Inside Politics: Michael Gove turns up anti-EU talk, as David Cameron turns down climate role

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Wednesday 05 February 2020 08:37 GMT

Brexit briefing: How long until the end of the transition period?

You can’t say anything nowadays! The latest victim of Piers Morgan’s war on woke saw a spokeswoman for PETA ridiculed for calling on animal lovers to stop using the awful word “pet”. She appeared on Good Morning Britain to explain that the preferred term was now “companion”. Boris Johnson would really rather we didn’t use the awful word “Brexit” anymore. He’d also really rather nobody talked about a “no-deal” crash out at the end of 2020’s transition period. But there is growing anger over the fact a no-deal crash out at the end of 2020 is exactly what his government is threatening to deliver. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing.

Inside the bubble

Our political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for today:

Jeremy Corbyn is having a long and difficult goodbye at PMQs before handing over to his successor in April. But he will not be short of ammunition today – a watchdog report showing short-term fixes have made some parts of the NHS financially unstable, or perhaps the government’s chaotic preparations for the COP26 climate conference. Meanwhile, culture secretary Nicky Morgan will open a consultation on decriminalising non-payment of the licence fee, which could cost the BBC £200m a year.

Daily briefing

WHEN STARS DON’T ALIGN: If you need to send Brussels a contemptuous, high-handed message, why not send for the contemptuous, high-handed Michael Gove? The cabinet minister took to the airwaves to insist the UK doesn’t actually “need” a free trade deal with the EU, claiming it was simply “a matter of preference”. Gove suggested it was better to simply “stand up for Britain” and walk away than abide by any of the bloc’s rules. But the public don’t seem to be buying this ludicrous bravado. The polling guru Sir John Curtice said diverging from EU regulation is not actually very popular, presenting surveys showing majority support for aligning with key rules benefiting consumers. No 10, however, remains keen on creating rows. According to The Times, Boris Johnson is willing to suspend the European Convention on Human Rights to bring in legislation to keep terror offenders in jail longer. Expect howls of outrage at the idea of “derogation” from the convention. Even Russia recognises it.

DISH BEST SERVED ICE-CAP COLD: You know what they say: keep your friends close, but your frenemies closer. Boris Johnson’s old school chum-rival David Cameron is said to have turned down an offer from the PM to lead the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow this November. Former Tory chief William Hague also turned his nose up at the gig, apparently – but Johnson is still confident of landing a big name. Perhaps he could ask football genius Jurgen Klopp? Claire Perry O’Neill – the ex-Tory minister Johnson sacked as summit president – said the UK’s climate efforts were at “Oxford United levels when we need to be Liverpool”. Perry O’Neill spent much of Tuesday enjoying some sweet, sweet revenge on the PM, claiming he “doesn’t really get” climate change and slagging off his failure to deliver on carbon-cutting promises. Johnson attended a COP26 launch event with Sir David Attenborough and claimed the poor planet was “swaddled in a tea cosy” of CO2 emissions. Dave nodded politely. And then explained how climate change actually works.

GOOD RIDDANCE AND BAD RUBBISH: Some perfectly pleasant Europeans have been saying some accidentally rude things. It has emerged that Croatia’s permanent representative Irena Andrassy offered her UK counterpart Sir Tim Barrow the final message “good riddance” before Brexit, assuming the phrase meant “good luck”. One official said: “The Brits saw the funny side … but history will show that these were the last words from the EU.” If we dare judge a man by the company he keeps, Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski has been keeping some very dodgy company indeed. Labour has called on the Conservatives to remove the whip from Kawczynski after he was found to have shared a platform with a bunch of Europe’s most notorious far-right politicians – including Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Italy’s Matteo Salvini. Opposition MP Andrew Gwynn said it was “disgraceful” for the MP to have attended a speaking event alongside with “antisemites, Islamophobes and homophobes”. The Board of British Deputies and Jewish Labour Movement also called on the Tory party to discipline him. Kawczynski dismissed the reaction as “hysterical”.

COMICAL CHLOE: The row over No 10’s decision to bar particular media outlets from a Downing Street “technical” briefing rumbles on. Labour leadership hopeful Keir Starmer has asked the cabinet secretary to investigate. Cabinet office minister Chloe Smith was forced to give a rather unconvincing defence of the incident in the Commons – claiming it was “entirely standard practice for the government to host additional specialist or technical briefings”. A bunch of SNP MPs burst out laughing at this. Pete Wishart said Smith sounded like the erstwhile Iraqi spin doctor “comical Ali” and claimed she was pumping out “sleekit, self-justified nonsense”. The former Tory minister Damian Green was having none of it. “What we’re seeing here is some fake outrage and a mass outbreak of snowflakery.”

FINAL COUNTDOWN: With the mass outbreak of something much more serious – the coronavirus – the Foreign Office has advised all Brits to leave China to minimise risk of exposure. The government has also arranged for a final flight early on Sunday morning to bring home UK citizens stuck in the epicentre. “I encourage all British nationals in Hubei to register with our teams if they want to leave on this flight,” warned foreign secretary Dominic Raab. Unfortunately for Raab, he made headlines for a quite separate reason – mixing up his Dickie from his Dave. Talking about the COP26 launch event, he said the PM had appeared alongside “Sir Richard Attenborough”. Labour MP Kevin Brennan told Raab he must have meant David, not his late brother and screen legend Richard. Raab replied: “We’re lucky to have so many fantastic Attenboroughs in this country.” Which was a strange way of trying to gloss over his mistake.

On the record

“Total and utter rubbish – from start to finish.”

Former Commons speaker John Bercow denies all allegations of bullying.

From the Twitterati

“Is this really appropriate attire for parliament?”

A man called Lawrence Dovey asks Labour MP Tracy Brabin why she wore an off-the-shoulder top in parliament…

“Hello. Sorry I don’t have time to reply to all of you commenting on this but I can confirm I’m not: a slag. Hungover. A tart. About to breastfeed. A slapper. Drunk. Just been banged over a wheelie bin. Who knew people could get so emotional over a shoulder.”

…before Brabin addresses concerns about dress standards.