Inside Politics: David Frost put back in charge of Brexit talks

Britney Spears fans believe the star may be sending them “coded messages” after she shared an image of a jumbled-up Scrabble board full of made-up words. Boris Johnson has Westminster hunting for clues after he talked about “data not dates” for lockdown lifting. Brussels will be looking for coded signals in the PM’s decision to make David Frost a cabinet member in charge of EU relations. Keir Starmer, meanwhile, will try to clarify Labour’s somewhat scrambled messaging in a big speech on the economy today.

Inside the bubble

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

Keir Starmer will try to head off his critics today by laying out his stall on what the economy should look like after the pandemic. In a speech in London he’ll declare that there should be “no return to business as usual”. Starmer’s office have promised new policies that will give people “a proper stake” in Britain’s future. Stay tuned for what those might be.

Daily briefing

TIRED OF WAITING FOR YOU: Boris Johnson has made clear pubs and restaurants will be the last part of the economy to reopen from the winter lockdown. “There is obviously an extra risk of transmission,” he said. The PM said he would be taking a “data not dates” approach to easing when he sets out his roadmap on Monday. “We will try and say as much as we can.” Restless Tory MPs aren’t happy about the retreat into vagueness. “I think Easter is the right time to open the pubs and restaurants,” said Peter Bone. Covid Recovery Group (CRG) chief Mark Harper cited evidence given by Prof Mark Woolhouse – who told MPs the latest encouraging data allowed for an “earlier unlocking”. Backbenchers aren’t the only ones getting impatient. The Daily Mail’s latest editorial demands: “Set the nation free!” Meanwhile a cross-party group of 40 MPs has issued a report warning that 85 per cent of people working in the night-time economy are considering quitting. Labour MP Jeff Smith – a former DJ – said city centres would become “ghost towns” without more intervention from the government.

THE BIG FREEZE: There’s been a big shake-up in Downing Street’s approach to Brexit. David Frost is back in a big way. The trade deal negotiator has been appointed a cabinet-level minister for EU relations – and will replace Michael Gove as head of the committee implementing the thorny stuff in the Brexit withdrawal agreement. Reports this morning suggest Boris Johnson wanted someone to take a “harder” position with Brussels, just when Gove seemed to be smoothing the waters. Labour’s Emily Thornberry complained the hardman had “never been elected”. Meanwhile, a leading DUP minister said she would not oppose an EU-UK deal on agri-food similar to the one the bloc has with Switzerland. Stormont’s economy minister Diane Dodds she would not be against anything that offered “short-term relief” from disruption. But she it was unlikely because it would require the UK to “slavishly” follow EU rules. It comes as a new poll shows the vast majority of Britons aren’t happy with the Brexit deal. Less than 25 per cent of those surveyed by the British Foreign Policy Group said it was “the best framework” for our relationship with the EU.

MORE, MORE, MORE: It’s a big day for Keir Starmer, as he attempts a reset with the Labour movement and the wider public in his speech today. He’s expected to say that voters are “looking for more from their government” after the pandemic, and pay reference to the post-WWII recovery. Starmer will also accuse the Tories of presiding over an “insecure and unequal economy”. Anything in the way of actual policies? We’ll have to wait and see. In trailed parts of the speech Starmer calls for an extension to the universal credit uplift and business rate holidays, as well as more funding for a council tax freeze. So far, so predictable. Up in Scotland, the Alex Salmond inquiry saga remains utterly unpredictable. It now looks as though Salmond will give evidence to the committee investigating botched handling of harassment complaints. His lawyer said he had “cleared his diary” for Wednesday next week. But it’s still not clear if he will be allowed to submit certain documents. The committee has decided the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will make a final decision on that.

HAVE YOU TAKEN YOUR TEST DEAR? Parents could soon be asked to test their children for Covid twice a week to help schools get back up and running. Families of secondary pupils may be asked to use the rapid lateral flow tests at home, according to The Telegraph. Department for Education officials are meeting union leaders today, in the hope of forging that rarest of things: consensus. “We think that is a good idea,” said Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL. Elsewhere, No 10 is facing calls to provide proper compensation for key workers suffering from long Covid. A group of 65 MPs and peers have written to the PM demanding it is recognised as an occupational disease. Layla Moran MP said the government must not abandon “the true heroes of the pandemic”. Boris Johnson, visiting heroic workers at a vaccination centre in Wales on Wednesday, managed to make a crass reference to a 1995 murder trial. Struggling to fit into a latex glove, he said: “I’ve got it, I’ve got it, I’ve got it ... it’s like OJ Simpson!”

WAITING GAME: No 10’s stance on the alleged kidnapping of Princess Latifa? One to “keep an eye on”, said Boris Johnson. The PM said he was “concerned” about the daughter of Dubai’s ruler, after she released videos claiming she was being held hostage by her father. “The United Nations Commission on Human Rights is looking at that,” he said. “I think what we’ll do is wait and see how they get on. We’ll keep an eye on.” Foreign secretary Dominic Raab called on the UAE to say if she is still alive. Asked whether Britain would impose sanctions, Raab said: “It’s not clear to me that there would be the evidence to support that.” The foreign secretary has also called for ceasefires in Yemen and elsewhere to allow people in war-torn areas to get the Covid vaccine. He used a meeting of the UN Security Council to encourage other countries to provide more vaccine support. Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said Rabb was “far less keen to discuss the £5.3bn in arms sales to Saudi Arabia that sustain the conflict”.

COMEBACK KID: Will Donald Trump run again in 2024? He is already considering it, unfortunately – saying he had seen “a lot of great polls out there”. Asked if he would make a comeback at the next presidential election, Trump said: “I am looking at poll numbers that are through the roof. Only I could get impeached and my numbers go up. The numbers are very good and very high.” Trump was speaking to Newsmax as part of a media blitz to commemorate right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh, who died from lung cancer. He also told the fringe outlet that Twitter was “very boring” now that he’s no longer on it. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell reportedly plans to ignore Trump from now on, after the scathing personal attack in which the ex-president him a “dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack”. CNN claimed McConnell “actually laughed” about Trump’s statement when he saw it.

On the record

“I stand on the shoulders of giants and particularly those of Michael Gove, who did an extraordinary job for this country in talks with EU over the past year.”

David Frost on taking over from political giant Michael Gove.

From the Twitterati

“Massive palace intrigue after PM appoints David Frost to run the EU-UK trading relationship – just two days after Michael Gove was made interim UK rep … Gossip to follow but for anyone hoping for easier EU-UK relations, this isn’t good news.”

The FT’s Peter Foster says promotion for Frost is much more than ceremonial…

“I was there when Frost delivered his last public speech in Brussels before Brexit, can guarantee no one would be happy at the idea of having to see him again, let alone work with him.”

…while Alberto Rizzi says no-one is Brussels will be pleased.

Essential reading

Andrew Grice, The Independent: Should the Tories be worried about Labour’s plan to woo business?

Alistair Carmichael, The Independent: Nigel Farage’s call to scrap the Human Rights Act is unpatriotic

Katy Balls, The Guardian: Boris Johnson risks Tory rebellion without clear route out of lockdown

Gail Collins, The New York Times: Trump’s dreaded new nickname – ‘the former guy’

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