Inside Politics: Rishi Sunak clashes with Boris Johnson over Eat Out to Help Out

If the miserable weather has you in the mood to hibernate, it’s a good time to get to Sainsbury’s and stock up on supplies (you won’t have to face Laurence Fox or his pals – they’re boycotting the supermarket for celebrating black history month). Boris Johnson certainly appears to be hunkering down for the season. The PM has warned we’re in for a “tough” and “bumpy” winter – relinquishing his role as cheerer-upper-in-chief. Step forward Rishi Sunak, the Tory party’s only popular politician, who delivers his big conference speech this morning. Can the chancellor provide some sunshine amid the gloom?

Inside the bubble

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock on what to look out for today:

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is addressing the virtual Conservative conference, amid demands from Labour for a new job support scheme. In Westminster, MPs will debate controversial legislation to allow secret agents to commit crimes when operating undercover within illegal groups. And cricketing hero Ian Botham will be introduced to the House of Lords, after being awarded a life peerage by Boris Johnson.

Daily briefing

THE DUCK AND WAFFLE: Boris Johnson warned us it will be “bumpy through to Christmas” and beyond because of the coronavirus. He told Andrew Marr the public must “act fearlessly but with common sense” and denied he was suffering from long-term effects of Covid: “I’m fitter than several butchers’ dogs.” Labour said Johnson had “waffled and ducked every question”. More subtle criticism comes from the chancellor. In an interview with The Sun, Rishi Sunak hit back at Johnson’s suggestion on Sunday that Eat Out to Help Out may have helped spread the virus – saying he had “no regrets” about the scheme. He also branded the 10pm pub curfew “frustrating” (which will please backbenchers). Sunak is set to launch a new £238m scheme to help the medium-term unemployed. Speaking of the medium-term, the head of the government’s vaccine taskforce has revealed that less than 50 per cent of the UK population could be vaccinated against Covid next year. Kate Bingham told the FT it will be “an adult-only vaccine for people over 50”.

FEELING GLITCHY: Fresh questions for the government on contact-tracing failures after Public Health England revealed almost 16,000 cases of coronavirus were not entered into the system because of a computer glitch. The technical hitch meant a significant delay in tracing contacts. Several other Covid-related matters make the headlines this morning. Labour mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said the north of England faces a “winter of dangerous discontent” unless NHS test and trace improves. Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has demanded the government publish its guidelines for imposing restrictions – claiming it was “not clear why” some areas with significant spikes escaped measures. Ashworth pointed out that some of those areas are seats held by Tory MPs. Elsewhere, Amnesty International said sending thousands of untested patients into care homes early in the outbreak was a clear violation of their human rights.

DO-GOODERS, THE BAD AND THE UGLY: Priti Patel wants us to know she hates bleeding-heart liberals. The home secretary turned her conference speech on fixing the “fundamentally broken” asylum into a rant about lefties and lawyers – lumping them in with people traffickers. “Those defending the broken system – the traffickers, the do-gooders, the lefty lawyers, the Labour Party – they are defending the indefensible.” How is Patel going to fix things? No detail there, except it will happen next year, apparently. Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds claimed Tories were the party that “broke” the asylum system. Meanwhile the government’s post-Brexit immigration bill is facing the prospect of multiple defeats in the Lords, as peers demand greater safeguards for EU children in care and unaccompanied refugees. On Monday, the upper chamber is expected to cast a series of votes on protections for EU nationals after the transition period ends.

STAY IN TOUCH: Brexit talks continues this week after Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen approved a further month of trade negotiations. The leaders’ weekend video call appears to have gone pretty well – as the pair agreed to talk on a regular basis. Officials on both sides have been playing down the imminent prospect of final “tunnel” phase negotiations, however. No’s 10 negotiator David Frost said there had been progress on state aid but the gap on fisheries is still wide. Both sides are committed, least to trying to find “landing zones” on the most difficult areas – with early November now thought to be the time a deal could, in theory, be done. Intriguingly, EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier visits German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin today before launching another round of talks with Frost. Might they be discussing endgame moves for November?

CRACKS IN THE WALL: The grim poll news keeps on coming for No 10. The latest national survey by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft has found that 37 per cent believe Keir Starmer would make the best prime minister, with only 30 per cent opting for Johnson. As ever with the Ashcroft polls, it’s the local detail which is really interesting. Almost one-third (31 per cent) of new Tory voters in “red wall” seats in the north said they would now switch back to Labour, with 69 per cent sticking with the Tories for the time being. A separate survey by ConservativeHome showed the Johnson’s stock is languishing among loyal Tory supporters. The website’s poll found the PM on -10, while Sunak remains by far and away the most popular member of the cabinet on +81. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have announced plans to open a “second headquarters” in Leeds. Co-chairman Amanda Milling said it would provide the party “with a base at the heart of the blue wall”.

BACK SEAT OF HIS CAR: Even from his sickbed, Donald Trump managed to cause a whirlwind of confusion over the weekend. The president remains in hospital for coronavirus treatment, and there is widespread scepticism about his team’s claim he might be well enough to leave on Monday. His oxygen level dipped over two consecutive days, and he received dexamethasone – the steroid reserved for the most serious cases. And yet Trump decided he needed to get in the back seat of a limo on Sunday – ordering someone to drive around the hospital grounds so he could wave at supporters. Dr James P Phillips described the political theatre as “insanity”. There were more comparisons with Soviet-era theatre when he got up and pretended to sign documents (a blank sheet of paper). Any sign of a sympathy bounce? No. An ABC News poll released Sunday found 72 per cent of Americans thought Trump did not take the “risk of contracting the virus seriously enough”.

On the record

“I tell you in all candour, it will continue to be bumpy through to Christmas and may even be bumpy beyond.”

Boris Johnson tries to adjust expectations.

From the Twitterati

“Treating lawyers, Labour Party and do-gooders (like Alf Dubbs) the same as traffickers indicates the Home Sec willing to say anything for headline.”

Labour’s Charlie Falconer is shocked by Patel’s speech...

“Priti Patel’s speech was basically ‘please continue to hate immigrants and asylum seekers; we need your votes and have very little else to offer you but the promise of doing damage to these people. We need you to hate them.’ About as you’d expect, then.”

…but Alison K. Brown is not shocked at all.

Essential reading

Andrew Grice, The Independent: Boris Johnson’s sudden sober approach to the pandemic may be too late

Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Covid fatigue is near – the public may eventually rebel against restrictions

John Harris, The Guardian: Modern, multicultural and surprisingly liberal: this is the real ‘red wall’

Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic: Trump is a super-spreader of disinformation

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