Inside Politics: Johnson to address Tory faithful and Sarah Everard probe branded toothless

PM expected to define ‘levelling up’ agenda and campaigners say Patel’s Met inquiry lacks legal powers to ‘get to the truth’, writes Matt Mathers

(PA)

Boris Johnson will later this morning pull down the curtain on Tory conference in Manchester with a keynote speech to the party faithful from a “Trump-inspired” auditorium. Will he pull a rabbit out of the hat during his address? This year’s event has been somewhat low-key, with few exciting policy announcements. But many suspect the PM, never one to shy away from the limelight, might have something up his sleeve on the final day. Elsewhere, Johnson dismissed inflation fears in a series of interviews with broadcasters yesterday, Sajid Javid has suggested health care starts at home and the inquiry into Sarah Everard’s case has been branded toothless.

Inside the bubble

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

On the final day of the Tory conference in Manchester, there will be panel discussions on the vaccine rollout and “levelling up” before Boris Johnson makes his closing speech at 11.30am. He is assured of a rapturous reception from the Tory faithful inside the warm conference bubble. In the increasingly chilly world outside, the £20-a-week uplift to universal credit for six million households will come to an end.

Coming up:

– Deputy PM Dominic Raab on BBC Radio 4 Today at 8.10am

– Tory MP Ian Duncan Smith on Sky News Breakfast at 8.30am

Daily Briefing

MAIN EVENT: Johnson’s speech, set to be delivered just before lunchtime, is covered heavily in this morning’s papers and news websites, with several reporting the PM will say the Tories are the party who have the “guts” to make the UK a high-wage economy. The PM’s address comes amid several ongoing crises in the UK, increasing fears of inflation, and on the day when the Universal Credit uplift ends, taking £1,040 a year from the incomes of 6 million of the UK’s poorest people. This week in Manchester, Johnson has been attempting to frame the country’s current woes as a necessary post-Brexit transition phase on the road to high wages and high skills, although some economists are not convinced this is the case. Don’t be surprised if Johnson, in his speech, seizes on comments by Keir Starmer last month, that he would be willing to grant 100,000 visas to solve the current lorry driver shortage, as the PM seeks to paint Labour as the party of mass immigration.

‘UNFOUNDED’ INFLATION FEARS: The PM started off yesterday by touring the broadcast and radio stations ahead of his keynote speech. He got into a heated exchange with the BBC’s Nick Robinson, who had to tell him to “stop talking” as he attempted to verbal machine-gun his way out of a question. Later, the PM became visibly frustrated during a grilling by Channel 4’s Gary Gibbon. Both appearances (his visit to Radio 4 was the first in two years) did little to counter the view that this is a prime minister who doesn’t like standing up to journalistic scrutiny. In interviews with several broadcasters, the PM also branded as “unfounded” repeated warnings about inflation. However, his remarks flew in the face of analysis from economists across the political spectrum, and the head of the UK’s energy regulator, Ofgem. Chief among concerns shared by economists and interest rate setter the Bank of England is that prices are rising while economic growth shows some signs of stalling.

HEALTH CARE AT HOME? Sajid Javid has said health and social care “begins at home” and people should rely on their families in the first instance rather than on the state. The health secretary’s comments came during his speech at the Conservative Party conference. He said: “The state was needed in this pandemic more than any time in peacetime. But government shouldn’t own all risks and responsibilities in life. We as citizens have to take some responsibility for our health too.” Many will agree with Javid’s thinking on responsibility, but his comments about health care starting at home are likely to infuriate those living with long term debilitating illnesses and others who simply have no support network to fall back on.

‘WASTED OPPORTUNITY: A public inquiry into the failures that let Sarah Everard’s murderer remain a police officer is a “wasted opportunity” without legal powers to “get to the truth”, campaigners have warned. Priti Patel announced the probe at the Conservative Party conference on Tuesday, saying the public “need answers” over the case and wider issues in policing. But women’s advocates, MPs and legal groups raised concerns after it emerged that the inquiry is not currently on a statutory footing, meaning that it will rely on voluntary cooperation from the Metropolitan Police and cannot compel witnesses to give evidence.

AUTUMN FROST: Lord Frost has criticised a French minister for threatening to cut off the UK’s imported energy supply amid escalating tensions over post-Brexit fishing licences. The Brexit minister claimed it was“unreasonable” to suggest the UK was acting in bad faith when it came to allocating post-Brexit fishing licences to French boats and urged Paris to “keep things in proportion”. It came after Clement Beaune, France’s Europe minister, said on Tuesday it would “take European or national measures to exert pressure on the UK” after it emerged that the UK had rejected a number of applications by French boats to fish in British waters.

On the record

“People have been worrying about inflation for a very long time. I’m looking at robust economic growth. And by the way, those fears have been unfounded. I’m looking at robust economic growth. I think that the supply systems that we have, logistics, the supply chains we have are incredibly clever and robust and supply will meet demand.”

PM says he’s not concerned about inflation.

From the Twitterati

“Wages are going up for some (=relative wage change)

Prices are rising for everyone (=lower wages)

The public policy discussion this week has lost all touch with reality – discussing the former, ignoring the latter.”

Resolution Foundation chief executive Torsten Bell on state of UK economy.

Essential reading

• Marie Le Conte, The Independent: How come the UK is in crisis yet all the Tories are so damn happy?
• Andrew Grice, The Independent: The Conservative Party is losing its grip on law and order
• Peter Oborne, The Guardian: Access to the Tory Party is being bought by a new class of tycoon funders
• Sam Leith, The Spectator: Political arguments are now over words, not things

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