Inside Politics: End of an era

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

All eyes on the Battle of Britain at the World Cup tonight. A win will guarantee Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions a place in the next round. But can they do it on a hot, dry night in Qatar? Wales, still seeking a win, will be hoping not.

Our chief politics commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for:

The prime minister chairs cabinet this morning. He will watch the England vs Wales World Cup match from Downing Street at 7pm, with school pupils from both England and Wales.

The Commons sits from 11.30 with questions to Grant Shapps, business secretary, who is expected to announce the final legal confirmation that Sizewell C nuclear power station will go ahead. The government will publish its amendments to the Online Safety Bill. The Commons will pass a bill to postpone elections in Northern Ireland until April.

Will Rishi Sunak’s speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet last night be enough to pacify China hawks on his back benches? The prime minister certainly sought to differentiate himself from David Cameron, telling the audience of bigwigs in London that the “golden era” between the two countries is over.

But as the world’s second-largest economy, China is not going away anytime soon and some sort of relationship will have to persist, even if it is less warm than before. This fact of reality was recognised by Sunak in his address. He said he would pursue a policy of “robust pragmatism”, in remarks briefed out yesterday ahead of his speech.

Amid protests against draconian Covid rules in Beijing and Shanghai, Sunak said he recognised “China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interest” while also accepting that “we cannot simply ignore China’s significance in world affairs”. The overarching message was: we’ll challenge China when we feel it’s appropriate to do so and work with them when necessary.

While different from the aforementioned Cameron, Sunak’s rhetoric was less aggressive than that of his immediate predecessor Liz Truss, who at one point talked about branding China as a threat to the UK in an apparent attempt to boost her credentials among China sceptics in her party. Sunak, who has often been compared to Tony Blair, appears to be pursuing a third way on China.

How has it gone down? Sir Iain Duncan Smith, China hawk in chief, was less than supportive of Sunak’s approach in a comment piece for The Daily Express last night, writing that, “I wonder if Robust Pragmatism now sounds more and more like appeasement.” Grumbling about China on the Tory back benches will no doubt continue but Sunak has far more pressing concerns to deal with in the form of rebellions on onshore wind and housebuilding.

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Online Safety Bill row

The government has removed measures from its Online Safety Bill which would have forced social media sites to take down material designated “legal but harmful”, in what Labour called a “major weakening” of the legislation.

Some Conservative MPs had previously warned that the axed measures could threaten free speech and could lead to “political censorship”, and culture secretary Michelle Donelan argued on Monday that removing these aspects of the much-delayed bill would help to finally get it “into law”.

But the Samaritans warned the removal of the measures was “a hugely backwards step” and accused the government of “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” before the bill returns to parliament next week.

A spokesperson for Matt Hancock says the MP has no intention of stepping away from politics.

“Matt has no intention of standing down or stepping away from politics and there has been no conversation with Mayah Riaz or any other PR.”

Chris Mason, BBC News politics editor, on Sunak’s speech.

“The UK’s outlook on China has changed quite a bit over the last seven years and five prime ministers — and it’s changing again.”

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