Inside Politics – Coronavirus special: Rishi Sunak has boost for self-employed

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Thursday 26 March 2020 08:54 GMT

Johnson says 405,000 people have signed up to be NHS volunteers

Gary Neville, the Manchester United legend who has opened his hotels to NHS staff during the pandemic, said it is “inconceivable” for the Premier League to return in the next three to four months. Many won’t be able to think further ahead than the next three to four weeks, however much they might miss the football. With hundreds of thousands of self-employed people struggling without work, the chancellor is set to announce new measures to boost their income now. I’m Adam Forrest, and welcome to The Independent’s daily Inside Politics briefing during the coronavirus crisis.

Inside the bubble

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock what to look out for at Westminster today:

Parliament is on the first day of its month-long Easter break, extended by almost a week because of the coronavirus outbreak, and most MPs will be hunkered down at home avoiding close contact with constituents. But Whitehall will remain a hive of activity. Highlight of the day will be chancellor Rishi Sunak’s package of support for many of the UK’s five million self-employed people unable to work because of the government’s instruction to stay home.

Daily briefing

INTO MY ARMS: Boris Johnson promised that his chancellor would have an announcement for us today on financial support for the self-employed. “We will do whatever we can … just as we are putting our arms around every single employed person in this country,” said the PM (perhaps not choosing the most appropriate metaphor for the present moment). Rishi Sunak is considering giving the self-employed a “significant proportion” of their usual income based on their last three years earnings, according to The Times. The Resolution Foundation think tank estimates that if 80 per cent of earnings were guaranteed it would cost the Treasury £3.6 billion every three months. It would certainly be very welcome for many of those currently forced to turn to the benefit system. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said 477,000 people had applied for universal credit in the past nine days. According to Newsnight, the DWP is looking to recruit 2000 staff to cope with the deluge in applicants – mainly from other government departments. Up to one-third of the five million self-employed are thought likely to lose work in the outbreak.

TESTING TIMES: Johnson also used his latest press conference to hail the 405,000 volunteers who have signed up to support the NHS. Comparing it to the population of Coventry, the PM said they would play an “absolutely crucial” role. More good news: 15-minute finger-prick tests to determine whether people have had the coronavirus could be on the way fairly soon. Sharon Peacock, of Public Health England, said the 3.5 million antibody tests ordered by the government would be available within days, to be bought online or at the local pharmacy. But hours later, chief medical officer Chris Whitty warned of a “global bottleneck” in supply and said the tests would be prioritised for NHS workers initially. Meanwhile Neil Ferguson – the Imperial College London professor who changed government policy – offered us all some hope. He said his team was “reasonably confident” the NHS would remain within capacity in the weeks ahead.

DOWN TOOLS, PLEASE: Jeremy Corbyn used his last-ever appearance at PMQs to call for more help for the self-employed – and urged Johnson to shut down buildings sites immediately. The Labour leader cited the example of a self-employed construction worker “who knew he had got [coronavirus] but had no other option but to get on the London Tube and go onto a site to work”. Leaders of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the London mayor all joined calls for the government to stop non-essential building work. Sadiq Khan said it was “astonishing” they had been allowed to carry on and add to crowded carriages. The prime minister suggested black cabs could be used to transport doctors and nurses during the outbreak. Tory MP Charles Walker was enthused at the idea of an “army” of drivers just “itching to get involved like the Spitfires in 1940”. Johnson also said his government could soon bring in new laws to crack down on profiteering to prevent unscrupulous traders trying to cash in on the crisis, just like wartime spivs.

NEW REALISM: The latest news from America is alarming, as Johns Hopkins University’s running total showed the number of people who have died from the coronavirus has passed 1,000. The US now has almost 70,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, following a spike of more than 10,000 in just one day. Thankfully Donald Trump appears to be backing off from his idea the economy could be opened up again at Easter. The president said there were “large sections of our country that are doing very well” – but admitted some areas were “very heavily affected” and he might have to lift restrictions in “sections” over time. New York City mayor Bill De Blasio criticised the “false hope” of an Easter reopening, and claimed the federal government were not setting aside enough money for his city. “Less than one per cent of funding and we have a third of the cases. That is just immoral.”

PUBLIC ENEMY: The United Nations has launched an appeal to help the world’s most vulnerable countries fight the coronavirus – asking states to contribute £1.7bn. “To leave the world’s poorest … to their fate would be both cruel and unwise,” warned the UN’s Mark Lowcock. Covid-19 remains “public enemy number one” said the director-general of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – who called on all countries to “find, isolate, test, treat and trace”. The most worrying picture in Europe comes from Spain, where there were 738 deaths in 24 hours – the highest daily total seen by the Spanish authorities. More encouraging news comes from Germany, where high levels of testing, age of patients and a strong healthcare system may explain why it has become the first country on the continent to successfully flatten the curve in new cases.

On the record

“My voice will not be stilled, I’ll be around, I’ll be campaigning, I’ll be arguing, and I’ll be demanding justice for the people of this country.”

Jeremy Corbyn makes a promise at his final PMQs.

From the Twitterati

“Just think what Meghan and Harry could do for their shattered reputations by coming home at this time to support the national effort against corona – and the Royal family.”

Commentator Isabel Oakeshott still has time to wonder about Megxit…

“Well it took 2 days of lockdown, but we finally managed to make Coronavirus about Meghan Markle.”

…leaving podcaster and policy analyst William Kedjanyi in wonder at her gall.