Inside Politics: As you were
Boris Johnson says UK reserves right to act unilaterally to remove parts of Brexit protocol on visit to Northern Ireland, and Bank of England governor’s stark warning, writes Matt Mathers
The Brexit protocol issue remains unsolved after Boris Johnson’s visit to Belfast. The prime minister is back in London today, where the penultimate day of debate on the Queen’s Speech is taking place.
Inside the bubble
Our chief politics commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for today:
The cabinet meets this morning in a crime hotspot (10 Downing Street) to talk about crime. Priti Patel, the home secretary, will speak later to the Police Federation’s annual conference, which has been a tricky gig in the past. Boris Johnson will attend a ceremony at Paddington station to mark the completion of the Elizabeth Line, which opens next week. The Commons sits from 11.30am with Treasury questions and the penultimate day of debate on the Queen’s Speech (which concludes tomorrow after Prime Minister’s Questions). Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, may or may not publish legislation taking powers to suspend elements of the Northern Ireland protocol. Labour is forcing a vote on a windfall tax (during the Queen’s Speech debate), which won’t succeed but will make Conservatives feel uncomfortable.
Daily Briefing
As you were
It is pretty much “as you were” following Boris Johnson’s trip to Northern Ireland yesterday for talks on the Brexit protocol. The prime minister, who was booed and faced a small protest as his car swept into Hillsborough Castle, said that the UK would reserve the right to take unliteral action to override parts of the agreement but that he would much rather see a negotiated settlement with the EU.
The more conciliatory tone taken by London and Brussels prior to the meetings appeared to extend to the DUP. Although the party did not agree to resume power-sharing, leader Jeffrey Donaldson talked about “seven tests” for the protocol to remain as opposed to calling for it to be scrapped entirely. He said his party would not go back to Stormont until London takes “decisive action” on the post-Brexit trading arrangements. Sinn Fein, meanwhile, has accused the government of placating the DUP and “shoring up” the party’s “bad behaviour”.
What next? Amid reports of a split, the cabinet was due to meet this morning to discuss how to proceed on the protocol. Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, is scheduled to set out in a statement to parliament this afternoon the government’s plans for how it would take unilateral action. But all the noise coming out of Downing Street last night suggested no document or text will be published and that Truss will simply restate the government’s position: that a negotiated settlement is preferred.
Any legislation, which looks as though it won’t come for at least another few weeks, could take months to pass through parliament. And with the DUP still refusing to play ball, this impasse looks increasingly like it still has a long way to run.
Apocalypse now
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey is not a man you would usually associate with drama, which makes his warning yesterday about the cost of living crisis all the more alarming. Bailey, who has reportedly come under fire from cabinet ministers over his handling of Britain’s spiralling inflation problem, told MPs in a Commons committee yesterday that the country faces the “major concern” of “apocalyptic” global food price rises sparked by Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
His words splash the front of several papers and news websites this morning, reflecting the ongoing concern about the biggest squeeze on household incomes in the post-war period – which looks set to get worse in October when the energy price cap rises.
During the same committee grilling, Bailey also made some remarks that will have gone down well…absolutely nowhere. The governor, who takes home more than half a million pounds per year, repeated his plea to workers to “think and reflect” before asking for a pay rise. Inside Politics suspects that millions of people across the country have already thought very hard about their household incomes and might be thinking even harder about telling Bailey where to go.
But anybody who is struggling to make ends meet right now really should not worry. Because the answer is simple: just get a better paid job or work more hours. A top piece of advice from Home Office minister Rachel Maclean.
On the record
“We would love this to be done in a consensual way with our friends and partners, ironing out the problems, stopping some of these barriers east-west. But to get that done, to have the insurance, we need to proceed with a legislative solution at the same time. We don’t want to scrap it (the protocol), but we think it can be fixed.”
PM says plan to unilaterally override parts of the protocol is an insurance policy.
From the Twitterati
“Not to be that guy but the Lords was unusually busy earlier as it debated / expressed outrage about the idea of moving out of London.”
Politico London Playbook editor Alex Wickham notes a busier than usual House of Lords.
Essential reading
- Marie Le Conte, The Independent: I’m too worried about money to care about politics – and it’s my job
- Tom Peck, The Independent: Day five of Wagatha Christie – and the dark heart of the case has been laid bare
- William Hague, The Times: This obesity U-turn shames Boris Johnson
- Simon Jenkins, The Guardian: The PM created this Brexit mess in Northern Ireland – and he should own it
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