Inside Politics: Sajid Javid jumps on board for HS2

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Thursday 30 January 2020 08:57 GMT

Brexit MEPs wave small Union Jack flags following Farage's last EU speech

Never get on the wrong side of the mob. Police are having to guard over Manchester United chairman Ed Woodward’s home after angry fans chucked fireworks and smoke bombs at the gates of his mansion. Ed has made too many bad decisions for their liking. Boris Johnson is guaranteed to infuriate one mob or another, as he prepares to decide on the future of HS2. The high-speed rail project provokes almost as much passionate bloviation as Man United’s abysmally poor form. The Labour leadership candidates are united on bringing the rail network back into public ownership – but are they set for a big clash over wider nationalisation plans? I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing.

Inside the bubble

Our political correspondent Lizzy Buchan on what to look out for today:

Boris Johnson meets his chancellor Sajid Javid and transport secretary Grant Shapps to discuss whether HS2 has a future. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo remains in town for talks with the PM and foreign secretary Dominic Raab amid heightened tensions over the decision to allow Huawei to play a limited role in the UK’s 5G infrastructure. Pompeo and Raab will make an intriguing joint appearance at the Policy Exchange think tank today, before the duo head over to Downing Street for a discussion with Johnson.

Daily briefing

ONE TRACK MIND: Boris Johnson likes building things. We know that. He’s been known to do it in his spare time – turning wooden wine crates into painted buses. Sajid Javid will paint a picture of a high-functioning rail network for the PM at today’s big HS2 meeting, having deemed the project value for money. A source close to the chancellor told The Telegraph: “He’s decided it’s worth doing.” The amenable Grant Shapps will, presumably, go along for the ride. Johnson promised MPs an announcement “very shortly”, but No 10 has said a final decision would not necessarily be taken today (the PM always likes a bit of wiggle room). All the agonising follows a leaked review that estimated the whole thing could end up costing £106bn. Meanwhile, the Northern Rail franchise – which everyone in the media is obliged to call “troubled” – is to be renationalised. Labour and the unions very much approve. Stripped from operator Arriva, it will be dumped in the lap of a Department for Transport subsidiary at the start of March.

THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC: Brussels is accused of being a place of stifling bureaucracy – a place of lawyers and economists. But lawyers and economists have emotions too, you know. We were hit with all the feels at the European Parliament on Wednesday when everyone said au revoir to the Brits. MEPs ratified the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement by 621 votes to 49, before a chorus of Auld Lang Syne and an outbreak of waterworks. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. “We will always love you – and we will not be far.” Which was actually a really nice thing to say. Some wore “Always United” UK-EU scarves – the kind of half-and-half items all true football fans hate. Politics isn’t the same as football, of course, but some are determined to keep it tribal. Enter, from stage right, Nigel Farage. Boo! Hiss! Farage said he would miss being the “pantomime villain” of Brussels – and then gave a final turn as the wicked queen. “We don’t hate Europe, we just hate the European Union!” He and his Brexit Party MEPs waved their tiny Union flags, were told to stop – then walked out of the chamber en masse.

NIGHT FEVER: Rebecca Long-Bailey has been accused of telling fibs about the time she pulled an all-nighter, scoffed down a load of pizza, and saved the day for Team Corbyn. The Labour leadership hopeful told a rather tedious story to activists at the weekend, in which ex-colleague Robert Marris MP “flounced off” before a Commons committee hearing into the finance bill. She claimed she worked until the early hours of “the next day” before the committee resumed. But it has emerged there was a five-day gap between the flounce-off and the hearing. According to Hansard, the committee rose on 30 June and was adjourned until 5 July. One unnamed Labour figure told Politics Home: “Rebecca tells this story at every CLP or union meeting… that is demonstrably a total lie.” Anyway, told you it was tedious. The Labour candidates all agree on rail renationalisation, but Long-Bailey will challenge her rivals to commit to nationalising key utilities today. She hopes to distance herself from the others with a vow to take on “rip off privatisers”.

MAKING A MEAL OF IT: The PM is fond of organising his own interviews these days. Johnson shared on Twitter an “autocomplete interview” – based on the Wired series in which celebs answer Googled queries about themselves. It didn’t reveal much other than his excitement about our “beautiful new blue passports”. Answering yet more stage-managed questions on Facebook live, he said he would be marking our EU exit at 11pm on Friday in a “dignified” manner. How awful is this first post-Brexit weekend going to be? Tory MP Tim Loughton is hoping to bring Leavers and Remainers together at a unifying meal he’s calling “Make Britain Breakfast Again”. No, really – that’s what it’s called. Organised at a hotel in Worthing, guests will be treated to an English fry-up with continental options on the side. If you are a Brexiteer, why not bring along your commemorative tea-towel? The Tories have released a range of “I Got Brexit Done” merchandise, inviting tea-towel buyers to “celebrate Brexit in their kitchen”.

HAPPY HUNTING GROUND: Commons committees are a good place to cause a stir. Is Jeremy Hunt – Johnson’s final rival for the Tory leadership last summer – planning on using his new role for a spot of revenge? The former health secretary has been elected chair of the select committee on health, and suddenly becomes a very powerful figure in scrutinising the government’s NHS record. Other winners of the secret ballot include Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, who will head up the select committee on foreign affairs. Tugendhat has been a fierce critic of Johnson’s green light for Huawei on 5G infrastructure, so some intriguing battles lie ahead. The top Trump administration official Mike Pompeo is still hoping to limit Huawei’s role in the UK. Speaking to reporters on the flight over to London, he said the British government still had a chance to “relook” at the decision.

On the record

“This vote is not an adieu … only an au revoir.”

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, offers a fond farewell.

From the Twitterati

“Oh no...I can’t bear it. The warmth and dignity with which they say goodbye to us and we in turn wave pathetic little flags.”

Dragons Den star Deborah Meaden mourns The Brexit Party MEPs’ graceless exit...

“Many [MEPs] have got scarves on with big EU flags and Union Jacks on. It’s very moving but it can’t reaaaaally be ignored that Farage and co got slung out for something very similar just minutes ago.”

...while The Independent’s Tom Peck points out other MEPs had flags on their scarves.