Boris Johnson news: Keir Starmer condemns top civil servant’s exit as PM dismisses claims replacement must be Brexiteer

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of events at Westminster and beyond.

PM reveals 10-year schools rebuilding programme

Boris Johnson will attempt to kick-start the economy after Covid-19 with a decade-long schools rebuilding plan.

The PM is expected to announce a spending blitz during a speech on Tuesday as he lays the groundwork for the UK to spend its way out of the coronavirus downturn by undertaking a vast building programme.

Part of the plans will include a 10-year undertaking to improve school facilities, along with sprucing up classrooms currently in use.

A £1bn cash injection will see construction work start on the first 50 projects as soon as September 2021, Downing Street said.

Another £560m will go towards school repairs in this financial year while further education colleges will see £200m of the £1.5bn promised by chancellor Rishi Sunak at the Spring Budget to transform college estates over the next five years fast tracked so work can be brought forward.

“As we bounce back from the pandemic, it’s important we lay the foundations for a country where everyone has the opportunity to succeed, with our younger generations front and centre of this mission.”

Tory infrastructure plans all ‘talk, talk, talk’, says Keir Starmer

As Boris Johnson attempts to relaunch his premiership with promises to invest in infrastructure to get Britain out of the coronavirus slump, Labour leader Keir Starmer has issued a warning that the record of Conservative-led governments over a decade has been “talk, talk, talk rather than build, build, build”.

In a bid to move the political focus on from the Covid crisis to the recovery, Johnson is set on Tuesday to announce the creation of a “Project Speed” taskforce to accelerate tens of billions of pounds-worth of investment in railways, roads, hospitals and homes over the next decade.

He is also announcing a 10-year schools rebuilding programme, with more than £1bn allocated for the first 50 projects.

Starmer pointed out that many government programmes had failed to deliver the promised investment, such as a £2.3bn Starter Homes Initiative announced in 2015 which produced no new properties.

The Labour leader urged Johnson to commit to a “route to recovery that works for the whole of Britain”, pointing out that government investment per person in areas like Yorkshire, the East Midlands and the South West is less than half that seen in London.

PM trying to politicise civil service, claim Lib Dems – as cabinet secretary to step down in September

The cabinet secretary and national security adviser Sir Mark Sedwill announced he will stand down in September. It comes amid plans for a wide-ranging shake-up of Whitehall, driven by the ambitions of Boris Johnson’s top aide Dominic Cummings to streamline the civil service machine.

Liberal Democrat acting leader Ed Davey said the prime minister appeared to be indulging his adviser’s wish to “politicise” the civil service.

Labour said it was “concerning” that the preoccupation of the prime minister and his senior aide was “reshuffling Whitehall” at a time when jobs are under threat as the UK comes out of lockdown.

The head of the FDA union for top civil servants Dave Penman said the government would “emerge weaker” from the loss of “one of the outstanding public servants of his generation”, and suggested “corrosive” briefings against Sedwill might make potential successors think twice about applying for the job.

PM’s best route to re-election is to focus on ‘war on woke’, survey finds

Boris Johnson’s best route to re-election could be to focus political debate on cultural issues in a “war on woke”, new research has suggested.

Analysis of social and economic values found a deep disconnect between Tory MPs and the electorate on the economy – but a closer alignment on issues like traditional values, law and order and tougher sentencing.

Conservative MPs’ views on business and the economy were way to the right, not only of the average voter but also of Tory supporters and members, the Ipsos Mori survey for the UK in a Changing Europe (UKCE) think tank found.

On social issues, the survey found the position is reversed, with Labour MPs considerably more liberal than their own voters.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has all the details:

PM promises ‘Rooseveltian’ revival – and says local lockdowns part of ‘whack-a-mole’ strategy

Boris Johnson has warned the UK economy faces “bumpy times” ahead as he set out his desire for a “Rooseveltian approach” to rebuilding after the pandemic.

In a rare broadcast interview, the PM said the coronavirus crisis had been “a disaster” for the UK and an economic effort similar to US president Franklin D Roosevelt’s “New Deal” was needed to lift the UK out of the doldrums.

Johnson said it would be wrong to return to “what people called austerity” and made it clear that he wants to boost infrastructure spending to avert a devastating hit to the economy.

In his interview with the Radio Times, he said: “This has been a disaster, let’s not mince our words, this has been an absolute nightmare for the country.”

Johnson said he worries about coronavirus deaths and infection rates every day.

But he told the Times Radio that it was crucial to be ready to crack down on local flare-ups using a “whack-a-mole” strategy.

When asked if he was still worried that total deaths and the infection rate remained too high, he added: “Every day I worry. Local hospital admissions are coming down, so are the death numbers. They are much, much lower than they were a few weeks ago and that is encouraging.

“But the crucial thing is to make sure we are ready to crack down on local flare-ups. We have a whack-a-mole strategy.”

Not the right time for coronavirus inquiry, says PM

Boris Johnson has insisted it was not the right time to hold an inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Boris Johnson told Times Radio: “We owe it to all those who have died, all those who have suffered to look at exactly what went wrong and when.

“I totally understand that and we will. I happen to think that the moment is not right now, in the middle of really getting things going, still dealing with the pandemic, when everybody is flat out.

“I don’t think the moment is right now for consecrating a huge amount of official time to all that, but we are learning lessons the whole time and we obviously will draw the right conclusions for the future.”

The PM acknowledged he had been “very lucky” in his recovery from coronavirus.

Labour backs local lockdown measures for Leicester

The Labour MP for Leicester East, Claudia Webbe, has said she believes a local lockdown is necessary for her constituency where 866 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the past two weeks, because of “significant levels of African and Asian minority ethnic communities” and “significant levels of poverty”.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she said: “There are significant worries and significant problems in terms of inequalities and high levels of poverty that I'm concerned about.

“That is the context in which this Covid-19 is operating in. So I’m very concerned, and I really do believe that where the data allows we need to ensure that we engage in processes to protect lives, and I think we need to go into therefore more localised lockdown to protect lives and ensure that we can address this virus.

“The government hasn’t reassured us. Thus far, the messages and the communication from the government have been unclear, and it has been difficult, and I really don’t understand what communities are meant to follow.”

On the economic impact of having to go back into lockdown, Webbe added that “there have been gaps in the government’s support and safety net” for those needing extra financial support.

PM ‘wants Brexiteer to replace Sir Mark Sedwill’

Education secretary Gavin Williamson did not deny that Boris Johnson would seek a Brexiteer to replace Sir Mark Sedwill as Cabinet Secretary.

When asked, Williamson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The prime minister’s search is to get the very best person into that role and applications will be opening from next month to get someone of the very highest calibre to step into some big shoes.”

According to The Telegraph this morning, Johnson is keen to have a Brexiteer in the role.

The report comes after Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister who has been tasked with overhauling Whitehall structures, used a speech on Saturday to call for the government to “be less southern, less middle class” and “closer to the 52 per cent who voted to Leave and more understanding of why”.

Williamson promises ‘detailed’ plan for schools reopening this week

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said advice on how schools will fully reopen in England will be set out “at the end of this week”.

He told BBC Breakfast: “What we will be doing at the end of this week is setting out further advice as to what the full return of all pupils looks like and giving clear steers to how schools should operate.”

In response to a question from a science teacher, he acknowledged efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus will be more challenging in secondary schools.

“It’s going to be more complex within secondary schools,” he said.

Williamson said the government was still consulting on how to get children back to school.

Asked if there will be a “detailed” plan this week, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There will.”