Inside Politics: Voters concerned about environment, as Corbyn and Johnson address business leaders

There are now only 24 days until the general election

“He is neither old nor young, tall nor short, loud nor quiet warm nor cold, he seems to have come from nowhere and is entirely unremarkable.” This was the withering assessment given by the Queen of Harold Wilson in 1964, shortly after her first meeting at Buckingham Palace with the then-Labour prime minister. Well, that’s according to Netflix’s hit show, the Crown, which provided the nation with another season to binge-watch this weekend. One can only imagine what will be going through the real life monarch’s mind in a months’ time, when she invites either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn to form a government in her name. I’m Ashley Cowburn, and welcome to The Independent’s Inside Politics newsletter.

Inside the bubble

Our political correspondent Benjamin Kentish on what to look out for on the campaign trail today:

All three of the main party leaders will speak at the CBI conference on Monday as the candidates for prime minister make their pitch to business leaders and use the occasion to unveil new policy pledges.

Boris Johnson will promise to cut business rate and employers’ national insurance contributions as part of a package that the Tories claims would save businesses a combined £1bn by 2022-23. Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, will announce plans to create 320,000 climate apprenticeships in environmentally friendly role. Jo Swinson will tell industry leaders that the Lib Dems are ‘the natural party of business’. Quoting her two rivals, she will say: "If you want to get Brexit done or get Brexit sorted, you are not the party of business'".

Daily briefing

IT’S THE ENVIRONMENT, STUPID: The effects of David Attenborough’s wildlife documentaries and the Extinction Rebellion movement are felt today as anxiety over the climate crisis is reflected in a new poll by Ipsos Mori. It shows voters are more concerned about the environment ahead of the general election than at any time in the past. When asked to list what are the biggest issues facing Britain, more than one in five voters – 21 per cent – mention the environment and pollution unprompted. This is up from just two per cent in 2012. Naturally, Brexit is still by far the biggest issue in voters’ minds, with 63 per cent mentioning it as one of the major challenges facing the UK. The economy was mentioned by just 12 per cent.

FOR THE MANY, NOT THE FEW: So, with impeccable timing, reports have emerged that Labour is considering watering down a conference resolution passed in September to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. The Times claimed Jeremy Corbyn deleted a post on his Instagram page on Sunday of an image of the slogan “carbon neutral by 2030 - only with Labour” when asked whether this meant the commitment would be in the manifesto. We won’t have long to wait, however, as Labour will unveil its manifesto on Thursday after senior figures gathered in central London at the weekend for a six hour "Clause V meeting" to finalise the document.

REALITY CHECK: Director-general of the Confederation of British Industry will warn today that Labour’s election policies could also “crack the foundations of our economy”. Fair to assume she’s not a great fan of the party’s plans to nationalise part of the the broadband network then. But Dame Carolyn Fairbairn will also claim Conservative plans for immigration risk creating a skills shortage. “If you do want to build 200,000 houses a year, you don’t just need the architects and the designers, you need carpenters, you need the electricians, you need the labourers,” she said ahead of her keynote speech today. The prime minister will no doubt be grovelling to business leaders, after he was reported to have said "f*** business" last year when quizzed on no-deal Brexit concerns.

LORD NIGEL: Donald from Washington’s favourite Brit, Nigel Farage, has accused Boris Johnson’s team of “corruption” and insisted it was a “fact” that Brexit Party candidates had been offered government jobs and peerages if they agreed to stand down. He claimed senior Downing Street adviser, Sir Eddie Lister, had contacted the party’s candidate in Peterborough and offered a job in higher education. “I think what it does show is just how absolutely rotten and broken our politics has become and why it needs major change,” he declared on Sunday. But a Conservative spokesperson said “nobody” from the party “or any officials acting on its behalf have offered any Brexit Party candidate a job or a peerage to stand down in the election”.

GREMLIN: Another day, another embarrassment for the prime minister. The businesswoman at the heart of a police watchdog investigation into her relationship with Boris Johnson has accused him of treating her like “some fleeting one night stand”. Jennifer Arcuri claimed she had attempted to speak with Johnson in recent weeks, after details of their past relationship were made public. Addressing him directly in an ITV interview, she says: “I’ve been nothing but loyal, faithful, supportive, and a true confidante of yours. I’ve kept your secrets, and I’ve been your friend. I’m terribly heartbroken by the way you have cast me side like I am some gremlin.”

ONE IS NOT IMPRESSED: Prince Andrew is facing a mounting backlash after his unprecedented interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis at the weekend. His attempt to set the record straight about his involvement with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is on the front of nearly every national newspaper this morning. In the interview, the duke denied he slept with Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, on three separate occasions, twice while she was underage. He said one encounter did not happen as he spent the day with his daughter princess Beatrice, taking her to Pizza Express in Woking. Speaking on BBC’s Westminster Hour, the Labour MP Jack Dromey said the prince should be “utterly ashamed of himself” after showing “no empathy whatsoever for the victims of Epstein”.

On the record

“Let’s get Brexit done!”

Prime minister Boris Johnson posted enthusiastically after 10pm on Sunday evening with no additional information. His transatlantic ally Donald Trump will be proud.

From the Twitterati

“This constructive ambiguity worked initially, but not anymore – and has impacted dramatically on Labour’s ratings”.

The Mirror’s political editor Pippa Crerar on Jeremy Corbyn refusing to tell the BBC’s Andrew Marr how Labour would campaign in a future referendum.

“You deserve a straight answer to the simplest and most important question in our politics and he is literally unwilling to give it.”

The Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson adds.

Essential Reading

John Rentoul, The Independent: The TV debate is Corbyn’s chance to turn things round.

Lucie McInerney, The Independent: Hillary Clinton reminded me never to give up fighting for equal rights

Lizzy Dening, The Independent: Don’t lose sight of what matters from the Prime Andrew interview - Epstein’s victims