Inside Politics: Brexit negotiators attempt to reset trade talks

Not everyone in the UK has lost the art of the deal. The Trump family’s British team has won approval for a second golf course in Aberdeenshire (So Donald will get twice as many chances to bluff and cheat around the greens next time he’s over). The bluffers at No 10 think they’re pretty good at playing games. Boris Johnson’s chief negotiator will speak to his EU counterpart today – hoping leaders in Brussels are ready to back down and restart Brexit trade deal talks. What about Downing Street’s stand-off with Manchester mayor Andy Burnham? The fun and games over tier 3 curbs look set to last a little longer yet.  

Inside the bubble

Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn on what to look out for today:

Michel Barnier and David Frost are set to talk over the phone this afternoon to discuss where to go from here on trade negotiations. As if it the situation wasn’t tense enough, officials on the EU-UK Joint Committee will meet in London to talk about the implementation of the withdrawal agreement. Elsewhere, transport secretary Grant Shapps will speak at an airlines’ summit, where he is sure to be asked about his plans to reduce the 14-day quarantine.

Daily briefing

YOU NEVER GIVE ME YOU MONEY: What will end the stand-off in Greater Manchester? Mayor Andy Burnham thinks democracy might help – calling on MPs to help “break the impasse” by holding a vote on a transparent process for extra funding given to areas moved into tier 3. Boris Johnson is counting on money to do the trick all by itself. The PM is ready to offer the Manchester region up to £100m, according to The Telegraph. Will it be enough? Burnham also wants an 80 percent furlough scheme for affected workers, rather than the 66 per cent the government is offering. Senior Tory MP Sir Graham Brady, who represents a constituency in the region, said regional leaders were “pretty united” in resisting tier 3 curbs. But four other local Tory MPs backed the government – claiming Burham was keeping residents in “a state of suspended terror”. Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove also called on Burham to stop “posturing” and issued a threat: the government would “look” at forcing restrictions on the area if a deal cannot be agreed.

COLD CALLING: Chief Brexit negotiators Michel Barnier and David Frost are set for an extremely icy, awkward phone – after No 10 accused the EU of ending negotiations be refusing to give the UK what it wants. The Times reports that Brussels expects a “time out” of no more than a week to allow everyone to cool off. EU diplomats are said to have privately acknowledged their own stunt (dropping a commitment to “intensify” talks) backfired somewhat last week. “It was not meant as trolling the British,” said one. On Sunday Michael Gove told Andrew Marr the door was “still ajar” for talks over trade deal, but only if the EU moves ground in key areas. On the prospect of a no-deal outcome, Gove said it was “not going to be a picnic”. He has no shame. Literally. Gove told Marr he was “not embarrassed” by his previous claims a trade deal would be easy. Meanwhile, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry told The Independent it is appealing to No 10 to strike a swift side-deal with Brussels to avoid delays and shortages of medicines if the UK crashes out.

RING OF FIRE: First minister Mark Drakeford will decide this morning whether to go for a short “fire-break” lockdown across Wales after meeting his cabinet. The publication of a leaked letter about the possibility of a shutdown prompted calls from the Welsh Conservatives for an emergency recall of the Senedd. Meanwhile, it emerged Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer, privately told MPs last week that the Oxford coronavirus vaccine could begin to be rolled out shortly after Christmas. Prof Jeremy Farrar, a scientific adviser to the government, warned Christmas will be “tough” since traditional family gatherings will be unlikely – but said a vaccine would bring “light at the end of the tunnel” in the first quarter of 2021. It seems public patience depends on a vaccine in the first months of next year. Only 22 per cent think it would be reasonable for the government to expect us to obey restrictions beyond the spring, according to a BMG Research for The Independent.

BLAIR DITCH PROJECT: Tony Blair has denied ditching coronavirus rules upon returning from a trip to the US last month. He was spotted out and about in London’s Mayfair before the end of his 14-day quarantine. One rule for perma-tanned Tone, one for the rest of us? The former PM asked for special dispensation to attend a conference as a diplomat but did not receive the exemption, according to The Telegraph. But Blair’s team claim he was advised to follow rules regarding diplomatic conference attendance. Could Matt Hancock get drawn into the row? The health secretary reportedly spoke to Blair and advised him to apply to the Foreign Office for the exemption. Meanwhile, Priti Patel has reportedly spent £45,000 to jump the queue and become a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Awkwardly, her old boss Theresa May is also a member. May, remember, sacked Patel for failing to disclose the tell the truth about meetings with political figures during a trip to Israel.

TROUBLESOME PRIESTS: The archbishops don’t like the government’s international law-breaking Brexit bill. The leaders of Anglican churches across the British Isles have warned that the Internal Market Bill could set a “disastrous precedent” and seriously damage relations between the four nations of the UK. Peers are due to debate the legislation today. Meanwhile, over the Commons, MPs are expected to vote on the Lord Dubs’ amendment guaranteeing unaccompanied child refugees in Europe a right to family reunion in the UK after Brexit. Could enough Tory backbenchers rebel on the issue? David Davis described it as an “absolutely necessary measure”, telling The Independent: “It’s vital the Commons supports it.” The Board of Deputies of British Jews also urged MPs to “support Lord Dubs’ amendment, and enable families of those fleeing persecution to provide safe haven for their loved ones”.

CLOSE RUN THING: Donald Trump’s supporters showed themselves to be an imaginative and flexible bunch – taking one of their favourites chants about Hillary Clinton and turning it on Joe Biden. “Lock him up!” they shouted at the president’s latest rally after Trump said Biden was from “a failed and corrupt political class”. Biden said Trump continues to “lie to us” about the pandemic. Meanwhile, his campaign manager has warned the race is tighter than most believe. A leaked internal memo by Jen O’Malley Dillon reminded the Democrats that Clinton was also supposed to be a shoe-in with two weeks to go. She said the 2020 contest was “far closer than some of the punditry we’re seeing on Twitter and on TV would suggest”.  

On the record

“We have drawn the conclusion that unless their approach changes, they are not interested and they have in effect drawn stumps.”

Michael Gove threatens the EU, and blames them for the impasse.

From the Twitterati

“It is truly awful how Johnson and Gove now say a No Deal Brexit will be the EU’s fault. From the two men who did more than anyone to drive the disaster forward, discredit the EU, and risk everything for political gain.”

The Observer’s Toby Helm is disgusted by Gove’s comments on Brexit...

“Michael Gove says paying consultants £7k a day is a ‘good use of money’. Whereas apparently helping low paid workers in Greater Manchester, stopping viable businesses from closing and ensuring kids don’t starve over school holidays, isn’t. This government is a disgrace.”

...while Labour’s Lisa Nandy reserves her disgust for his comments on consultants and Manchester.

Essential reading

John Rentoul, The Independent: Rishi Sunak is holding the line against a circuit-breaker lockdown

Tom Peck, The Independent: Boris Johnson is a prisoner of his own artless drivel

Nesrine Malik, The Guardian: Patriotism is the last refuge of a scandalous government

David Frum, The Atlantic: The final season of the Trump show

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