Inside Politics: Government threatens lockdown if rules aren’t followed

No-one is above the law. Well, apart from some elements of the British upper class. A group of around 130 members of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds were spotted out mingling on a stag hunt, with almost no masks worn, in scenes described as “a mockery” of the sacrifices the rest of the nation is making. Matt Hancock is up on his high horse at the moment, warning that everyone we must obey social distancing regulations or risk more sacrifices. As the government prepares to announce new national restrictions this week, Boris Johnson is still deciding how harsh the rules should be.

Inside the bubble

Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin on what to look out for today:

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty will set out the latest data on the spread of coronavirus at around 11am this morning, and no doubt offer some stark warnings about social distancing. Elsewhere, business secretary Alok Sharma will answer questions about the COP26 climate conference at the Lords’ environment sub-committee. And shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds makes her big Labour conference speech, followed by shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds.

Daily briefing

NO DIRECTION HOME: Chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallace will today spell out why the nation is currently “heading in the wrong direction”. He is expected to tee up Boris Johnson to make announcement – possibly as early as Tuesday – on national restrictions. The PM is said to be considering a curfew on pubs and restaurants and a ban on households mixing. Would that be enough? The message from Matt Hancock was pretty clear: if a full lockdown comes in, it’ll be our fault – not the government’s. “If everybody follows the rules then we can avoid further national lockdown,” said the health secretary on Sunday. The government is bringing in fines of up to £10,000 for people who fail to self-isolate after being told to do so, with a one-off £500 support payment for self-isolators on lower incomes. Meanwhile, it looks like Londoners could be told to work from home this week. Mayor Sadiq Khan will meet council leaders today before recommending measures to ministers.

LEVEL PEGGING: Keir Starmer backed the government’s new fines – and the idea of a second national lockdown if one became necessary. The Labour leader also had some things to say about Brexit – insisting that an extension to the transition period was not required, and urging Johnson to get negotiations with the EU back on track. He added: “A deal is in the national interest.” As the virtual conference kicks off in earnest, Labour will be buoyed by the weekend YouGov poll showing the party neck and neck with the Conservatives on 40 points (cutting the Tories’ five point lead). It’s the first time the opposition has been level since Johnson became leader. Len McCluskey warned Starmer not to stray too far from the Corbyn era on policy. The Unite boss told Sky News he thought Starmer was doing “okay” so far. High praise indeed.

LOAN RANGER: Rishi Sunak has decided to extend four of the Treasury’s business support loans, according to the FT. The chancellor is expected to unveil plans this week – though no word on whether there will be any kind of targeted extension to the furlough scheme. Sunak, incidentally, is said to be pressuring No 10 on the economic risks involved in any new coronavirus restrictions. Overwhelmed by the impacts of the crisis, the chancellor is also considering a freeze on benefits and public sector pay, according to The Mail on Sunday. Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds will unveil Labour’s own proposals for a jobs recovery programme – with targeted support for certain sectors – when she gives her big conference speech today. She will also accuse ministers of “mismanaging” billions of pounds in a “cavalier” fashion during the pandemic.

FROM RUSSIA WITH CASH: The family of one the Tory party’s very largest donors was “secretly” funded by a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin, according to leaked files shared with the BBC's Panorama. Lubov Chernukhin gave £1.7m to the Conservatives, and leaked files allegedly show her husband received around £6.1m from Suleyman Kerimov – a Russian facing US sanctions due to his links with the Kremlin. The claims are part of the big banks’ “suspicious activity reports”, dubbed the FinCEN Files. Russia expert Ed Lucas said he was “profoundly concerned by the access that, not only Lubov Chernukhin but also other rich Russians have to the heights of the Conservative Party”. In other banking drama, thousands of Brits living in EU countries risk having their bank accounts closed at the end of the transition period. Several UK banks have begun giving notice to expat customers.

MAD BAD AND DANGEROUS TO KNOW: More revelations from Sasha Swire – Tory MP Hugo Swire’s much better half. She called Michael Gove is “dishonest”, “dangerous” and “a nutter” in her latest comments about her upcoming book Diary of An MP’s Wife. Lady Swire told The Observer: “I can forgive anything if they’ve got colour. The more dangerous, the more alcoholic, the madder they are, the better.” But it seems Gove is too colourful even for her. “He loves being at the scene of the crash. I think he’s quite dangerous.” She describes the person currently running the government, Dominic Cummings, as a “stark raving mad Rasputin” and “one of those odd amoebas you find in jars in school science labs”.  There’s more. Lady Squire predicted a messy end when Rasputin finally leaves No 10. “It will all go t*** up with him, it always does. He’ll explode.”

NANCY’S FANCY MOVE: Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested House Democrats might impeach Donald Trump once again in a bid to delay the president from replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court before the election. “We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver,” she said. Barack Obama, meanwhile, warned that US democracy is at risk – as well as the principle of “everyday fairness” – if Republicans press ahead with plans to fill the vacant seat quickly. Joe Biden? He called it an “abuse of power”. Trump cares not a jot, vowing to swear in Ginsburg’s successor “without delay”. The president also told a crowd of supporters in Minnesota that they had “good genes”. He said: “A lot of it is about the genes, isn’t it, don’t you believe? The racehorse theory. You think we’re so different?”

On the record

“We are facing a second spike, further restrictions and the prospect of another national lockdown because of [Boris Johnson’s] failure and incompetence.”

Angela Rayner opens the Labour conference with an attack on the PM.

From the Twitterati

“Early signs that Labour’s attempts to win back the trust of the public are starting to work.”

The Mirror’s Pippa Crerar thinks Labour pulling level is significant…

“‘Don’t Know’ is now a more popular choice for Prime Minister than Boris Johnson.”  

…and Piers Morgan thinks Johnson should be worried.

Essential reading

John Rentoul, The Independent: Coronavirus has saved Starmer from a fractious Labour conference

James Moore, The Independent: Climate crisis and politicians are scarier than any horror movie

Trevor Phillips, The Times: Let all Scots in Britain get a vote on independence

Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic: Fixating on the Supreme Court seat could damage the Democrats

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