Inside Politics – Coronavirus special: Boris Johnson tells us to go shopping

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Football’s back this week. The giants of the Premier League usually go on a wild shopping spree in the transfer market at this time of year. But there may be very little summer spending as the top-flight clubs tighten their belts. How much spending is the British public about to do? We’re being invited to splash the cash when shops across England open up again today. In fact, we’re being strongly encouraged to do so. The prime minister and chancellor have more or less demanded we “get shopping” as part of our civic duty to save the economy. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing during the coronavirus crisis.

Inside the bubble

Our policy correspondent Jon Stone on what to look out for today:

If it hadn’t been for coronavirus, today would have seen Boris Johnson heading to Brussels to meet the EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Instead, the pair will hold their Brexit “stock-take” by videoconference, during which they will discuss how trade talks are going so far. The meeting was originally scheduled to coincide with the deadline for extending the transition period, but the UK has been emphatic that it won’t be delaying things any further and won’t take up the offer, so that’s unlikely to dominate the agenda.

Daily briefing

RETAIL THERAPY: Boris Johnson has said people should “shop with confidence” when non-essential stores reopen in England today. “My message is simple – get out there, get shopping,” said the chancellor Rishi Sunak, praising the “extraordinary steps” retailers have taken to allow us back inside (fitting rooms will be closed, and some book shops will put browsed, unbought books in quarantine). The PM has set up a review into the two-metre rule, pointing to a potential “margin for manoeuvre”. A recommendation is expected by 4 July – the scheduled restart for pubs and restaurants. Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance are said to be unhappy about the idea of cutting the current social distancing rule. “The worry is that Whitty and Vallance could resign,” one government source told The Sunday Times.

PLAQUE REMOVAL? Johnson has promised to set up a commission looking at “all aspects” of racial inequality – adding that he wanted to “change the narrative so we stop the sense of victimisation”. The debate over historical commemorations is set to continue, with English Heritage now reviewing 950 blue plaques in London for any “problematic connotations”. Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said the party would back the government in bringing in a new law aimed specifically at protecting war memorials. London’s weekend protests became a tale of two photos. Black Lives Matter protester Patrick Hutchinson was hailed a hero for carrying an alleged far-right demonstrator to safety. Meanwhile, Essex Police have charged a man for apparently urinating at the Westminster memorial for murdered police officer Keith Palmer.

BETRAY DISMAY: The government has been accused of “betraying” transgender people following reports ministers are ready to scrap plans allowing a person to legally change their birth certificates without a medical diagnosis. Lib Dem leadership candidate Layla Moran said: “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. End of.” There are plenty of other demands for the government to consider. The cross-party Commons home affairs committee said all foreign NHS and social care workers should get free visa extensions. Pressure is growing on the government to explain the decision to drop chief nurse Ruth May after she refused to back Dominic Cummings (revealed by The Independent on Friday). The Lib Dems have written to health secretary Matt Hancock demanding answers. Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, meanwhile, has called on the government to continue school meal vouchers over the summer. “Political affiliations aside, can we not all agree that no child should be going to be hungry?”

24 HOURS IN TULSA: Donald Trump has switched the date of his first election rally since lockdown began in Tulsa so it doesn’t clash with the holiday commemorating the end of slavery. He said the 19 June rally would be held the following day “out of respect”. But the director of the Tulsa’s health department has urged the president not to hold it at all – asking him to postpone his indoor arena rally of 19,000 people until “the virus isn’t as large a concern”. Meanwhile Trump blamed a “long, steep, very slippery” ramp after he was seen walking awkwardly at a West Point military academy ceremony. “The last thing I was going to do is “fall” for the Fake News to have fun with,” he tweeted.

PREMIERE VICTOIRE: French president Emmanuel Macron has claimed his country has “won its first victory” over the coronavirus, as he set out a series of changes to the country’s lockdown in a televised speech. From Monday France will reopen its borders with other EU countries, while cafes and restaurants are now allowed to reopen fully (not just outdoors). Macron also vowed to stand firm against racism – but also praised police and insisted that France wouldn’t take down any statues of controversial, colonial-era figures. Adopting similar rhetoric to Johnson, he said the republic would not “erase” any part of its history.

MARKET RESEARCH: China’s capital Beijing is braced for a resurgence of coronavirus after over 100 new cases were reported in recent days in a city that hadn’t seen a case of local transmission in a month. The Chinese authorities reported 49 new coronavirus cases on Monday – 36 of them in the capital. All have been traced to a huge wholesale market in the city. The authorities have closed the Xinfadi market, ordered testing of all its workers and is requiring anyone who travelled there to self-isolate. Ten residential communities in the city have also reportedly been quarantined.

On the record

“Boris Johnson sent out eight tweets … on Winston Churchill and statues. He’s never tweeted eight times in a day on coronavirus, he’s never tweeted eight times in a day on the Windrush review or what he’s going to do about it.”

Shadow justice secretary David Lammy questions the PM’s priorities.

From the Twitterati

“He urinated BESIDE the plaque. He did not urinate ON it. This is basic stuff.”

Right-wing radio host Julia Hartley-Brewer is annoyed…

“If this is your best defence, then urine denial.”

…prompting the Liverpool Echo’s Liam Thorp to take the proverbial.

Essential reading

Kuba Shand-Baptiste, The Independent: Say it with me – this is Britain and it has a racism problem

John Rentoul, The Independent: Boris Johnson is in trouble inside and outside his own party

John Harris, The Guardian: Racists think England is theirs. It’s time to show them it is not

Helen Lewis, The Atlantic: The conspiracy theorists masquerading as journalists

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