Inside Politics: Rishi Sunak serves up £30bn stimulus plan

Kanye West says he’s serious about running for the presidency. The star wants to run the White House like Wakanda – the technologically-advanced kingdom from Black Panther. His political party will be called The Birthday Party. Why? “Because when we win, it’s everybody’s birthday.” Rishi Sunak may not be able to complete with Kayne’s chutzpah (though he has a technologically-advanced mug keeping his tea warm for three hours). The chancellor does, however, have some presents to dispense. He’s offering a half-price meal deal, a stamp duty holiday and a VAT cut. But Labour insists there’s no reason to celebrate.

Our policy correspondent Jon Stone on what to look out for today:

Expect some movement on the 5G story, as two top Huawei executives are going to be facing MPs at the science and technology committee this morning. Tory MPs in particular may relish the chance to grill them, given the concerns about Chinese influence in the UK. Elsewhere, Michel Barnier’s team of EU negotiators will hold more informal discussions with their UK counterparts in London.

COME DINE WITH HIM: The cost of dealing with Covid has risen to a staggering £190bn, according to Treasury’s figures – after Rishi Sunak revealed a further £30bn worth of measures. It’s fair to say reaction to the chancellor’s pledges has been mixed. A mixed grill, if you will. The offer giving diners 50 per cent off when eating out in August (up to £10 a head) makes all of today’s front pages, but Labour said it was distraction from the lack of substantial support. “We were promised a ‘New Deal’, but what we got was a ‘Meal Deal’.” The VAT cut and £1,000 bonus for every employee firms keep on when the furlough scheme ends were largely welcomed. But the unions and Federation of Small Businesses said the self-employed had been “overlooked”, while the CBI said more grants and rates relief were “urgently” needed to keep companies afloat.

LEAKY SHIP: No 10 won’t be happy about the latest Brexit leak. International trade secretary Liz Truss warned in a letter to Sunak and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove she had “key areas of concerns” – suggesting port arrangements and the NI protocol may not be ready by the end of the transition period. In the letter, obtained by Business Insider, she also warned the UK would “be vulnerable to WTO challenge” over the plan. Meanwhile, No 10 has made the bold (let’s call it bold) decision to nominate Liam Fox as its candidate to lead the WTO. Labour said the WTO was sure to laugh the nomination out of town. Labour’s Emily Thornberry said: “There will be little trust in somebody who promised so much in regards to Britain’s future trade yet delivered so little.”

FAIR MEANS OR FOUL: Sir Mark Sedwill is set to enjoy a rather nice pay-out of almost £250,000 when he leaves his cabinet secretary position in September, after Boris Johnson approved the bumper pension contribution. Sir Mark has offered a warning to his successor, saying senior civil servants are now “fair game” for anonymous briefings in the press. “It is a regrettable feature of modern politics, I’m afraid,” he told MPs. Elsewhere in Westminster, the PM has been told to appoint members to the intelligence and security committee so the ridiculously long-delayed Russia report can finally be published. The petitions committee urged Johnson to “expedite the establishment” of the group, which hasn’t met for almost seven months.

PASS THE SALT: A coalition of health and care home groups has warned the government the care sector faces a “black hole” in staff because of the immigration bill. The Cavendish Coalition said current proposals for restrictive salary thresholds wouldn’t allow enough recruitment of overseas workers – saying the bill was “not the answer”. It follows feisty clashes over care at PMQs, as Keir Starmer accused Johnson of “rubbing salt in the wounds” of staff by refusing to apologise for his remarks suggesting care homes were to blame for Covid-19 deaths. According to The Telegraph, a significant change is under way in Downing Street’s handling of the health crisis. The newspaper reports that the SAGE group “appears” to have been sidelined as the Joint Biosecurity Centre gets a more prominent role.

IMPEACHY KEEN: Lt Col Alexander Vindman – the top official fired from the White House after appearing as a key and willing witness at Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings – has resigned from the military. Vindman’s lawyer said he was the victim of a “campaign of bullying, intimidation and retaliation” by Trump and his team. Elsewhere, a joint task force created by Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders to unify the Democrats against Trump has unveiled its policy recommendations. It has suggested diverting some federal funding from police departments in order to create a “civilian corps” of social workers and mental health professionals to handle non-violent emergencies.

HUNGER VIRUS: A sobering Oxfam report has warned that more people could die from hunger in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic than from the virus itself. The charity said 12,000 people a day could starve to death by the end of the year because of mass unemployment and difficulties getting aid out. Syria, Yemen, DR Congo, Afghanistan and South Sudan are among the “hunger hotspots” identified by the organisation. Elsewhere, the UN Security Council overwhelmingly rejected a Russian resolution that would have cut back the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria’s mainly rebel-held northwest to just one crossing point from Turkey.

Labour’s shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves on Truss’s leaked email.

“From ‘we’ll have a world class track and trace system to help us return to normal’ to ‘look here’s £10 off Nandos’.”

Satirist James Felton suggests our expectations are pretty low…

“How about instead of £10 off at Nandos, the government pays the NHS staff, who are risking their lives for us day in and day out, a proper f****** wage?”

…and creative director Nathalie Gordon suggests how we might raise them.

John Rentoul, The Independent: Rishi Sunak has strengthened his claim as Boris Johnson’s successor

Jess Phillips, The Independent: Sunak has to make sure young people aren’t forgotten in six months

Rafael Behr, The Guardian: A Scottish independence crisis is on the way – and English politics is in denial

Michael Schuman, The Atlantic: Why China wants Trump to win in November