing 4,000 jobs losses and John Lewis closing eight stores, with 1,300 jobs at risk. Unusually, HMRC boss Jim Harra has written to Rishi Sunak to express concerns about the efficiency of paying all firms £1,000 to retain furloughed staff they may have kept on anyway. Keir Starmer also questioned its value, attacking Sunak’s “scatter gun approach”.

IN A SORRY STATE: Don’t you hate it when you have to issue sanctions on an old friend? Defence secretary Ben Wallace is understood to have discreetly telephoned his Saudi Arabian counterpart to reiterate the UK’s support for the kingdom – a day after publicly criticising human rights abuses and targeting 20 officials for sanctions. Lib Dem MP Layla Moran told The Independent: “It looks like the UK government … called to apologise privately.” Elsewhere, education secretary Gavin Williamson is unapologetic about his love of vocational colleges. The minister has scrapped Tony Blair’s target of having 50 per cent of young people in universities, calling it an “absurd mantra” promoting “snobbishness”. Williamson vowed to put more money into further education colleges.

FAILING UPWARDS: The hapless former cabinet minister Chris Grayling looks set to become chair of the intelligence and security committee (we are technically obliged to call him hapless given his mishaps at the transport and justice departments). If appointed – MPs vote to approve No 10’s list on Monday – Grayling will be in charge of publishing the report in alleged Russian meddling in our political system. Former Lib Dem leader Lord Menzies Campbell claimed the government had “improperly suppressed” the report to avoid embarrassment during the election, calling it “shabby episode”. Let’s wait until it comes out and see how shabby things really are. Elsewhere, The Times reports that the Cabinet Office wants senior officials to read Dominic Cummings’ blog. How lovely for them.

FOOL AND HIS MONEY: Donald Trump has had one of his “busy” periods on Twitter. The president is very unhappy that the US Supreme Court has decided he must hand over his tax returns and financial records to an investigating New York prosecutor. Chief justice John Roberts wrote in his memorable ruling that “no citizen, not even the president, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence”. Trump lashed out at “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!” and called New York a “hellhole”. Meanwhile, just to keep Donny in a good mood, a Black Lives Matter mural has been painted outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.

OPEN THEN SHUT CASE: Hong Kong has announced that recently re-opened schools will close down again from Monday after 34 locally-transmitted coronavirus cases were reported – the second consecutive day of rising local infections. Elsewhere, Singaporeans are voting today in a general election expected to return prime minister Lee Hsien to power. All voters are required to wear masks, gloves and be screened for fever. They’ve also been allocated a two-hour window to cast ballots to reduce crowding. Meanwhile Bolivia’s interim president Jeanine Anez has tested positive for Covid-19. “I feel good, I feel strong,” she wrote on Twitter.

“We are entering one of the most severe recessions this country has ever seen.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak lays it on the line.

“Chris Grayling’s cock-ups – Prisoner book ban. Probation privatisation. East coast franchise … Ferry contract to company with no ferries. Now chosen to hit “publish” on the Russia report. Draw your own conclusions.”

Green co-leader Jonathan Bartley suggests Grayling’s appointment is big mistake…

“*This* is where he shines. Finally, decisively. *This* is his Battle of Britain, his Jules Rimet moment, his Boom Bang-a-Bang at Eurovision, his Agincourt. God speed, Chris Grayling, we’re all rooting for you – shine on you crazy diamond.”

…but comedy writer James Blackwell says it could be his big moment.

Mary Dejevsky, The Independent: The survival of the union is not guaranteed

Andrew Buncombe, The Independent: I was arrested, jailed and assaulted. My ‘crime’? Being a journalist in Trump’s America

Betsy Joles, Politico: Hong Kong asylum seekers test EU-China relations

Stephen Bush, New Statesman: Starmer is more popular than his party, but he is ready to play the long game